News.bytes Extra, issue 536

Northeast California RAC Tours Newly Acquired Public Lands, Reviews Project Proposals

Members of the BLM’s Northeast California Resource Advisory Council toured newly acquired public lands in far northwestern Nevada, and commented on proposed grazing management and recreation site improvement projects there, when they met June 13 and 14 in Cedarville, Calif.

             
Tim Burke, acting manager of the Surprise Field Office, right, explains to RAC members management issues at Boulder Reservoir.

The BLM-California Surprise Field Office, which manages about a million acres of public lands in Nevada, acquired the new public lands through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, and is considering projects to manage seasonal livestock grazing and to improve public recreation opportunities at Boulder Reservoir and nearby Divine Springs.

A meadow called the Mare Field within the acquired Homecamp public lands.

RAC members also had the chance to experience firsthand the vastness and rugged beauty of the northwest Nevada landscape.

RAC members examine the remnants of a rock structure, top photo, and hike across a mountain summit in the Hays Range overlooking northeast California’s Surprise Valley and the Warner Mountains (inset).

During their business meeting, the RAC heard updates on a variety of projects in the northeast region of California, and provided comments on the BLM’s work to more strongly incorporate socioeconomic data into decision making processes.

The 15-member RAC, one of 24 such advisory councils in the BLM, works closely with the Alturas, Eagle Lake (Susanville) and Surprise (Cedarville) field offices to advise the BLM on the full range of its multiple use management mission.  Information on the RAC, including summary meeting minutes, can be found online here. The site also contains information on applying for RAC membership.

- Jeff Fontana, Public Affairs Officer, BLM Northern California District (June, 2012)

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