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STATUS REPORT OF OCTOBER 24, 2007: Sharsmith Peak naming stalls

It is time to seek legislation

Your Name4Carl Committee has done about all it can do to have the name Sharsmith Peak formally applied to the namesake summit on Yosemite National Park's eastern border. The proposal that was submitted January 9 of this year is stalled at the Board on Geographic Names of the U.S. Geological Survey (BGN). This is despite support from over 100 persons and organizations, including the Yosemite Association and other groups, 5 former Yosemite park superintendents, 2 former national park regional directors, and 2 former national park directors (3 as of October 31, 2007), a former member of the BGN, a former director of the U.S. Geological Survey, plus citizens from many perspectives. The California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names has recommended disapproval of the name and, to the knowledge of the Name4Carl Committee, regional governmental units have not responded to the BGN's request for input--except for the Mono County Board of Supervisors, which endorses the name (upate: Mariposa County Board of Supervisors endorses the naming).

Legislative action is needed to give the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the BGN the guidance to finish this naming task. Persons residing in the peak's area must be the ones to contact legislators representing the districts containing the peak. (Persons residing within legislator's districts have vastly more influence on legislators than those outside, and  legislators from other areas are unlikely to propose actions inside another's district. This is not to say non-California residents cannot contact their own legislators if they feel they can be effective. Another positive case would be a non-California resident who has contacts with California's  legislators.). The Name4Carl Committee is composed primarily of persons residing outside the state of California and thus would have little influence with legislators there.

It would also be most useful to have the California legislature and governor correct the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names' rejection of the naming, another process requiring residency to accomplish.

If you can lead or co-lead such efforts and/or participate in them, send an email to email and the Name4Carl Committee will get respondents in contact with each other. The Committee offers to help organize a group and will work with it as little or as much as wanted and desirable. We see little hope of getting this naming done otherwise, for although this naming effort is only stalled now, we have no reason to believe that a vote by the BGN would approve our proposal and would likely result in rejection. This would not be right for Carl Sharsmith's memory.

To determine the legislators that represent you, use this resource: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml: exits. Find U.S. Representatives and state legislators by your zip code. Another resource is http://www.smartvoter.org: exits. Particularly pertinent are:
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer: exits, California
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein: exits, California
U.S. Representative George Radanovich: exits, California 19th district
U.S. Representative Howard P. "Buck" McKeon: exits, California, 25th district
California State Senator Dave Cogdill: exits, District 14
California State Senator Dave Cox: exits, District 01
California State Representative Tom Berryhill: exits, District 25

We do have the support of California's U.S. Representative Lois Capps and Colorado's State Representative Andy Kerr.

If you do not reside in California and/or do not have effective contact with legislators, you can still help in these ways:

1) Send in a signed letter indicating your support of the naming to the BGN if you have not already done so. Even if you have, send another with a new date. A sample is on the Name4Carl website at www.name4carl.org/n4csamp.htm.

2) Use the name Sharsmith Peak to establish it. Encourage mapping and publishing companies to do the same. Also find references in print to the usage.

3) Tell reporters of this effort and help them prepare materials. For instance, an article has been prepared by the Name4Carl Committee for the website www.nationalparkstraveler.com: exits entitled "YOSEMITE’S SHARSMITH PEAK NAMING STALLS:  a status report from the Name4Carl Committee."  It, too, calls for legislative action as the means to get the naming done. You can use it and materials on the www.name4carl.org website as resources (separate permissions will be needed to use photographs there). Recall to writers the "Summary of Supporting Statements" that is posted on our website at www.name4carl.org/n4csupp.htm.

4) In all the above cases, send copies to the Name4Carl Committee at email so we can forward them to the BGN. Or do this yourself and let us know.

Yours for Carl,

Name 4 Carl Committee: Bill Jones (lead member), Bob Barbee, Bryan Harry, Len McKenzie, Wayne Merry, Jack Morehead, Owen Hoffman, Bob Fry, Douglass Hubbard, Allen Berrey, Jim Sano, and Bill Wendt. 

Bill Jones
Name4Carl Committee
0637 Blue Ridge Road
Silverthorne, CO 08498-8927

Email: email
Website: http://www.name4carl.org
Phone and Fax: 970/468-7673

 Status Reports for Sharsmith Peak naming

 This "Status Report of October 24, 2007" page last modified 11/01/2008: \name4carl\n4cstat6.htm.

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