BLM CELEBRATES 60 YEARS: Part 9 - "Agency with a mission"
Created by Congress in 1946, BLM's roots go back to 1812 and the General Land Office -- and even further back to the creation of the United States. Join us for this ninth and final in a series of video slide shows revealing BLM's history.
Video - broadband:
http://www.blm.gov/ca/media/video/history/history9-broad.html
Video - dial-up:
http://www.blm.gov/ca/media/video/history/history9-dial.html

This is the final installment of this video series. A big "thanks" to BLM Oregon's Joseph Ross for compiling much of the information used in this series. You can read an even more complete account in his article (PDF file, 880 kilobytes):
http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/national/national_page.Par.59990.File.dat/rala_28_5_16-23_4_ecd.pdf

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What is the personality of the Green Sunfish?
a. they are very passive and are easily dominated by other species
b. they cooperate with certain other species to improve their habitat, in symbiosis
c. they are skittish, and avoid all other animals except once a year for mating
d. they are very dominant and often quickly overwhelm other species
e. they are obsessively jealous of other freshwater animals - especially frogs, that get to leave the water
------> See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes.

RECREATION ON PUBLIC LANDS

"Stalking the stalkers" (Salinas Californian, 1/20/07)
"Wild pigs once again are safe in the brush on the public lands of the former Fort Ord. The pigs benefit from federal Bureau of Land Management wildlife policies that both preserve the porkers' hides and provide Salinas-area residents with recreational opportunities. Daily on the former Fort Ord, a wildlife drama unfolds, and visitors often catch glimpses of it. Players include snakes, lizards, mountain lions, deer, badger, coyotes, birds of assorted feathers and even sheep." http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070120/LIFESTYLE/701200322

"Cosumnes River Preserve a stroll through a birders' paradise" (Redding Record Searchlight, 1/23/07)
"The immature green egret froze; a living sculpture in browns and tans -- with those funky, greenish-yellow feet. An absolute treat for the three hikers who were just completing the Cosumnes River Nature Walk Trail, part of the 40,000-acre Cosumnes River Preserve 14 miles south of Sacramento. The heron posed like a statue in the cattail marsh -- just feet off the dirt trail -- for minutes."
http://www.redding.com/news/2007/jan/21/cosumnes-river-preserve-a-stroll-through-a/

RELATED: "Cosumnes River Preserve" (BLM California website)
Managed by the BLM and several partners, the Preserve is home to California's largest remaining valley oak riparian forest, and is one of the few protected wetland habitat areas in the state. The Cosumnes River is the only free-flowing river left in California's Central Valley.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/folsom/cosumpres.html

"Last call for park’s reservation system" (Stockton Record, 1/23/07)
"Yosemite campers soon will say farewell to the crash-prone reservation system that has tormented them for years. On Feb. 7, the National Park Service will combine its telephone and Internet reservation system with those of other national land agencies such as the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The new National Recreation Reservation Service is supposed to serve as a one-stop shop for campers across the continent."
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070123/A_NEWS/70122006

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"Two residents off to help fight massive blaze" (Bakersfield Californian, 1/19/07)
A Kern County firefighter from the BLM and one from the U.S. Forest Service "are among more than 100 U.S. personnel traveling to Australia to battle a massive fire burning east and northwest of Melbourne....There are 2.6 million acres burning....Chris Ryan, a Bureau of Land Management-Bakersfield District employee, will serve as a resource unit leader in the operation."
(May require free registration.)
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/95459.html

"Pond Mine mercury targeted for cleanup" (Auburn Journal, 1/21/07)
"A poisonous vestige of the Foresthill-area's Gold Rush past is being targeted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for possible cleanup. Located about three miles southwest of Foresthill, the Pond Mine was one of the hundreds of placer mining operations dotting the Sierra Nevada in the 19th century that used mercury to recover small particles of gold."
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/01/22/news/top_stories/02mine22.txt

RELATED: "Pond Mine Engineering Environmental Cost Analysis" (BLM California website)
Large PDF file - 6.23 megabytes, 138 pages:
http://www.blm.gov/ca/pdfs/folsom_pdfs/Draft_Pond_Mine_EECA.pdf

"Environmentalists seek to join case over Death Valley roads" (Associated Press in San Francisco, 1/18/07)
"The environmentalists see the disputed area as desert canyons and valleys, which the Bureau of Land Management found to be 'roadless' years ago. But the county views the same area as approximately 20 miles of established roadways that can be widened to two lanes to accommodate increased traffic as needed, according to a suit filed on Oct. 24."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/01/18/state/n202909S43.DTL

"BLM Bakersfield planning efforts kicked off with training session" (News.bytes Extra)
The last decade has brought change for BLM's Bakersfield Field Office. To respond to that change and prepare for the future, the Field Office is embarking on two major planning efforts. A planning concepts course brought together many of those involved, to help them succeed in these efforts.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/newsbytes/xtra-07/265-xtra_bakfoplan.html

"State tries to reduce turbine-related bird deaths" (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/18/07)
"State agencies are on track to adopt guidelines this summer to reduce the number of eagles, hawks and owls that are killed by wind turbines....While the Inland region has the lowest number of bird fatalities associated with wind farms statewide, an average of 6,670 birds are killed annually in the San Gorgonio Pass and the Palm Springs area, according to a 2005 study by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management."
(May require free registration.)
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_R_turbines19.255c16a.html

"Desert search locates soldier" (San Bernardino County Sun, 1/22/07)
"An Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan took maps of the Mojave Desert and abandoned his car late last week southwest of Needles, sheriff's officials said Sunday. But rescuers - including volunteers from Redlands and Yucaipa - helped find the young soldier alive and unhurt Sunday afternoon on a mountaintop south of the Mojave National Preserve...." BLM's Needles Field Office rangers assisted in the search and location.
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_5059782?source=email

"Cal Poly in Kern County?" (Bakersfield Californian, 1/19/07)
"Kern County could be home to a California Polytechnic State University in 10 to 20 years if a local group gets its way. The Antelope Valley Board of Trade hopes to...present...three possible sites for a university.....One is on Edwards Air Force Base, another is about three miles northeast of Mojave Airport and the third would consist of patches of land from the Bureau of Land Management scattered between Ridgecrest and California City."
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/95446.html

"Congressman pushes for land transfer for Pechangas" (North County Times, 1/20/07)
A congressional bill would transfer "1,200 acres of federal land into the control of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians...would take three separate parcels out of the control of the Bureau of Land Management and add them to the existing 5,500 acres of the Pechanga Reservation. The Pechangas say the land holds cultural and historical importance to the tribe. The bill would put the areas into the care of the tribe for conservation and preservation."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/21/news/californian/22_33_241_20_07.txt

"Park agency urges SDG&E to bury Sunrise Powerlink" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/20/07)
"The agency that oversees the San Dieguito River Park yesterday adopted a resolution urging San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to build its Sunrise Powerlink transmission line underground through the Santa Ysabel Valley. Not meant as an endorsement of the project, the resolution says only that if the line is approved by the state, the river park's Joint Powers Authority hopes it will be built below ground in that part of the county. " BLM is involved in rights-of-way permitting for parts of the route.
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070120-9999-1mi20ysabel.html

"Current job openings - BLM California" (USAJOBS website)
Current listings include biological science technician, human resources assistant, firefighters, wildlife biologist, dispatcher, and more.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9blm-ca.asp

MEET YOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Robert Brockman...
...represents the City of Rancho Mirage on the Santa Rosa San Jacinto Mountains Advisory Committee, for the national monument managed by the BLM and U.S. Forest Service. Read more:
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/rac/srsjmnm_rac/member_profiles/Robert_Brockman.html

WILDLIFE TRIVIA answer
d. they are very dominant and often quickly overwhelm other species

SOURCE: "Green Sunfish - Lepomis cyanellus" (BLM California wildlife database)
This non-native fish quickly dominates in places where it is introduced and is a major threat to our native fish species. It is an extremely aggressive fish that defines its territory immediately upon entering a new habitat. In a very short time span, green sunfish can take over and become the only species in a particular area.

RELATED: "Lepomis cyanellus (green sunfish)" (University of Michigan, Animal Diversity Web)
More information about the green sunfish, plus photos, on this website "written largely by and for college students."
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lepomis_cyanellus.html