Local volunteers with the Argentine Rock Lookout Group announce they will have their first meeting of the year May 8 to plan repair activities at the lookout this season. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the Ingalls Lookout building behind the Mineral Building at the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds in Quincy.
Chairman Jeff Greef reports that the Argentine Rock Lookout Group has been active for the last three years and is steadily making progress toward a complete refurbishment of the lookout, which sits on Grizzly Ridge overlooking American Valley.
“We have lots of plans this year for fun projects at the lookout,” said Greef. “We finished concrete for the new steel staircase just below the building last year; now we need to haul the steel up there for the stairs. Then we can start doing actual carpentry work on the building itself, which will be very rewarding as we watch the old building come back to life.”
The Argentine Rock Lookout Group received a resource advisory committee grant from the Forest Service to pay most of the material costs for refurbishing the lookout, and it is in the process of implementing the grant funds. “Our first priority has been to secure safe access to the building,” said Greef. “Last year we improved the road leading up to the lookout and this year we will install a safe set of stairs.”
When complete, the lookout will be used as an overnight rental for the public. It may also be used again as a lookout in peak fire season. “Build it and they will come, is the basic idea,” said Greef.
“Right now we need eager volunteers to work a Saturday or two to help us haul materials up the hill and assist with basic carpentry,” said Greef. “Volunteers must be able to lift some weight, and eat lots of pizza.”
More information about the project is available at https://www.argentinelookout.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/lookouts4you/. Those interested may also contact Jeff Greef at [email protected] or 530-616-9031.
Information provided by Argentine Rock Lookout Group