News.bytes Extra, issue 384

Northeast California students greet spring with BLM field trips

The long, cold winter is over, and a glorious northeast California spring has children anxious to get outside.  The BLM's Eagle Lake Field Office is happy to oblige, and for the past few weeks has been conducting public land field trips for area schools.

The Belfast petroglyph site near Susanville is an annual stop for elementary school classes.  Joined by representatives from the Susanville Indian Rancheria, the BLM staff provides information about the first people to inhabit the region, the importance of Willow Creek for wildlife and people, and other natural resource information.

Below, first photo, archaeologist Sharynn Blood provides information on protecting cultural resources to students from Shaffer and Richmond schools. In the second photo,  students listen to  wildlife biologist Missi Nelson as they prepared to hike into the Willow Creek Canyon.  The canyon is within the Tunnison Mountain Wilderness Study area, part of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.

Lassen County third graders also have a long tradition of a spring field trip to the BLM wild horse and burro corrals near Litchfield, east of Susanville. Below, they get a close look at horses in the large holding pens, and then line up for a chance to pet Blue, a formerly wild horse now used as a  working saddle horse at the corrals.

The children also get the chance to learn more about their high desert surroundings and the animals that live in the region.  Below, Eagle Lake staff member Sue Noggles leads a group away from the main corral area for a lesson on botany and habitat.  The classes end their trip with a picnic, second photo below.

- Jeff Fontana, BLM 5/26/09

BLM-California News.bytes, issue 384