A publication of Bureau of Land Management in California Issue 667-3/27/2015- Visit us on Facebook -- Follow us on Twitter -- Share us with friends and colleagues! THIS WEEK IN NEWS.BYTES: - Discover the Desert - Discover the Coast - Headlines and Highlights - Wildlife Question of the Week - BLM and Department of the Interior Highlights If this message does not show up properly in your email, you can see it online at: http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,khns,83eq,1bct,ijo3 DISCOVER THE DESERT California Conservation Corps (BLM Facebook) A 10-member all-veterans conservation corps is kicking off of a two-week project March 24 to restore wildlife habitat and improve signage within the Black Mountain Wilderness near Barstow, CA, thanks to a grant from Edison International made to the Conservation Lands Foundation. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,2t,m84d,1bct,ijo3 Planting Seeds For Change (BLM Facebook) On a crisp Fall day, two Palm Springs third graders spent the day at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains participating in a BLM outdoor science workshop learning how to measure transpiration of plants. Sprinkled with time, a growing curiosity, adjacent natural habitat and an encouraging teacher, the now fifth-grade boys, Jonathan Franco and Carlos Mendez, have teamed up to enter their project, Going Going Gone, into the Palm Springs Unified School District Science Fair. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,755i,cokh,1bct,ijo3 Bishop Field Office Welcomes Spring (BLM Facebook) Spring is officially here, and apparently, we aren't the only ones who have noticed! Sarah Purcell, a bilogical technician in the Bishop Field Office, came across this herd of 38 mule deer while patrolling in Long Valley. Not a bad day at work! http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,254h,j9tx,1bct,ijo3 Get To Know The El Centro Field Office Park Rangers (BLM Tumblr) Park Rangers from the El Centro Field Office are tasked with the demanding job of providing visitor and emergency services to approximately one million public land visitors each year across the Sonoran Desert in southeastern California. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,8y3q,arw2,1bct,ijo3 The Mother Road: The Iconic Route 66 Opens Up The California Desert To Visitors(BLM Tumblr) In the heart of the California desert, between the towns of Barstow and Needles, stretches a 320-mile ribbon of history, most of which traverses public lands and serves as a symbol of the pioneering spirit of emigrants coming West and an icon of American freedom and mobility. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,ha9z,66a8,1bct,ijo3 O is for Ocotillo (BLM Facebook) This Sonoran Desert species makes it into southern California along the Colorado River. Its bizarre, tentacle-like branches are unmistakable, and sport small leaves and these beautiful red flowers in the spring. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,9c2f,3aom,1bct,ijo3 Discover the Desert (BLM Website) The desert offers a variety of ways to discover nature, adventure and travel. Opportunities are only limited by your imagination - wildlife and wildflower viewing, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, rock hounding, scenic drives, off-highway vehicle adventure and much more. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,ehnu,aie3,1bct,ijo3 DISCOVER THE COAST King Range Connects with Youth, One Cut At A Time (BLM Tumblr) I was able to connect with a group of young people who were out touring northern California on a place-based service learning trip. What's that you may ask. Place-based highlights a particular area and the particulars of an area. Each spot on our earth is different and each spot has its own story. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,lqlr,1bud,1bct,ijo3 California Conservation Corps at Point Arena (BLM Facebook) What do you get when you combine young people with an opportunity to learn more about conservation based careers? You get safer, more beautiful public lands and warmth for local seniors! From March 2nd to March 5th, a crew of young men and women from the California Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to improve visitor safety and reduce fire danger at the Point Arena-Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument (CCNM).http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,dw2s,cw01,1bct,ijo3 Fort Ord (BLM Facebook) On March 21st, the Fort Ord National Monument was honored to host a 13 mile and 26 mile commemorative hike with soldiers and families from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), Presidio of Monterey. The Bataan Memorial Death March was organized by the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,figy,l4xl,1bct,ijo3 California Coastal National Monument (BLM Instagram) A spectacular interplay between land and sea... The California Coastal National Monument comprises more than 20,000 rocks, islands, exposed reefs, and pinnacles along the 1,100 miles of California's coast. The scenic beauty and important wildlife habitat within the Monument are protected by the Bureau of Land Management as National Conservation Lands. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,cj4m,1lr,1bct,ijo3 Spring Has Sprung Along the California Coastal National Monument (BLM Tumblr) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,599m,bjdp,1bct,ijo3 CALIFORNIA HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS BLM California Cultural Resources Annual Meetings (BLM Extra) During the week of March 9th the BLM California Archaeologists gathered in Redding for the annual Protocol Training and the Society for California Archaeology (SCA), 49th Annual Meeting.http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,bdty,ieir,1bct,ijo3 Hikers, Environmentalists Weigh In On BLM Land Exchange (The Desert Sun, 3/22/2015) Cynthia Williams wrote to the federal Bureau of Land Management weeks ago, making sure her concerns about a possible land swap with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians were heard. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,3cpn,ji0n,1bct,ijo3 Obama Administration Unveils Fracking Rules for Federal Lands (San Francisco Chronicle,3/20/ 2015) The Obama administration issued the first federal mandates governing hydraulic fracturing on public land Friday, triggering an immediate lawsuit from oil industry groups and a pledge by congressional Republicans to undo the regulation. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,7ai4,iqu8,1bct,ijo3 Antonovich Applauds BLM for Considering Withdrawal of Cemex Permits (Santa Clarita Valley Signal, 3/21/2015) Los Angeles County Mayor Michael D. Antonovich applauded the Bureau of Land Management's decision to consider withdrawing its conditional approval of the Cemex mining company's contract to operate in the Soledad Canyon area. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,1b3o,276t,1bct,ijo3 Ribbon-Cutting Scheduled Next Week For New Butte Creek Bridge (Orovillemr.com, 3/26/2015). A ribbon-cutting has been scheduled for April 3 for the new bridge over Butte Creek at Forks of Butte. The bridge links the Skyway on the upper Paradise ridge with Highway 32 via Powellton Road, Doe Mill Road and Garland Road.http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,9e0i,k7vx,1bct,ijo3 BLM Consolidates Field Offices in Far Northeast California (BLM News Release) Bureau of Land Management field offices in the northeast California communities of Alturas and Cedarville have been consolidated into a single organization.The newly-named Applegate Field Office will be headquartered at the BLM's current Alturas location, 708 West 12th St. .http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,86on,ddy,1bct,ijo3 Cadiz Creates Land Trust For Desert Tortoise (The Sun, 3/21/ 2015) Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc. has created a 7,400-acre sanctuary in the eastern San Bernardino County desert for protection of desert tortoise and its habitat-the largest such set-aside in California. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,fuw7,8me5,1bct,ijo3 Check Out What Happened Last Week At The BLM: March 16-20 (BLM Tumblr) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,6hbr,a9ta,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK What is a Bisons diet? a) fish b) grasses c) deer d) birds ------> See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes. UPCOMING EVENTS March 31: BLM Advisory Council to Meet by Video Teleconference http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,lsik,sfr,1bct,ijo3 April 3: BLM, Communities will Celebrate New Bridge (BLM News Release) Community residents from rural areas of Butte County will join officials from the Bureau of Land Management Friday, April 3, to celebrate opening of a new bridge over Butte Creek and completion of other road and bridge improvement projects.http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,1ucz,fce,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE TRIVIA ANSWER What is a Bisons diet? Answer: Bison mainly eat grasses and sedges.Known for roaming great distances, bison move continuously as they eat. The females, or cows, lead family groups. Bulls remain solitary or in small groups for most of the year, but rejoin the group during mating season. SOURCE: Basic Facts About Bison (Defenders.org)http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2700n,3xn3,8ej7,3sz8,1bct,ijo3
