Finding your perfect trail on CA public lands

Hiking on BLM California public lands can take you on treks from the high deserts to lush valleys. With over 1,700 miles of nationally designated trails on BLM public lands, you are sure to have plenty of beautiful public lands to explore. To help get you started on planning your next adventure, visit the BLM website.

Perfect fall weather for racers to get back to competition

More than four hundred dirt bike racers met at Fort Sage Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area in southern Lassen County, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13-14. Competing in various classes, riders completed up to three loops of the 28-mile race course. The event was put on by AMA District 36, which held a Special Recreation Permit from our Eagle Lake Field Office. (BLM CA Web)

Thanks to the volunteers from the Fall Highball Craggin' Classic!

Volunteers joined staff from the Bureau of Land Management at the Happy Boulders to restore a duplicate social trail. The volunteers used vertical mulching, a technique of using pieces of dead shrubs and planting them in the disturbed area, to restore the trail. The dead shrubs create a physical and visual barrier to deter people from using the trail and can also catch water and seeds to encourage native plant growth. (BLM CA Facebook)

November is Native American Month!

California is a state both rich and diverse in the enduring legacies, and dynamic and thriving cultures of Tribal communities. Native American communities bring Tribal Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of CA's diverse landscapes & cultural resources to BLM-CA managed public lands each and every day through collaborative projects, programs & traditional practices on your public lands. (BLM Facebook)

Interns from the WISDOM program release study data

After a year-long study of the night sky in the Mojave Trails National Monument, interns with our Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) program have just completed data confirming that the monument has some of the darkest skies in Southern California. Be sure to bring your telescopes on your next visit! (Desert Sun)

Project to seek hidden geothermal systems in Imperial Valley, California

The US Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office and the US Geological Society have recently launched a project that aims to collect on hidden geothermal systems in California’s Imperial Valley where the geothermally active Salton Sea is located. (Think GeoEnergy)

BLM lifts seasonal fire restrictions in the California Desert District

The California Desert District has lifted seasonal fire restrictions, effective immediately, to allow campfires and target shooting on BLM-managed public lands in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, southern Inyo, eastern Mono, San Diego, and eastern Kern counties. (BLM CA News Release)

The work never stops for BLM fire crews

Crews continue to conduct prescribed burning while the weather and conditions are safe to do so. This particular project will potentially treat several hundred acres of pile burning in the coming weeks throughout the Redding and Applegate Field Offices. These fuels treatments reduce the buildup of excess brush and other timber, contributing to efforts to slow the spread of wildfires.(BLM CA Facebook)

Looking for a #FireJob?

The Bureau of Land Management Fire program is filling multiple Hotshot Wildland Firefighter (Forestry Technician) positions in California, including with our Folsom Lake Veteran Crew. View open positions at USAJOBS.

To learn how to apply, visit: USAJOBS YouTube

Director's report: a new norm demands we adapt

At the Department of the Interior, we recognize that the new norm of longer, more extreme wildfire seasons demands that we adapt our approach to wildland fire management. We are prioritizing the need to modernize our firefighting workforce while creating good jobs and protecting the safety and long-term wellbeing of our wildland firefighters and incident responders.(DOI Wildland Fire News) 

Office of Wildland Fire quarterly bulletin, Fall edition

The fall 2021 edition of the Office of Wildland Fire's quarterly newsletter reflects on a record-setting fire season, increased funding for wildland fire management, firefighting workforce reforms, Tribal contributions to firefighting as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November, and more. (DOI Wildland Fire News)

BLM California fire restrictions

BLM California fire restrictions or temporary public land closures reduce the risk of wildfires and protect the public. Often times, these preventative measures focus on human-related activities, such as campfires, off-road driving, equipment use and recreational target shooting, since human-related activities are the number one cause of a wildfires. Some fire restrictions are still in place. (BLM CA Web)

A. 5%

B. 10%

C. 20%

D. 50%

Keep scrolling to find out!

Photo of a Feather Plume from Native American Regalia, courtesy of Bureau of Indian Affairs

Secretary Haaland takes action to remove derogatory names from federal lands

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland formally established a process to review and replace derogatory names of the nation’s geographic features. She also declared “squaw” to be a derogatory term and ordered the Board on Geographic Names – the federal body tasked with naming geographic places – to implement procedures to remove the term from federal usage. (DOI News Release)

Interior and Agriculture Departments take action to strengthen Tribal co-stewardship of public lands and waters

This Week at Interior November 19, 2021

It's the first White House Tribal Nations Summit of the Biden-Harris administration; the Secretary joins Indigenous people around the world for "Rock Your Mocs" Day; and Secretary Haaland and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sign an agreement that could bring green transportation technology to our national parks. (DOI YouTube)