News.Bytes A publication of Bureau of Land Management in California Issue 648-10/31/14- Visit us on Facebook -- Follow us on Twitter -- Share us with friends and colleagues! THIS WEEK IN NEWS.BYTES: - Happy Halloween - Discover the Desert - Renewable Energy - Headlines and Highlights - Wildlife Trivia Question of the Week - BLM and Department of Interior Highlights - Upcoming BLM California Events If this message does not show up properly in your email, you can see it online at: www.blm.gov/ca/news/newsbytes/2014/648.html HAPPY HALLOWEEN The Ghost Town of Bodie is Not the Only Thing that Feels Haunted (BLM Facebook). The high desert landscape has a haunting beauty that has inspired conservation partners, adventure seekers, and movie-makers from around the country. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,85tx,1iah,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: (VIDEO) The Haunting Remnants of America's Ghost Towns (CBS Morning News, 10/26/14) Barry Peterson takes us to abandoned towns with names like Bodie and Bonanza, where the population is zero (at least among the living!). http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,b81f,8o5o,1bct,ijo3 A Haunted Cabin (BLM Facebook) The Walker Cabin dates back to the mid-19th century gold rush period and is located in the Keyesville Recreation Area, west of Lake Isabella in Kern County, California. The cabin got its name from the infamous rough and tumble tenants; brothers who were often referred to as the "Shooting Walkers" http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,4s84,8mli,1bct,ijo3 BLM's Ghost Towns and Historic Spooky Places (BLM Tumblr) The BLM manages hundreds of historic sites on public lands, like homesteads, mining camps, and yes -- ghost towns. All week on social media, we'll feature BLM-managed ghost towns and historic places, using #BLMhistory. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,mnc,dyqi,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Photo Library of BLM's Ghost Towns and Spooky Places (BLM Flickr) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,czjc,zxg,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Photos of BLM's Ghost Towns and Spooky Places (BLM Pinterest) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,bm0y,7rsy,1bct,ijo3 Spooky Night Vision (BLM Facebook) It's not a horror movie scene, but a biologist's view through a night vision camera. "At the very edge of nightfall, movement appears in the dark mine shaft..." http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,fp72,hva5,1bct,ijo3 Nightmare at Mountain Rest (Funny.Bytes BLM YouTube) It was supposed to be a restful camping trip...until IT reared its ugly head. Is there no escape? http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,7msi,2mzt,1bct,ijo3 DISCOVER THE DESERT Bouncing Baby Voles Bring New Hope for One of North America's Most Endangered Mammals (News.Bytes Extra) Biologists recently determined that the endangered Amargosa vole had an 82% chance of going extinct within the next five-years, if immediate management actions were not taken. This year, BLM and a group of partners jumped into action creating the multiagency Amargosa vole team to rescue the tiny rodent living precariously in the rare marshes of the Mojave Desert. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,6y1o,7y2b,1bct,ijo3 Breeding Program May Save Desert Rodent (KCET, 10/28/14) An adorable desert rodent once thought extinct is suffering from the state's extended drought, but a university's captive breeding program may just keep the critter around a while longer. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,1s55,75pd,1bct,ijo3 UC Davis Researchers Try to Save Mojave Rodent (KCRA News, 10/23/14) University of California, Davis researchers working to save an endangered Mojave Desert rodent have successfully bred some of the animals in captivity. Drought, climate change and habitat loss have brought the vole to near extinction. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,5bi9,rg3,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Scientists Work to Save Endangered Desert Mammal (UCDavis, 10/23/14) Amargosa voles, small rodents that inhabit rare marshes of the Mojave Desert, have faced dire circumstances in recent years. Loss of habitat, extreme drought and climate change brought this subspecies of the California vole to near extinction, leaving only a few hundred clinging to existence. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,420o,a3yi,1bct,ijo3 The Lone Pine Film Festival and the Alabama Hills (BLM Facebook) We joined our gateway partners at the Lone Pine Film Festival to pay tribute to the extensive Hollywood heritage in the Alabama Hills. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,ityz,5w1q,1bct,ijo3 Thanks to Our Partners at United Desert Gateway (BLM Facebook) Thanks to the funding support from our partners at the United Desert Gateway, the historic Plank Road will have a paved parking area for the Centennial Celebration. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,3wep,1f32,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Plank Road (BLM Website) A short, fenced, 1500 foot stretch of dried, decaying wooden planks that run parallel to the modern Interstate 8 is the largest remaining section of the Plank Road. This wooden road once spanned the Imperial Sand Dunes, providing a means of commerce and transportation to the southern Imperial Valley. Its remnants are a testament to the American ingenuity that produced it. The plank road was the innovative, if somewhat unusual, solution to the needs of early automobiles crossing the sand dunes. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,k4bb,4jcq,1bct,ijo3 Webcast Scheduled to Solicit Comments on Route 66 Management Plan (BLM News Release) The California Historic Route 66 Association and BLM California Desert District will hold its fourth in a series of webcasts on Fri., Oct. 30 to solicit public comments on the tourism and marketing component of the corridor management plan for Historic Route 66 from Barstow to Needles, Calif. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,6uga,8siu,1bct,ijo3 Discover the Desert (BLM Website) BLM's Discover the Desert website focuses on connecting people with spectacular places and resources in the California desert by working with gateway communities and partners to identify opportunities for education and interpretation through the arts, sciences, tourism and recreation. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,rcj,3vbx,1bct,ijo3 RENEWABLE ENERGY BLM: North Peak Wind Application Withdrawn (Victorville Daily Press, 10/24/14) A land management official said she processed a request to withdraw an application for a wind-energy farm -- a major victory for opponents of the controversial project. If it had been approved, the proposed North Peak Wind Energy project would have featured dozens of industrial-sized windmills in the highlands south of Lucerne Valley and rural Apple Valley. BLM Barstow Field Office Manager Katrina Symons told a reporter and project opponents she "received and accepted" a request Friday to withdraw the application... http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,g09j,di62,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: BLM California Energy Resources (BLM Website) The BLM is playing a key role in achieving these goals. Many of the state's wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass resources can be found on BLM-managed public lands. The BLM allows access to these lands for renewable energy development, helping California reach a secure and reliable energy future. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,emy4,kiv8,1bct,ijo3 California's Renewable Energy Plan Misses the Point on Renewable Energy (KCET, 10/23/14) The massive, 6,000-plus-page draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan started its journey through the public comment period this week with at least one contentious public meeting. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,i7yc,m4oj,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Federal and State Agencies Announce Public Meetings for Draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (BLM News Release) The BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Energy Commission, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today the dates and locations of several public meetings for the draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,mfoj,fmag,1bct,ijo3 OTHER CALIFORNIA HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS Fish Slough Area of Critical Environmental Concern and A Collaborative Hands On The Land Program (News.Bytes Extra) Over 200 fourth graders in the Eastern Sierra got a special lesson on the natural history of Fish Slough, a BLM Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), through the Bishop Field Office's Hands on the Land program earlier this month. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,46mq,56gk,1bct,ijo3 Hike The Headwaters Forest Reserve (BLM Facebook) Hiking in the Headwaters Forest Reserve is pretty fantastic, but a guided hike with BLM's Park Ranger Julie Clark will take it to a whole new level of awesomeness. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,37k5,5ops,1bct,ijo3 Fort Ord National Monument National Public Lands Day Event (BLM Facebook) It's spooky how fortunate we are to have such great support from our partners. Thank you to all of our Public Lands Day/Make a Difference Day volunteers supporting work at the Fort Ord National Monument! http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,k1t7,5mkf,1bct,ijo3 Lake County Supervisors Vote to Protect Berryessa Snow Mountain Region (Lake County News, 10/24/14) Visitors and residents alike enjoy the scenic views, wildlife and vast recreational opportunities offered by the federal public lands of the Berryessa Snow Mountain region. The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted to support permanent protection for the federal public lands of the Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a national conservation area or national monument. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,errv,2gd4,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Cedar Roughs Wilderness Area (BLM Website) This area is a cooperative management area between BLM and the California Department of Fish and Game. It offers 6,350 acres for non-motorized recreational activities. It is adjoined to the 30,000 acre Lake Berryessa Recreation Area administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,c44z,gf05,1bct,ijo3 Take a Hike: Coalinga-Area Mountains Hold Hidden Treasure (The Fresno Bee, 10/22/14) A quiet 90-minute drive through westside farmlands and into the foothills and mountains brings visitors to the Coalinga Mineral Springs National Recreation Trail, a 2.5-mile hike to the summit of Kreyenhagen Peak that offers glorious views of the central San Joaquin Valley. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,7t0n,cjt3,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: Coalinga Mineral Springs National Recreation Trail (BLM Website) The trailhead is located across the creek from the Coalinga Mineral Springs County Park. Once on the trail, the visitor has over 2.5 miles of continuous trail to hike on which leads to the top of Kreyenhagen Peak. The trail width is between 18 and 24 inches, and 48 inches in hazardous areas to provide safety to the hiker and horseman. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,d4ew,7rop,1bct,ijo3 BLM Names Manager for Alturas and Surprise Field Offices (BLM News Release) Dennis A. Sylvia, an experienced natural resource manager with government and private sector experience, has been named field manager for the BLM's Alturas and Surprise Field Offices in northeast California. He will report to the position later this year. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,ekqe,apv1,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION of the WEEK What is unusual about the way that the pallid bat feeds? (a.) It grinds up food in its stomach with pebbles it has swallowed. (b.) It competes with vultures for desert carrion. (c.) It eats seeds, instead of the flying insects that most other bats eat. (d.) It eats mostly from the ground, including scorpions. (e.) It feeds off of nectar and cactus pulp, instead of insects. (f.) It places its little bat utensils to the left of its plate, while most bats place them to the right. ------> See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes. BLM and DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR Highlights Last Week at the BLM, Oct. 20-24, 2014 (BLM Tumblr) Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Connor on Friday, October 22, signed the final patent for the transfer of 10,170 acres of land to the Nunamiut Corporation, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporation for the village of Anaktuvuk Pass; Biologists recently determined that the endangered Amargosa vole had an 82% chance of going extinct within the next five-years, if immediate management actions were not taken, and more from BLM last week. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,l1yt,m0rs,1bct,ijo3 This Week at Interior (VIDEO): October 24, 2014 (DOI YouTube) As the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches, Interior agencies are tracking the progress of recovery on the East Coast; Secretary Jewell speaks at the National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation and more. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,2ka6,dv,1bct,ijo3 What is an Area of Critical of Environmental Concern (BLM Facebook) Did you know that Area of Critical of Environmental Concern are special management areas designated by #BLM to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural and scenic values; fish, wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes; or to protect human life and safety from natural hazards. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,2mr9,c27r,1bct,ijo3 Plan Ahead for Free Entry to Federal Lands Nov. 9-11 (Spokesman-Review, 10/27/14) Federal and state land managers offer fee-free entry days to parks, forests, BLM lands, refuges and other national interest lands where fees are charged on certain holidays scattered through the year. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,spd,4xsg,1bct,ijo3 SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS Oct. 27: BLM Plans Prescribed Burns North of Eagle Lake (BLM News Release) Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management plan to burn brush and limb piles on public lands east of Eagle Lake beginning the week of Oct. 27 and continuing through the fall and winter. Piles will be burned only on days when weather allows for safe and successful burning and smoke management. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,dllf,8qfj,1bct,ijo3 Oct. 30: Webcast Scheduled to Solicit Comments on Route 66 Management Plan (BLM News Release) The California Historic Route 66 Association and BLM California Desert District will hold its fourth in a series of webcasts on Fri., Oct. 30 to solicit public comments on the tourism and marketing component of the corridor management plan for Historic Route 66 from Barstow to Needles, Calif. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,m5us,3bjs,1bct,ijo3 Nov. 4: Follow the Youth Summit Activities (BLM Facebook) Follow the BLM, our partners, and participants on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram using the hashtag #cayouth. The 3rd Annual Youth Summit is on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm on the California State University campus in Sacramento, California. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,1hyv,71fl,1bct,ijo3 Oct. 20-Nov.13: Federal and State Agencies Announce Public Meetings for Draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (BLM News Release) The BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Energy Commission, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today the dates and locations of several public meetings for the draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,lkzq,22qp,1bct,ijo3 Sept.-Oct: BLM National Public Lands Day Events (BLM Webpage) NPLD is the largest volunteer event for America's public lands. It is held on a Saturday in late September when thousands of Americans volunteer to improve and enhance our nation's public lands. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,ce4q,fn98,1bct,ijo3 BLM Offering Firewood Cutting Permits at Lacks Creek near Arcata (BLM News Release) The Bureau of Land Management is offering firewood permits for a designated wood cutting area in the Lacks Creek area northeast of Arcata. Permits will be available beginning Monday, Nov. 3, at the Arcata Field Office, 1695 Heindon Rd. in Arcata. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,hjwx,c16j,1bct,ijo3 Dec. 13: Carrizo Plain National Monument Advisory Committee Plans December Meeting. (BLM News Release) The BLM's Carrizo Plain National Monument Advisory Committee will meet Dec. 13, 2014 to discuss scoping of a proposed travel management plan for the monument. Monument staff will present the proposed plan and provide an update on the implementation of the area's resource management plan during the meeting. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,i5yy,6bse,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE TRIVIA ANSWER and Related Information What is unusual about the way that the pallid bat feeds? ANSWER: (d.) It eats mostly from the ground, including scorpions. SOURCE: "Pallid Bat - Antrozous pallidus" (BLM California wildlife database) This is one of the few bat species that specializes in eating off the ground rather than in flight. As a result, their diet is quite different from other bats.... http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22eed,3xn3,k877,d9bw,1bct,ijo3
