A publication of
Bureau of Land Management in California
Issue date: 3/12/2003
This week in News.bytes:
- Geothermal Energy:
- Photo Album
- BLM California Issue Update
- Department of Interior officials on local, national, BLM issues:
Budget: Interior Secretary before Congress
- Not For Educators
- Plant of the Week: Slender Orcutt grass
- Bookstore Feature: "The Californian Wildlife
- Wildlife Trivia Question of the Week: Some like
it hot (reptiles, that is)
- Land use
planning: issues, controversies, including:
- Imperial Sand Dunes
- Western Mojave land rules
- City may buy land, to cut size of gravel mine
- Headlines and Highlights, including:
- Team seals off hazardous mines
- OHV grant workshop: BLM Palm Springs office
- Tecate Peak: BLM and Mexico cooperate
- Report: Restoration and heavy-equipment jobs
Salt cedar removal: two reasons
- Senators blast right of way rule
- Selected Upcoming Events, including:
- California Desert District Advisory Council
- Alabama Hills Climbing Event
- OHV grant workshop, Palm Springs-South Coast
PHOTO ALBUM - "Geothermal Energy"
energy is the natural heat of the earth, which can be a renewable resource
if properly developed and carefully managed. It has potential economic significance
where the heat is concentrated into restricted volumes similar to the concentration
of oil into a petroleum reservoir. The geothermal resource (heat plus water)
is a relatively clean energy source, which is extracted in a manner similar
to oil and gas development.
"Geothermal Energy" (BLM California Issue Update)
(Note: BLM California Issue Updates are hosted on the Department of Interior's
secure Web server - see note under "Selected Upcoming Events"
California's public lands have extensive geothermal resources, which supply
enough energy to meet the needs of nearly 750,000 people. This represents
over 81 percent of all geothermal production from federal leases in the
western United States.
FOR EDUCATORS ONLY
OF INTERIOR OFFICIALS COMMENT ON LOCAL, NATIONAL ISSUES
"Finding a compromise to save bighorn sheep" (Riverside
The second in command of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Steve Griles,
visited the Coachella Valley ... to discuss issues arising from ... designation
of peninsular bighorn sheep as an endangered species." Important
issues: "Roadblocks to development in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto
mountains, limited access to trails in areas used by the sheep, and recovery
of the sheep." Urging collaboration among all sides, he said, "The
key is to strike a balance between public access to the mountains and
the right to develop private property with protection of the sheep."
Related: "Department of
Interior official comments on valley trail debate" (Palm Springs
Desert Sun, 03/08/2003)
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Steve Griles toured on horseback through
rugged mountains near Palm Springs. "But for Griles, the craggy canyons
of the Southern California desert mountains might not have been the trickiest
ride of the day ...[he]... also negotiated some rough political terrain
-- the debate over how to balance human access to the local wilderness
without jeopardizing the health of the endangered peninsular bighorn sheep."
Besides a day on the trails with a local equestrian group, he met "city
officials from Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, officials at the private,
non-profit sheep recovery center the Bighorn Institute, as well as field-personnel
from the [BLM] and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."
"Palm Desert Trail Proposal Approved"
(BLM California news release, 3/11/02)
The BLM approved
a trail proposal from the City of Palm Desert to build one mile of new
trail on BLM-administered lands, part of a larger trail project on adjacent
city lands. The city also proposes to close city lands south of the visitor
center for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
to dog use and establish a trail network at Homme-Adams and Cahuilla Hills
city parks, which would be open to dogs.
"There's more than
one way to protect wetlands" (New York Times, 3/12/2003)
Op-Ed piece by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Secretary of
Agriculture Ann Veneman: "If government is to meet its goal of wetlands
conservation, it must reach beyond traditional regulations. By leveraging
public dollars to expand volunteer partnerships, we can address the needs
of wetlands and meet or exceed the goals we have set for ourselves."
(Note: New York Times requires *free* registration to
OR read it
on the Department of Interior Web site:
"Statement of Gale
A. Norton, Secretary of the Interior before the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Energy and Water Development" (Department of Interior news
Testimony on the Department of Interior's Fiscal Year 2004 budget request
- featuring examples of projects and other items of agencies including
the BLM, that rely on budget appropriations.
OF THE WEEK - Slender Orcutt grass
Annual grass of erect slender stems 2 to 4 inches tall. Spikelets flowered
with long sheathing bracts, toothed at apex, with larger bracts and parted
into 5 equal awn-tipped teeth. Spikes are glandular and sticky at flowering
FEATURE: "The Californian Wildlife Region"
From the book's description: "Complete Guidebook to California Wildlife:
Purposely written in non-technical language ... includes interesting details
of an animal's behavior or a plant's use -- but it is equally useful for
a college biology course."
TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What is the most heat-tolerant reptile in North
(Answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes)
LAND USE PLANNING: Issues, controversies
support for habitat plan" (Victorville Daily Press, 3/12/2003)
"San Bernardino County officials reaffirmed their ongoing commitment
to the West Mojave Habitat Conservation Plan on Tuesday, despite Kern
County's withdrawal from its sponsorship of the plan's environmental impact
report." The BLM-led plan aims to protect habitat of endangered species
such as desert tortoise and Mojave ground squirrel, while streamlining
permit applications for developers.
"Land rules almost done: Project addresses off-road vehicles,
habitats" (Los Angeles Daily News, 03/08/2003)
Environmental management rules for 9.3 million acres of the Western Mojave
Desert -- 10 years in the making -- are closer to completion. BLM California's
draft environmental impact statement is due mid-May, with final plan set
for February 2004. "The plan, being developed by a group of 28 federal
and state agencies and county and city governments, would cover plants
and animals considered threatened or in danger of extinction, such as
the Mojave ground squirrel and the desert tortoise."
"West Mojave Route Designation Process Established"
(BLM California news release, 3/4/2003)
The BLM will soon be proposing route designations for the nine-million
acre West Mojave planning area and will include opportunities for public
review and comment before final decisions are made.
"Dunes report held
up for biological opinion" (Imperial Valley Press, 3/11/2003)
BLM's management plan for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area is awaiting
a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That opinion
will be taken into account in BLM's final decisions, spokesperson says:
"We have a multi-use mandate. We manage for resources and recreation.
If the biological opinion shows the current conditions are not harming
species, we have the option of opening environmental closures." Off-road
and environmental groups comment on the process.
"Coastal Monument planning
criteria available for public review" (BLM California news release,
The proposed planning criteria describe the standards, rules and other
factors that BLM proposes using to develop the monument management plan.
These criteria ensure that decision-making is tailored to the planning
issues that have been identified.
"City may buy land near site; Plan is an effort to cut size of
proposed gravel mine" (Los Angeles Daily News, 03/08/2003)
"The City Council is weighing whether to buy 475 acres of vacant
land adjacent to the area where Cemex, Inc. plans to build a massive sand
and gravel mine. The purchase of the hilly, barren land in Soledad Canyon
could give the city added leverage in its effort to reduce the size and
scope of the 56.1-million-ton sand and gravel quarry, said Jeff Lambert,
"Team seals off hazardous mines" (Los Angeles Times,
One legacy of the Gold Rush: "Faced with about 47,000 old shafts,
state agency plugs as many as it can" as it teams up with BLM, the
U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service and the state Lands Commission.
Story follows group as it plugs one shaft on BLM-managed land near Ridgecrest,
from which a 14-year-old Fresno boy was rescued just last month. Two problems:
lack of funds, and higher priority given to clean up toxic mercury leaking
from old mines.
"BLM plans off-highway
vehicle grant meeting in Arcata" (BLM California news release,
The BLM wants to hear about issues, concerns and project ideas for grant
funding that would be used at Samoa Dunes Recreation Area and Thatcher
Ridge Wilderness Study Area (WSA).
"BLM Palm Springs office
schedules OHV grant workshop" (BLM California news release, 03/07/2003)
The BLM has scheduled a workshop to gather public comments on Off–Highway
Vehicle (OHV) grants proposals being submitted to the California Department
of Parks and Recreation, Off–Highway Motor Vehicle Division.
"Salt cedar removal project continues west of Calexico"
(Imperial Valley Press, 03/06/2003)
BLM and Bureau of Customs and Border Protection are removing the salt
cedars for two reasons: "the trees suck up some 500 gallons of water
a day, draining the water orders of nearby farmers; and the tree line
and a nearby grove of tamarisk trees, removed last month by the BLM and
the U.S. Border Patrol, create a haven for illegal immigrants." The
refuse reportedly may be shipped north to be burned for energy.
"Tecate Peak land in Mexico protected" (San Diego Union-Tribune,
The Mexico-U.S. border runs through Tecate Peak and its "acres of
undisturbed wildlife and sacred Kumeyaay Indian grounds." Land on
the U.S. side is managed by state and federal agencies, but are privately
owned on the Mexican side. To preserve most of the 3,900-foot mountain,
BLM California received a cross-border conservation easement on part of
the private lands in Mexico. BLM already manages about 25 percent of the
area, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. "Until
the agreement was signed last week, no restrictions barred houses, roads
and other development on the Mexican side of the mountain."
"Report looks at heavy equipment and restoration" (Eureka
Labor group reports more than 100 heavy equipment operators worked in
Humboldt County during the peak of summer season last year. Among the
employers was BLM California's Arcata Field Office - where about $2 million
has been spent on road decommissioning and other projects in the Headwaters
Forest Reserve. National Park service and lumber companies facing new
guidelines are also employers.
"Bush plan leaves forest care to timber companies" (Associated
Press, in San Francisco Chronicle, 03/07/2003)
"The Bush administration is confident it has found a novel, inexpensive
way to clear overgrown forests and prevent catastrophic wildfires. Critics
say it's a blatant giveaway to timber companies .... 'Stewardship contracting'
... allows the U.S. Forest Service and [BLM] to issue 10-year contracts
to private contractors for clearance work with no limits on the size of
trees to be cut or the number of acres cleared."
"Senators blast right of way rule" (Barstow Desert Dispatch,
California's two senators demand the Department of Interior suspend its
disclaimer of interest rule", saying it allows state and local governments
and private groups to claim the right to have roads across federal lands.
"This regulation would allow road construction in protected areas,
where only ... tire tracks, cow paths and wash bottoms currently exist,"
their joint release said.
(Note: the URLs at this media source end in a comma, which
is removed by some email clients. You may need to cut and paste this URL
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"Wild horses and burros
available in Lakeport" (BLM California news release, 2/27/03)
BLM will bring 80 horses and 20 burros to adoption event that runs from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 22 and 23. Anyone interested
can preview the animals when they arrive at the fairgrounds Friday, March
21, about 2 p.m.
to WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: "What
is the most heat-tolerant reptile in North America?"
iguanas are the most heat tolerant reptiles in North America. In California,
they occur in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. These lizards can remain
active in temperatures up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit!!
Learn more in our BLM California wildlife database:
(Note: the Wildlife Database is hosted on the Department
of Interior's secure Web server - see note under "Selected Upcoming
(Note: the Upcoming Events database is on a secure Web server,
and your browser may state "You are about to view pages over a secure connection"
and ask you to "Trust a Security Certificate" from the Department
of Interior that hosts this site. To view the pages, you must select "Yes"
or "OK" for both questions.)
03/18/2003 - OHV grant workshop, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office
North Palm Springs
03/26/2003 - Arcata off-highway vehicle grant meeting
03/27/2003 - California Desert District Advisory Council
03/29/2003 - Alabama Hills Climbing Event
Alabama Hills, west of Lone Pine, CA
04/01/2003 - Wild horse gather public meeting
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News.bytes published by
Bureau of Land Management
California State Office
2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1834
Sacramento, Ca 95825
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