Berryessa Snow Mountian National Monumnet
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ISSUE 714 - MARCH 3, 2016 |
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- Wildlife
- Discover the Desert
- Headlines and Highlights
- BLM and DOI Highlights
- Wildlife Question of the Week
- Upcoming Events
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WILDLIFE |
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In honor of World Wildlife Day, we share results from BLM California’s Arcata Field Office Headwaters Forest Reserve “fisher” inventory. The West Coast Distinct Population Segment of the fisher (Pekania pennanti) is proposed for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fishers are members of the mustelid family (commonly referred to as the weasel family). (BLM Facebook)
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Examiner.com, 2/28/2016
Nature’s exciting drama of life unfolds at Piedras Blancas elephant seals’ rookery. Do you enjoy nature photography? Then, go photograph this natural wonder’s boldest elements. At Piedras Blancas, you won’t have to pay for or rush your shoot to adhere to a tour’s
set schedule. Access to the rookery is without admission fees and, although there are blue shirted Friends of Elephant Seals volunteers on site to answer questions, you visit independently without a tour guide. Access is simple and done via boardwalk and paths. Read full story
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San Luis Obispo Tribune, 3/2/2016
Northern elephant seals beach by the thousands in areas located about 4 miles north from Hearst Castle along Highway 1. On a warm and beautiful Saturday, hundreds of people watch the elephant seals bask in the sun from the safety of a viewing boardwalk. Pups squeal, toss sand and sleep as huge males vie for dominance to protect their
“harem.” Read full story
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The San Luis Obispo Tribune, 2/25/2016
Not as many seals on the beach at Piedras Blancas as there were in January, but they are louder. Females bark at males attempting to mate with them. Weaned pups bark demands at their mothers and generally announce themselves. Males threaten each other or sneak across the beach to mate with
one more female. Read full
story
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Basin Radio Network, 2/29/2016
The Bureau of Land Management today released a new policy to reduce a common hazard to migratory birds and other wildlife that can become trapped and die in uncapped pipes on public lands. When fully implemented the new guidance could save more than
100,000 birds a year. The new policy requires agency personnel to identify pipes on BLM facilities and BLM-managed structures like fences, signposts, survey markers, outbuilding vents, and other structures. Read full story
Related: BLM’s New Policy Will Reduce Threats to Migratory Birds (BLM News Release)
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The Seattle Times, 2/26/2016
Federal land managers have adopted a new policy aimed at capping pipes and plastic tubes on public lands that annually lead to the unintentional deaths of up to 100,000 cavity-dwelling birds, reptiles and animals that think they’ve found a safe, new home. The effort includes the
vent pipes on campground outhouses but the target is the millions of PVC pipes that were used for decades to stake mining claims across the West under the General Mining Act of 1872. Read full story
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High Country News, 2/29/2016
Each year, 181 species of waterfowl, shorebirds and riparian birds flock to California’s Central Valley to nest between November and March. The space they roost in is already limited: There are just 19 wetlands, comprised of National Wildlife Refuges and State Wildlife Areas, spread
across little more than 270 square miles in the valley’s 22,500-square-mile expanse. Read full story
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DISCOVER THE DESERT |
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Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 2/27/2016
With the designation of three new national monuments protecting more than 1.8 million acres of California desert, President Barack Obama sealed his legacy as conservationist in chief, and all indications are he is far from finished. Obama created these monuments under the 1906
Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to permanently ban mining, drilling, industrial development and other activities on federal lands that contain “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific
interest.” Read
full story
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The Bureau of Land Management will host interpretive hikes in the Alabama Hills to discuss film history and view scenic
arches in March. An “Explore the Arches” hike will be held on two Saturdays, March 5 and 26. A “Film History in the Alabama Hills” hike will be held on two Sundays, March 6 and 20. For all the hikes, participants should meet at 10 a.m. at the Eastern Sierra Interagency
Visitor Center, at the corner of Highway 395 and State Route 136 in Lone Pine, to carpool to the site. (BLM News Release)
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The Desert Sun, 2/28/2016
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway cars zip through the craggy gorge of Chino Canyon, ferrying the last few loads of hikers, climbers and sightseers down from the San Jacinto Mountains. From the comfort of your chaise lounge, sipping an evening cocktail as you watch the car lights twinkle in the
deep periwinkle of dusk, this engineering feat masquerades as an example of man’s triumph over nature. But travel 7 miles west along Highway 111 toward Interstate 10, and this inflated swagger quickly loses air as Mount San Jacinto’s forbidding north face comes into
view. Read full
story
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Desert Dispatch, 2/26/2016
Rose Beardshear challenged a group of Barstow fourth-graders to hit the great outdoors. But in a technology driven world, the challenge is not as simple as it seems. Beardshear asked who has the Musical.ly app? Close to 15 hands went in the air at the Desert Discovery Center. “I
challenge you to do your next lip synch video on Musical.ly in the outdoors,” she said. “Then friend me on the app and I will be looking for those videos of you lip synching in the outdoors and I will do a duet with you, also in the outdoors.” Read full story
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The desert will soon come alive with the vibrancy of spring as the wildflowers bloom and transform the Coachella Valley
into a colorful canvas. The best place to celebrate is at the 9th Annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival this Saturday, March 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center in Palm Desert, California. For more information visit the
Friends of the Desert Mountains website at: Friends of the Desert
Mountains
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HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS |
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In early February, the BLM Bakersfield Field Office received a 66-acre parcel of land donated by Save the Redwoods League and Sequoia Riverlands Trust that will serve as a gateway
to the only grove of giant sequoias located on BLM land and outstanding recreation opportunities on public lands. (BLM Newsbytes)
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What brings OHV Riders, Mountain Bikers, and Hikers together? Trail work! On February 27, 2016 volunteers led by Chris
Horgan of Stewards of the Sequoia along with the Southern Sierra Fat Tire Association performed much needed trail work on the BLM’s Keysville Classic and Kern Canyon trails. After large storms in California this winter, these popular trails were falling into disrepair and becoming too rutted
for safe use by mountain bikers. (BLM Newbytes)
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Federal agencies and partners will hold a spring festival and dedication ceremony Saturday, March 19, to celebrate
establishment of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cowboy Camp, east of Williams along California State Highway 16, about a mile south of Highway 20. The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument was established by President Obama
on July 10, 2015. (BLM News Release)
Related: Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (Yubanet.com)
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Volunteers are welcome to help Redding area firefighters begin construction of a physical fitness park that will be dedicated to the memory of a northern California smokejumper
who died in the line of duty. Volunteers will gather for the work day Saturday, March 5, at 9 a.m., in the parking area of the Bureau of Land Management’s Swasey Recreation Area on Swasey Drive in West Redding. Workers will clear brush and begin creating the path for the exercise
stations. (BLM News Release)
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BLM is seeking Wildland Fire Fighters and Range Forestry Technicians. For more information visit USA Jobs
Related: USA Jobs Pathways Internship Program (USA Jobs)
Related: Federal Occupations by College Major (USA Jobs)
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) invites the public to comment on proposals it has submitted for the 2015 Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Proposal. The proposals are
available on the internet at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov for review and comment March 8 through April 4, 2016. (BLM News
Release)
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MyMotherLode.com, 2/26/2016
A helicopter is flying over the Butte Fire burn scar again, this time to dump wood chips and straw over the loose ground. Bureau of Land Management reports it has contracted with a helicopter firm to assist in the ongoing rehabilitation efforts. The helicopter will drop nearly 35,000 cubic yards of wood shreds on 1,400 acres, mostly in the Jesus Maria Creek area of Calaveras
County. Read
full story
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BLM AND DOI HIGHLIGHTS |
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Happy 167th birthday to us! The Interior Department was created on March 3, 1849, to take care of our nation’s
internal affairs. Today, Interior is responsible for conserving America’s treasured natural resources and public lands, like Glacier National Park in Montana, pictured here on a spring day. (BLM Tumblr)
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The skeleton, called “Joe”, is the most complete specimen of Parasaurolophus (pronounced
PAIR-uh-SORE-AH-luf-us) found to date. Parasaurolophus is a duck-billed (hadrosaurid) dinosaur that lived throughout western North America around 75 million years ago. “Joe” was discovered by a student on a trip to the the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. The fossil is making its international debut in Japan as one of the centerpiece fossils at The Dinosaur Expo in March. (BLM Tumblr)
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Check out the first my public lands @stellerstories book – Desert Oasis: National
Monuments, from sand to Snow. The book features Sand to Snow National Monument and Mojave Trails National Monument in California, your newest national monuments, with beautiful photos and new video.
Now, view stunning landscapes and plan your public lands adventures on our new social media account: (My Public Lands Steller)
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ABC News, 3/3/2016
A federal indictment accuses renegade Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and at least five other men from several states of conspiracy, obstruction, assault, threatening federal officers and other charges in a 2014 armed standoff over grazing cattle on U.S. land near Bundy’s
ranch. Bundy and seven other people’s names appeared unredacted in an indictment obtained Thursday following the arrest of alleged co-conspirator Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus in New Hampshire. Read full story
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The Hill, 3/2/2016
Republicans on a Senate appropriations panel challenged the head of the Interior Department Wednesday on a host of rules and energy assessments the agency is undertaking. During a hearing on the agency’s 2017 budget request, members were most concerned about regional issues,
including regulations for offshore drilling in the Gulf and a pause in the federal coal leasing program. Read full story
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WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK |
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Desert iguanas are the most common in the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California. One special trait gives them an advantage over other animals in their range. What is it?
(a.) They are the most heat-tolerant reptiles in North America, so they have little
competition while locating food in midday heat.
(b.) They need much less water than other desert species, so they can travel over a wider range and can escape predators into more remote areas.
(c.) They can digest even the woodiest fibers of various types of cactus, so they can find more nutrition in a smaller area than other animals.
(d.) They are more resistant to snake venom than other reptiles, so they can seek food in more areas than other desert animals.
(e.) They know the words to hundreds of camp songs, passed down by ancestors who lurked outside prospector’s campsites — so they can better put up with the long
distance travel and solitude that are part of living in the desert.
Keep reading for answer
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a town hall meeting in Taft to discuss management of public lands in the Temblor Mountain Range west of
Taft. The meeting on the Temblor Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) will be held Friday, March 4,
from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the West Side Recreation and Park District Community Center auditorium, 500 Cascade Place. (BLM News Release)
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Mark your calendars now for our 9th Annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival on March 5! (Friends of the Desert Mountains Facebook)
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North coast residents and visitors will have the chance to get a close look at live raptors and learn more about them in a Birds of Prey presentation Saturday, March 12, at 3 p.m., at the Redwood Playhouse, 286 Sprowel
Creek Rd., in Garberville. Staff members from the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center in Arcata will bring a great horned owl, western screech owl, a northern spotted owl and a red-tailed hawk or peregrine falcon to the presentation. They will discuss these rescued birds and describe their
rehabilitation from injuries. (BLM NewsRelease)
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SAVE THE DATE: BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program adoption will be in Apple Valley, California on Saturday, March 12 from 9 am – 5 pm. Join us for the Extreme Cowboy Race
supporting the Wounded Warrior Project and special needs families. (BLM Facebook)
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More than 20 wild horses, including animals gentled and trained to ride, will be offered for adoption Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds,
101 Frogtown Rd. in Angels Camp. The Bureau of Land Management will offer 18 wild horses, two 3-year-old geldings gentled under a trainer incentive program, and three 5-year-old geldings trained by Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center inmates to saddle and ride. Eight
burros also will be offered. (BLM News Release)
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Representatives from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Marine Corps will host a Resource Management Group meeting on April 2, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to
12:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Lucerne Valley Community Center, 33187 Highway 247 East, Lucerne Valley, Calif. The purpose of the meeting is to communicate the Marine Corps’ plans to conduct a large-scale exercise August 1-31, 2016 that will include training in the congressionally established shared use area of
the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area. (BLM News Release)
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WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER |
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Desert iguanas are most common in the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California. One special trait
gives them an advantage over other animals in their range. What is it?
(a.) They are the most heat-tolerant reptiles in North America, so they have little competition
while locating food in midday heat.
These lizards are the most heat-tolerant reptiles in North America. They can remain active in temperatures up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (this temperature would kill most other
reptiles). Most desert reptiles avoid the extreme heat of mid-afternoon, so with all of the other species hidden in shady areas, desert iguanas have very little competition for food.
Source: “Desert iguana – Dipsosaurus dorsalis” (BLM California wildlife database)
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