BLM California News.Bytes Issue 999

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A mountainside covered in flowers at sunrise.

Corn Springs Campground, Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office

ISSUE 999 - May 13, 2022



Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Mountain range lit by a sunset glows orange.

Biden-Harris Administration announce more than $68 million from BIL to conserve and strengthen ecosystems and economics

The Biden-Harris administration today announced that 125 ecosystem restoration projects in over 20 states, Tribes and territories will receive nearly $68.4 million in fiscal year 2022 funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (DOI News Release)

Red flower stalks on top of a mountain range.

BLM announces $26 million for ecosystem restoration

The Bureau of Land Management announced national project allocations for $26 million received through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to begin the work of ecosystem restoration following the Department of the Interior’s allocation of more than $68 million for 125 ecosystem restoration projects in over 20 states, Tribes and territories. (BLM News Release)

A coastal mountain range covered in thick forest.

Funding for CA ecosystem projects allocated

We are pleased to announce that BLM California will receive $7.8M in project allocations through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to complete twenty-six projects throughout the state for ecosystem restoration! View the Department of Interior's list of approved projects.


Adventures on Your Public Lands

Children on a fishing pier casting lines.

Plenty of fish for students to hook

Over 100 students, grades K-8, enjoyed the outdoors on public lands with environmental education activities provided by the Bureau of Land Management at the Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area. We love the excitement and energy the students bring to the outdoor classroom! (BLM CA Facebook)

Photo of a man on a large rock slab, looking up slope while two people look towards the man in the foreground.

Exploring geology through guided hikes 

With support from the non-profit Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve, Kody led the two-mile Clear Creek Trail hike through old tailings sites, active mining claims, and an outcropping of rocks dating over 65 million years old from the cretaceous period, when the valley was covered in a shallow sea. (BLM CA Facebook)

A person picking up trash.

Thank you volunteers for your service!

Recently, volunteers arrived early in the morning to clean up two of the shooting bays at the Iron Mountain Shooting Range, filling an entire dump trailer that totaled one ton of trash left behind by others! The next clean up is scheduled for Saturday, May 21 bright and early at 6:30 am - feel free to come out and help! (BLM CA Facebook)

Women gather around maps that are on the ground.

Women's off-road training at Imperial Sand Dunes

Future competitors in the Rebelle Rally trained at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area and Superstition Mountain OHV area for the annual, all-women, navigation competition that spans Nevada and California. The competitors will show off their new skills at this year's Rebelle Rally in five months! (BLM CA Facebook)


Headlines & Highlights

Five people standing on a stage posing for a photograph, while one is a law enforcement officer holding a plaque.

2020 Ranger of the Year

The Bureau of Land Management celebrated six of our finest law enforcement professionals for their excellence and dedication to service. 2020 Ranger of the Year Daniel Baca from Bureau of Land Management California's El Centro Field Office was one of the six honored at a ceremony attended by family, friends, and loved ones. (BLM Facebook)

A small beach plant with white flowers.

Arcata Field Office contributes to downlisting of California beach plant

Recent news that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had downlisted a little-known dune plant from endangered to threatened status was met with cheers on California’s north coast! To read more about how the Bureau of Land Management California contributed to the comeback story of the beach layia plant, visit our blog.

A carpenter bee rests on an orange flower.

Good living: Pine Hill Preserve is one-of-a-kind

The Pine Hill Preserve was established in 2001 and is home to eight rare plant species. Four are endemic to the area, which means they don’t grow anywhere else in the world, one is nearly endemic and the others are found in a few places elsewhere. This assemblage of rare plants is part of a unique community that only grows in the Gabbro soils. (Mt. Democrat)


Fire and Fuels Management

A woman in uniform behind a booth table handing our flyers.

Learn about fire safety and prevention at the LA County Fair!

Staff from the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service are participating in the Los Angeles County Fair as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. They will host a wildfire prevention and safety exhibit and provide information on defensible space and how to harden (prepare) your home for wildfire. (BLM CA Facebook)

People walking on a gravel road.

Fire crews prepare for an active summer

The Diamond Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew kicked off Fire Year 2022 with their required Work Capacity test and they will complete their 80-hour critical refresher training. Once completed, they will be available for assignment to national incidents! Stay safe! (BLM CA Facebook)

Wildfire is coming. Are you ready?

Wildfire prevention starts at home

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. (Ready For Wildfire)


Question of the Week

A group of hummingbirds is referred to as a _______________

A up-close photo of an Anna's hummingbird in flight, wings pushed back.

 

A. Bouquet, Hover, or Troubling 

B. Chattering, Drum, or Tune 

C. Glittering, Shimmer, or Charm 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Robert McMorran, USFWS


Careers on Your Public Lands

Three people in uniforms and hard hats talking.

Now Hiring for BLM California

Bureau of Land Management California is looking to fill multiple FIRE jobs across the state. For all BLM CA current vacancies, visit USAJOBS!

Featured Job: Mitigation and Trespass Forestry Technician

Locations: Redding, CA
Pay: $49,549-$71,146/year
Position closes May 24th - Apply today!

Additional open positions

Assistant District Fire Management Officer, GS-12, Permanent

Park Ranger, GS-7/9, Permanent

Wildland Firefighter - Entry Level, GS-3/4, Temporary

Maintenance Mechanic - WG-10, Permanent


DOI & BLM National News

Horses galloping in a field.

BLM seeks services to expand fertility control efforts for wild horses and burros

As part of its efforts to increase the use of fertility control to slow the growth of wild horse and burro herds on public lands, the Bureau of Land Management is seeking new contract services to humanely gather, treat with fertility control, and then release wild horses and burros back to the range.  (BLM News Release)

Four people standing talking to each other outside in grass.

This Week at Interior - May 13, 2022

Interior releases Volume 1 of an investigative report into the tragic legacy of federal Indian boarding schools; Secretary Haaland honors the sacrifice of law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty; Interior leaders highlight the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to reform hardrock mining laws, regulations and permitting policies. (DOI YouTube)

Question of the Week Answer

If you answered A, B, or C you would be correct! All of these terms are used in reference to a group of hummingbirds.

Despite having numerous names to describe a group of hummingbirds, they are not social creatures. They prefer a solitary life and are very territorial. Also, hummingbirds with their tiny bodies and high activity levels have the highest metabolism (the body’s processes to change food into energy) of any animal - about 100 times that of an elephant. To survive they consume about their weight in nectar daily. 

Anna’s hummingbirds eat nectar from many flowering plants on your BLM California public lands including currant, gooseberry, and manzanita. They also eat a variety of insects, like midges, whiteflies, and leafhoppers and feed on tree sap leaking out from holes made by sapsuckers.

Visit Cornell University's All About Bird's website to view a video of solitary and beautiful Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna), a year-round resident of the Pacific coast. 

Sources: Cornell University, Stanford University, USFWS

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