MORE ON WILD HORSES AND BURROS

"Rising Stars helps lift kids' abilities, self-esteem" (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 08/14/2003)
At Rising Stars in Alta Loma, people with physical and mental disabilities build self-discipline and confidence by riding horses. Called "equestrian therapy," the program takes a special breed of horse. "Out of twenty horses that are donated, only one will usually qualify," said Rising Stars' secretary. "Some are from the Bureau of Land Management. Mustangs work quite well because they seem to be calm around kids and know when a child is up. They're also sensible and sure on their feet."
http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203%257E24392%257E1570327,00.html

"BLM Will Hold Equine Adoption Next Month" (Inyo Register, 08/12/2003)
The Bureau of Land Management will hold a first-come, first-served wild horse and burro adoption on Saturday, Sept. 6, at its Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corral Facility four and a half miles east of Ridgecrest from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9997403&BRD=2270&PAG=461&dept_id=468891&rfi=8

NOT FOR EDUCATORS ONLY:

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK - "Fish eggs"
How many eggs can a single white crappie lay each time she spawns?
a) 50
b) 800
c) 1,000
d) 200,000
(See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes)

COMPUTER "WORM" BLOCKS NEW NEWS.BYTES SUBSCRIPTIONS
The subscribe feature for News.bytes is temporarily unavailable. One reason: the "Sobig" virus/worm that is disrupting email worldwide. If your computer is infected, "Sobig" mails itself to anyone in your address book. It can also "pretend" to be from anyone else. Several hundred of these false messages were sent to News.bytes, before we temporarily stopped accepting email.
 - Please note: email "feedback" you send to News.bytes may not reach us right now.
- We hope to have the subscription and feedback functions working again by next week.

"Computer virus resources" (CERT® Coordination Center Web pages)
From Carnegie Mellon University: "This document lists resources that might be useful for dealing with computer viruses." (Also click on their "Home" page link for recent updates.)
http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html

"Microsoft TechNet" (Web page with frequent updates)
Tips on protecting your computer if you run a Microsoft Windows operating system. Recently headlined: "Get Critical Troubleshooting Information for 3 Recent Virus Alerts."
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/default.asp

"Sobig.F virus is pesky, prolific" (Sacramento Bee, 8/21/2003)
"If people don't open the attachment, their computers won't get the virus." But you can still get lots of false emails, "often carrying subject lines that say things like: 'Your details', 'Re: Wicked screen saver', 'Re: Your application' and 'Re: Thank you!'" The excessive email traffic slowed many computer systems, and even delayed some East-Coast Amtrak trains for up to six hours.
http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/technology/story/975855p-6841815c.html

CEMEX/SOLEDAD CANYON GRAVEL MINING

"New McKeon bill on Cemex mine" (Los Angeles Daily News, 08/18/2003)
U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, said Monday he would introduce legislation in Congress to reduce the size and scope of a massive sand and gravel mine slated to be built in Canyon Country.
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20949~1578427,00.html

"McKeon bill hinges on Cemex" (The Signal, 08/19/2003)
"Santa Clarita's congressman said he'll take new steps to scale back a massive gravel mining project in Soledad Canyon, but there's one player whose support he needs first:  The mining company. U.S. Rep. Howard 'Buck' McKeon said Monday he plans to introduce legislation to limit mining in Soledad Canyon to 'historic levels,' in exchange for allowing concrete giant Cemex to mine more sand and gravel elsewhere."
http://www.the-signal.com/News/ViewStory.asp?storyID=2996

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"How long can we destroy our natural beauty?" (Fresno Bee, 08/16/2003)
A U.S. Congressman "has proposed building a dam at Temperance Flat above Millerton Lake, and legislation has been introduced that could ram the project through with little public input." Author says dam would flood much of the BLM-managed recreation area of San Joaquin River Gorge (formerly known as Squaw Leap), and flood "significant Native America archaeological sites."
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/valley_voices/story/7297750p-8222668c.html

Related: "San Joaquin River Gorge (BLM California Web site)"
This scenic area straddles the San Joaquin River just upstream from Millerton Lake State Park and includes lands in both Fresno and Madera Counties. Hikers and horseback riders who use the San Joaquin River Gorge Trail have access to several thousand acres of public land. Author of above story states much of this area would be flooded by proposed dam.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/bakersfield/squawleap.html

"Agency to weigh fee plan" (San Bernardino County Sun, 8/18/2003)
"Facing strong criticism from off-road vehicle groups, a federal agency is taking another look at a plan to impose use fees at four popular recreation sites in the High Desert. The [BLM] has shelved an Oct. 1 starting date for the fees, saying it continues to evaluate a plan to charge $20 for a weekly pass or $60 for an annual pass to cover costs of law enforcement, emergency medical aid and site maintenance."
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E1578301,00.html

Related: "BLM Reviews OHV Desert Recreation Fee Program" (BLM California news release, 8/11/2003)
As reported in last week's News.bytes.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/CDDnews70_blm_reviews_ohv_rec_fee_program.html

"Repairs planned for Headwater's Elk River Trail" (BLM California news release, 08/19/2003)
A portion of the Elk River Trail in the Headwaters Forest Reserve will be closed for repair work from Sept. 29 through Oct. 15.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/NCnews82_elkriver_trail_repair.html

"State crackdown nets $400 million in marijuana plants" (Los Angeles Times, 08/19/2003)
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) - including BLM among 76 local, state and federal agencies - was begun by the state Department of Justice on Aug. 4 and will continue through October. "With at least 100,000 plants destroyed in less than two weeks, I think we're well on our way to breaking our records," says CAMP commander. "They are growing more [marijuana plants] in California, but we're also getting better at finding them...." State Attorney General says a major concern is safety on public lands. "Hikers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts should not have to worry about stumbling upon gardens protected by armed gunmen."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot15aug15,1,2072891.story

Related: "Officials locate, seize, burn marijuana across county" (Lodi News-Sentinel, 8/21/2003)
More on the CAMP operation, as "Officials from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and the California National Guard arrived in San Joaquin County." One result: "marijuana consumed by ... crackling fire Wednesday evening east of Lodi was worth as much as $3 million to $5 million if sold on the streets...."
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2003/08/21/news/01_marijuana_030821.txt

Related: "6,000 Plants Pulled in Raid" (Record Searchlight, 08/20/2003)
News brief: "A marijuana raid Tuesday near Knob Gulch yielded 6,000 young plants, ranging from 3 to 6 inches." BLM was among the agencies conducting the raid.
http://www.redding.com/news/stories/20030820lo021.shtml

"Researchers gear up for $1 million SoCal-Nevada robot race" (Associated Press, in San Francisco Chronicle, 08/14/2003)
"The Pentagon is offering $1 million to whoever builds an unmanned vehicle that can cross up to 250 miles of some of the toughest terrain imaginable, the Mojave Desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Competitors aren't allowed any type of remote control to maneuver around whatever obstacle the desert may throw at them. No one will be able to change a flat tire or refuel, either." The competition is expected to cross some BLM-managed lands - as reported July 2 in News.bytes issue 115 - but the exact route will not be revealed until two hours before the race.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/08/14/state1154EDT7863.DTL

UPCOMING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS OR MEETINGS with potential impact on BLM California

• August 25, Grazing Summit (Not a Hearing) in Boise, Senator Crapo's Grazing Summit, BLM Witness: Director Kathleen Clarke.
• August 25, Field Hearing: Healthy Forests, in Redmond, Oregon. House Resources. S/C Forests & Forest Health. BLM Witness: Ed Shepard, AD Renewable Resources & Planning.
• September 3, Business Meeting by Senate Energy.
• September 4, House Resources Oversight Hearing on Endangered Species Act , BLM Witness: to be announced.
• September 9, Hearing S.1107, Recreation Fee Authority Act; National Park Service Recreation Fee. Senate Energy, Subcommittee on National Parks. Department of the Interior witness: Lynn Scarlett.
• September 11, Hearing S.511 on PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) by Senate Energy Subcommittee on Public Lands & Forests. BLM Witness: to be announced.
  
• September 17, Business Meeting by Senate Energy.

WILDLIFE TRIVIA OF THE WEEK - ANSWER
d) A single white crappie can lay up to 200,000 eggs with each spawning!
Learn more about the white crappie, a member of the sunfish family that lives in California - but is not a native. Visit our online wildlife database at:
https://doi1.ios.doi.gov/blmcawildlife.nsf/siteurl/52431678?OpenDocument
(Note: the Wildlife Database is hosted on the Department of Interior's secure Web server - see note under "Selected Upcoming Events" below.)

SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS
(Note: the Upcoming Events database is on a secure Web server, and your browser may state "You are about to view pages over a secure connection" and ask you to "Trust a Security Certificate" from the Department of Interior that hosts this site. To view the pages, you must select "Yes" or "OK" for both questions.)