SPECIAL PHOTO FEATURE: Pogonip

"Pogonip on northern California public lands" (News.bytes Extra)
Pogonip, or ice fog, results in a phenomenon called "hoarfrost," which is a deposit of interlocking ice crystals on objects exposed to cold, foggy air. Dazzling winter scenes are revealed as tree limbs, leaves, fence wires are coated with the ice. As the fog burns off in the daylight hours, there are a few magical moments when the hoarfrost glistens in the sun, beautifully contrasted against azure skies. See recent photos from BLM's Northern California public affairs specialist, taken before the area's recent major snowfall.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/newsbytes/xtra-04/186-xtra_hoarfrost.html

LAND USE PLANNING

"BLM hosts resource planning meeting" (Amador County Ledger-Dispatch, 1/21/2005)
"The Bureau of Land Management conducted a public scoping meeting last week in Jackson as part of a roughly three-year attempt to draw up the next 20-year management plan for federal lands, including those in Amador County....The 'Sierra Resource Management Plan' would include approximately 230,000 acres of public land in the Folsom Field Office’s region, including Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado , Mariposa, Merced, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tuolumne and Yuba counties...."
http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/news/newsview.asp?c=140752

"Citizenry sounds off on hiking, habitat plan; Raucous hall scene of debate over valley's development" (Palm Springs Desert Sun, 1/25/2005)
Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: "Planners want the nine valley cities, Riverside County, state and federal wildlife agencies and other groups to sign off on the proposal by the end of this summer. But the plan has been in the works for about a decade and has already encountered numerous delays." BLM is among the federal agencies involved in the plan.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050125/NEWS01/501250382/1006

Related: "Conservation proposal raises desert hikers' ire" (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/24/2005)
"The trails portion of the plan is meant to limit potentially negative impacts hikers could have on the endangered bighorn sheep living in the mountains west of Rancho Mirage. ....The plan isn't just about restrictions. Seven new trails, totaling 24 miles, are included....A new eight-mile trail is also planned to connect a trail at the south of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains Nation Monument Visitors Center with the northwest corner of La Quinta Cove. The plan also identifies places where trails can be established but haven't been marked." The Monument is co-managed by BLM.
(Requires free registration.)
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_dtrails24.57ee4.html

"National Monument Advisory Committee Meeting Scheduled" (BLM California news release, 01/21/2005)
The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Advisory Committee will meet February 2, 2005, at 9 a.m. in the Palm Desert City Council Chambers.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/CDDNews18_monumentmeeting.html

"Public meetings set for land use plan development" (BLM California news release, 1/26/2005)
During the meetings, staff from the BLM's Ukiah Field Office will discuss their initial work on possible management alternatives, show maps illustrating these options, and listen to opinions and suggestions on the work done so far. The Ukiah Field Office manages more than 300,000 acres of public lands in Lake, Mendocino, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Glenn, Colusa, Yolo and Solano counties. The Resource Management Plan now being developed will provide management direction for the next 20 years.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/NCNews25_publicmeeting.html

BLM, Lassen National Forest, Susanville Indian Rancheria to cooperate on land use planning" (BLM California news release, 01/19/2005)
Officials from the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, Lassen National Forest and Susanville Indian Rancheria have signed an agreement pledging cooperation in land use planning and natural resources management.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/NCNews24_landuseplanning.html

"Preliminary Draft of South Yuba Plan Available for Comment" (BLM California news release, 01/25/2005)
The public agencies responsible for managing the South Yuba River announced today that a preliminary draft comprehensive management plan is now available to the public for a 30-day review and comment period, ending March 1.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/CCNews34_draftplan.html

"Comment Sought on the Furnace Creek Road Environmental Assessment" (Mammoth Times, 1/19/2005)
"The Furnace Creek Road originates on BLM land off of Hwy 264 in Fish Lake Valley, Nev. Currently, there is an interim closure prohibiting motorized use of the road 2.5 miles from Hwy 264. This interim closure will remain in place pending the outcome of the Environmental Assessment. The EA is a joint project between the Forest Service and the BLM, with the Forest Service taking the lead agency role. A final decision on the road is expected in the spring."
http://www.mammothtimes.com:80/articles/2005/01/20/this_week/top_stories/furnacecreek.txt

"Proposed coal-fired power plant concerning residents" (Modoc Record, 1/20/2005)
"Representatives from the Bureau of Land Management briefed the public at two meetings in Cedarville last week regarding applications for permits they have received from Sempra Energy Corporation, headquartered in San Diego. Sempra is in the process of laying the foundation for the construction of a coal-fired power plant near Gerlach, Nevada" which will require rights-of-way permits from the BLM.
http://www.modocrecord.com/NEWS.html#Proposed

RECREATION ON PUBLIC LANDS

"Snow Goose Festival events in Red Bluff" (Red Bluff Daily News, 1/25/2005)
" Birding expeditions and field trips at the Sacramento River Discovery Center in Red Bluff are a part of the 6th annual Snow Goose Festival.... field trips include a trip to the California Department of Fish and Game Tehama Wildlife Area, the Bureau of Land Management Sacramento River Conservation Area, or choose to take a hike in the Lake Red Bluff Recreation Area. An all-day visit could include a hay ride or helping with restoration work at the Burrow's Ranch."
http://www2.redbluffdailynews.com/articles/2005/01/24/people/people1.txt

"BLM to Begin Construction on South Fork American River Site" (BLM California news release, 1/25/2005)
BLM's Folsom Field Office announced that construction of a new access road and parking lot on public land near Greenwood Creek and State Highway 49 along the South Fork of the American River about three miles north of Coloma will begin March 14. Greenwood Creek is a popular river access point for recreationists, especially kayakers. The project is meant to is to reduce a hazard posed by people parking along Highway 49 to use a trail that leads to the river.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/CCNews35_constructionsouthfork.html

"New law allows federal recreation areas to charge fees for decade" (Associated Press in San Francisco Chronicle, 1/22/2005)
"Visitors to national forests and other federal lands who had hoped temporary recreation fees would soon vanish will have no such luck. The fees were first imposed in 1996 on a temporary basis and have been renewed by Congress every two years since. But last fall, Congress wrote the fees into law for at least a decade."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/01/22/state0928EST7809.DTL

WILD HORSES AND BURROS

"Wild horse and burro adoption offers great gifts For valentines" (BLM California news release, 1/25/2005)
On Saturday, February 12 BLM will offer wild horses and burros to qualified adopters at its corral facility just east of Ridgecrest. To make this adoption even more special, BLM will provide free home delivery within 150 miles of the facility.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/CDDNews20_whbvalentines.html

"New law on caring for wild horses met with kicks, snorts" (Associated Press in Inside Bay Area, 1/26/2005)
"Horse lovers are gearing up to stampede the new Congress with petitions to protect wild horses from being sold for slaughter. For three decades, the [BLM] required people adopting wild horses to prove over the course of a year that they could adequately care for the animal before the agency would grant legal ownership. A month-old law allows the bureau to sell horses that are 10 or older, or that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times, without the waiting period." Proposed legislation "would restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_2537753;jsessionid=1NIUFGMVXPG4GCUUCAFCFEY

"Wild horses lose protection from slaughter" (Contra Costa Times, 1/25/2005)
"A provision slipped into a federal appropriations bill, signed by President Bush in December, silently killed a 1971 law that kept feral horses from being sold to slaughterhouses."
(Requires free registration.)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/10727889.htm

MEET YOUR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Carl Twisselman
Carl Twisselman has spent 40 years as a cattle rancher, and represents federal grazing interests on BLM's Central California Resource Advisory Council.
Read more in this week's issue of Newsbytes:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/rac/cencal_rac/member_profiles/twisselman.html

PROFILE: Van Salas
Van, as she prefers to be called, is new to the State Office and is a Human Resources Assistant. She processes official personnel actions and maintains files for employees in assigned organizations within the California offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
Meet Van in our weekly News.bytes Profile:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/newsbytes/profiles/salas-cso.html

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: How many toads?
Up to how many eggs might the female Western toad lay? Take your best guess in our online interactive quiz.
(Thumbnail from photo by Gerald and Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences)
http://www6.ca.blm.gov/forms/polls/issue192/wild/index.php

LAST WEEK'S WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION
See what our readers thought Long-toed salamanders eat:
http://www6.ca.blm.gov/forms/polls/issue191/wild/index.php?result=true

SPECIAL STATUS PLANT OF THE WEEK: Jepson's onion
Found in woodlands of broadleaved (especially oak) and coniferous trees, usually on slopes of serpentine or volcanic rock, from 984 to1968 feet elevation. At the Tuolumne County site, the plants grow in full sun in the thin rocky soils atop a volcanic table.
http://www.ca.blm.gov//pa/ssp/plants/allium_jepsonii.html

BOOKSTORE FEATURE: "California Spring Wildflowers"
"An illustrated guide: A series of wildflower books intended for the layman who has no particular botanical training but who likes to know something about his surroundings in nature. Each book is attractively illustrated in both color and black and white, and includes species accounts for a wide and colorful range of California wildflowers."
http://store.ca.blm.gov/cgi-bin/webc.exe/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1838

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

BLM taking part in cleanup at Rinconada Mine, near San Luis Obispo" (News.bytes Extra, 1/25/2005)
This abandoned mercury mine has been the focus of a joint-cleanup involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Padres National Forest and the BLM.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/newsbytes/xtra-05/192-xtra_rinconada.html

"Windmills' construction delayed" (Palm Springs Desert Sun, 1/21/2005)
"A plan to build huge windmills three times the size of those along Interstate 10 could be put off for months as the Desert Hot Springs City Council enforces a request for a full environmental impact report....About 1,200 windmills on nearly 3,600 acres of BLM land in the area generate $640,000 in revenue for the federal government."
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050121/NEWS07/501210379/1006/NEWS0101

"The fight against Eagle Mountain Dump" (Hi-Desert Star, 1/25/2005)
"Since 1987, various subsidiaries of the Kaiser Corporation have been obstructed in a plan to develop the old Kaiser Mine site near Desert Center as a behemoth trash dump. Standing determinedly in that plan's way have been two people...." (On October 13, 1999, BLM finalized a land exchange with Kaiser Eagle Mountain, Inc. to dispose of scattered pieces of public land in and around the existing Kaiser open-pit mine south of Joshua Tree National Park. In return, BLM received private lands with endangered/threatened wildlife species habitat and other public values.)
http://www.hidesertstar.com/articles/2005/01/22/features/feature1.txt

"Bankruptcy Threat With an Edge" (Los Angeles Times, 1/25/2005)
"Timber giant Pacific Lumber Co. has told the Schwarzenegger administration that unless it is allowed to cut more trees, the firm may file for bankruptcy, which it says would likely terminate environmental safeguards promised as part of a $480-million deal struck more than five years ago. The federal and state governments paid the company that money to protect several thousand of acres of ancient redwoods under a 1999 agreement preserving the Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-headwaters25jan25,0,1311986.story?coll=la-home-local

Related: "Headwaters Forest Reserve" (BLM California website)
http://www.ca.blm.gov/arcata/headwaters.html

"BLM Bishop Field Office to implement prescribed burning at Fish Slough" (BLM California news release, 01/20/2005)
As weather conditions permit throughout the remaining winter months, fire management personnel from the BLM Bishop Field Office and the Inyo National Forest will be conducting prescribed fire operations at Fish Slough, in extreme southern Mono County. Smoke may be visible at times from Highway 395 and Highway 6, as well as from the communities of Bishop, Chalfant Valley, and Hammil Valley.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2005/01/nr/CCNews33_fishslough.html

"Current job openings - BLM California" (USAJOBS website)
Includes state fire operations specialist and lead range technician.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9blm-ca.asp

"Navy plans to expand Warner Springs training area" (North County Times, 1/20/2005)
"The Navy wants to expand its training area, some of which is on Vista Irrigation District land north of Warner Springs near Highway 79, along the district's border with the Cleveland National Forest....In addition to the district land, the Navy uses about 4,900 acres of rocky, rugged U.S. Forest Service land and some land owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/01/21/news/top_stories/23_45_521_20_05.txt

Northern California wilderness bill reintroduced in Congress" (Ukiah Daily Journal, 1/26/2005)
"The bill is designed to protect 310,460 acres of public land throughout Northern California, including 113,314 acres in Mendocino County."
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91%257E3089%257E2674928,00.html