News.Bytes A publication of Bureau of Land Management in California Issue 649-11/06/14- Visit us on Facebook -- Follow us on Twitter -- Share us with friends and colleagues! THIS WEEK IN NEWS.BYTES: - BLM Youth Initiatives - Discover the Desert - Areas of Critical Environmental Concern - 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/2014/649.html BLM YOUTH INITIATIVES BLM California Youth Summit 2014 (News.Bytes Extra) Representatives from the BLM-California and Sacramento State University joined over 500 'youth influencers', partners, agency representatives and volunteers for the Third Annual California Youth Summit - Connecting Youth to America's Great Outdoors. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,dhfr,9ho,1bct,ijo3 BLM California Youth Summit Success (BLM Facebook) It was a successful day at the 3rd Annual California Youth Summit. Over 400 participants including conservation partners, volunteers, and students from around the state attended. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,bdw4,fsl5,1bct,ijo3 VIDEO: BLM California Youth Summit (BLM YouTube) Get inspired by the California Youth Summit and our short video highlighting the day's events. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,9ac7,clnh,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: The BLM California Youth Summit Twitter Conversation (BLM Twitter) A collection of tweets using the #cayouth hashtag during the California Youth Summit. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,6i6h,2ge7,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: 2014 California Youth Summit Facebook Photo Album (BLM Facebook) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,kxb6,5jc4,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: The California Youth Summit Flickr Photo Album (BLM Flickr) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,cycp,h7yv,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: The BLM California's Third Annual Youth Summit (BLM Tumblr) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,kn1s,lq0s,1bct,ijo3 Young People Volunteer to Maintain, Improve 30-year-old Creek Restoration Project (News.Bytes Extra) A team of young, enthusiastic natural resource professionals from the BLM's Alturas Field Office embarked on a mission to save Fitzhugh Creek. Their goal was to restore the Pit River tributary, reviving its long-lost ability to support wild trout. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,he7j,9a35,1bct,ijo3 Boy Scout Enlists Mule Team for Community Service Project on Public Land (News.Bytes Extra) When Lassen County Eagle Scout candidate Misha Babichenko decided to build and install scenic overlook benches along trails in the BLM's Coyote Bluff area northwest of Susanville, he faced a daunting challenge. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,koqo,1r0b,1bct,ijo3 Youth Perform the Wilderness Song to Celebrate Desert Wilderness (BLM Facebook) Get inspired by the "Wilderness Song" as it is performed by a group of students exploring the California desert through outdoor educational activities and the creative arts. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,6exp,j9fa,1bct,ijo3 SCA Interns Arrive in Ridgecrest (BLM Facebook) The 2015 Student Conservation Association recruits have arrived at the BLM Ridgecrest Field Office! 23 students from southern California, around the country, have joined BLM for the next six months to assist with habitat restoration work. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,fhvr,dljq,1bct,ijo3 Federal Agencies Team Up to Help Steward Public Lands in California (BLM News Release) The BLM in California and the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Pacific Region signed a Memorandum of Understanding signifying their ongoing efforts to work collaboratively to engage youth on public lands in California. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,5skk,gal4,1bct,ijo3 DISCOVER THE DESERT The Desert Shapes America's... (BLM Facebook) This month, discover how the desert has helped shape America's history, heritage, and culture. The desert shapes the way people live, from the historic travel routes of California's first people, to settlers, our military and the people who call the desert home today. Come Discover the Desert! http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,kr4y,1arm,1bct,ijo3 Take a Trip Back to Patton Camp (BLM Facebook) As Veterans Day approaches we invite you to take a trip back in time to 1942 when 18,000 desert square miles from Pomona, California to Phoenix, Arizona were used as a training center for 1 million young Americans. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,3zj6,4gkd,1bct,ijo3 Under the Desert Sun: Journey through the California Desert (National Geographic, 11/06/14) I wake this morning to the smell of rain. A desert long-denied, in the throes of an historic drought, was breathing its creosote-scented sigh of relief. In the eastern United States, where I live, rain doesn't provoke an olfactory response. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,fyoz,m3ic,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,22m03,3xn3,rcj,3vbx,1bct,ijo3 AREAS OF CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN Areas of Critical Environmental Concern: 5 Things You Should Know (BLM Tumblr) ACEC are areas within existing public lands that require special management to protect important and relevant values. Here are 5 things you need to know about BLM's planning process and ACEC... http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,18ej,s9l,1bct,ijo3 RELATED: The BLM's ACEC Process (BLM Facebook) Did you know that You have a say in how your public lands are managed. The cornerstones of our planning process are public input and local community involvement. You can participate by attending public planning meetings and reviewing and submitting comments on draft land use plans. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,9s7b,lei1,1bct,ijo3 Amboy, California, Became a Nearly Empty Ghost Town in California's Mojave Desert in the 1970s (BLM Tumblr) Amboy Crater Area of Critical Environmental Concern is an extinct cinder cone located just off of historic Route 66 between Barstow and Needles - the area was bypassed by Interstate 40 in the early '70s. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,5rvh,koqv,1bct,ijo3 Visit Bodie Hills Ghost Town in California (BLM Tumblr) Bodie is the largest unrestored ghost town in the country, according to an interpretive guide and historian at the Bodie Foundation. The Bodie Bowl ACEC is managed by the BLM and located in the Bodie Hills, near Bridgeport, Calif. The Bodie Bowl provides habitat for numerous wildlife species... http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,1dfz,gtul,1bct,ijo3 Trona Pinnacles ACEC (BLM Facebook)The geologic features of BLM's Trona Pinnacles Area of Critical Environmental Concern create a #spooky, other-worldly location for Halloween. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,j3mk,m7sn,1bct,ijo3 OTHER CALIFORNIA HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS Weaverville Community Forest Partnership Project (BLM Facebook) A nice success story about our Weaverville Community Forest partnership with the Trinity County Resource Conservation District was published in the fall edition of "The Resource," the official publication of the National Association of Conservation Districts. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,m7zo,7mr2,1bct,ijo3 Public Hearing on Desert Plan Scheduled Thursday (Daily Bulletin, 11/05/14) There will be a public hearing Thursday night on the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, a historic planning effort covering more than 22 million acres of the California desert. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,f7g,i79q,1bct,ijo3 Federal and State Agencies Announce Additional Public Meeting 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 the addition of a public meeting for the draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement. The additional meeting will be held Wednesday, November 19, in Joshua Tree, CA http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,f9e6,243l,1bct,ijo3 Guest Commentary: Now is The Perfect Time to Visit California's Protected Coast (Contra Costa Times, 11/14) Earlier this year, the California Coastal National Monument expanded to include land onshore as well. With the support of local communities, President Barack Obama added the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands in Mendocino County to the California Coastal National Monument. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,53cj,5vd6,1bct,ijo3 BLM Teams up Yuba Watershed Institute to "Save the Big Trees" (BLM News Release) The BLM has joined forces with Nevada City-based Yuba Watershed Institute to put on a volunteer workday to protect old growth trees from wildfire. This will be the third workday, protecting over 100 old growth trees from fire through the work of volunteers so far. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,ieel,er4g,1bct,ijo3 BLM Issues Interim Final Supplementary Rules for Kanaka Valley (BLM News Release) The BLM's Mother Lode Field Office is requesting public comments on proposed new rules affecting 695 acres of public land known as Kanaka Valley in El Dorado County. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,6wgi,70hk,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION of the WEEK One way to learn about owls is to examine "pellets." What are pellets, and what can they tell us? (a.) Pellets are tiny round balls of feather bits that stick together as the owl grooms itself; chemical analysis can tell us what pollutants the owl has been exposed to. (b.) Pellets are round bits of excrement; they can tell us what the owl eats. (c.) Pellets are round growths on the backs of young owls' legs, which fall off as they age; scientists do not know yet what they can tell us. (d.) Pellets are bits of prey that owls cannot digest and regurgitate, they can tell us what the owl eats. (e.) Pellets are round balls of mud that burrowing owls use to build up the entrance to their burrows; the type of dirt in these pellets can help determine how wide a particular owl's range is. (f.) Pellets are the hides of animals that owls leave around their burrows, that tell us how large the prey they can overcome. (g.) Pellets are compressed sawdust, ground up corncobs, or other combustible materials including wheat, sunflower seeds and even cherry pits; they can tell us how this owl heats its burrow. ------> See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes. BLM and DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR Highlights Last Week at the BLM, Oct. 27-31, 2014 (BLM Tumblr) Four campanies were recognized for advancing the use of sustainable development in their work on public lands; Areas of Environmental Concern administered by BLM were highlighted by states across the country... http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,o3s,eh99,1bct,ijo3 This Week at Interior (VIDEO): October 31, 2014 (DOI YouTube) A new public-private partnership between Interior, The North Face, and the band My Morning Jacket to benefit the next generation of outdoor stewards; Secretary Jewell addresses the National Congress of American Indians in Atlanta... http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,do7a,3c19,1bct,ijo3 SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS Nov. 15: Education Collaborative Partners, Public will Work to Restore Habitat (BLM News Release) Young people involved with the Lassen County Educational Collaborative will be planting bitterbrush seedlings in areas burned in the Rush Fire, in a habitat restoration project open to the public on Saturday, Nov. 15. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,fmf0,5lfw,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,22m03,3xn3,mfoj,fmag,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,22m03,3xn3,i5yy,6bse,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE TRIVIA ANSWER and Related Information One way to learn about owls is to examine "pellets." What are pellets, and what can they tell us? ANSWER: (d.) Pellets are bits of prey that owls cannot digest and regurgitate, they can tell us what the owl eats. SOURCE: "Burrowing Owl - Athene cunicularia" (BLM California wildlife database) One way to learn about what owls eat is to examine "pellets." Pellets are comprised of prey remains that the owl cannot digest. These remains, bones for example, are regurgitated in the form of pellets. Includes links to sites with more information. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,22m03,3xn3,g9a,47rt,1bct,ijo3
