Bureau of Land Management Offers Spring Tours at Pine Hill Preserve

Five springtime guided field trips to view wildflowers and other features at the Pine Hill Preserve in western El Dorado County are scheduled for late April through early June.

BLM Preserve Manager Graciela Hinshaw said the Pine Hill Preserve may be one of the most botanically diverse areas in California. "Five plant species are listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, and three of those are found nowhere else in the world,” Hinshaw said. “This year may be especially spectacular for wildflower displays due to favorable weather."

The guided field trips, all on Saturdays, are scheduled as follows:
April 24 (Cameron Park)
May 1 (Salmon Falls - Birding) 
May 15 (Pine Hill)              
May 22 (Cameron Park)       
June 6 (Salmon Falls)        

The birding trip on May 1 starts at 7 a.m. and features prominent birder Chris Conard, who will speak about the birds of the preserve.

All other field trips start at 9 a.m. Fieldtrip participants will meet at designated areas and carpool to the site. All are asked to bring a lunch or snacks, water, sturdy shoes, hats, sunscreen and insect repellant.

All trips are limited to 25 participants. Participants must pre-register with the Pine Hill Preserve.

For more information, please contact the Bureau of Land Management, Mother Lode Field Office, El Dorado Hills, Calif. 95762, or call 916/941-3101 or 916/941-3134. For reservations, contact Graciela Hinshaw, preserve manager, at graciela_hinshaw@ca.blm.gov

The Pine Hill Preserve is managed under a cooperative agreement among nine federal, state, and county agencies and consists of 4,737 acres in five separate units to protect rare plants that grow in gabbro-associated soils.  Additional information on the preserve is available on the web at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/folsom/pinehillpreserve.html.

Central California District   2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825