Sage- Grouse Sage- Grouse (Photo by Bob Wick, BLM) News.bytes, Bureau of Land Management California ISSUE 689 - AUGUST 27, 2015 - Sage-Grouse Conservation - Wild Horse & Burro Program - Renewable Energy - Headlines and Highlights - BLM and DOI Highlights - Wildlife Question of the Week - Upcoming Events SAGE-GROUSE Sage-grouse Habitat Conservation Key in Fighting, Recovering from Dodge Fire When the Dodge Fire broke out in thick sagebrush and dense stands of juniper trees in early August, firefighters and natural resource managers had one thought in common: minimize the impacts to habitat for greater sage-grouse in this rugged and remote corner of northeast California. (Newsbytes Extra)http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,ezna,9rsc,1bct,ijo3 Video: New Fire Strategies for Protecting Sage-Grouse Habitat The need to protect habitat for Greater sage-grouse played a key role in firefighting tactics during this summer’s Dodge Fire in remote and rugged Lassen County, California. Less than a tenth of the nearly 11,000-acre blaze burned priority sage-grouse habitat. Important islands of habitat remained intact thanks to this firefighting approach designed with sage-grouse in mind. (BLM YouTube) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,9h1j,fei5,1bct,ijo3 WILD HORSE & BURRO PROGRAM A horse and a man Inmate Trained Wild Horses Find Homes in Adoption Event Showing what they learned in four months of training with Sacramento County jail inmates, a group of seven wild horses put on a demonstration of manners and willingness at a special weekend adoption event in Rancho Murieta, and all found homes with Sacramento region families. (Newsbytes Extra) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,ggc0,m77,1bct,ijo3 Video: Inmates Use Empathy to Tame Wild horses Sacramento Bee, 8/22/2015 Joe Misner, the ranch manager for Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center’s Wild Horse Program explains how wild mustangs and prisoners have benefited from a new program where inmates train wild horses to become more adoptable. The horses were captured by the Bureau of Land Management for population control and are now up for auction after 120 days of training by inmates. Video by Autumn Payne. Music by Kevin MacLeod “Crossing the Divide” (See Video) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,dllf,iu03,1bct,ijo3 Inmate-trained Horses Auctioned in Rancho Murieta Sacramento Bee, 8/22/2015 Comet, a dark brown mustang mare, swished her recently groomed tail as she trotted around a show ring at the Murieta Equestrian Center on Saturday, stirring up dust for a crowd of curious bidders and spectators. She was one of seven in a unique crop of horses that was adopted this weekend – all the products of a Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center program that teaches inmates to train mustangs, horses formerly living in the wild. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,ivbu,m24n,1bct,ijo3 Wild Horses, Burros, Offered for Adoption in Salinas Residents of the Salinas area will have the opportunity to add a horse or burro to their families when the Bureau of Land Management brings its Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program to the Monterey Sheriff’s Posse Grounds, 395 Old Natividad Road, Salinas, on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 and 20. (BLM News Release) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,74g9,7tnw,1bct,ijo3 Related: Wild Horses and Burros (BLM Website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,5vge,80i0,1bct,ijo3 Related: National Wild Horse & Burro Program (BLM Website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,3yuk,k4p0,1bct,ijo3 Related: Adoption Schedule (BLM Website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,82gw,8p8g,1bct,ijo3 RENEWABLE ENERGY solar panels Interior Department Approves 485-Megawatt Blythe Mesa Solar Project in California As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, create jobs and move our economy toward clean energy sources, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the Blythe Mesa Solar project in California. The 485-megawatt photovoltaic facility will be constructed in Riverside County and will produce enough renewable energy to power more than 145,000 homes in California. (DOI News Release) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,5thg,5yrh,1bct,ijo3 Related: Blythe Solar Mesa Power Project (BLM Website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,4vb5,b0uc,1bct,ijo3 In Las Vegas, Obama Talks Energy, OKs Blythe Solar Farm The Desert Sun, 8/24/2015 The Obama administration announced more than $1 billion in funding and a flurry of new initiatives Monday to boost clean energy, including the approval of a massive solar project in Riverside County. Riverside County’s board of supervisors has already signed off on the 485-megawatt Blythe Mesa solar plant, which will be built near Blythe and will power more than 145,000 homes. The project’s transmission lines will cross federal land, meaning federal approval was still needed. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,exdr,mnh,1bct,ijo3 California Releases Application That Shows Projected Climate Change Impacts on Desert Ecosystems California Energy Commission Blog, 8/25/2015 During this week’s sold out California Climate Change Symposium, the California Energy Commission introduced an application that shows how climate change could alter California desert ecosystems and the natural range of species. (Read Full story ) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,ad6q,ll4g,1bct,ijo3 New Application Shows Projected Climate Change Impacts in California An application that shows how climate change could alter ecosystems in the California desert and the natural range of birds, fish, and mammals was released today by the California Energy Commission. The Climate Console provides information that can improve landscape-level planning to better account for climate change. It was developed by the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI)—which provides science-based solutions that support efforts to preserve biological diversity—and leverages Data Basin, a web-based geospatial data management and mapping platform. (California Energy Commission News Release) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,madm,ddlr,1bct,ijo3 Related: Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (Drecp.org) www.drecp.org/ the sun, aerial photo of solar power tower Desert Plan Balances Energy Needs, Conservation The Sun, 8/26/2015 The desert is hot right now — and not just because it’s August. Two proposals for managing California’s deserts are entering crucial stages, and a third just popped up. The one that covers the largest footprint is the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), which would apply to much of the desert portions of six counties — San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Inyo, Kern, Imperial and San Diego. This 9.8 million-acre plan, as big as that sounds, actually has been scaled down, not only in acreage but also in scope and inter-agency collaboration. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,3z5d,6c52,1bct,ijo3 Related: Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (BLM Website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,gok7,fmgy,1bct,ijo3 What the President’s Clean Power Plan Means for Wildlife Huffington Post, 8/24/2015 Today, energy sector leaders and visionaries are meeting in Nevada for the eighth annual national Clean Energy Summit. Public officials, policy experts, investors, industry executives, students and eager citizens will gather to listen to and discuss America’s most pressing and compelling energy and climate issues with panels of experts and innovators, teed up by President Obama himself…There is a right way and a wrong way to develop utility-scale renewable energy projects on public lands and I have seen both take place over the last few years. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,c2qk,bf0t,1bct,ijo3 HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS Group of people mixing and pouring concrete Volunteers Restore Guzzlers for Bishop Field Office Fifty-two volunteers from the Society for the Protection and Care of Wildlife completed a Water for Wildlife project in Bishop Field Office this summer to restore four wildlife drinkers (guzzlers) that were in dire of need of repair. (Newsbytes Extra) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,m0n8,j6dq,1bct,ijo3 Dog sniffs boat National Dog Day For National Dog Day we share with you Working Dogs for Conservation. Working Dogs for Conservation “…train the world’s best conservation detection dogs and put them to work protecting wildlife and wild places.” (BLM Facebook) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,jnbj,h4n2,1bct,ijo3 BLM Photographers shares Video of Milky Way Shining Over California’s King Range Yahoo News, 8/26/2015 The mountain peaks in King Range National Conservation Area, on the far northern California Coast, offer opportunities to get above the coastal fog for exceptional night sky viewing. Far from city lights, the area’s dark skies enable viewers to clearly see the Milky Way and a seemingly countless number of stars. Summer nights with a new moon are the best time to view the heart of the Milky Way — look for it in the southern sky. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,eran,1jk9,1bct,ijo3 Northern spotted owl in trees The Northern Spotted Owl Check out this #NorthernSpottedOwl on #WildlifeWednesday, discovered by BLM fisheries and wildlife intern, Corey Bower. Corey is with the American Conservation Experience program working on Northern Spotted Owl surveying and monitoring projects in the Redding Field Office. Spotted owls were listed in 1990 as a federally threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to loss of old-growth forest habitat. (BLM Facebook) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,m8sw,h7h7,1bct,ijo3 Firefighters do Haka for Crews Aiding in Wildfire Battle Fox 5 San Diego News, 8/24/ 2015 A group of firefighters showed their moves and thanked their shuttle crews battling the Horse Fire in a unique way. Video is getting shared online of a group of men showing their appreciation for the continuous support of people who have shuttled them to and from the Horse Fire burning in Northern California. About a dozen American Samoa crew members performed their Haka ritual beside a Cal Fire helicopter in the mountains near Fort Bragg. Haka is a traditional ancestral war dance of the Māori people of New Zealand. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,av9u,lacz,1bct,ijo3 Lost Coast Trail Reopens, Others Remain Closed due to Horse Fire The Bureau of Land Management has reopened the Lost Coast Trail in the King Range National Conservation Area, but other trails remain closed as fire crews continue to battle the Horse Fire northeast of Shelter Cove. As of Monday, Aug. 24, the following trails are closed for public safety: King Crest, Rattlesnake Ridge, Miller Loop, Lightning, Buck Creek, Horse Mountain Creek, and the Paradise Royale and Pacific Rim mountain bike trails. Read full story http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,8cb0,1fml,1bct,ijo3 BLM Public Land Mining Claim Fees Due in September The deadline for filing annual mining claim fees with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is Tuesday, September 1, 2015. All mining claimants who wish to retain mining claims on federal public lands through 2016 must pay a maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver certificate on or before September 1, 2015. (BLM News Release) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,dhpg,ixer,1bct,ijo3 Related: Mining Claims and Mills Sites (BLM website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,ctv7,f0p0,1bct,ijo3 Related: Mining Claim Filing Instructions http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,j4g1,6a7s,1bct,ijo3 Related: Online Payment Portal http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,cpzh,mgo6,1bct,ijo3 BLM AND DOI HIGHLIGHTS This Week at Interior August 21, 2015 Secretary Jewell mourns three U.S. Forest Service firefighters who died fighting a wildland fire near Twisp, Washington; for the first time since 2006 active duty military personnel are being mobilized to fight western wildfires; Interior releases its National Seed Strategy to help landscapes and habitats rebound from disasters; a new USGS study finds insecticides in large numbers of U.S. streams; Secretary Jewell visits the USGS’ Midwest Environmental Science Center; the final listening sessions on the federal coal program; and it’s a fee free day August 25 to help celebrate the National Park Service’s 99th birthday. (DOI YouTube) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,2h84,jqd9,1bct,ijo3 BLM Launches a Native Seeds Strategy for Damaged Landscapes High County News, 8/21/2015 >From the air, Steve Ellis could tell the Soda Fire burned hot. Flying thousands of feet above large swaths of burned sagebrush steppe last Sunday, Ellis, deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management, searched the Idaho landscape for islands of vegetation that might have survived the more than 283,000-acre blaze. He saw none. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,fy7k,bmoi,1bct,ijo3 neil kronze BLM Director Kornze Tours Soda Fire to Assess Sagebrush Restoration Idaho Statesman, 8/27/2015 The Soda Fire has become the first test of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s sage grouse fire initiative. The jury won’t be in until BLM managers show they can restore the thousands of acre of sagebrush steppe habitat burned. That’s why Neil Kornze, the Bureau of Land Management’s director, on Wednesday toured the land burned in the 279,000-acre fire with some of the team planning rehabilitation efforts. (Read full story) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,cqbq,hn7c,1bct,ijo3 The President Speaks at the National Clean Energy Summit President Obama delivers remarks at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, NV. August 24, 2015. (The White House website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,jgvt,k3zx,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK What is North America's largest bird ? a) Black Vulture b) Brown Thrasher c) Smiths Longspur d) California Condor Keep reading for answer below UPCOMING EVENTS August 29: Cosumnes River Preserve: Habitat Restoration Workday The Habitat Restoration Team is an opportunity to gain practical work experience in restoration and land management while helping to advance the Preserve’s goals to provide sustainable habitats for Central Valley plants and wildlife. Workdays are a great way to connect with the local environment and are ideal for individuals seeking service learning hours. To learn more about this event visit Cosumnes River Preserve webpage. http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,jx2,czad,1bct,ijo3 September 8: BLM Dumont Dunes Subgroup Public Meeting The Dumont Dunes Subgroup to the Desert Advisory Council (DAC) has scheduled a public meeting forTuesday, September 8, 2015 in Barstow from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (BLM News Release) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,kkku,3iv5,1bct,ijo3 September 11-12: BLM Desert Advisory Council to Meet in San Diego The next field trip and meeting of the California Desert Advisory Council will be held September 11-12, 2015 in San Diego. (BLM News Release) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,jfzo,enhz,1bct,ijo3 October 24: Twilight Tour Don’t miss the next Piedras Blancas Light Station living history tour, on the evening of October 24th. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience the light station at twilight, get a feeling for what life at the light station was like in the old days, and view the sunset. For more information about this event visit Piedras Blancas Light Station (BLM Website) http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,2810,izlm,1bct,ijo3 WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER What is North America’s largest bird? Answer: d) “The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is North America’s largest bird. With a wingspan of nearly 10 feet and a weight of 20-22 pounds, it commands the skies. The genus, Gymnogyps, means “naked vulture” referring to the bird’s bare head and neck. The name “condor” is derived from the Quechua “cuntur,” a name for the Andean condor of South America (Snyder and Rea 1998:32) SOURCE: BLM Wildlife Database http://www.elabs10.com/ct.html?ufl=0&rtr=on&s=x8pbwi,2brcj,3xn3,i2ug,3hkt,1bct,ijo3 News.bytes is a publication of the Bureau of Land Management California. Bureau of Land Management California State Office 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W1623 Sacramento, Ca 95825 (916) 978-4600 www.blm.gov/ca/
