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Planets, stars, constellations and galaxies in the night sky are one of the free benefits for people who spend nights high in the Central Sierra, and for people who work and live beyond the reach of urban lighting.

The Forest Service used to offer astronomy programs at Bald Mountain Heliport. Stargazers say its a high point with no trees that offers near-perfect 360-degree panoramas of the heavens after dark.

But staffing and budget constraints have prompted Stanislaus National Forest administrators to cancel the astronomy star parties they used to host at the heliport.

Among those who are disappointed is amateur astronomer Rich Combs, 66, a resident of Strawberry and Livermore. He began coming to the Pinecrest area when he was a youngster in the late 1950s and 1960s. He remembers being inspired by a satellite passing over him in the night sky.

His affinity for the stars and astronomy stayed with him. He eventually hosted astronomy star parties for the Forest Service for more than a decade. An invoice from last year shows he got paid $120 a night for star parties at the heliport.

Combs contacted The Union Democrat and said today he doesnt care about the money.

Over the years, theyve offered me as much as $400 per presentation, Combs said Thursday. Thats what they told me some of their presenters get, and they asked me what I wanted to charge.

He charged $100, and thats what the Forest Service paid him for about 10 years. A couple years ago he started charging $120 a night.

I would be happy to do it for free if that would make any difference, Combs said. I hope the public understands heres what your money is not getting spent on.

Space race

Combs was born in 1951, and he remembers when he was about 8 years old the first time he attended Camp Gold, also known as Lair of the Golden Bear, an alumni camp for the University of California system, near Pinecrest and the Summit District Ranger Station.

Camp Gold is a family camp for alumni and their families, Combs said. Families almost always went the same week each year. We made friends that way. Combs family went from about 1959 to 1963.

Camp Gold is still there, off of Dodge Ridge Road and within walking distance of the Summit Ranger Station.

The first time Combs went to Camp Gold was for a week in August 1959, with his family. His father attended UC Berkeley, and he was a qualified alumnus. Combs remembers stargazing at dark night skies from a baseball field at the camp.

I was interested in astronomy since grade school, Combs said. I remember at Camp Gold going up and looking at a satellite, easily visible to the eye. My dad took to the family to a dark area near Camp Gold and a satellite had been predicted to be visible. We saw it go overhead. I was maybe 10 years old.

Combs said the satellite was called Echo.

This was in the midst of the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, and the Russians were beating the Americans.

In late 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite placed in orbit, and Sputnik II, which carried a small dog named Laika into orbit.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, created in 1958, was in its infancy. According to NASA historians, the agency launched an Echo I metalized balloon satellite Aug. 12 1960.

Echo satellites generated a lot of public interest in the early 1960s because they could be seen with the naked eye from the ground as they passed overhead.

In April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth once and became the first human in space. Less than a month later, Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space.

Bald Mountain Heliport

Bald Mountain Heliport opened in 1962, said Dave Phillips, helibase manager. Its a Forest Service facility on Forest Service land. Phillips said helicopter crews with Cal Fire and contractor PHI Air Medical also use the base when needed.

Shawn Estes, an information assistant at the Summit District Ranger Station, said summer interpretive astronomy programs at Bald Mountain probably began in the summer of 1975.

Combs says hes been an active amateur astronomer since 1980.

He said he remembers going to Bald Mountain Heliport for the first time about 15 years ago, when he saw an ad in the Stanislaus Traveler newsletter distributed by the Forest Service. Combs said they were looking for someone to help with astronomy programs at Bald Mountain Heliport, because the person who did it for several years was retiring.

Im an observer of stars, galaxies and other objects in the heavens, Combs said. I share my enthusiasm for astronomy with others through my club and through programs at schools, including Summerville High School in Tuolumne.

In addition to leading astronomy programs at Bald Mountain Heliport until this year, Combs says he hosts star parties at Summerville High in October each fall.

We usually try to schedule it around a crescent moon, Combs said. A crescent moon is easy to view but does not overwhelm the dark night sky, so people can see the moon as well as stars.

He said he met a Summerville High science teacher, Karen Wessel, at a star party at Bald Mountain Heliport. At Summerville High star parties, Combs said he organizes star parties on the tennis court at the school. Each year, 20 to 30 people attend, including students and family members.

Its convenient, and its usually dark enough we can see a reasonable number of objects in the night sky, Combs said. Its not as good as Bald Mountain, but its close.

Combs says he is also currently president of the club Tri-Valley Stargazers, based in Livermore.

Staffing and budget

Combs said he went to Summit District Ranger Station about two weeks ago because he had not received his annual invitation to host star parties at Bald Mountain Heliport.

Basically, I was told they were not going to be having the program this year due to a lack of staffing and a lack of funding, Combs said.

Estes confirmed that interpretive astronomy programs at Bald Mountain Heliport this summer have been canceled.

A night program like that, we have to have staff up there, Estes said. Its on a locked firefighting aviation facility. There needs to be supervision up there for public safety.

Like numerous other federal agencies, the Forest Service has faced a hiring freeze and budget cuts since President Donald J. Trumps inauguration in January.

In Tuolumne County, public affairs staff with the Stanislaus National Forest announced that, beginning this week, the front desk at the Mi-Wok Ranger District will be open just one day a week, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Friday.

The decision to open the Mi-Wok Ranger District front desk only on Fridays stems in part from staffing challenges and budget constraints, said Diana Fredlund with Stanislaus National Forest public affairs.

Asked for more details, Fredlund responded, Regarding the staffing challenges, the hiring freeze limits our ability to fill behind departures, whether its retirements or relocations. Flat or declining budgets for the past many years eventually impact our ability to provide services and reducing Mi-Woks front desk operating hours is one of those impacts. We cant discuss anything about future budgets until they have been voted on and announced by Congress and the White House.

In 2016 the overall budget for Stanislaus National Forest was about $20 million, Fredlund said. The 2017 overall budget is about $19.5 million. These numbers do not take into account special funding sources, like recovery from the Rim Fire, which may only be spent on recovery or management efforts directly related to the Rim Fire, or other grants that are designated for a specific purpose.

Combs said, I understand, but I kind of feel our government priorities are not in order. Were losing the chance to educate the public with a free resource, the night skies.

Contact Guy McCarthy at gmccarthy@uniondemocrat.com or (209) 588-4585. Follow him on Twitter @GuyMcCarthy.

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Forest Service cancels astronomy programs at heliport - Union Democrat