WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Unintended consequences
Question: Why were inland silversides (a type of fish) introduced to California?
Bonus question: What went wrong?
(See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes)

BOOKSTORE FEATURE: "Handbook of Rocks, Minerals & Gemstones"
"A simple introduction discusses the basics of mineralogy and provides a list of general features used in the identification of rocks. This is followed by a comprehensive description of each rock and mineral, including its history, origin, and structure, composition, properties, classification, and where it is found in North America and throughout the world. The 600 stunning photographs, a unique collection amassed from around the world, are opposite the text and are reproduced at approximately life size, to aid identification."
http://store.ca.blm.gov/cgi-bin/webc.exe/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1401

TOURS: KERN'S RICH GEOLOGICAL PAST

"Education on the rocks" (Bakersfield Californian, 08/24/2003)
"Kern County's oil seeps may not be as famous as the La Brea Tar Pits in downtown Los Angeles, but they're still impressive to visitors. 'This is so cool,' said [one visitor who] paid $10 to tour the seeps. 'I would've paid way more for this. You can't get out here without special permits'." The Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and the Bureau of Land Management in Bakersfield co-hosted the tour.
http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/3754580p-3780911c.html

Related: "Field trips offer insight into Kern's rich geological past" (Bakersfield Californian, 08/24/2003)
"The [BLM] and the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History in Bakersfield regularly co-host geology and mining history field trips that are open to the public. Organizers say it is not necessary to have a technical background to attend or benefit from the field trips."
http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/3754579p-3780910c.html

Related: "Geology and mining field trips" (BLM Bakersfield Field Office Web site)
Public tours and trips planned for 2003-2004, by our BLM Bakersfield Field Office and the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History - designed for high school age and older. Some allow continuing education credit for teachers through California State University Bakersfield.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/bakersfield/geologytrips.html

LAND USE PLANNING

"Modoc Plateau future a worry" (Redding Record-Searchlight, 08/22/2003)
"It's often forgotten way up there in California's corner pocket. But the Modoc Plateau, a vast land swept with sagebrush and crowned with volcanic spires, is a jewel that possesses unique wilderness qualities, environmentalists say."
http://redding.com/news/stories/20030822lo016.shtml

Related: "BLM to host Shasta County meetings to discuss land use planning" (BLM California news release, 08/21/2003)
The BLM will host public meetings in Redding and Fall River Mills to gather public comments and ideas on development of new land use plans for public land in Northeast California and Northwest Nevada. Includes information for people who cannot attend the meetings.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/NCnews83_lupmeeting_shastacounty.html

"Supervisor speaks out against federal land plans" (San Bernardino County Sun, 08/20/2003)
"Citing alleged shortcomings of three federal agencies...county Supervisor Bill Postmus is calling for a moratorium on additional land-use plans in the High Desert. 'San Bernardino County has experienced significant impacts from desert management and so-called protection over the past 27 years,' he said. 'Enough is enough!'" At a congressional field hearing in San Diego last week, "he said San Bernardino County has lost more than 600,000 acres over the past four years through federal land grabs."
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E1582123,00.html

Related: "Our Opinion: It's public land, so stay out" (Victorville Daily Press, 8/27/2003)
Editorial: "Much as we like his proposal, we don't hold out much hope for First District Supervisor Bill Postmus's call last week for 'a hard look at policies undertaken in the name of environmental protection.' He has every right to be concerned, seeing as how San Bernardino County has 8 million acres of public land, and government — both state and federal — has been steadily eroding the general public's access to that land for nearly 30 years."
http://www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1061991115,7830,

$1 MILLION ROBOT RACE

"Robots in Mad Max race across desert" (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 08/24/2003)
"In a "Mad Max" race across the California desert next spring, road warriors will charge over the rugged terrain to Las Vegas, where $1 million awaits the winner. Only there won't be any Max, or any other driver. Just robots. The military, in a push to get unmanned vehicles on the battlefield, launched the Barstow-to-Las Vegas competition to lure the average Joe mechanic and inventor." Exact route will not be revealed until two hours before the start of the race, but is expected to cross BLM-managed lands.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_narace25.ebf4.html

"It's a Challenge, but don't call it a 'race'" (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 08/24/2003)
"Having banned the Barstow-to-Las Vegas motorcycle race in 1990, the [BLM] has since prohibited any race or competitive event in that part of the desert. 'That's kind of our dilemma and what we're scratching our heads about with them,' ... the BLM's deputy district chief of resources, said of the military. 'We're telling them very specifically that it cannot be a race,' he said. The Grand Challenge also can't have time limits on stretches of desert where racing is prohibited, he said.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_naside25.a15ea.html

"DARPA Grand Challenge for Autonomous Ground Vehicles (March 2004)" (BLM California Issue Update)
The Barstow Field Office is working with DARPA to permit this landmark event. Both publicity and route confidentiality are important to its success. Potentially controversial issues also need to be resolved.
(Note: this document 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.)
https://doi1.ios.doi.gov/newsbytes.nsf/siteurl/64645915?OpenDocument

COMMUNITY FIRE SAFETY

"Mattole fire work fueled up" (Eureka Times-Standard, 8/27/2003)
Local fire-safe council thinning brush and forests to protect community from fire. Their work ties in with fire break projects of the BLM in the King Range, and California Department of Forestry along Shelter Cove Road.
http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%257E2896%257E1594426,00.html

"Amador Fire Safe Council" (Amador County Ledger Dispatch)
With help of BLM grant, community attacks problem of fire safety in areas near forest lands. Group has hired a coordinator to help inform the public, created "fuels reduction" and demonstration lots and is working on helping senior citizens who do not have resources to create "defensible space" around their houses.
http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/life/lifeview.asp?c=71724

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"Exploring the range" (San Luis Obispo Tribune, 08/25/2003)
"Starting in September, hikers and horseback riders will have 14,314 acres of new open space to explore. The state Department of Fish and Game is opening to the public a wildlife area in the southeast corner of San Luis Obispo County." The land will be "a crucial wildlife corridor" between BLM-managed Carrizo Plain National Monument and Los Padres National Forest.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispotribune/living/community/6613211.htm

Related: "Carrizo Plain National Monument" (BLM California Web site)
Explore this national monument through photos, maps, planning documents and more.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/bakersfield/carrizoplain.html

"Volunteers Needed for National Public Lands Day River Clean-up" (BLM California news release, 8/27/2003)
The BLM Needles Field Office will join forces with tri-state area agencies and volunteers in a Colorado River clean-up as part of the 10th Annual National Public Lands Day. The event on Saturday, Oct. 5 will include cleanup on beaches and river access points along the Colorado River between Topock and Needles. Prizes, environmental education and a cookout will also be featured.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/CDDnews71_NPLD_volunteers.html

"BLM advisory council to host meeting on grazing policies" (BLM California news release, 8/27/2003)
Potential changes in BLM livestock grazing policies will be the subject of a public meeting to be hosted by the BLM's Northwest California Resource Advisory Council on Wednesday, Sept. 3, in Redding.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/NCnews86_swl_redding_meeting.html

"Wild horses and burros available for adoption in Stockton" (BLM California news release, 8/26/2003)
Wild horses and burros from western public rangelands are headed to the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton next month, where they will be available for public adoption. The BLM will offer 80 horses, including halter-trained yearlings, and 20 burros to qualified adopters on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21. Potential adopters can get a preview look Friday afternoon.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/NCnews84_stockton_whb_adoption.html

"Bizz Johnson shuttle set for Sept. 6" (BLM California news release, 8/27/2003)
The shuttle transports mountain bikers, hikers and joggers from Susanville to Westwood, allowing them return trips of seven, 18 or 25 miles on the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail without having to arrange their own vehicle shuttles. Weekend shuttles will also be offered two Sundays in October, one for the annual "Fall Colors Ride" and another despite the now-cancelled Rails to Trails Festival.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2003/08/nr/NCnews85_bizz_trail_shuttle.html

"Marijuana garden removed from canyon" (Porterville Recorder, 08/25/2003)
Tulare County sheriff's deputies removed about 8,300 marijuana plants from gardens in remote mountains of northern Tulare County Thursday, continuing a series of raids....The plantation was found on public Bureau of Land Management land near Sequoia National Park." Agents from the BLM and the Department of Justice Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) also took part.
http://www.portervillerecorder.com/articles/2003/08/25/news/briefs/brief6.txt

"Farr pushes New Idria cleanup" (The Pinnacle, 08/21/2003)
New Idria mine near Hollister: "toxic orange water pouring through a watershed" or a future with "swarms of tourists enjoying an historic park, snapping photos and perusing a state-run souvenir shop?" Last week, "the Congressman held court over an unprecedented meeting of the many likely agencies that would be involved in the cleanup of the defunct ghost town." One of his ideas: have BLM take over the land once it is cleaned up, since it borders BLM's Clear Creek Management Area.
http://www.pinnaclenews.com/sb-edition/sb3.php


WILDLIFE TRIVIA OF THE WEEK - ANSWER
To: "Why were Inland silversides (a type of fish) introduced to California?"
They were introduced to California waterways in an attempt to reduce the gnat population.
Bonus answer to "what went wrong": Unfortunately, inland silversides prefer to feed on zooplankton and other invertebrates - rather than gnats. The introduction has led to a large increase in the silverside population, and the extinction of the Clear Lake splittail.
Learn more about Inland silversides on our BLM California online wildlife database (Note: the Wildlife Database is hosted on the Department of Interior's secure Web server - see note under "Selected Upcoming Events" below.)
https://doi1.ios.doi.gov/blmcawildlife.nsf/siteurl/72836347?OpenDocument

• September 9, Hearing S.1107, Recreation Fee Authority Act; NPS Recreation Fee. Senate Energy, Subcommittee on National Parks. DOI Witness: Lynn Scarlett;
• September 11, Hearing S.511 on PILT by Senate Energy Subcommittee on Public Lands & Forests. BLM Witness: to be announced;
• September 17, Business Meeting by Senate Energy.