PHOTO ALBUM: King Range National Conservation Area
At the King Range National Conservation Area, offshore rocks, tidepools and kelp beds are inhabited by seals, sea lions and a variety of marine birds. California grey whales can be spotted offshore in winter and spring. The mountains are a mix of Douglas-fir forest, chaparral and grassland, providing habitat for blacktailed deer and black bear.

DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN
"Draft King Range Management Plan Available for Review" (BLM California news release, 01/09/2004)
The draft plan updates the BLM's original 1974 King Range Management Plan, to provide management guidance for the next 20 years. Comments are due to the BLM by April 16, 2004.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/01/nr/NCnews28-kingrangeplan-draft.html

Related: "King Range National Conservation Area Draft Resource Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement" (BLM California Web site)
http://www.ca.blm.gov/arcata/kingrange/Planning/KingRangePlan_Maps.html

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK
The Long-tailed pocket mouse almost always lives in rocky areas. They received their common name "pocket mouse" because:
(a) Like kangaroos, the females carry their young in "pockets" on their stomachs;
(b) They build dens lined with dried grass, in tiny caves or "pockets" in rocky ledges;
(c) They often "pick the pockets" of campers -- stealing food or shiny objects;
(d) They carry seeds in fur-lined "pockets," on the outside of their cheeks;
(e) They aim rocks down slopes, in a game much like billiards ("aiming for the corner pocket.")
(See answer near end of this issue of News.bytes)

MEET YOUR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Desert District Advisory Council member Roy Denner represents recreation interests, specifically addressing off-highway vehicle activities and concerns. He is active in numerous recreation organizations and activities as well as local community organizations. Learn more at:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/rac/dac/member_profiles/denner.html

PROFILE: Bob Bower
Coming from the Pacific Northwest and now GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Specialist with BLM's El Centro Field Office, you might say Bob Bower is a fish out of water - but he loves the desert. As a recreation planner, Bob found he could do a better job of planning and resource management, by learning more about GIS. He got involved early on, and now manages the GIS program for the El Centro office. Read more about Bob in this week's News.bytes Profile:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/newsbytes/profiles/bower-el_centro.html

VOLUNTEERS

"Historic cabins 'adopted'by volunteers; California program helps repair remote structures" (BLM National Office Web site)
"A dedicated group of volunteers who travel far into California's Mojave Desert and surrounding mountain ranges...are part of a unique effort to restore historic cabins on public lands within the shadows of Death Valley. This sturdy group of volunteers works tirelessly to shore up and stabilize these structures so they can withstand...howling winds that roar through the canyons, and the heat and sun so characteristic of the area." Read more, see photos and learn about a work party planned for Jan. 31:
http://www.blm.gov/volunteer/feature/2003/ca/index.html

CEMEX GRAVEL MINE PLANS

"BLM chief tours embattled site for Cemex mine" (Antelope Valley Press, 1/13/2004)
"Congressman Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon toured a potential mining site in Soledad Canyon on Monday with a distinguished guest - the director of the federal bureau that approved the mine more than a decade ago. Kathleen Clarke, director of the Bureau of Land Management, came to California at the request of the Santa Clarita Republican, who opposes a plan by Cemex to mine aggregate from a 460-acre section of hillside south of the Antelope Valley Freeway." Clarke's meeting includes an aerial tour and meetings with community opponents of the mine.
http://www.avpress.com/n/tusty7.hts

Related: "Appeal filed to save the stickleback" (Los Angeles Daily News, 01/09/2004)
"Environmental groups appealed a federal court ruling this week, claiming the government is failing to protect a tiny endangered fish threatened by two proposed projects along the Santa Clara River -- a gravel mine and the 20,000-home Newhall Ranch." Cemex holds a gravel mining permit from the BLM.
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200%257E20949%257E1881607,00.html

WILDFIRE ISSUES

"Fast fire action sought from military aircraft" (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 01/13/2004)
"Some members of Congress believe military air tankers should be dispatched as soon as possible to keep raging wildfires from becoming disasters. And they hope to make that happen before more deadly wildfires occur like those in October that burned 750,000 acres over five counties, killing 22 people and destroying more than 5,500 homes"
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_planes13.a0c2f.html

"Fire fears shelve plan to save frog" (Sacramento Bee, 01/08/2004)
"El Dorado Irrigation District directors postponed action on a plan to preserve habitat for the California red-legged frog for fear it could heighten fire dangers for the area." BLM is involved through management of Spivey Pond as habitat for the frog: "The plan would restrict the use of pond water for firefighting and prohibit fire retardant within 500 feet of the pond."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/community_news/el_dorado/story/8062601p-8995338c.html

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"Red tape causes delays" (Victorville Daily Press, 1/14/2004)
"Onerous environmental regulations won't stop development, jobs and businesses from coming to the region. That was the message that Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon and Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke delivered during a meeting Tuesday with business leaders and local government officials."
http://www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1074089171,79109,

"Federal charge of $25,280 to fulfill records request angers activist" (Los Angeles Times, 01/08/2004)
Sierra Club chapter "outraged" by estimated $25,280 cost for documents in seven Freedom of Information Act requests about off-road vehicle activity in California desert land. "BLM officials said that the fee is fair given the work, which involves rooting out a couple of thousand pages of agency documents."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-blm8jan08,1,2553555.story

"BLM to conduct oil and gas lease sale in February" (BLM California news release, 1/13/04)
There are 15 parcels for a total of 5,685 acres located in three counties: Kern, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/01/nr/CCNews10_feb04_sale.html

"Snow Goose Festival to fly in Red Bluff" (Red Bluff Daily News, 01/07/2004)
"The Pacific Flyway's winged migration will be featured at the fifth Annual Snow Goose Festival Jan. 23-25 in Red Bluff and Chico. The festival draws attention to migrating waterfowl in the northern Sacramento Valley through a series of outdoor tours and indoor workshops." Field trips include a tour of BLM-managed lands in the Sacramento River Management Area.
http://www2.redbluffdailynews.com/articles/2004/01/07/people/people1.txt

Related: "Valley festival celebrates birds of the Pacific Flyway" (Redding Record-Searchlight, 01/11/2004)
http://www.redding.com/outdoors/stories/20040111ou085.shtml

"Price placed on paradise" (Visalia Times-Delta, 1/9/2004)
"Mike Gardiner sees both good and bad" in BLM's proposed $5 parking fee "for visitors who want to swim, fish or sunbathe along part of the North Fork of the Kaweah River."
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/news/stories/20040109/localnews/196583.html

Officials complain of repeated trespassing at site of planned high-end housing project" (Barstow Desert Dispatch, 1/13/2004)
"Illegal off-road riders have repeatedly vandalized fences to gain access to vacant lots at the site of a planned high-end housing development...." BLM off-highway vehicle coordinator with BLM's Barstow Field Office points to many places to legally ride off-road in the area.
http://www.desertdispatch.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1074004937,67338,

"California rancher charged with cruelty to mustangs once rescued from Nevada" (San Francisco Chronicle, 01/08/2004)
Rancher faces nine charges including cruelty to animals, after six-month investigation into about 270 horses on his Buellton ranch. "The animals came from two American Indian sisters in northern Nevada who were involved in a grazing dispute with the BLM in Nevada.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/01/08/state1106EST7050.DTL