BLM California News.bytes Issue 706

Title: Untitled Document

California Coastal National Monument at Trinidad
ISSUE 706 - JANUARY 7, 2015
- Wildlife - Discover the Desert - Headlines and Highlights - BLM and DOI Highlights - Wildlife Question of the Week - Upcoming Events
WILDLIFE
	Breaking New Ground for Amargosa Vole Conservation The Amargosa Vole was first discovered in the marshes in and around the town of Shoshone back in 1891.  However, due to habitat loss from human endeavors such as burning the marshes to reduce flies, plowing for cattle ranching, and hog farming, the vole was considered extinct in 1917.  Fortunately, the animal was re-discovered in 1939 near the town of Tecopa approximately 6.5 miles south of the Shoshone site. (BLM News.bytes) Related: Land Owner Opens Her Property to Endangered Amargosa Vole  (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
	4,000-pound Elephant Seal Barges through Fence at Piedras Blancas The Tribune, 12/30/2015 Boardwalks, fences and other infrastructure at the roadside Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery north of San Simeon are designed to maintain protective distance between thousands of massive marine mammals and the hordes of people who stop to see the seals. Read full story Related: Piedras Blancas Light Station (BLM Website)
	National Bird Day! The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public lands in 23 states, with some of the nation’s most ecologically diverse and essential habitat for wildlife. This habitat offers unique wildlife and birdwatching opportunities as unique as the BLM-managed landscapes – from roadrunners to hawks and eagles to the California condor.  (BLM Tumblr)
DISCOVER THE DESERT
	Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area What goes up, must come down. Avoid fire hazards and litter – please do not use sky lanterns in the Imperial Sand Dunes. (BLM Facebook) Related: Imperial Sand Dunes (BLM Website)
Come Discover the Desert:  Star Wars Join us for an exciting event! Discover the Desert at the Buttercup Ranger Station on Saturday, January 23rd. Activities will begin at 1:00 p.m. and continue throughout the afternoon. The movie Return of the Jedi will be shown at 4:30 p.m. Please dress for the weather and bring a chair to enjoy the show! (BLM Imperial Sand Dunes Facebook) Related: BLM Invites the Public to Visit the Planet of Tatooine (BLM News Release)
	Why Sand Dunes are Off-Roading Mecca San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/3/2016 Off-roading in the Imperial Sand Dunes is wild exhilaration. Down a slope of gorgeous desert, whipping back up into the sun onto a golden hill. One wrong maneuver and a 50-foot sandbank threatens to roll the speeding vehicle. Read full story
Nature Walks in the Monument Watch for upcoming hikes in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. (BLM Facebook)
HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS
	BLM Staff Team Up with Science Class to Explore Careers in the Outdoors Recently, staff from the BLM’s Desert District spent the day with Mrs. Rivera’s science class from La Familia High School exploring local recreation areas and learning about careers in natural resources. The day began with a visit to the nearby Salton Sea State Recreational Area where they learned about the unique ecology of the area and types of recreation opportunities available. (BLM News.bytes)
	Travel with Guest Photographer Bob Wick to California’s Humboldt Coast! A five hour drive north of San Francisco, California’s fog-shrouded Humboldt Coast is a land apart from the traffic and bustle of California’s urban centers. There are year-round photography opportunities here ranging from crashing winter storm waves to brilliant spring wildflowers; from towering redwoods to rushing mountain streams. (BLM Tumblr)
	How One Man Plans To Make Billions Selling Mojave Desert Water The Guardian, 1/3/2016 Scott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814 billion gallons of water from under the Mojave desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2 billion doing so. Read full story
	Five Routes to Chase Away Rainy Day Funk Monterey County Now, 12/31/2015 It’s the moment your foot hits the water and splashes through your shoe to your toes. When water sprays up your legs from your heels and your feet start to dance a little. When your hair sticks to your head and water splays off your nose. Read full story
Finish Line Could Finally be in Sight for Cemex Santa Clarita Valley Signal, 12/30/2015 The decision by the Bureau of Land Management to yank Cemex mining firm’s contracts to mine millions of tons of sand and gravel in Canyon Country shocked Santa Clarita Valley residents and politicians, who celebrated the Aug. 28 announcement. “We were absolutely stunned when it happened,” said Michael Murphy, intergovernmental relations manager for the city of Santa Clarita. Read full story
Armed group’s leader in federal building: ‘We will be here as long as it takes’ CNN, 1/4/2016 Armed anti-government protesters have taken over a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, accusing officials of unfairly punishing ranchers who refused to sell their land. One of them is Ammon Bundy, the 40-year-old son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who is well-known for anti-government action. The elder Bundy drew national attention last year after staging a standoff with federal authorities over a Bureau of Land Management dispute. Read full story
Roots of Oregon Land Dispute Stretch Back Decades Wall Street Journal, 1/5/2016 Behind the armed protest at a national wildlife preserve in Oregon lies a decades long struggle between agencies that manage vast tracts of federal land in the West and the ranchers, loggers and miners who depend on access to them for their livelihoods. The U.S.. government owns roughly 640 million acres of property in the country, much of it in the West—making up the majority of land in some states such as Utah, Oregon and Nevada. Read full story
Why the Government Owns So Much Land in the West New York Times, 1/5/2016 The United States government owns 47 percent of all land in the West. In some states, including Oregon, Utah and Nevada, the majority of land is owned by the federal government. Of course, it used to own nearly all of it. And that remaining ownership and management of large tracts of forest and grazing lands is the core of the problem for antigovernment protesters in Oregon. They have taken over a federal building, the latest in a long history of fights between the government and Western settlers about how the lands should be used. Read full story
BLM AND DOI HIGHLIGHTS
New Weekly Series For the New Year-Travel Tuesday with Guest Photographer Bob Wick Each Tuesday this winter, follow @mypubliclands for weekly travel adventures with Bob Wick, BLM wilderness specialist.  #TravelTuesday posts will feature beautiful BLM landscapes, with helpful hints for your travel planning.  As a bonus, Bob, well known for his beautiful landscape photos of public lands, will share photo tips for each location. (BLM Tumblr)
	Happy 2016!  Don’t miss our new calendars of beautiful National Conservation Lands available to download as a desktop wallpaper or a printable product on our My Public Lands Flickr. (BLM Tumblr)
	It’s National Bird Day!  The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public lands in 23 states, with some of the nation’s most ecologically diverse and essential habitat for wildlife. This habitat offers unique wildlife and birdwatching opportunities as unique as the BLM-managed landscapes – from roadrunners to hawks and eagles to the California condor. (BLM Tumblr)
WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK
	Wildlife Question of the Week When garter snakes are threatened, they: (a.) Roll up in a ball and play dead, somewhat like an opossum (b.) Drop part of their tails as a decoy, somewhat like certain lizards (c.) Spit a caustic substance from its mouth, that can burn skin (d.) Release a foul-smelling musk, somewhat like a skunk (e.) Watch their lives flash before their eyes, and regret all the times they didn’t listen to their mothers Keep reading for answer below
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 9: Nature Walks for Kids and Families Watch for upcoming hikes in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. (BLM Facebook)
January 16: Alabama Hills Volunteer Work Day Planned The Alabama Hills Stewardship Group and the Bureau of Land Management’s Bishop Field Office will sponsor a volunteer work day in the Alabama Hills on Jan. 16, the Saturday of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, from 10 a.m.. to 1 p.m. (BLM News Release)
January 16: Annual ISDRA Dunes Cleanup Join us on Saturday, January 16th for the 19th Annual ISDRA Dunes Cleanup!. (BLM Facebook)
Feb 3: La Quinta Doggie Hikes Join the friends of Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument group for a doggie hike on your public lands.
March 12: 14th Annual Dumont Dunes Cleanup The Friends of Dumont Dunes and the BLM's Barstow Field Office invite you to join us in our 14th Annual Dumont Dunes Cleanup.
WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER
When garter snakes are threatened, they: Answer is d.) Release a foul-smelling musk, somewhat like a skunk Like other garter snakes, threatened western terrestrial garter snakes release a foul-smelling musk as a warning to the predator. SOURCE: “Western terrestrial garter snake – Thamnophis elegans“ (BLM California wildlife database)