BLM California News.Bytes Issue 908

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A filed of yellow wildflower.

Bakersfield Field Office

ISSUE 908- June 25, 2020

  • Recreation and Public Access
  • Headlines & Highlights
  • Wildland Fire & Fuels Management 
  • BLM & DOI Highlights
  • Wildlife Question of the Week
  • Upcoming Events

Recreation and Public Access

A lady walking her dog on a beach.

Dog days of summer are here!

Public lands offer many opportunities to hike with your family pets. Before you go, please check with the local BLM offices for off-leash hiking policies. Never leave your pets in the car! Temperatures rise quickly, even with the windows down, and can be deadly for your pet. #PetPreparednessMonth #KnowBeforeYouGo. (BLM CA Facebook)

Mountains and forest next to a coast.

BLM announces reopening of King Range National Conservation Area recreation sites

Recreation sites in the King Range National Conservation Area, including the Lost Coast Trail, will be reopened to the public beginning Tuesday, June 23. Included in the reopening plans are the Mattole, Nadelos, Wailaki and Tolkan campgrounds and all trailheads. (BLM CA news release)

A biker looking towards a mountain range.

#RecreateResponsibly this weekend

BLM California continues to work with local officials to reopen recreation sites throughout the state as quickly and safely as possible. Many sites have already opened! Field staff continue to clean and prepare additional sites so they will be ready for visitors soon. (BLM CA Facebook)

An info-graphic about recreating outdoors during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Practice social distancing outdoors

Outdoor activities can provide many health benefits when practiced safely. We recommend visiting areas close to home while avoiding very popular or crowded locations where social distancing may be difficult and limiting group activities to members of your household. Do your part when visiting public lands. (BLM CA Website)


Headline & Highlights

A helicopter hovering closer to ground.

Ravendale Helitack Crew H553 training for a hover hookup

Check out this video of Ravendale Helitack Crew H553 training for a hover hookup! This maneuver is used when there is not enough room to safely get the helicopter, a Bell 407 HP, on the ground to pick up equipment. Crews practice this operation at their home base in Ravendale, CA to be prepared when out in the field fighting wildfires. (BLM CA Facebook)

Rocks and trees fallen from rock slide.

5.8 magnitude earthquake rattles Central California

A 5.8 earthquake was reported near Lone Pine, CA. BLM staff have been doing on-site assessments and report no injuries or damage at BLM recreation sites. The Mobius Arch and Heart Arch geological features remain intact. BLM-managed public lands, including the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area and Tuttle Creek Campground remain open to the public. The Mobius Arch and Heart Arch geological features remain intact.  (BLM CA Facebook)

A volunteer sits by a plant.

This week is #PollinatorWeek

Volunteers from the Mojave Desert Land Trust carefully plant trees in Afton Canyon in the Southern Californian desert to encourage habitats for pollinators. The Honey Mesquite and Desert Willow plants were nurtured and grown by our partners at Victor Valley College which is supported by the BLM's Plant Conservation & Restoration Program. For more about BLM’s habitat conservation efforts, please visit our website. (BLM CA Facebook)

Related: Celebrate #PollinatorWeek with this busy bee video!

Invasive Stinkwort next to a river.

BLM asks public help in battle against invasive plant

Northern California natural resource managers are asking for the public’s help in a battle against an invasive, non-native plant with a name that hints at its damaging and unpleasant impacts: stinkwort. (BLM CA news release)

Two employees taking measurements in a river.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey trout and salmon in the Clear Creek Greenway

Imagine taking a kayak out on the water all day as a full-time job. Well, that’s exactly what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees from the Red Bluff office do for a portion of the year. The work is critical for surveying Clear Creek for the presence of steelhead, rainbow trout and late-fall Chinook salmon nests known as redds. (BLM blog)

Clear creek winding through dry landscape with trees and brush.

Work starts on Lower Clear Creek restoration project

Visitors to the Bureau of Land Management China Garden recreation site along Lower Clear Creek south of Redding can expect to see heavy equipment working along the creek banks and channel this summer, as the Lower Clear Creek Floodway Restoration Project continues through September. (BLM CA news release)


Wildland Fire & Fuels Management

FA graphic that reads fire updates.

Crews fighting lightning-caused fires on BLM-managed lands in NE California

Firefighters from the Bureau of Land Management and multiple cooperating agencies are fighting wildland fires sparked by lightning last night on northeast California public lands managed by the BLM. Fire engines, bulldozers and aircraft are assigned. (BLM CA news release)

An info graphic that describes preventing human caused wildfires.

Help prevent wildfires

Every year in California, almost 95 percent of all wildfires are human-caused and could have been prevented. This poses a considerable threat to the public and the firefighters who risk their lives every day. Please do your part to help prevent wildland fires. Learn more here. (BLM CA Facebook)

 video still showing a table saw with 10 ft parameter.

Working outdoors wildfire safety tips

If you are working outdoors, please consider wildfire safety, especially the timing of your outdoor home projects! Working in the morning, ensuring 10 feet of clearance, and having a fire extinguisher ready can prevent a wildfire. (BLM Facebook)

BLM Logo

BLM California fire restrictions

BLM-CA has issued season fire restrictions due to increased wildland fire danger in the state. Full list below:

BLM CA issues statewide Fire Prevention Order
BLM Bakersfield Field Office issues seasonal fire restrictions.
BLM Bishop Field Office issues seasonal fire restrictions
BLM Central Coast Field Office issues seasonal fire restrictions
BLM Mother Lode Field Office initiates seasonal fire restrictions
BLM initiates seasonal fire and target shooting restrictions in the California Desert District
BLM initiates Whitewater Canyon closure due to increased wildfire risk
BLM Ukiah Field Office initiates seasonal fire restrictions
BLM announces seasonal fire restrictions for public lands managed by Redding Field Office

U.S. Map with wildfire outlook.

Wildland fire outlook

Check out the latest #WildlandFireOutlook! Available here. (NIFC Facebook)


BLM & DOI Highlights

Photo John Hope Franklin Park memorial markers.

Secretary Bernhardt designates John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park as African American civil rights network site

The John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park features Hope Plaza and the Tower of Reconciliation, memorializing the history of African Americans in Oklahoma, including the lives lost at the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, with the goal of transforming years of racial division into a hopeful future of reconciliation and cooperation for Tulsa and the Nation. (DOI news release)

People on a tour boat in a river.

Secretary Bernhardt announces more than $54 million to keep waters clean, support outdoor recreation

Secretary Bernhardt announced $32.8 million in grants – with an additional non-federal match of $21.9 million – for states and communities to support outdoor recreation and help boaters keep America’s waters clean. (DOI news release)

Alaska map.

Trump administration supports Alaska native Vietnam Veterans

The Bureau of Land Management welcomes feedback from the public on the proposed rules, which are the product of extensive collaboration between the BLM, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as Alaska Native organizations. (DOI news release)

MITCHELL LEVERETTE.

BLM names Mitchell Leverette as Eastern States Director

Bureau of Land Management Deputy Director for Policy and Programs William Perry Pendley today announced the appointment of Mitchell Leverette as the new BLM Eastern States Director. (BLM news release)

Video still of a fishing reel.

June 18 was National Go Fishing Day 

The Bureau of Land Management manages over 130,000 miles of fishable rivers and streams and provides countless public recreational fishing access opportunities throughout the nation. From desert reservoirs to mountain streams, BLM's fisheries and aquatic resources support public recreation and subsistence fisheries and are critical for sustaining the nation’s aquatic resources and fisheries. BLM-managed lands are open for fishing unless specifically closed for specific resource protection purposes. (DOI Instagram)

Video still of camper watching a sunset.

#FirstDayOfSummer!

June 20th officially marks the #FirstDayOfSummer! If you head out on #publiclands, please #RecreateResponsibly by following these tips: ✔️Follow guidance from local and state authorities, as well as the CDC ✔️Check what’s open by calling your local BLM office - blm.gov/contact.
✔️ Help prevent human-caused wildfires.
✔️Be ready when nature calls with supplies like soap, water, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and trash bags.
✔️Bring everything you need, including water, food, and other supplies to minimize contact with other communities near your destination. (DOI Instagram)


Wildlife Question of the Week

A butterfly on a yellow flower.

Multiple choices

June 22 to 28 is designated as National Pollinator Week. Test your knowledge about pollinators by answering the following question.

Which of the following is not considered a pollinator?

a) Bees
b) Bats
c) Butterflies
d) Ants

Keep scrolling to find the answer.


Upcoming Events

BLM Logo

BLM seeks public comment on OMYA’s proposed plan of operation to use mill site mining claims

Deadline 6 July, 2020

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on an Environmental Assessment of the applicant’s use of mill site mining claims for rock and soil placement as a result of mining operations at the White Knob-White Ridge Limestone Quarries south of Lucerne Valley. (BLM CA news release)

Horses

3rd Annual Wild Horse Walkabout

21 Aug at 09:00 – 23 Aug at 17:00

Join us in beautiful northeastern California for an exciting weekend of exploring and experiential learning about wild horses and their habitat. Details and registration to follow. (BLM CA Facebook)

Wildlife Question of the Week Answer

The answer is d), ants are not considered pollinators. Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.

Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants – the very plants that:

  • bring us countless fruits, vegetables, and nuts
  • ½ of the world’s oils, fibers and raw materials
  • prevent soil erosion
  • and increase carbon sequestration

This nearly invisible ecosystem service is a precious resource that requires attention and support - - and in disturbing evidence found around the globe, is increasingly in jeopardy. Pollinator Partnership (P2) urges you know how this system supports you, and how your actions can help support healthy and sustainable pollination.

Source: pollinator.org

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