Issue 604

Thu, 12 Dec 2013 09:37:06 -0800

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

      A publication of Bureau of Land Management in California

      Issue 604- 12/12/13   -   Visit us on Facebook --
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  THIS WEEK IN NEWS.BYTES:

  - Free Offer: Monthly Planner

  - America's Great Outdoors

  - Solar Energy

  - BLM Social Media Pages

  -
  Trivia Question of the Week

  - Upcoming Events

  - 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/2013/604.html

    FREE
OFFER!  BLM California 2014 Monthly Planner

      Celebrating America's 50th Anniversary of the National Wilderness Preservation System, this monthly planner features stunning photographs of BLM California Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas. 

        Giveaway Rules:

          Giveaway begins Friday, December 13, at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific Time).

          Limit one per person.

          This giveaway is open to members of the public. 

          BLM employees are ineligible to participate.

          http://www.blm.gov/ca/forms/offers/index.php?issueReq=604

    AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS
    Crew Work on the Pacific Crest Trail 

    (News.bytes Extra) 

    Two crews from the American Conservation Experience recently completed trail work on the Spanish Needle Creek drainage section of the Pacific Crest Trail. The ACE crews and other volunteers put in over 1,000 hours of time to address erosion and safety concerns on the trail. 

    http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/604_extra_-trail_work.html

    National Public Lands Day Work Out

      (News.bytes Extra) 

      Arriving as strangers, leaving as a team, National Public Lands Day brought over fifty people together in a remote canyon in the Santa Rosa Mountains in southern California. 

      http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/604_Extra_WorkOut.html

        Wild Dune Walk - and Ride - About 

      (News.bytes Extra) 

      A group of hikers interested in burning off some Thanksgiving calories joined a BLM El Centro park ranger for a Take it Outside hike to the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness.

      http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/604_extra_-wild_dune.html

      What's Up, Buttercup? 

      (News.bytes Extra) 

      The unveiling of a new interpretive kiosk at the Buttercup Ranger Station (Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area) took place on the heels of a storm that dropped almost one-half inch of rain on the area. Not bad for an area with an annual total rainfall of 3 inches!

      http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/604_extra_-whats_up.html

    SOLAR ENERGY
      Feds Plan Scrutiny of Effects of Valley Solar Projects 

      (MyDesert, 12/11/13) 

      With two large-scale solar projects on public land east of the Coachella Valley now pumping power onto the grid, the BLM is developing a plan to monitor the long-term effects of solar development in the desert.

      http://www.ca.blm.gov/blld
      Desert Land Near Arizona Border Targeted for Solar Development 

        (National Public Radio, 12/11/13) 

        The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is hosting a couple of public meetings in Palm Springs this week that could set a course for the future of large scale solar development on federal land. 

  http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201312110850/c
      U.S. Bureau of Land Management Seeks Input on Solar 

        (Desert Sun, 12/08/13) 

        BLM has scheduled a two-day public workshop starting Wednesday in Palm Springs to discuss the strategy it is developing for monitoring the environmental impacts of large-scale solar projects on public land east of the Coachella Valley. 

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

        RELATED: BLM California Solar 

          (BLM Website) 

          On public lands, solar development for large-scale electricity projects is just beginning, but the future looks bright. 

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

    On BLM Social Media Pages....
      BLM California Facebook: National
Public Lands Day Event at Lower Rock Creek Trail.  The BLM Bishop Field Office partnered with the US Forest Service, Friends of the Inyo, Fat Bike Mammoth and the International Mountain Bike Association partnered to... 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/5kld

        BLM Imperial Sand Dunes Facebook: Plank Road: how the dunes were won...

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

                BLM National Facebook: MONUMENT
MONDAY- California Coastal National Monument Celebrates 14th Anniversary. 

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

TRIVIA QUESTION of the WEEK

    Microphylls...

      (a) are plants with a symbiotic relationship with phytoplankton

      (b)  are micro-sized leaves

      (c) reproduce by means of spores

      (d)  b and c

      (e) all of the above

    See answer - and more wildlife stories - near the end of this News.bytes.

    SELECTED   UPCOMING EVENTS

    Dec. 11 and 12: BLM to host Riverside East Monitoring and Adaptive Management Public Workshops 

    (BLM News Release) 

    BLM hosting a workshop to discuss the Riverside East Solar Energy Zone Monitoring and Adaptive Management Strategy. 

    http://www.ca.blm.gov/0kld

            Dec. 14: Fossil Canyon Dog Hike

        (BLM Facebook) 

        Bring your well-behaved best friend and join a BLM Park Ranger for an easy hike in Fossil Canyon. 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/2kld
      Dec. 21: Old Woman Wilderness to Celebrate Anniversary of Wilderness Act 

        (BLM News Release) 

        BLM Needles Field Office invites the public to participate in the Old Woman Cabins Hike in the Old Woman Wilderness. 

    http://www.ca.blm.gov/zkld
    Jan. 8- 9, 2014: Public Meetings Scheduled for Soda Mountain Solar Project in San Bernardino County 

    (BLM News Release) 

    The BLM has scheduled two public meetings for public comment on the Soda Mountain Solar Project's draft environmental documents. Meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Comfort Suites, 2571 Fisher Blvd.,
Barstow. 

    http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/december/CDD-14-14-SodaMountain.html

    HEADLINES and HIGHLIGHTS      
      Corridor Management Plan Seeks Scenic Byway
Designation for Route 66 

(Needles Desert Star, 12/11/13) 

Members of the California division of the Bureau of Land Management and the California Historic Route 66 Association met  Dec. 3 as part of a multi-day tour of The Mother Road. 

http://www.thedesertstar.com/articles/2013/12/11/news/local/news881.txt

        RELATED: Historic Route 66 

          (BLM Webpage) 

          Officially established on November 11, 1926, US Route 66 began in Chicago, Illinois and terminated in Los Angeles, California a distance of 2,448 miles. It was one of the original highways in the US highway system, and probably the most famous. 

          http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles/route_66.html 

      Hiker Finds Mysterious Mountain Lights Above Palm
Springs 

        (MyDesert, 12/11/13) 

        A BLM official says the lights could be removed if they turn out to be placed on federal land. Palm Springs City Manager David Ready says the city would probably let them be... for now. 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/clld      
      The 'Unique' Work of Bureau of Land
Management Law Enforcement Rangers 

        (Imperial Valley Press, 12/08/13) 

        "El Centro is really dynamic because the workload here is really diverse," BLM Chief Law Enforcement Ranger Nathan Mendes said. "A lot of people see us during the high-visibility times at Glamis during the holidays but that's only a small part of our function here."  

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

        RELATED:  VIDEO: Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Rangers Handle Unique Position in Desert 

          (Imperial Valley Press, 12/08/13) 

        http://www.ca.blm.gov/9kld

    NATIONAL, OTHER STATE AND DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR ITEMS
    DOI VIDEO: Here's What Happened This Week (DOI YouTube)
... water rights issues in the Klamath Basin area see real progress, we get a peek at Lythronax argestes (A.K.A., 'The King of Gore of the Southwest'), and the National Christmas Tree Lighting. 

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3DSeDkmfmM

    TRIVIA answer and related websites

    Microphylls...

      (d) b and c

Photo Credit: C.H. Lamoureux 

          RELATED: Definition of a microphyll

          (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) 

          A leaf (as of a club moss) with single unbranched veins and no demonstrable gap around the leaf trace. 

        http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microphyll
        RELATED: Lycophyta: The leaves of lycophytes are microphylls

          (UC Berkeley Website) 

          http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/plants/lycophyta/lycomm.html
        RELATED: Wild Dune Walk - and Ride - About 

        (Newsbytes Extra)

        BLM lead a group of hikers through the biologically diverse microphyll woodlands on the east side of the dunes. 

        http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsbytes/2013/604_extra_-wild_dune.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/

We appreciate feedback. Send comments to the News.bytes team at:

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