A publication of Bureau of Land Management in California
Issue 588 - July 18, 2013
THIS WEEK IN NEWS.BYTES:
- America's Great Outdoors
- On our Facebook pages
- On our other social media pages
- Not for educators only: Wildlife trivia question of the week
- Wild horses and burros
- Headlines and highlights: Assorted topics from your public lands in California
- Selected upcoming events
- National and Department of the Interior items
If this message does not show up properly in your email, you can see it online at:
www.blm.gov/ca/news/newsbytes/2013/588.html
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 AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS
 "Improvements Completed at Battle Creek Boating Access Area" (BLM, 07/15/13)
Outdoor enthusiasts who use the Battle Creek area for hiking and water sports will find new amenities, with the recent completion of parking area renovations, a new trail and toilet facilities.The Bureau of Land Management and California State Parks' Department of Boating and
Waterways cooperated on the project funded by DBW's water access fund. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife also cooperated in renovating the river access site. http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/battlecreek.html
 "Islands In The Sky: Tales From The Pacific Crest Trail"
(The Back Forty, 07/12/13)
Imagine setting aside several months of your life, free from the rat race, free from the daily commute, free from paying the bills, free from the oppressive bonds of daily commitments, and trading it all for discovery and adventure.For hundreds of hikers each year, that is the
life they choose as they traverse the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, otherwise known as "the PCT," stretching longitudinally mostly through mountain crests along the West Coast from the Mexican border to Canada. http://www.kcet.org/news/the_back_forty/commentary/concrete-and-chaparral/islands-in-the-sky-tales-from-the-pacific-crest-trail.html
RELATED: "Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail" (BLM Ridgecrest Field Office)
The BLM manages 180-miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, primarily in the south half of the state. This trail boasts some of the greatest elevation changes in the National Scenic Trail System and is popular with thousands of hiker and equestrian users.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ridgecrest/pct.html
"Fort Ord National Monument Expanding in 3 Weeks"
(The Monterey County Herald, 07/15/13)
The Fort Ord National Monument is set to grow by another 60 acres in three weeks. The Army will hand over a rabbit-shaped plot of open space - nearly in the center of the monument's eastern half - to the Bureau of Land Management. Originally, the land was supposed to be given to the
county to use as a parking lot for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca."No one wants a giant parking lot in the middle of the national monument that is not serving the monument," said Eric Morgan, manager of the monument. http://www.ca.blm.gov/k8kd
 RELATED:
"Fort Ord National Monument" (BLM Hollister Field Office)
The Fort Ord National Monument holds some of the last undeveloped natural wildlands on the Monterey Peninsula.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/hollister/fort_ord/index.html
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ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGES...
 ...Generation Green students give Bureau of Land Management - California State Director Jim
Kenna, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and Forest Service Associate Chief Mary Wagner a tour of the Camp Smokey Fire Prevention and Green Dream Partnership Exhibits at the California State Fair. https://www.facebook.com/blmcalifornia
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ON OUR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES...
 ..."Summer in America's Great Outdoors," where we're asking folks to submit their favorite photos from
their visits to America's National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and other public lands. Let's show everyone the diverse range of activities one can do on America's public lands!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/summerago/pool/
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NOT for EDUCATORS ONLY:
Pacific tree frog - from a photo by U.S. Geological Service
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WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION of the WEEK:
The Pacific tree frog can be difficult to spot. Why?
(a.) They are usually in the trees.
(b.) They fly from treetop to treetop, hidden among the leaves.
(c.) They change color with the seasons, making them harder to spot.
(d.) They can quickly change colors to match their backgrounds.
(e.) Contrary to their names, they spend most of their time underground.
(f.) When a Pacific tree frog feels threatened, it imitates an Atlantic tree frog, thereby confusing the viewer.
See answer near the end of this News.bytes. |
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 WILD HORSES AND BURROS
"Wild Horses Get New Homes" (KSBW 07/13/13)
Dozens of wild horses and burros are looking for new homes this weekend, as the Bureau of Land Management brings its adoption program to Taylor-Made Farms in San Martin.
http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/hollister-gilroy/wild-horses-get-new-homes/-/5738758/20968914/-/faoagz/-/index.html
"Future of Wild Horses Locally is in Peril: Eviction Noticed Served for July 15"
(East County Magazine, 07/14/13)
Plans to restore San Diego's heritage herd of wild horses to public lands is in peril. An eviction notice has been served on the nonprofit organization that recently found and brought back the last descendants of San Diego's original wild horses. The Coyote Canyon nonprofit
wants to restore the herd to federal public lands run by the Bureau of Land Management.
http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/13599
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HEADLINES and HIGHLIGHTS
 "Steve Nelson Named New Bishop BLM Manager"
(Sierra Wave Media, 07/16/13)
Steve Nelson has been named manager of the Bureau of Land Management's Bishop Field Office.The Bishop Field Office manages over 750,000 acres of public land surface and about 2 million acres of subsurface mineral estate in the eastern Sierra region of central California."Steve
brings a breadth of professional knowledge and extensive practical experience to the field manager position in Bishop," said Este Stifel, BLM Central California District manager.
http://www.sierrawave.net/25545/steve-nelson-named-new-bishop-blm-manager/
"World Wide Web" (News.bytes Extra)
Cub Scout Troops 9 and 15, of Yuma, AZ, began their summer of conservation by first learning the fundamentals - gaining some knowledge on what to conserve and why. A BLM El Centro Park Ranger visited the scouts and gave them some insight on the "what's and why's" through an
interactive activity known as the "Web of Life." The Leave No Trace (LNT) exercise is commonly used to illustrate to young children the tangled nature of life.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/588_extra_-_world.html
"Daredevil, BLM in Dispute Over Downed Stunt Cable" (Auburn Journal, 07/17/13)
A 4,000-foot length of quarter-inch cable is at the center of a dispute with the Bureau of Land Management that Squaw Valley daredevil Mike Wilson has already lost a federal court case over. Wilson said that the cable cost him about $30,000 and he wants it back. Jeff Horn, a
lead outdoor recreation planner with the bureau, said that the much of the cable is suspended between two trees 250 feet in the air and will require a chopper with a grappling hook to move it out of the steeply walled canyon. Horn said that the public needs to understand the impact of what he
considers a "selfish, ill-conceived stunt" and the waste of government money that has resulted from it. http://www.ca.blm.gov/l8kd
"Response Action to Begin at the Descarga Tailings Impoundment Site"
(News.bytes Extra)
The Rand Historic Mining Complex ("RHMC") is the subject of ongoing investigation by the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") to determine the nature and extent of contamination resulting from historic mining and milling activities in the area. One of the areas being investigated
in the RHMC is the Descarga Tailings Impoundment ("Descarga"), located on public land just a half-mile west of the old mining town of Randsburg near U.S. Highway 395, in Kern County.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/588_extra_-_response.html
 "Glamis: Off-road Fee Increase up for Discussion in Riverside"
(The Press Enterprise, 07/17/13)
A proposed fee increase for the Glamis off-roading area will be discussed in Riverside during a July 27 meeting of the Bureau of Land Management's Desert Advisory Committee. Under a new business plan for what is officially known as the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, the
BLM would increase weekly use fees by $10, to $35, and season permits by $60, to $150. The added fees would help close a $1.5 million budget gap and maintain public safety services in the 214,700-acre area, officials said. http://www.ca.blm.gov/m8kd
"BLM Ukiah Field Office to Temporarily Close Two Areas for Rally Car Race"
(BLM, 07/15/13)
The Bureau of Land Management will temporarily close Walker Ridge Road and the South Cow Mountain Off-Highway Vehicle Area to general recreation use and through traffic to provide for public safety during the Mendocino Rally Car
Race. Walker Ridge Road in the Indian Valley Recreation Area will be closed on Saturday, July 20.The South Cow Mountain OHV Area will be closed to the public from Saturday, July 20 through Sunday, July 21, but spectators will be allowed at the Westside Staging Area.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/rallycarrace.html
"BLM Public Land Mining Claim Fees Due in September" (BLM, 07/12/13)
The deadline for filing annual mining claim fees with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is Tuesday, September 3, 2013. All mining claimants who wish to retain mining claims on federal public lands through 2014 must pay a maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver
certificate on or before September 3, 2013. Claimants will now pay the maintenance fee (currently $140) for every 20 acres or portion thereof, contained in the placer mining claim. The maintenance fee for other types of claims -- lode claims, mill sites and tunnel sites -- continues to be $140 per
claim or site.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/miningclaimfees.html
"BLM Initiates Environmental Assessment and Plan Amendment to Evaluate Disposal of Land in Needles" (BLM, 07/08/13)
The Bureau of Land Management announced plans to evaluate the possible sale of interest held by the United States in 50 acres of land conveyed to the City of Needles in 1966.The Notice of Intent published today initiates the public scoping process to identify specific issues to
be addressed in a proposed 1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment and associated Environmental Assessment. The BLM anticipates that the EA will consider both the plan amendment and the possible subsequent sale, or sales, of the federal reversionary interest and has identified
local land uses as the primary preliminary issue of concern. http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/disposalofland.html
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NATIONAL, OTHER STATE AND DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR ITEMS
 "Big-nosed, Long-horned Dinosaur Discovered in Utah"
(Eureka Science News, 07/17/13)
A remarkable new species of horned dinosaur has been unearthed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, southern Utah. The newly discovered dinosaur, belonging to the same family as the famous Triceratops, was announced in the British scientific journal, Proceedings of
the Royal Society B. Nasutoceratops was discovered in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), which encompasses 1.9 million acres of high desert terrain in south-central Utah. This vast and rugged region, part of the National Landscape Conservation System administered by the
Bureau of Land Management, was the last major area in the lower 48 states to be formally mapped by cartographers.
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/07/17/big.nosed.long.horned.dinosaur.discovered.utah
RELATED: "Grand Staircase Escalante-National Monument" (BLM Utah)
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/grand_staircase-escalante.html
"Bureau of Land Management and NACD Renew Their Partnership" (BLM, 07/16/13)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) renewed their longstanding partnership with signing of a cooperative agreement that supports both organizations' work in natural resource management. The Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) is intended to form a framework for cooperation that supports the organizations' common goals and interests in managing, developing, and protecting federal and private land and water resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/bureau_of_land_management.html
Worsening Drought Impacts Western Rangeland on Public Lands" (BLM, 07/14/13) Drought conditions across the West have impacted rangelands, leaving little water and forage for animals and livestock, prompting the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) to undertake targeted actions, such as providing supplemental water and food for wild horses; reducing grazing; and enacting fire restrictions. Hot, dry conditions continue to persist west of the Mississippi River, with at least 15 states experiencing drought.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/worsening_drought.html
"This Week at Interior" (Department of the Interior, 07/12/13)
A partnership between Federal agencies to protect wildlife, help farmers, and enable military readiness; a discussion in Washington DC on diversity and inclusion in the Federal workplace; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues grants to 20 states to aid endangered species and
their habitats; and a ceremony on the National Mall as special lights illuminate the Washington Monument. http://youtu.be/szhYYimrC6s
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SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS
July 27 - "BLM, E. Clampus Vitus to Dedicate Historic Monument at Steel Bridge, Trinity County" (BLM, 07/15/13)
A monument marking the site of a historic gold mining feature along the Trinity River will be dedicated in a public ceremony Saturday, July 27, at noon, at the Steel Bridge boat ramp near Highway 299 in Trinity County. Staff from the Bureau of Land Management's Redding Field
Office and members of Trinitarianus Chapter 62 of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E. Clampus Vitus will conduct the ceremony at the site of the old Steelbridge Siphon.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/july/steelbridge.html
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News.bytes published by
Bureau of Land Management
California State Office
2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1834
Sacramento, Ca 95825
(916) 978-4600
www.blm.gov/ca/
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