Submitted by:  Shirley Gauthier, AANR-NW Public Lands Liaison

Glassbar Island State Park near Eugene, Oregon became even more user group friendly at the annual SOLV “Down By The Riverside” cleanup on May 16th.   A porta-potty was installed near the nude beach area of the clothing optional State Park.  This is huge history making news for user groups.  Do take the time to do the porta-potty happy dance.

Glassbar Island Nude Beach Volunteers (GINBV) a 100% AANR club registered twenty-nine cleanup volunteers.   Chris Orsinger, Executive Director Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah shared that “we were glad to lend a hand with habitat enhancement and clean up at Glassbar Island.  We look forward to collaborating in the future to advance habitat enhancement, especially floodplain restoration work that would improve aquatic habitat and water quality.”  Rick Hammond GINBV Webmaster and cleanup photographer said “I have never seen such a diverse group at the park as I have this year on sunny days.”

Volunteers removed invasive species, planted six different wildflowers, completed litter patrols, and cleaned land belonging to the State and County.  GINBV President David Rosenblatt asked that a special thanks be given to the SOLV, Oregon State Park Dept., Lane County Waste Dept., Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah, AANR-NW for providing the hotdog barbecue and to GINBV members who have worked daily at the park for years.

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director

Washington State Department of Natural Resources and AANR Working Together There have been some positive moves regarding nude recreation on public land in Washington State. Under Washington law merely being nude on public land is not unlawful. However misunderstandings by both nudists as well as public officials have often led to serious problems for nudists and unnecessary user conflict between nudists, non nudists and landed governmental agencies.

Following up American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) successes on public lands in other states, your AANR Public Land representatives entered into discussions with Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The purpose of these discussions was to create an understanding between the nudist community and DNR to try and increase the opportunities for lawful nude recreation on public lands, while reducing conflict with non-nudists.

The first step was gained in April by a meeting between Mark Mauren DNR Assistant Division Manager, Asset Management and Recreation Division, Larry Raedel, DNR Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Erich Schuttauf AANR Executive Director and Steve Hubbard AANR Public Lands Liaison. A variety of issues were discussed in an open and frank manor and agreement reached on a few key points.

The most noticeable move, in the near term, revolved around an initiative regarding DNR lands that are adjacent to the 4 existing AANR resorts in Washington and open discussions on formalizing the unauthorized trails originating from the resorts. There are a lot of details to work out but it is a start.

AANR is committed to working with the DNR to try and work through the detail to bring this initiative to life, hopefully before the summer “sunning” season is upon us.

These efforts, as important as they are, are just the beginning. AANR’s goal is to continue to work with the DNR to find new and imaginative ways for us to move forward together. We expect to be able to report on these efforts in the near future. Until then, remember your AANR dues allow us to be “the credible voice of nude recreation” and to expand the opportunities for nudist to enjoy their right to recreate on public lands in appropriate settings.

AANR Blog

As you may remember, our good advisor Captain Jack has provided me with numerous tips for increasing the likelihood that search engines like Google will rank us more highly.  Among those suggestions was creating a daily (or at least several times per week) Web log (blog).

Today we’re pleased to announce that the blog is officially up and running with many, many thanks to Lynn von Hagel of publications for her hard work. You can access the blog by clicking here: http://blog.aanr.com/.

Named “The Altogether,” the blog is meant to evoke the colloquial expression of “being in the altogether” (naked), but also evoke the fact that we bring events, opinions, and “newsy” stuff altogether in one place.

Thanks for your help in making this happen, Lynn!

Linda Berry, Director of Publications
The Bulletin

The June issue had its final proofing today. We’ll go to the printer on Tuesday.

The Cyber-Bulletin

Read all about summertime fun in the new edition of The Cyber-Bulletin at http://www.aanr.com/cyber_bulletin.html.
Debra Sue Stevens, Government Affairs

REQUEST: Print the following in your Club Newsletter or send to your members in your E-News, when timely and appropriate.  We want the members to know what GAT does for them!

Happy Dance News from the Northwest
Contributed by Shirley Gauthier, Oregon State GA Coordinator

Thanks to a lot of AANR members, Oregon State Park employees and a printing company that generously prioritized our requests and demands we have beach cards to introduce at the Rooster Rock “Down by the Riverside” event May 16.

While I can’t thank everyone individually some people were especially helpful.  Oregon State Park employee Lisa Midlam who worked with me for several days and really late one evening, Rooster-Sauvie Volunteer Mark Buchweitz,  Steve Hubbard, Pat Brown, Erich Schuttauf, and Joseph Gottschall of Bellingham Promotional Products who created the card design and contributed his patience and expertise.

We were on a really tight time line to get them completed before the Rooster Rock May 16th beach cleanup.  This is a wonderful example of everyone working together contributing to a great project.

Deputy Sheriff Bryan White of Multnoman County Sheriff’s Office will be presenting a talk on public indecency at the May 16 event, and we wanted to
have the cards ready to use at that time.  Special thanks to Lisa Midlam for arranging for Deputy Sheriff White to speak.

I love being an AANR member.  It is such a pleasure working with so many volunteers that contribute time and energy adding so much value to my AANR membership. I invite you to stand up and happy dance with me.

Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers will host SOLV’s “Down By the Riverside” Beach Cleanup, Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to noon at Rooster Rock State Park

We’ve got special news. A guest speaker from the Multnomah Sheriff’s Dept. will speak on the issue of public indecency at Rooster Rock and how nudists can help prevent this problem. We will also be presenting new beach cards. The new beach cards provide Oregon State Park information on how to report suspicious or illegal behavior on one side and AANR information on the other side. This is a huge demonstration of the value of our working relationship with OSP, Multnomah County Sheriff Department, and the Oregon State Parks Department who truly value and trust AANR as the credible voice for nude recreation.

Event plans include installing a new parks department sign.  The sign will welcome beach users and educate users on public indecency laws.  The sign encourages users to report inappropriate behaviors by including law enforcement telephone numbers.  Thanks to Shirley Gauthier and Lisa Midlam who worked together to create these historic documents.

We’d also like to remind volunteers that we will now be having potluck lunches.  Please bring a little something to eat or drink. We also ask that you bring a re-usable container for water, as we are trying to avoid using plastic bottles.

Please join Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers for this historic event, as we do our part to preserve, protect, and promote family-friendly nude recreation on public lands.

To sign up, go to:
http://www.solv.org/programs/down_by_the_riverside.asp#sitelist then scroll down to the “Rooster Rock Beach Cleanup” event, and click on “Register Now!”

Any questions? Drop us a line at rooster.sauvie@yahoo.com
Momentum Builds for Great Outdoors Week and Month

Your AANR GAT is once again setting another historical record.  For the first time, all United States based AANR regions will be represented in Washington, D.C., for our annual trip to celebrate Great Outdoors Week, visit recreational leaders, and pound the halls of your U.S. congress members and senators.  We are finalizing our talking points and continuing to confirm appointments.  Months of ground work and a very dedicated team of “veteran” volunteers, combined with some new faces, could very well lead us into our most successful journey ever to our nation’s capitol in the name of the credible voice of reason for nude recreation!

AANR Legislative Tracking

Statistics for 2009:

In Session: There are 28 states, DC and US in Regular Session.  NJ is in budget hearings.  There is 1 state in Special Session.  WV is in Extended Session (Recessed).

States in Regular Session: AL, AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, HI, ID, IL, KS, LA, MA,ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, RI, TN, TX, US, VT

AANR Statistics:

o     2,915 bills were reviewed personally by AANR in 2009.
o     401 bills have been reviewed in full text by AANR in 2009.
o     171 bills remain on the “2009 Legislative Tracking List”
o     81 bills have been moved to the “Archived 2009 List”

AANR encourages our membership and like-minded nudists and naturists to assist in the process of tracking bills and news impacting nude recreation. Always contact the AANR office before taking action.  This ensures that your actions are aligned with the strategy underway for any particular bill or advocacy effort.  Remember, AANR GAT works for you!

CAROLYN HAWKINS, PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR
Positive Publicity

Congratulations to Lake Associates Recreation Club in Washington for being voted the #1 Campground in the 2009 Northwest Escapes contest.

http://best.king5.com/winners/northwest-escapes/4261/great-getaways/campground

Special Press Release Just For You

Summer is just around the corner, so we thought you might want to send a reopening release to your local media.  Attached you will find a template release.  All you have to do is fill in your club’s information.  You can send it out through Capwiz, which is a free service to our clubs.  Follow instructions below:

Click on { snip – see Carolyn } and it will take you directly to the media area.  Click on the state that you are interested in and it will give you all the contacts in that state- print, radio, etc.  It will let you check five at a time but you can send it as many times as you want. Once you have checked your five media outlets, go to bottom and you will see “compose message.”  Copy and paste the release or your own message into that box.  Be sure to include a subject and be sure to add your club information to the release.  Give me a call at 800/879-6833, ext. 226 if you have any questions.

You may view the AANR Convention award list here:

http://aanr-nw.org/nude/aanr-convention-awards/

It is long and has been given a separate page.

Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers will host SOLV’s “Down By the Riverside” beach cleanup, Saturday, May 16, from 9 am to 12pm at Rooster Rock State Park!

 We’ve got special news. A guest speaker from the Multnomah Sheriff’s Dept will speak on the issue of Public Indecency at Rooster Rock, and how nudists can help prevent this problem. We will also be presenting new beach cards. The new beach cards provide Oregon State Park information on how to report suspicious or illegal behavior on one side and AANR information on the other side. This is a huge demonstration of the value of our working relationship with OSP, Multnomah County Sheriff Department and Oregon State Parks Department who truly value and trust AANR as the credible voice for nude recreation.
 
Event plans include installing a new Parks Dept. sign.  The sign will welcome beach users and educate users on public indecency laws.  The sign encourages users to report inappropriate behaviors by including law enforcement telephone numbers.  Thanks to Shirley Gauthier, AANR-NW Public Lands Liason, and Lisa Midlam, of Oregon State Parks, who worked together to create these historic documents!
 
We’d also like to remind volunteers that we will now be having Potluck lunches.  So please bring a little something to eat or drink, even if you don’t cook and have to buy something. We also ask that you bring a re-usable container for water, as we are trying to avoid using plastic bottles.
 
Please join Rooster Sauvie Volunteers for this historic event, as we do our part to preserve, protect and promote family-friendly nude recreation on public lands!
 
To sign up, go to –
 http://www.solv.org/programs/down_by_the_riverside.asp#sitelist
 
–then scroll down to the “Rooster Rock Beach Cleanup” event, and
click on “Register Now!”

Any questions? Drop us a line at rooster.sauvie@yahoo.com

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director

Wishing You A Very Happy and Safe Holiday

Memorial Day weekend marks the traditional start of the summer season for many AANR clubs and we want to wish you the very best for a safe holiday with good weather.

We also wish to express our deepest thanks to the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in the US and Canadian armed forces to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. We are grateful for your sacrifice and the sacrifices that your families have made.

In observance of the holiday our offices will be closed on Monday, May 26th.

My Thanks

Yesterday I returned to the office after being on the road with my family visiting my terminally ill father in Massachusetts. On the way back to Florida, we learned that my wife’s father had to be scheduled for emergency open heart surgery creating yet another crisis. I deeply appreciate the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support that so many of you passed along during this difficult time.

PR Opportunities

This week American Airlines announced that it plans to charge passengers $15 for the first checked bag on domestic flights beginning mid-June in an effort to respond to escalating fuel costs. Other carriers expressed likelihood that they would follow. Again seeing an opportunity for press coverage–and to inject a bit of levity for weary travelers–we began
distributing an updated “pack less relax more” media release.

In other PR news, a number of you wrote to us letting us know about a new commercial for Honda in which the driver and his teenage son “rescue” stranded nudist balloonists and offer them a lift home. While some of the humor is tongue-in-cheek and not all of the messaging is positive (there are expressions of embarrassment and discomfort) the advertising campaign also demonstrates that simple group nudity is a subject the company feels safe enough to air within America’s living rooms. If you would like to see the advertisement online, click here:

http://www.adgabber.com/video/video/show?id=546804%3AVideo%3A96213

(My thanks to Lynn von Hagel of publications for tracking down this link.)

As Lynn’s all-new edition of the E-Bulletin points out, there’s also an ice cream company advertising its low fat product with an invitation to “go skinny-dipping.”

San Onofre Beach Threatened

AANR is currently supporting efforts by the Friends of San Onofre Beach and the Naturist Action Committee to preserve the tradition of clothing-optional use of this beautiful beach in California following an announcement of plans by state authorities to prohibit nudity there effective this June. Yesterday Debra Sue prepared a CapWiz dispatch sent to nearly 8,000 subscribers explaining how to help and a rally on the beach is planned tomorrow. We appreciate this opportunity for all within the nudist and naturist community to come together in support of San Onofre.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator

We are still getting pick ups from The New York Times article as well as the Nakation pitch. We also sent out a press release regarding the cost of the baggage when flying “Don’t Know What To Do About the Cost of Extra Luggage on Your Next Flight?)

Steve and I set up a booth at the I-75 Welcome Center last weekend as part of our partnership with Visit Florida. This gives us a chance to educate folks visiting Florida and sharing information about the Florida clubs that may be near their destination.

Debra Sue Stevens, Government Affairs

Thank You Letter from Oregon Senator Vicki Walker who ran for Secretary of
State:

Dear American Association for Nude Recreation,

Before we close our campaign doors, I wanted to thank everyone for your generous support over the past several months. Unfortunately, big ideas did not triumph over big money in this campaign, but it was definitely not for a lack of hard work or support from all of you.

We were outspent 4 to 1, but I believe we made the most of our available resources. Amanda and Sara were incredible assets to the team, and everyone gave what you could to ensure Oregonians would have able and determined leadership in Salem. From endorsements to financial contributions, to letters to the editor, to distributing literature to your friends and neighbors — I am truly grateful for your tremendous support!

I am so proud of the campaign we ran! We had a good, strong message that resonated with people who heard me speak, and we used ideas like my Counting for Oregon plan as the fuel for our campaign. Ideas like campaign finance reform, accountability for corporate tax subsidies, meaningful and balanced initiative reform, building confidence in our electoral system, sound investments in our Common School Fund and wise trust land management. I will continue to work on these and many other issues in the months ahead, and you can always count on me to hold government and candidates accountable for the promises they make to the people of the state of Oregon.

I leave this race with the dignity and confidence with which I began. I have served my community well over the past decade, and I thank them for their overwhelming support in this election. And while I have not been given the opportunity to take my work to a larger platform, I am grateful for the years I have been able to give everyone a seat and a voice at the table.

Again, thank you for your support and I hope to see you all in the future!

Regards,
Vicki Walker

AANR-NW Participates “Down by the River”

Submitted by: Shirley Gauthier-Oregon GAT Chair

The Glassbar Island Nude Beach Volunteers (GINBV) www.glassbarisland.org hosted their first AANR affiliated SOLV “Down by the Riverside” event this year. Their first SOLV cleanup was on May 19, 2001. An article in the local paper listing the accomplishments of the event provided the numbers for the group to estimate they cleaned up 2% of the total removed from all of Oregon. AANR is fortunate that GINBV chose to affiliate with AANR and that they brought such a solid history of partnering with SOLV and the Oregon State Parks Department with them.

A recent fire at Glassbar left a portion of the area blackened. Paul Tollenaar, the Park Ranger for Southern Willamette Management Unit presented GINBV with twenty-five pounds of wild grass seed to replant the area.

Ranger Paul brought the huge dump truck and volunteers completed litter patrols, completed invasive species patrols, and completed trail maintenance.. Trail maintenance in the area involves removing a lot of blackberries. You might have to be an Oregonian nudist to vision the work that involves.

AANR-NW hosted “Down by the Riverside” at Rooster Rock State Park nude beach. Forty-one volunteers participated to complete litter patrols, work on invasive plant removal, transplant trees and complete train maintenance.

AANR volunteers traveled great distances to participate and fulfill the AANR adoption commitments. The expense of gasoline makes this a huge contribution that volunteers contribute along with their time and energy. A huge thanks you to you all.

Volunteers In The Gorge (VIG) ( www.volunteerinthegorge.org) who has a history of working with AANR-NW at Rooster Rock showed up in numbers to lend their efforts. VIG volunteer Jim barbecued over sixty hotdogs at the end of the workday. AANR-NW dues paying members paid for the hotdogs, buns, condiments, cookies and paper products. AANR promoting and supporting nude recreation on public lands in Oregon has contributed to our gain in membership. Promoting AANR on public lands has shown a positive increase to club membership in AANR-NW. AANR-NW Government Affairs Team values the time, energy and commitment from our AANR and AANR-NW dues paying members.

If you would like to keep informed of activities in AANR-NW please go to http://www.aanr-nw.org and subscribe to the AANR-NW enews. All beach events are posted on this venue.

AANR Participates “Down by the Riverside”
Submitted by: Shirley Gauthier-Oregon GAT Chair

Down by the Riverside” is a statewide program organized by SOLV. If you were to go to the www.SOLV.org web site, you would read “SOLV is a non-profit organization that brings together government agencies, business and individual volunteers in programs and projects to enhance the livability of Oregon. Governor Tom McCall and other community leaders established SOLV in 1969 when they saw the need for community action to address growing problems in the every-growing state. They saw the need for community action to address growing problems in the ever-growing state. Today SOLV is building on their vision with a strategic plan that will guide us as we work to preserve this treasure called Oregon.”

The “Down By The Riverside” event was started in 1996 after record floods required a statewide event to organize much-needed volunteers.

This year on May 17 Down by the Riverside was exciting because SOLV collaborated with OPB and The Nature Conservancy and aired a documentary “The Silent Invaders” about invasive species this spring. Take Care of Oregon Day occurred simultaneously with Down By The Riverside and was coordinated by SOLV, Rural Initiatives, Inc. and Oregon Volunteers. AANR-NW has ordered three of the “The Silent Invaders” DVD’s provided by SOLV for a small fee to provide to our volunteers.

Currently AANR-NW holds the Adopt-A-River adoptions for Sauvie Island Nude Beach and Rooster Rock Nude Beach. Glassbar Island Nude Beach Volunteers a newly affiliated AANR non-landed club holds the SOLV adoption for Glassbar Island Nude Beach. Oregon is well represented by AANR by partnering with SOLV and their adoption programs.

The Glassbar Island Nude Beach Volunteers (GINBV) www.glassbarisland.org hosted their first AANR affiliated SOLV “Down by the Riverside” event this year. Their first SOLV cleanup was on May 19, 2001. An article in the local paper listing the accomplishments of the event provided the numbers for the group to estimate they cleaned up 2% of the total removed from all of Oregon. AANR is fortunate that GINBV chose to affiliate with AANR and that they brought such a solid history of partnering with SOLV and the Oregon State Parks Department with them.

A recent fire at Glassbar left a portion of the area blackened. Paul Tollenaar, the Park Ranger for Southern Willamette Management Unit presented GINBV with twenty-five pounds of wild grass seed to replant the area. Ranger Paul brought the huge dump truck and volunteers completed litter patrols, completed invasive species patrols, and completed trail maintenance. Trail maintenance in the area involves removing a lot of blackberries. You might have to be an Oregonian nudist to vision the work that involves.

Rick Hammond GINBV’s webmaster mentioned that temperatures in the nineties brought out a very diverse group to the area on cleanup day. GINBV President David Rosenblatt said “because we do work projects everyday on SOLV day each member has their own area they go work on and needed no directions to get started for the day.” Doug Dane said, “New people who participated in the end of the day barbecue were welcomed by GINBV.”

AANR-NW hosted “Down by the Riverside” at Rooster Rock State Park nude beach. Forty-one volunteers participated to complete litter patrols, work on invasive plant removal, transplant trees and complete train maintenance. AANR volunteers traveled great distances to participate and fulfill the AANR adoption commitments. The expense of gasoline makes this a huge contribution that volunteers contribute along with their time and energy. A huge thanks you to you all.

Rachael Pecore of Columbia River Keeper’s (CRK) ( www.columbiariverkeeper.org) posted our AANR beach event in their newsletter that contributed to our volunteer numbers. Columbia Riverkeepr’s mission is to restore and protect the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. “Friend of AANR” Mark Buchweitz attended the CRK adoption training and adopted Sauvie Island and Rooster Rock through the Columbia River Keeper adoption plan. We value our partnership with CRK and appreciate their promoting our event at Rooster Rock.

Volunteers In The Gorge (VIG) who has a history of working with AANR-NW at Rooster Rock showed up in numbers to lend their efforts.

During the winter of 1999, the Oregon State Police and the Oregon State Parks met to discuss several ongoing issues and foreseen needs in relationship to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. It was recognized by the two agencies, that a vast multitude of other local, state and federal agencies maintain a vested interest and/or are charged with the overall protection and preservation of this unique natural and valued historic area. In review of the known needs for the area, a grass roots plan was developed to create a group of citizen volunteers to begin operating within the area. It was mutually agreed, in a handshake agreement, that both agencies would begin to organize a multi-agency volunteer project.”

It was Oregon State Police Sergeant Craig George now retired who first met with AANR and Oregon State Parks Dept Assistant Area Manager Kevin Price in the year 2002 that approached the Volunteers In The Gorge to partner with AANR at Rooster Rock State Park. At the time Sergeant George was the lead advisor for the VIG group. We are proud to say that Craig George is now an AANR member actively working to support AANR-NW in Montana. It was Craig George who built the changing bench at the entrance to the nude beach at Rooster Rock.

VIG volunteer Jim barbecued over sixty hot dogs at the end of the workday. AANR-NW dues paying members paid for the hotdogs, buns, condiments, cookies and paper products.

A wonderful surprise was to have VIG volunteers Tammy and Jeff Hillyard who joined AANR and the Willamettans after the first VIG/AANR partnered beach cleanup. Tammy recently had a double mastectomy and missed a beach cleanup so we were excited to see her feeling like participating again.

Marvin Bragdon was quite the AANR ambassador. Marvin met a young father and his daughter while working and invited them back to the barbecue. When the father wanted to make a financial contribution to our efforts it was suggested he consider joining AANR and join us for the next AANR-NW beach cleanup at Rooster Rock on August 2, camping visit to Mountaindale Sun Resort that evening and a trip to Sauvie Island on August 3.

AANR promoting and supporting nude recreation on public lands in Oregon has contributed to our gain in membership. Promoting AANR on public lands has shown a positive increase to club membership in AANR-NW. AANR-NW Government Affairs Team values the time, energy and commitment from our AANR and AANR-NW dues paying members.

If you would like to keep informed of activities in AANR-NW please go to www.aanr-nw.org and subscribe to the AANR-NW enews. All beach events are posted on this venue.

SOLV “Down by the Riverside” Cleanup

Rooster Rock State Park

May 17-9AM Sharp

 

Join us “Down by the Riverside” at Rooster Rock State Park May 17 for SOLV’s annual  statewide cleanup event.   State Park Operations Team Lead Glenn Littrell has asked that we meet at the main entrance at 9am sharp for the group photo that will include all volunteer groups..  This will not be a nude photo. 

 

All you need to bring is your own water, refillable container and desire to have a good time.  SOLV furnishes the nice reusable work gloves and the park department supplies the necessary tools and garbage bags.

 

AANR-NW dues paying members are furnishing the hotdogs, condiments, and cookies for the barbecue following the cleanup.