BLM California News.bytes Issue 685

Title: Untitled Document

California Coastal National Monument Point Arena-Stornetta Unit

ISSUE 685 - 7/30/2015

- Veterns
- Youth
- Discover the Desert
- Headlines and Highlights
- BLM and DOI Highlights
- Wildlife Question of the Week
- Upcoming Events

VETERANS

BLM Folsom Lake Veterans Fire Crew

The fourth fire season is in full swing for the BLM Folsom Lake Veterans’ Fire Crew. The firefighting crew of military veterans is based in the Sacramento area and was established in 2012 through a new program focused on providing firefighting jobs for veterans. (Newsbytes Extra)

Project Healing Waters Comes to Grass Valley Creek Area

The tranquility of Grass Valley  Reservoir west of Redding, Calif. provided the ideal setting July 22, for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, an  outing for disabled veterans.The Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers hosted the event in which five veterans had a rare opportunity to cast flies onto the glass-smooth surface of the reservoir. (Newsbytes Extra)

YOUTH

Nicks Interns

Nick’s Interns doing another great job on public lands! Thank you Nick’s Interns! (BLM Facebook)

Generation Green Improves Greenwood Trail for Hiking Enthusiasts

As the morning dawned on Thursday, July 23rd, the Generation Green Crew from Grant Union High School prepared themselves to wrap up their week by completing the much needed staircase at the Greenwood Creek Trail. In the past two months,the crew made up of high school juniors have had an extraordinary journey as they worked to restore popular sites like the Greenwood Creek Trail.  (Newsbytes Extra)

Congratulations to the Gold 8 Americorps Crew

Congratulations to the Gold 8 AmeriCorps crew with capping off a great 7 months! (BLM Facebook)

DISCOVER THE DESERT

Heart of the Mojave

Now I live in the trees. I live on the Pacific Coast. But I am a desert rat. I love to be out in wide open spaces, among the cactus and thorns. I love long shadows and desert peaks. I love lonely bajadas and napping, with my feet in the sun and my head in the shade.This spring, I visited the “Heart of the Mojave” managed by the BLM-Needles Field Office in California. What do you see in the desert? Here’s what I see – it’s always more than what first meets the eye. (BLM Tumblr)

Desert Discovery Center

Summer is a great time to load up the family for a road trip to America’s Great Outdoors. If you happen to be traveling through Barstow, CA stop at the Desert Discovery Center and you can catch the 11:30 a.m. “Animal Feeding.” The Desert Discovery Center (DDC) is surrounded by 12 acres of public land located in the heart of Barstow, California. (BLM Facebook)

Celebrate National Day of The Cowboy at Alabama Hills

These public lands have been used in many westerns including, The Lawless Range featuring John Wayne. The rugged environment is perfect for those western movies that we love so much. (BLM Facebook)

The Desert Inspires

A different view from the Return of the Jedi movie set. This scene was filmed in the Buttercup Valley of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The dunes have appeared in many movies over the years. (BLM Facebook)

RELATED: Discover the Desert

Patton in the California Desert

Santa Clarita Valley Signal, 7/23/2015
Have you ever traveled on I-10 between the California-Arizona border and Palm Springs and stopped for gas at Chiriaco Summit and wondered why there was a General Patton Memorial Museum there – in the middle of our desert? If you have never stopped there, I recommend that you do. In 1973, portions of Camp Iron Mountain were made a preserve. In 1979, a fence and interpretive sign were erected around the area, but the sign was soon vandalized. Read full story

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Sage-Grouse

Sage Grouse Initiative, 7/29/2015
On the California-Nevada state line, a genetically-distinct population of greater sage-grouse once faced a precarious future. Today, that’s changed. The conservation success story in the Bi-State region is due in large part to partners like the Bureau of Land Management’s Bishop Field Office, which recognized long ago that birds and habitats don’t stop at political boundaries. Read full story

In Drought, BLM Turns to Fire Tanks for Water Supply

Kolotv, 7/27/2015
The Bureau of Land Management has a vital new water source it can use to fight fires in areas hit hard by the drought. The agency has placed several 18,000 gallon water tanks in fire prone areas so firefighters don’t have to drive as far to refill their trucks with water. The move is part of the agencies ongoing mission to protect sage grouse habitat.Firefighters say the problem of not being able to find water is a result of the drought. In the last few years, they have noticed water sources they used to rely on have dried up. Read full story

BLM Staffs Preparing to Implement Sage Grouse Plans

Natural resource program managers and specialists from the Bureau of Land Management’s northeast California field offices are gearing up to put in place new plans designed to conserve sagebrush habitats important for the well-being of greater sage-grouse. (Newsbytes Extra)

Point Arena Named One of Twenty Best California Beach Vacation Spots

Sunset Magazine, 7/24/2015
California Coastal N.M., Point Arena. Added in 2014, the 1,665-acre Point Arena–Stornetta unit is the only on-land portion of the national monument, which extends 1,100 miles along the coast. Best access is from the pullouts on Lighthouse Road; signage is still iffy, but the blufftop trails are easy to follow and stunning. Read full story

Volunteers Improve Boulder Reservoir Campground

Anglers who love the remote setting of Boulder Reservoir in northwest Nevada can now enjoy new picnic tables and campfire rings thanks to the work of volunteers and members of Friends of Nevada Wilderness. A team of 10 volunteers spent the weekend of July 18 on the project. (Newsbytes Extra)

Rattlesnakes in California

We would like you to be aware while enjoying California public lands. This time of the year the chances increase for coming across critters like Rattlesnakes. Here is some great information from California Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding Rattlesnakes in California. (BLM Facebook)

Starry Night

A starry night over Tule Mountain Wilderness Study Area in California! (BLM Vine)

California’s Drought and the Battle for Medicine Lake

Yahoo News, 7/27/2015

Before Leonard Lowry, a 20-year-old boxing champion from Susanville, California, was shipped off to fight in the Pacific during World War II, his Pit River tribal elders helped him prepare for battle. They fixed him a medicine bag with root and tobacco and had him run the full 11km circumference of remote Medicine Lake for good luck. Read full story

Wind Farm Signs Deal with Edison

The San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/29/2015
Wind energy developer Iberdrola Renewables has signed a power contract to underwrite construction of an array of industrial-scale turbines along the McCain Valley of southeastern San Diego County, the company announced Wednesday. Southern California Edison has agreed to buy electricity from up to 67 turbines located mostly on public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, according to Iberdrola Renewables, a U.S. division of the Spanish energy company. Read full story

The Way We Pay for Wildfires Could be Making them Worse

The Washington Post, 7/28/2015

As a frightening story in Monday’s Washington Post shows, the American West is burning up. And the sad fact about wildfires is the more the West burns, the less money the federal government has to pay for it. In fact, the federal government hasn’t had enough money to pay for fighting wildfires in at least a decade. Read full story

Extreme Mustang Makeover Champions

2015 Idaho Extreme Mustang Makeover Champions from Napa California, Willow Newcomb and Truffles! Congratulations! (BLM Facebook)

Reward Proposed To Find Pilots Who Flew Drones Over California Wildfires

Yahoo News, 7/27/2015
San Bernardino County in California is set to begin offering a $75,000 reward for information on whoever flew drones over three recent wildfires. Read full story

Monitoring Wells to be Drilled near Mammoth Lakes

The Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office, in coordination with the Inyo National Forest Mammoth Lakes Ranger District, has approved construction of three groundwater monitoring wells near the town of Mammoth Lakes. The wells will be used to monitor groundwater conditions to provide increased assurance that geothermal resource development in Upper Basalt Canyon will not adversely affect the town’s groundwater supply. (BLM News Release)

Firefighters Battle Fast-Traveling Fire in Lake County

News10abc, 7/30/2015
The fire has consumed 8,000 acres by Thursday morning; there is no containment at this time. Fire is traveling a rapid rate of spread with forward spotting,” Cal Fire reported on its site. Read full story

RELATED: Rocky Fire Incident Information: Cal Fire

BLM AND DOI HIGHLIGHTS

This Week at Interior

My Public Lands Roadtrip Explores BLM Utah

First stop – an 8-mile round trip hike along ancestral puebloan ruins in southern Utah’s spectacular Cedar Mesa. At the Monticello Field Office, we met BLM-Utah archaeologist guide Cameron Cox for a behind-the-scenes trip through the South Fork of Mule Canyon – located halfway between Blanding and Natural Bridges National Monument. (BLM Tumblr)

My Public Lands Roadtrip Today Hikes to Corona and Bowtie Arches Near Moab, Utah

The roadtrip heads a mile and a half up Bootlegger Canyon to the sandstone Corona and Bowtie Arches. The short hike to the arches includes a pass by a large cairn garden, moki steps, and a short ladder climb that rewards with the first sight of the arches. (BLM Tumblr)

Forest Supervisor Tapped to Lead BLM’s National Conservation Lands Program

Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze today announced the selection of long-time public lands manager Kristin Bail to head the BLM’s 15-year old National Conservation Lands program in the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. Bail is currently the Forest Supervisor for the National Forests in North Carolina with the U.S. Forest Service. She will report to her new position September 6. (BLM News Release)

WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What is the running speed of the Greater Roadrunner?
a) 5 mph
b) 10 mph
c) 15 mph 
Keep reading for answer below

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 1: Second Annual Discover the Coast @ Point Arena

Join the local community at the second annual Discover the Coast @ Point Arena celebration with lighthouse tours, self-guided hikes, local food vendors, and an art fair. Explore at your own pace with a self-guided hike along 3.5 miles of coastal trail between the City Hall and Lighthouse Road. Visit stations staffed with docents to learn more about history, geology, botany and wildlife of the area. Discover the Coast @ Point Arena (BLMWebsite)

August 8: Painting in Nature is the Next Event in King Range Summer Outing Series: Artists who love the great outdoors will have the opportunity to capture the beauty of the King Range National Conservation Area in “Painting in Nature,” a plein air water color painting outing, Saturday, Aug. 8, from 3 to 7 p.m., at Black Sands Beach in Shelter Cove. Laci Coelho, a local artist, will lead the session. Coelho studied studio art and painting at the University of Montana. She participates in art shows, teaches art through Imagine Studios and has been a coordinator in the “Youth Alive!” mural project in Redway. (BLM News Release)

August 9: Nature Stories

Paul Woodland, Storyteller and Naturalist, will present the whit, whimsy and wonders of nature stories. All ages encouraged. The event will be held at the Headwaters Education Center, Elk River Trail, Headwaters Forest Reserve. For more information visit Headwaters Education Center Website.

August 11 Public Meeting Schedules Following Release of Route 66 Management Plan: The California Historic Route 66 Association (CHR66A) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California Desert District today released the Route 66 Final Draft Corridor Management Plan (CMP) for the section of Historic Route 66 between Needles and Barstow. (BLM News Release)

August 15: Falk History Walk

The Headwaters Education Center will have a history walk and talk about the history of Falk, a historic lumber mill town. The event will be held at the Headwaters Education Center, Elk River Trail, Headwaters Forest Reserve. For more information visit Headwaters Education Center Website. 

August 15: Learn about Forest Dynamics

Phillip Van Mantgem, USGS Research Ecologist, will discuss forest dynamics with an emphasis on climate change impacts, fire ecology and the management of forested ecosystems. The event will be held at the Headwaters Education Center, Elk River Trail, Headwaters Forest Reserve. For more information visit Headwaters Education Center Website.

WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER

What is the running speed of the Greater Roadrunner?

Answer c) 15 mph
Roadrunners prefer to travel by running on the ground, but they sometimes glide low to the ground for a couple hundred meters. Its running speed has been clocked at more than 15 miles per hour. The greater roadrunner lives all over the southwest desert, from California and northern Mexico east to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. It is typically found in desert scrub habitats.

SOURCE: BLM Wildlife Database

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