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  • About:
    • Two Organizations in One:
      • Wild Willpower PAC – America’s first “Civil PAC”
      • The Peaceable Assembly
    • Our Code of Ethics
    • Endorsement Letters:
      • Co-Founder & Former President of the California Lichen Society, Bill Hill
      • Richard Lonewolf, Ethnobotany and Wilderness Survival Expert
    • Special Thanks:
      • Kevin Ray Byrd
      • Jason Baker, Tech Support
      • Environmental Studies Professor Frank Schiavo, M.M.L. (1939-2010)
      • Bill Hill & The California Lichen Society
      • Ashawna Hailey (1949-2011)
      • Samaritans of the USA
      • To All the Tech Nerds
  • Our National Plan:
    • Right to Homestead Act:
      • “Who Owns Ames, Iowa?” – upcoming documentary
    • Civilian Restoration Corps:
      • Ecological Restoration:
      • Sustainable Cities
      • ** History & Purpose of the Civilian Conservation Corps
    • Justice Accessibility Act:
      • Teach Jurisprudence in High Schools
      • Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Color of Law Crimes
      • Government Officials Must Provide Email Addresses
      • Additional Justice Reform Solutions
    • Weaning off fossil fuels
    • Education Reform:
      • Offer Local Native Language Courses in All U.S. School Systems
      • Sponsor Native Teachers to Train Wildharvesting Cooperatives
      • Teach Accurate, Non-Bias History in Schools
      • Teach Sustainable Gardening and Applied Ethnobiology in Schools
      • Sponsor Native Teachers to Teach via The Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App
    • Swords to Plowshares Act (international policy)
  • Current Projects:
    • Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App
      • Donate a Book – Help Build The Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App
    • “Civil Rights Self-Defense” legal self-help website
      • Stop Courtroom Abuse!
    • Resources to Help You Live Sustainably:
      • Ecological Restoration:
      • Homesteading Starter Kits:
      • Highly-Efficient Gardening Techniques:
      • Clean Energy Inventions:
      • “Simple-Tech” DIY Home Improvement Techniques:
  • Cases in Progress:
    • California Cases:
      • Robbed by Kern County Sheriff’s Deputies
      • Homeless woman charged >$600 for sleeping outdoors (Marin County, CA)
    • Iowa – Ames Resident Seeks to Improve Iowa’s Justice System:
      • Transgender Iowan, arrested for going in the women’s restroom in 2006, still seeks justice (2022)
      • Following an unjust court ruling, officer warns Ames resident to “leave the state” for her safety (2009)
      • City of Ames obstructs Citizens from Petitioning (2018)
      • Transgender Woman Claims Nonprofit “Reliable Street” Retaliated Against Her for Filing a Civil Rights Complaint:
    • Standing Rock Class Action
  • Publications:
    • “More Valuable Than Gold” Ethnobotany textbook
    • “The Hidden History of Law” textbook series
    • “How to Legally Claim Abandoned Real Estate”
  • Join the Cause

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  • January 2023

Categories

  • Cases in Progress
  • Ethnobiology
  • Legal
  • Our Mission
  • Wild Willpower
Wild Willpower
  • About:
    • Two Organizations in One:
      • Wild Willpower PAC – America’s first “Civil PAC”
        • Sondra Wilson, Founder and Executive Director
      • The Peaceable Assembly
    • Our Code of Ethics
    • Endorsement Letters:
      • Co-Founder & Former President of the California Lichen Society, Bill Hill
      • Richard Lonewolf, Ethnobotany and Wilderness Survival Expert
    • Special Thanks:
      • Kevin Ray Byrd
      • Jason Baker, Tech Support
      • Environmental Studies Professor Frank Schiavo, M.M.L. (1939-2010)
      • Bill Hill & The California Lichen Society
      • Ashawna Hailey (1949-2011)
      • Samaritans of the USA
      • To All the Tech Nerds
  • Our National Plan:
    • Right to Homestead Act:
      • “Who Owns Ames, Iowa?” – upcoming documentary
    • Civilian Restoration Corps:
      • Ecological Restoration:
        • Native Animal Cooperatives
        • Oceti Sakowin Heritage Trail
        • Wildharvesting Cooperatives
          • Kern River Wildharvesting Cooperative
            • Bulk Native Foods and Herbs, and Backpacking Mixes
            • Our Commitments:
              • Coordinate Respectfully with Forest Officials
              • Uphold The Zero Trash Commitment
              • Use Positive-Impact Harvesting Techniques
              • Wildfire Prevention
        • Paid for by gradually transferring livestock subsidies
          • The Devastating Ecological Impacts of Non-Native Animal Industries
          • Animal Abuse & Subjugation in the Current U.S. Economy
      • Sustainable Cities
      • ** History & Purpose of the Civilian Conservation Corps
    • Justice Accessibility Act:
      • Teach Jurisprudence in High Schools
      • Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Color of Law Crimes
      • Government Officials Must Provide Email Addresses
      • Additional Justice Reform Solutions
    • Weaning off fossil fuels
    • Education Reform:
      • Offer Local Native Language Courses in All U.S. School Systems
      • Sponsor Native Teachers to Train Wildharvesting Cooperatives
      • Teach Accurate, Non-Bias History in Schools
      • Teach Sustainable Gardening and Applied Ethnobiology in Schools
      • Sponsor Native Teachers to Teach via The Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App
    • Swords to Plowshares Act (international policy)
  • Current Projects:
    • Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App
      • Donate a Book – Help Build The Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App
    • “Civil Rights Self-Defense” legal self-help website
      • Stop Courtroom Abuse!
    • Resources to Help You Live Sustainably:
      • Ecological Restoration:
        • Native Animals, & Organizations Involved in Their Restoration:
          • Plains Bison & Wood Bison Restoration – Get Involved
          • Elk Restoration – Get Involved
          • Pronghorn (Antelope) Restoration – Get Involved
          • Woodland Caribou Restoration – Get Involved
          • Bighorn Sheep Restoration – Get Involved
          • Mountain Goat Restoration – Get Involved
          • Porcupine Restoration – Get Involved
          • Prairie Dog Restoration – Get Involved
        • Native Prairie History, Ecology, & Restoration – Organizations (& Processes) Involved
      • Homesteading Starter Kits:
        • “Cold Frame Plants”: Broccoli, Cabbage, & Cauliflower
        • “Full Sunlight, Low Water”: Eggplants, Okra, Sunflowers
        • “Ideal For Raised Beds”: Asparagus, Carrots
        • “Leafy Greens” (& Spices of similar care)
        • “The 3 Sisters”: Corn, Beans, & Squash
      • Highly-Efficient Gardening Techniques:
        • How To Propagate Fruit & Nut Trees From Cuttings
        • Yard & Soil Preparation
        • *Wise* No-Chem Pest Control
        • Glass Jar Seed Starters
      • Clean Energy Inventions:
        • Ingenius Wind Energy Inventions
        • Innovative Solar Solutions
        • Water-Powered Energy Inventions & Purification Systems
        • Charge Your Electronics Using The Heat of A Campfire
        • Inventions That Clean Up &/or Process Trash
      • “Simple-Tech” DIY Home Improvement Techniques:
        • 7 Ingenius Uses for Salt
        • Vegetable Storage- for Best Results
        • Cob Housing- mixing mud to work like clay for walls, etc
        • Join ‘The Zero Trash Commitment’
        • Build Your Own Low-Cost Swimming Pool
  • Cases in Progress:
    • California Cases:
      • Robbed by Kern County Sheriff’s Deputies
        • California Man faces Fabricated Charges used to Further County Fraud
        • If an Officer violated your rights – who would you report the incident to?
        • Involved Parties
          • Record Owners – John and Cheryl Ross
          • Kern Cty. Sheriff’s Deputies – trespassing, forcible entry and detainer, constructive fraud
          • Neighbors who Robbed Us following the Ouster
        • Our Redress of Grievances
      • Homeless woman charged >$600 for sleeping outdoors (Marin County, CA)
    • Iowa – Ames Resident Seeks to Improve Iowa’s Justice System:
      • Transgender Iowan, arrested for going in the women’s restroom in 2006, still seeks justice (2022)
      • Following an unjust court ruling, officer warns Ames resident to “leave the state” for her safety (2009)
      • City of Ames obstructs Citizens from Petitioning (2018)
      • Transgender Woman Claims Nonprofit “Reliable Street” Retaliated Against Her for Filing a Civil Rights Complaint:
        • Legal assistance extremely difficult to find in Iowa
    • Standing Rock Class Action
  • Publications:
    • “More Valuable Than Gold” Ethnobotany textbook
    • “The Hidden History of Law” textbook series
    • “How to Legally Claim Abandoned Real Estate”
  • Join the Cause

Wildharvesting Cooperatives

    Kern River Wildharvesting Cooperative demonstrates a replicable business plan that:

  • revitalizes and restores native ecosystems;
  • improves local food supplies and economies;
  • protects infrastructure from wildfires and helps to prevent them.

A Lucrative,
Ecologically-Restorative Business:

           One of the most important products produced by KRWC is acorn flour.  Oak trees produce a whopping 4.5 tons of nuts per acre, making them a very prolific food source.

Acorns from Various Species of Oaks:

3 acorns

Acorn Bread:

Wildfire Prevention, Resource Production:

     By employing management techniques used by California native tribes for hundreds of years, dried underbrush can be raked into circles and safely burned in order to:

1.) replenish topsoil;
2.) remove the fire hazard imposed by dried leaves and deadwood from wilderness understory around the perimeter of urban areas in order to protect infrastructure from wildfires;
3.) make harvesting acorns easier.

     How California tribes safely control burned understory is explained in the following excerpt from Tending the Wild; Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources by M. Kat Anderson:

      “Fire was the primary land management tool of California Indians because it had many significant ecological effects.

1. Decreasing Detritus and Recycling Nutrients – many wild plant populations accumulate aging parts (dead branches and shoots, leaves, cones, and seed pods) that may reduce plant vigor and productivity over time.  Fires set by California Indians consumed this biomass and released some of the plant nutrients it contained.   Scientific studies have recently shown that nutrient movement can take a long time, relative to human life spans.  The turnover rates of many nutrients are slow.  In some ecosystems the nutrient storage compartment (e.g., the litter on the forest floor) can become a vault, locked against internal cycling.  Various ecosystems will not remain productive over time if dead material accumulates much faster than it decomposes.  Like soil. arthropods, bacteria, and fungi, fire is a mineralizing agent in forests and other vegetation types, but it works much faster than decaying organisms and thus speeds up nutrient recycling and
the return of sites to high productivity.  Although fire can accelerate nitrification and thus loss of nutrients, research is demonstrating that the leguminous, nitrogen-fixing forbs (such as lupines and clovers) often promoted by fire can rapidly provide nutrient replacement.

2. Controlling Insects and Pathogens – fire helped to control the pathogens and insects that would otherwise compete for the same resources used by native people.  Many Indian tribes in California burned in Oak (Quercus spp.) woodlands and Tan Oak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) stands to reduce insect pests that inhabit acorns and over winter the Oak leaf duff. According to Kathy Heffner (Wilaki, pers. comm. 1992), all of the tribes she interviewed in Northern California (Hupa, Hailaki, Tolowa, Yurok, & Karuk) burned under the California Black Oaks and other oak species to destroy insect pests: “They needed to eliminate that duff that was underneath the Oak trees because the oaks will drop their leaves & create a big pile of duff.  As long as all that duff stayed there, when the acorns dropped, the acorns could only be on the ground just a little while because that duff was home to a lot of bugs.  The minute they hit the ground, those bugs were into those acorns.  So if they burned it, that eliminated the duff and the insects that would get into the acorns.”

   In a 1916 letter to the California Fish & Game Commission, Klamath River jack from Del Norte County makes the link between eliminating wormy acorns and setting fires: “Fire burn up old acorn that fall on ground. old acorn on ground have lots worm; no burn old acorn, no burn old bark, old leaves, bugs and worms come more every year… Indian burn every year just same, so keep all ground clean, no bark, no dead leaf, no old wood on ground, no old wood on brush, so no bug can stay to eat leaf and no worm can stay to eat berry and acorn.  Not much on ground to make hot fire so never hurt big trees, where fire burn.”

     Arthropods in two major genera feed on acorns during their larval stage, causing severe damage or destruction.  These are the filbert worm (Cydia
latiferreana) and the filbert weevils (Curculio occidentalis, C. pardus, & C. aurvestis).  Studies of California Oak species have shown that individual trees can exhibit up to 80% acorn damage by the filbert worm and 20 percent to 75% destruction by filbert weevils.  Individual trees can exhibit up to 95% acorn damage from a combination of these pests.  The larvae tunnel throughout the inside of the acorn, leaving frass, destroying the embryo, and rendering the acorn inedible.

     Ted Swiecki, a plant pathologist who has studied California oak pests and diseases, on the habits, feeding, and life cycles of the filbert worm and filbert weevil:  ‘These insects invade acorns while on the tree, and the insects continue to develop as the acorns fall. In fact, insect-infested and diseased acorns tend to drop earlier than sound acorns. Eventually, the larvae exit the acorn and over winter as pupae in the duff beneath oak trees.  If you were to burn off the duff and old acorns in the fall, you would destroy most if not all of the infested acorns as well as pupae that are in the duff.  This would greatly reduce the number of filbert worm and filbert weevil adults that emerge in the following year, which would reduce the level of infestation in the acorn crop. If you were to do this every year, or even every couple of years, I would think that you would end up with a pretty clean crop of acorns, with relatively low losses due to insects.  Also, burning of plant debris beneath the trees would make harvesting easier whether you are knocking acorns out of the tree or simply waiting for them to fall.  It makes the acorns easier to find and pick up and eliminates an old acorns (with holes in them) that would need to be sorted out.’”

     Wildharvesting cooperatives use the aforementioned knowledge throughout the outskirts of urban areas in order to create fuel-free zones which protect infrastructure from incoming wildfires.  Valuable resources are produced and protected.

Click to Enlarge:

Some Widely-Available Products Include:

     The Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App will soon enable communities everywhere to self-organize and create their own wildharvesting cooperatives and coordinate with Forest Officials to harvest and sell all sorts of products such as:

1.)  Buckeye Nut flour

  • Caution!  Although poisonous when eaten raw due to the chemical aesculin present throughout the tree, buckeye nuts may be quickly and efficiently processed into flour for use in bread making, etc.
  • Buckeye trees produce 4.4 tons of nuts per acre!
  • Much larger than most nuts currently sold on the U.S. market.

Buckeye nut

2.)  Pine nuts, pollen, & oil

  • Nuts currently shipped in from China and Russia for U.S. markets even though they grow coast-to-coast throughout the U.S.
  • Nuts edible raw or toasted, and can be pressed for oil.

Nuts:

Pine Nuts

Pollen:

  • The pollen from the catkins is high is 30% its weight in protein & contains a wide variety of minerals & nutrients.

Pine Pollen

3.)  Red Desert Rice aka Indian Rice Grass

     Rice that doesn’t require boatloads of water to grow!?!?!  Its a “save the world food”!!!

  • grows in every contiguous state from Colorado west.

red desert rice

4.)  Golden Chia Seeds

  • high in protein, omega-3, and antioxidants.
  • grows in ~7  states! 
  • Golden Chia Seeds are currently not available in stores: Black Chia Seeds {Salvia hispanica} are imported from South America.

    Richard Lonewolf on Golden Chia Seeds:

5.)  Sycamore Syrup

  • similar to maple syrup, but tastes more like butterscotch or honey.

     Many more forest products will be mapped throughout the in-the-making Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App.  It is important to always use Positive-Impact Harvesting Techniques whenever harvesting!

A Temporary Setback:

    Unfortunately, in the spring of 2016 Kern River Wildharvesting Cooperative was robbed and forced to close.  Wild Willpower PAC is currently fundraising so we can open ASAP.  By gearing up, training, and documenting “the first wildharvesting cooperative in the country,” we will create a replicable model which can be implemented just about anywhere, especially as The Wild Living Skills Database & Smartphone App continues to be developed.  Please consider donating to help Wild Willpower PAC on our mission to create the database and app and model the first wildharvesting cooperative in the country.  We have a lot of work in front of us and really need some financial help to continue developing.

Please Donate

************************************

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References:

All images utilized in accordance with Fair Use.

Satellite photo in graphic from Google Maps (Sierra Mountains town):  https://www.google.com/maps

Cartoon house in graphic from “Window Cartoon Stock Photos and Images” by 123RF:  https://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/window_cartoon.html

Cartoon acorns in graphic from “wo Acorn With Oak Leaves Cartoon Illustrations. Illustration Isolated on white” by 123RF:  https://www.123rf.com/photo_32161027_two-acorn-with-oak-leaves-cartoon-illustrations-illustration-isolated-on-white.html

Cartoon cash from Dreamtime:  https://nl.dreamstime.com/royalty-vrije-stock-afbeeldingen-dollars-en-centen-image5535119

Cartoon eagle from Dreamtime:  https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-eagle-cartoon-image27330003

Archives

  • January 2023

Calendar

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Jan    

Categories

  • Cases in Progress
  • Ethnobiology
  • Legal
  • Our Mission
  • Wild Willpower

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