 Eagle Lake, north of Susanville, California  |
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- Your Public Lands |
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| YOUR PUBLIC LANDS | ||||||
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#FindYourWay and #MakeYourSplash Along Palm Canyon CreekPalm Canyon Creek, a section of wild and scenic river managed by the San Bernardino National Forest, runs through the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. Upon descending into the canyon, you enter into a giant oasis of desert fan palms. This is the largest fan palm oasis on earth. Palm Canyon Creek flows through the upper canyon, sometimes bubbling over rocks, and sometimes narrowing down to a tiny trickle and almost disappearing into the ground. (BLM California Facebook) |
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Kim Nicol Trail Opens in Coachella ValleyDoug Herrema, BLM's Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office Manager joined partners last weekend to celebrate the opening of this trail and the life and work of public servant Kim Nichol. This trail was originally called the Corkill Trail, but was re-named in honor of the late Kim Nicol, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Program Manager for the Inland Desert Region. (BLM California Facebook) |
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Openings for Campground Hosts in Northwest CaliforniaOutdoor enthusiasts have the opportunity to live and work in a beautiful northern California outdoor settings, in volunteer camp host positions offered by the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM needs campground hosts at Douglas City, Steel Bridge and Junction City campgrounds along the Trinity River, west of Redding. The camping season runs from May to November. (BLM news release) |
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| HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS | ||||||
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BLM and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Partnered to Provide Search and Rescue in DesertThe Bureau of Land Management El Centro Field Office and the United States Marine Corps Air Station Yuma have partnered together to help provide medical and search and rescue coverage in the remote deserts near the County of Imperial. Through this cooperative agreement, BLM emergency medicine search and rescue park rangers have been working with the Marines Search and Rescue aircrews in training and in real world operations providing necessary emergency medical and evacuation capabilities to public land visitors when other transportation resources were unavailable. Both agencies fall under the National Search and Rescue Plan, and per the agreement, BLM will help the onboard corpsman provide advanced medical care inflight for evacuation of injured civilians from public lands. (BLM California Facebook) |
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BLM California Desert District Reduces Fire RestrictionsEffective immediately, all Bureau of Land Management-managed public lands within the California Desert District shall be under Stage I restrictions and year-round fire restrictions. Recreational shooting restrictions applicable to the California Desert District, issued on May 26, 2017, have been terminated as of March 13, 2018. (BLM news release)
Related: Updated BLM California fire restrictions (BLM website) |
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Interagency Fire Crews Plan Pile Burning in Bridgeport ValleyInteragency fire crews with the Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office and the Inyo National Forest will be conducting pile burning operations over the next week in Bridgeport Valley, Mono County, as weather and air quality conditions allow. Slash piles, composed of limbs, branches and downed trees, will be burned on approximately 240 acres of BLM-administered public land located between the Lower Summers Meadow and Green Creek roads, about 1.5 miles west of Highway 395 and 5.5 miles south of Bridgeport. (BLM news release) |
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BLM Seeking Public Help in Protecting Sensitive Plant Sites on Public LandsThe Bureau of Land Management is asking for the public's help in protecting sensitive plants on public land sites near the community of Alturas in Modoc County. BLM crews have fenced and signed sites in an area known as the Westside Allotment, where more than a dozen plants, listed as BLM special status species, grow. (BLM news release) |
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| BLM AND DOI HIGHLIGHTS | ||||||
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Interior Announces $18 Million of Anvil Points Funding Finally going to Colorado CommunitiesU.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Rifle, Colorado, native Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt announced the Department will distribute approximately $18 million to the State of Colorado after nearly a decade of the funds being withheld by the Federal government. The funding comes from oil and gas lease revenues generated in Garfield, Rio Blanco, Moffat, and Mesa Counties, that were collected through 2008. The funds were collected to clean up the former Anvil Points Federal oil shale research site. The money allocated is excess funding that was never needed for cleanup purposes and was not returned to the local communities. U.S. Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) all applauded the announcement for Colorado. The Senators had been working with the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on this issue since their confirmation interviews. (DOI news release) |
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Celebrating 115 Years of the National Wildlife Refuge SystemIn the late 1800s, the whims of fashion dictated that women’s hats would be decorated by bird feathers. To meet this need, poachers hunted many species of birds to the brink of extinction. Concerned citizens, scientists and conservation groups found a champion in President Theodore Roosevelt. Their concern about the rookery at Pelican Island on the Atlantic Coast of Florida inspired Roosevelt to use his presidential powers to protect pelicans, egrets, ibises and other birds. With the establishment of the first national wildlife refuge on Pelican Island on March 14, 1903, Roosevelt created the National Wildlife Refuge System. While in office, he would go on to create 50 more federal bird reserves and four national game preserves within the refuge system. Building on that foundation, the National Wildlife Refuge System today spans 150 million acres, including 566 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetlands management districts. (DOI blog) |
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Interior Expands Capabilities with Vertical Take Off and Landing Fixed Wing Small Unmanned Aircraft SystemsThe U.S. Department of the Interior will soon have the use of up to 50 Vertical Take Off and Landing fixed wing unmanned aircraft systems. The small aircraft support DOI’s land stewardship responsibilities with advancements in technologies that improve resource management and facilitate emergency response. This new tool was made possible after a lengthy process to develop mission performance requirements and select the most useful type of aircraft to meet the needs. A contract was awarded to American small business Birdseyeview Aerobotics of Andover, New Hampshire to produce and train on the new UAS. (DOI news release) |
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Interior and National Park Service Announces $12.6 Million in Grants to Preserve African American Civil Rights HistoryThe U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service announced $12.6 million in grants for 51 projects in 24 states that preserve sites and highlight stories related to the African American struggle for equality in the 20th century. (DOI news release) |
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Secretary Zinke Authorizes First Funds Transfer for Blackfeet Water SettlementU.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke visited the Blackfeet Nation where he signed the first authorization of funds for the Tribe under the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act under the Tribe's Expenditure Plan. The authorization transfers $800,000 to the Blackfeet Settlement Trust Fund. Secretary Zinke has worked with the Blackfeet on the water compact for almost a ten years stretching the Montana State Senate, Congress, and now the Interior Department, however the compact took decades to come to fruition. (DOI news release) |
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Secretary Zinke Partners with Congress on Bipartisan Bill to Fix Our National ParksU.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke joined U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Angus King (I-ME), Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and others to introduce a bipartisan bill to rebuild America's National Parks. The proposed bill would use up to $18 billion in revenue derived from energy produced on federal lands and waters to establish a special fund within the Treasury specifically for “National Park Restoration”. The bill follows the blueprint laid out in Secretary Zinke and President Trump's budget proposal, the Public Lands Infrastructure Fund. The Alexander/King bill's cosponsors are: Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). This bill fulfills one of the priorities laid out in President Trump’s legislative framework for rebuilding America’s infrastructure. (DOI news release) |
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| WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK | ||||||
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Name that bird! Keep reading for answer below. |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS | ||||||
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March 17: Spring Open House at Amboy CraterThe flowers are starting to come out at Amboy Crater. It's not going to be the super bloom from last year, however, we are starting to see some wildflowers bloom, including the desert lily pictured here! If you are in need of a St Patrick's Day adventure, BLM partners from Mojave Desert Land Trust will be hosting an open house at Amboy Crater this Saturday, March 17. The California Historic Route 66 Association will be on hand with classic cars and the Lomeli Family will share photos and stories from growing up in Amboy. Along a hike to the crater, there will be kiosks with information on volcanoes, flowers, critters and Mojave Trails National Monument maps. (Mojave Desert Land Trust website) |
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March 17, 21 and 30: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center Spring ScheduleThe visitor center is open Wednesday through Monday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The visitor center will remain closed on Tuesdays. This visitor center schedule will be in effect through April 14. The following is a sampling of activities scheduled during March at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. (BLM news release)- Desert Mountains Art Faire on March 17 - Wildflower Workshop on March 21 - Full Moon Hike on March 30 |
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March 20: BLM Desert District Advisory Council to Meet in VictorvilleThe Bureau of Land Management will hold a meeting of the BLM California Desert District Advisory Council, demonstrating that partnerships and inclusion are vital to managing sustainable, working public lands. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, which will occur on March 20, at the Hilton Garden Inn, Mirage Room, 12603 Mariposa Rd., Victorville, from noon to 5 p.m. (BLM news release) |
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March 23-25: 2018 Flash Foxy Women’s Climbing FestivalThe third annual festival will take place March 23-25, 2018 in Bishop, California. Nestled in the beautiful Owens River Valley in the Eastern Sierras, Bishop not only offers world class bouldering, but also provides hundreds of sport and trad routes nearby. (Flash Foxy website) |
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March 24: Desert Advisory Council Dumont Dunes Subgroup to Meet in BarstowThe Bureau of Land Management’s Dumont Dunes Subgroup of the California Desert Advisory Council will meet from noon to 2:30 p.m., March 24, at the Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Rd. to discuss Dumont Dunes Recreation Area. The meeting is open to the public. (BLM news release) |
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March 24, April 8, 14, 29, May 5, 20 and June 3: BLM, Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve Offer Spring OutingsThe Bureau of Land Management and Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve will offer free public outings ranging from bird watching to traditional uses of native plants, on weekends from late March until June. The events are free. (BLM news release) |
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April 7-8: Wild Horses, Burros Available for Adoption in King CityWild horses and burros from western public rangelands will be available for public adoption, Saturday and Sunday, April 7 and 8, at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, 625 Division St., in King City. The Bureau of Land Management will offer 15 wild horses, all under 5-years-old, 10 gelding burros and 10 female burros. Anyone interested can preview the animals from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, April 6, and from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday, April 7. An auction begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, with bid prices starting at $125 per animal. Horses and burros not taken during the auction will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until 5 p.m. Saturday and from 7 to 11 a.m. Sunday. The adoption fee is $125. (BLM news release) Related: 2018 wild horse and burro adoption events (BLM website) |
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April 14: Fishing at Bass PondJoin California Department of Fish and Wildlife and BLM's Redding Field Office at Bass Pond in the Sacramento River Bend Outstanding Natural Area off Bend Ferry Road near Bend, California. The pond will be stocked with trout and volunteers will be available to help with questions about fishing. Free bait and limited loaner tackle will also be available. Registration will go from 8:45 am to 2:30 pm and fishing from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants must be 16 years or younger and able to hold a rod and reel. For additional information call Monty Currier, CDFW at (530) 225-2368 or Eric Coulter, BLM at (530) 224-2100. |
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| WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER | ||||||
| "Don’t blink, or you might just miss the western snowy plover. That is because the small shorebird moves like lightning, often out of necessity." (The snowy plover’s path to progress via BLM Oregon Facebook) | ||||||
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