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Pocatello Students Competing in Disney’s Planet Challenge to Help BLM with Rehabilitation Project As part of Disney’s Planet Challenge (DPC), Franklin Middle School students in the Gifted and Talented Program (G.A.T.E) are working with the BLM-ID Pocatello Field Office to conduct a rehabilitation project within an area scorched by a 2011 wildfire. The students contacted the BLM a few weeks ago and expressed concerns about the loss of vegetation and potential impacts to wildlife.
They proposed planting shrub seedlings, broadcasting native seeds and constructing erosion control structures as needed to alleviate some of these concerns.  The Pocatello Field Office is providing professional expertise and project guidance and is assisting with the environmental reviews.  Students have contacted the BLM, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Idaho Department of Fish & Game and private businesses and individuals to obtain donations and supplies to plan, implement and complete their project.
Students conducted a site visit on Friday, November 11 and are beginning planting Friday, November 18.  The project will continue throughout the fall, weather permitting.

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Forever Learning Youth Program Kicks Off: Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA Education Specialist Barb Forderhase will be giving a series of lessons on raptors as part of Morley Nelson Elementary School’s Forever Learning Youth (FLY) program.  The series starts November 10 and runs for eight weeks.  Students sign up for the FLY series, which they participate in on Thursdays during their lunch hour.  The NCA’s education birds – Copper (short-eared owl), Little Hawk (Swainson’s hawk) and Merlin (great horned owl) – will visit throughout the series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Emmett Youth Question Wild Horse Program: During the month of November, students from Shadow Butte and Carberry elementary schools in Emmett, Idaho are learning more about BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro (WHB) Program from presentations by Boise District Wild Horse Specialist Steve Leonard. Steve provides the students with a history lesson; BLM’s responsibility for monitoring the health of the herds and their ranges; why and how BLM gathers with helicopters; and a list of “fact and fiction” – what is appearing in the internet vs. what is fact. “I was asked if BLM is really slaughtering horses and if wild horses are going to soon be extinct,” Steve said. “It is great to see the high level of interest among these young people in ‘their’ herd of Mustangs located north of Emmett.”

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Magic Valley Elementary Students Learn about the Archaeology of Food: Idaho BLM Jarbidge Field Office Archaeology Technician Kathryn Smith and Range Technician Lori Shafer presented “The Archaeology of Food” to Hollister Elementary 4th and 5th graders and Kimberly Elementary 3rd graders for a special “Ag in the Classroom” session last week. The presentation taught the students how Archaeologists study the people in the past and the tools they used to hunt their food. Artifact replicas were used to represent authentic tools. The children were inquisitive and had many personal stories to share. One student wanted to know how turtles were cooked, while another asked if they could take the bones they find to a musuem to identify. Others had questions about how to know if they are on government land and if it was illegal for the BLM to have the artifacts in the classroom. This last question showed that the student gained knowledge from the presentation about leaving artifacts where they find them in the field. Kathryn and Lori would like to thank Kimberly High School’s FFA program for their invitation as well as Hollister and Kimberly Elementary staff for sharing their classrooms.

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Outdoor Camp Teaches Students about Natural Resources: David Sisson, Coeur d’Alene District archeologist, worked with the Grangeville sixth grade classes at the annual outdoor field camp sponsored by the Natural Resource Conservation Service.  The three-day camp includes partners from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, University of Idaho, Idaho Department of Lands and Idaho Department of Water Resources.  Students learn about a variety of resources as well as participate in team building exercises and individual challenges. Archeology, forestry, water quality, wildlife, plant identification and outdoor orienteering are taught at the camp.  David presented information about archeology in an all-day setting in this unique outdoor educational venture. 

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Shoshone Outdoor Recreation Planner Teaches Class about Local Volcanism 

Richfield eighth graders were treated to an exciting class taught by BLM Shoshone Outdoor Recreation Planner David Freiberg.  Freiberg shared information on local volcanism; Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve; public lands; and Leave No Trace principles.  To top off the day, the students built and then blew up mini-volcanoes. 

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Jarbidge Wild Horse & Burro Specialist Teaches Jerome High School Students 

Jarbidge Wild Horse & Burro Specialist Krystle Pehrson taught a class of Jerome High School sophomore biology students about wild horse management, the Long Butte Fire of 2010 and the ensuing 2010 Emergency Gather.  The students also learned about fire rehabilitation following the Long Butte Fire, including the number of acres that were drill and aerially seeded.  Pehrson also shared photos exemplifying the recovery since the Long Butte Fire.  The students expressed the most interest in the Wild Horse Program, asking about the management of wild horses.  Students at Jerome High School are required to complete a senior project, and a few of them expressed interest in conducting their senior project on the Wild Horse Program.  Pehrson has agreed to mentor them and take them to visit the horses in the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area.  “It is exciting to get local youth interested in Idaho’s rangelands and wild horses,” said Pehrson. 

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Owyhee Outlaws Race Attracts 85 Participants: The Owyhee Outlaws motorcycle race was held on October 9 over the weekend. The desert race, sponsored by the Owyhee Outlaws, an organization within SIDRA, was held along the Owyhee Front within the competitive use area. There were roughly 85 participants in this 65-mile annual race. Typically, they run the event within the Bruneau FO but wanted a change of scenery this year. This was their first event in the Owyhee FO since 2008.