SPOTLIGHT ON PARTNERS: California Department of Boating and Waterways
Over the last several years, the California Department of Boating and Waterways, under the leadership of Project Manager Mike Ammon, has worked closely with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to improve river access for whitewater boating while promoting the safe use of California waterways. Learn more in this occasional News.bytes feature on BLM partners.

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"Hearings on Old Spanish National Historic Trail begin" (USAToday Travel in Farmington, N.M. Daily Times, 2/27/06)
"The Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service are seeking the public's advice this month about how to care for the Old Spanish Trail, a 19th-century trading route between Santa Fe and Los Angeles." Meetings will be held at locations along the trail, through mid-May.
http://www.daily-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060227/NEWS01/602270301/1001

"Feds seize Buddha heads" (Grass Valley Union, 2/24/06)
"Federal agents have seized about 230 Buddha heads from a Colfax man who thinks they could date back to the 12th century....BLM, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the California State Parks Department are all involved in the investigation, because the heads may have been picked up in the Auburn State Recreation Area, some of which is on BLM and Bureau of Reclamation land."
http://www.theunion.com/article/20060224/NEWS/102240133

"Wild horses and burros available for adoption in Turlock" (BLM California news release, 2/24/06)
Directly from public ranges, wild horses and burros are headed for Turlock's Stanislaus County Fairgrounds. The BLM will offer 80 wild horses and 20 burros in the special event that runs Friday through Sunday, March 24-26. Potential adopters can preview the animals when they arrive at about 2 p.m. Friday.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/2006/02/nr/NCNews30_turlock_whbadoption_march06.html

"Experimental Stewardship Committee meets March 15-16 in Cedarville" (BLM California news release, 2/23/06)
Members of the Modoc-Washoe Experimental Stewardship Steering Committee will hear an overview of a cooperative rangeland monitoring program and discuss other natural resource topics, when they meet Wednesday and Thursday, March 15 and 16. The meeting is open to the public.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/2006/02/nr/NCNews29_espmeeting_march06.html

"Bike park faces permit hurdle" (Redding Record Searchlight, 2/28/060
"Despite that missing permit, the park's owners have expanded the network of jumps and trails on the 124-acre property to make it one of the premier dirt bike tracks in the north state." The county's senior planner says "the park is located on land that is not zoned for a motorcycle park, even though there are no homes nearby and it borders the Bureau of Land Management Chappie-Shasta Off Highway Vehicle area....BLM officials also attached a letter to the report saying that portions of [the] track trespassed on federal lands."
http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_local/article/0,2232,REDD_17533_4502219,00.html

"City Council OKs plan to court COD" (Palms Springs Desert Sun, 2/23/06)
College of the Desert plans to build satellite campuses to accomodate more students. "Palm Springs would like to see the campus on 115 acres near the Mountain Gate community on the north end of town. ...The city would exchange about 2,000 acres of open-space land in the San Jacinto Mountains to the Bureau of Land Management for the 115 acres."
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/NEWS01/602230327/1143/yourtown08

"BLM seeks help with OHV book" (Mojave Daily News, 2/27/06)
"Volunteers from the partnering groups, supported by [BLM's Needles Field Office], will help collect, identify, categorize and review points of interest along designated routes of travel within the Needles Resource Area."
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2006/02/28/news/local/local4.txt

"Current job openings - BLM California" (USAJOBS website)
Current listings include public affairs specialist, range technician, realty specialist, secretary, budget technician and firefighting jobs.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9blm-ca.asp

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Quail bet?
Where are Gambel's quail found?
(a) In California wetlands
(b) In damp, conifer forests
(c) In hot, dry deserts
(d) Along the California coast
(e) Nesting in cliffs above the state's bays and rivers
(f) Outside casinos and bingo parlors
----> See the answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes.

SPECIAL STATUS PLANT OF THE WEEK: Tecate cypress...
...is a small multi-trunked, evergreen tree less than 32 feet tall, with an irregular spreading crown. Its cones do not open up for many years. Its habitat is chaparall or dry slopes from 800 to 4800, and it is sometimes found on public lands managed by BLM's Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/pa/ssp/plants/cupressus_forbesii.html

ENERGY

"Utility and its critics debate need for Sunrise" (North County Times, 2/25/06)
"On one point, the diverse players in the sizzling dispute over San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s $1.4 billion Sunrise Powerlink project seem to agree: San Diego County is going to need more electricity for a growing population that has surged past the 3 million mark. But...players sharply disagree on when that extra power will be needed and on whether a proposed transmission line through the backcountry is the best, most economical and least environmentally destructive way to deliver it to the county." BLM is involved by the need for rights-of-way permits across public lands.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/02/26/news/top_stories/22_10_122_25_06.txt

"Oil firm withdraws plan for Carrizo" (San Luis Obispo Tribune, 2/25/06)
"A Bakersfield oil exploration firm has withdrawn its plans to drill for oil in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, all but eliminating the possibility that any leases on federal land within the monument will ever be developed. Longbow LLC of Bakersfield will not meet a March 15 deadline to have an exploratory drill rig in place and operating in the Wells Canyon area along the southern boundary of the monument near New Cuyama."
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/13961113.htm

RELATED: "Carrizo Plain National Monument" (BLM California, Bakersfield Field Office website)
This BLM-managed national monument is just 100 air miles from Los Angeles.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/bakersfield/carrizoplain/carrizoplain.html

"Calif. policy prompts downsize in Gerlach energy plant" (Reno Gazette-Journal, 2/24/06)
"Sempra Energy is considering downsizing its proposed 1,200-megawatt, coal-fired power plant project near Gerlach because of new energy policies in California to curb global warming." The plant has also caused concerns that it could drain northern California northern California groundwater: "Lassen officials are worried whether the pumping of groundwater would affect their ranchers. An environmental study on the coal plant project, overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, is under way."
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060224/NEWS10/602240409/1016/NEWS

Electronic field trip: "POWERful Choices"
Update: This web-based program for middle school students features an "Ask the Experts" segment this week. Our very own BLM California geologist and Geothermal Program Lead, Sean Hagerty, is helping answer student questions on-line. Two other segments are:
1) A "virtual visit" focusing on five major renewable resources and the role of public lands in their use and development; and
2) A student journal which allows educators to assess student learning.
This field trip is now available for viewing (free registration required), and the "Ask the Experts" session started Monday and ends March 1. For more information see:
http://www.efieldtrips.org/energy/

MEET YOUR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Gerald Nordstrom...
...is a retired high school science teacher from Janesville, California and represents regional environmental interests on BLM's Northeast California Resource Advisory Council. Read more:
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/rac/nerac/member_profiles/nordstrom.html

EMPLOYEE PROFILE: Judy Frye...
...Judy Frye, a familiar face in the state director's office for many years, is back as the executive assistant to BLM California's state director. Read more in this week's News.bytes Employee Profile.

WILDLIFE TRIVIA answer
(c) In hot, dry deserts

RELATED: "Gambel's quail Callipepla gambelii" (U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center website)
Identification tips, life history, two photos and more information.
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i2950id.html