Issue 601

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 10:44:06 -0800

Title: News.bytes, issue 593 - BLM California - 02-28-13

      A publication of Bureau of Land Management in California

      Issue 601- 11/21/13   -   Visit us on Facebook --
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  THIS WEEK IN NEWS.BYTES:

  - Free Offer- Wilderness 50 Map

  - 
  Renewable Energy

  - On BLM Social Media Pages

  -
  Wildlife Trivia Question of the Week

  - Upcoming Events

  - Oil and Gas

  - Headlines and Highlights: Assorted topics from your public lands in California

  - 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/2013/601.html    

    Free Wilderness 50th Anniversary Map 

        (BLM Web Form)

        One free map will be given to the first 500 individuals to complete the online request form (non-BLM employees). Map includes designated Wilderness Areas around the country. 

  http://www.blm.gov/ca/forms/offers/index.php?issueReq=601 

    RENEWABLE ENERGY
      SOLAR: Final Environmental Documents Released for Stateline Project 

      (The Press-Enterprise, 11/15/13) 

      Federal land managers have issued the final environmental documents for the proposed 300-megawatt Stateline Solar Farm on public lands in northeastern San Bernardino County. The BLM's preferred alternative for the project has been pared down from 2,143 acres to 1,685 acres.  

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/gjld

        RELATED: Stateline Solar Farm Project 

        (BLM Website) 

        Information about the project and federal coordination process. 

        http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles/stateline_solar_farm.html
        RELATED: BLM Releases Final Environmental Documents for Proposed Stateline Solar Farm 

          (BLM News Release) 

          First Solar Development Inc. has applied to the BLM for a right-of-way on public lands to construct the proposed photovoltaic Stateline Solar Farm. 

          http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/november/CA-CDD-14-7.html      

              Documents Suggest Palen Solar Power Project is "A
Done Deal" 

        (KCET, 11/19/13)

        The original version of the Palen plant never won approval by the Department of the Interior, which owns the land the project would be built on, and the BLM's parallel environmental assessment process is ongoing;  the public comment period on the Palen project's Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement ended on November 14, and the BLM is now collating those comments to include in a Final SEIS. 

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/mjld

        RELATED: Palen Solar Electric Generating System 

          (BLM Website) 

          General information about BLM's the Palen project and public comment process. 

  http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/palen_solar_electric.html

      Should the Precautionary Principle Shut Down Wind Turbines?

        (Discover, 11/18/13)

        The question of whether the wind industry is being kinder to wildlife is a pertinent one. And one answer, according to research published in the December issue of Bioscience is no. A new study concludes that in 2012 "over 600,000 bats may have died as a result of interactions with wind
turbines."

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/cjld
      How Solar Power and Desert Ecosystems Might Get Along 

        (Sierra Wave Media, 11/19/13) 

        Jim Kenna, the Director for the California BLM, told the audience that this is going to be a very long-term process lasting until 2040. The state has a baseline goal of 20,000 megawatts. He went on to explain the challenges facing California's energy needs with the closing of the San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Plant and the Mojave Power Station.

        http://www.sierrawave.net/27453/how-solar-power/
      DRECP Kicks Off "Complicated" Process 

        (The Sheet, 11/15/13)  

        The Inyo County Board of Supervisors hosted a public meeting at the Independence American Legion Hall on Tuesday evening featuring representatives from the county, state, and federal government to inform the public of the state's Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) which,
according to their website will help provide effective protection and conservation of desert ecosystems while allowing for the appropriate development of renewable energy projects. The BLM and few others are known as the Renewable Energy Action Team...

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/tjld

    On BLM Social Media Pages....
      BLM California Facebook Photo:  

        You don't have to go to the gym for squats and lifts. Get outdoors! Bruce Cann, Arcata Field Office Outdoor Recreation Planner and Izaak get their exercise pulling beach grass at a National Public Lands Day event with Friends of the Dunes and the California Conservation
Corps.

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/qjld
      BLM California Facebook Photo Album: 

        Photos of BLM's National Public Lands Day Events around the state. 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/wjld      
      BLM California Facebook Photo Album:  

        DRECP National Conservation Lands

http://www.ca.blm.gov/vjld      

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION of the WEEK

    Match the following animals to their collective group name. 

      1.  Bighorn sheep

      2.  Raccoons

      3.  Quail

      4.  Crows
      (a) Murder

        (b) Band

        (c) Covey

        (d) Nursery

    See answer  near the end of this News.bytes.

    SELECTED   UPCOMING EVENTS

    Dec. 4:  BLM Resource Advisory Council to Discuss Sage Grouse Conservation 

        (BLM News Release)

        Members of the BLM's Northeast California Resource Advisory Council will review and comment on a draft environmental impact statement on conservation of greater sage-grouse and their habitat.

    http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/november/rac-sagegrouse.html

    OIL AND GAS
              California's Governor Releases Proposed Rules for
Fracking 

        (The LA Times, 11/16/13) 

        The much-anticipated proposed rules for fracking, which some state officials have described as the toughest in the nation. Kathryn Phillips, state director of the Sierra Club, which is an environmental group against fracking, said that they wanted a moratorium on fracking, but instead got a
"mixed bag." 

            http://www.ca.blm.gov/ljld

        RELATED: BLM California Oil and Gas Program

          (BLM Website) 

          The BLM manages 15.2 million acres of surface and 47 million acres of  mineral estate in California. Every day more than 500,000 barrels of oil are produced in California.  As a state, California is the fourth largest oil producer. 

  http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/prog/energy/og.html

              Reacting to California's Proposed Fracking Rules 

        (Santa Barbara Independent, 11/15/13) 

        The Center for Biological Diversity, which successfully got the federal BLM to rescind some sales of underground mineral rights related to fracking in Monterey County, was even more pointed in their criticism of the new rules. 

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/hjld

    HEADLINES and HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing for Berryessa Snow Mountain Conservation Area Designation 

      (Lake County News, 11/20/13)  

      The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a  hearing on the proposed Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area. 

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/3jld 

                RELATED: The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act 

        (US Senate Website) 

        The bill would permanently protect 350,000 acres of public lands located less than one hundred miles from Sacramento and the Bay Area, including thousands of acres in Lake County. Supporters say that protecting this region will provide well-managed recreation opportunities and user
education while safeguarding the region's natural beauty, sensitive areas, and wildlife and rare plants. 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/4jld      

      Judge Signals End of Coast Dairies Suit 

        (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 11/20/13) 

        Superior Court Judge Rebecca Connolly said she would dismiss a lawsuit brought by Bonny Doon neighbors over the highly anticipated transfer. While a final order is still being polished, conservationists say they're looking forward to the BLM formally taking over the property, which has long
been closed to the public.  

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/yjld
      Santa Clarita Officials Take Part In Hearing On Cemex Bill 

      (KHTS AM, 11/20/13) 

      The BLM would be called upon to sell about 10,000 acres in San Bernardino County, the value of which would be used to compensate Cemex for the value of their land.

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/xjld

        RELATED: BLM Testimony on the the Soledad Canyon Settlement Act 

        (US Senate Website) The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to cancel two valid existing Federal mineral contracts in Soledad Canyon, California, and to compensate the contract holder for the value of its cancelled contracts with public funds. 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/1jld 

      Nevada Council Debates Plans in Sage Grouse Fight 

        (KTVU, 11/18/13) 

        A Nevada council hoping to prevent the listing of sage grouse as a protected species debated its next moves just weeks after federal agencies identified preferred alternatives. Some members of the Sagebrush Ecosystem Council and others said the alternative preferred by the BLM and U.S.
Forest Service is not much different than what the state proposed last year. 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/fjld

        RELATED: BLM Interns Study Sage-Grouse Behavior and Habitat Preferences 

        (Archived Newsbytes Extra) 

        As part of their Conservation and Land Management internship, two recent college graduates have been following the elusive sage-grouse...

        http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/599_extra_-blm_interns.html 

      La Quinta High
School Public Service Academy Visits National Monument 

        (News.bytes Extra)

Over 80 PSA high school juniors recently spent time experiencing the outdoors with the Friends of the Desert Mountains at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The students were treated to volunteer led hikes that included the monument's Carrizo and Dead Indian Canyons.  

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/601_extra_-la_quinta.html
              Desert Cleanup at the
Bellflower Mine 

      (News.bytes Extra) 

      The BLM's California Desert District  received directed one-time funds for a solid waste cleanup at the Bellflower Mine. The project resulted in over 300 yards of solid waste removed from the site in early November.  

      http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/601_extra_-desert.html
      Bighorn Sheep Numbers Way Down 

        (The Press-Enterprise, 11/12/13) 

        Only a fraction of the bighorn sheep typically seen in a Mojave Desert mountain range was spotted during a recent helicopter survey, a sign that a deadly pneumonia outbreak has taken a significant toll on the population. 

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/pjld

        RELATED:  Do You Want to Know More About Bighorn Sheep? 

        (BLM Website) 

        People frequently ask, "What is the science related to the alternative proposals and actions being suggested to support bighorn sheep recovery?"  This site includes some short summaries of literature related to human interactions with bighorn sheep. 

        http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/whcbighorn.html

    NATIONAL, OTHER STATE AND DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR ITEMS
      This Week at Interior November 15, 2013 

      (DOI YouTube) 

      Department of the Interior hosts the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference' it's thumbs up for the high-voltage transmission project Gateway West.  

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4iCmsHeMzs

    WILDLIFE TRIVIA Answer 

    Match the following animals to their collective group name.

1.  Bighorn sheep = (b) Band

2.  Raccoons = (d) Nursery

3.  Quail = (c) Covey

4.  Crows = (a) Murder

        RELATED:   Animal Congregations, or What do You Call a Group of...?

        (USGS Website)

          http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm

        RELATED: Animal Group, Young Names, and Male/Female Names

        (Dictionary.com Website)

          http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/styleguide/animal.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

http://www.blm.gov/ca/

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