HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"BLM, Off Highway Vehicle Riders Will Celebrate New Staging Area" (BLM California news release, 11/02/2004)
Off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and staff from the Bureau of Land Management will celebrate completion of a new staging area for the Chappie-Shasta OHV area in a public ceremony set for Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. The BLM's Redding Field Office built the Copely Mountain Staging Area to provide alternate access to the Chappie-Shasta OHV area in the wake of national security-related access restrictions across Shasta Dam.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/10/nr/NCNews10_ohvstaging.html

"Help sought for 2 rare butterflies" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/28/2004)
"A San Diego environmentalist has petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to extend federal protection to two butterfly species pushed closer to extinction because of last year's wildfires....Putting the two butterflies on the endangered species list would clear the way for increased government funding for recovery activities and increased conservation activities by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Border Patrol and the state Department of Forestry, according to the petition."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041028/news_2m28list.html

"Tug of war over desert homestead shanties" (Los Angeles Times, 11/01/2004)
"The days of homesteading are long gone. But in the Mojave Desert, on the eastern edge of the ever-expanding Southern California metropolis, the sun-bleached remnants of that pioneering era dot the landscape....Most of the tiny cabins are on 5-acre parcels that were deeded by the federal government under the Small Tract Act of 1938, one of the last of the government's homestead acts. The government's goal was to distribute 457,000 acres of desert that the Bureau of Land Management deemed disposable, most of it in the California desert. By the time the act was repealed in 1976, about 36% of the land was privately owned. The rest is federally protected desert."
(Requires registration)
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-me-shacks1nov01,1,3871257.story

"BLM wild horse and burro adoption program headed to Beaumont" (BLM California news release, 10/4/2004)
This weekend: preview Friday; silent competitive bid Saturday morning; first-come, first-served remainder of weekend.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/10/nr/CDDNews02_whbbeaumont.html

"Get involved " (Volunteer.gov website)
The Folsom Field Office is looking for "Habitat Restoration" volunteers for the Cosumnes River Preserve, located in southern Sacramento County. Volunteers will maintain and build trails, control erosion, restore disturbed areas, eradicate noxious weeds and non-native plant species, and remove fences. See our volunteer opportunity to apply on-line.
http://www.volunteer.gov/gov/uidetail.cfm?ID=2282

"Current job openings - BLM California" (USAJOBS website).
Current openings include recreation planner, budget technician and firefighting operations positions.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9blm-ca.asp

"BLM site closed to public to protect rare plants" (BLM news release, 10/29/2004)
The BLM has placed an emergency closure of approximately 240 acres of public land in Amador County to public entry in an effort to protect a rare species of manzanita from the spread of a pathogen related to the organism responsible for sudden oak death.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/10/nr/CCNews13_publiclandsclosing.html

"South Yuba River planning meeting [tonight]" (BLM California news release, 10/29/2004)
Tonight 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the town of Washington. Residents have identified issues they believe should be addressed in the South Yuba River Management Plan.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/10/nr/CCNews12_syrmeeting.html

"BLM announces oil and gas leases" (BLM California news release, 11/3/2004)
BLM leased 10 parcels totaling 3,833 acres of Federal land in Kern and Kings Counties at its oil and gas lease sale Oct. 27. The sale netted $15,943.00 in revenue.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/11/nr/CCNews16_leases.html

"Trip of the week: History, wildlife found in Little High Rock Canyon" (Reno Gazette-Journal, 10/30/2004)
"Little High Rock Canyon often gets overlooked in the shadow of its big brother to the north, High Rock Canyon. But Little High Rock has its own things to offer: a murder-revenge story about the last free-roaming American Indian band, deeper and narrower canyons, an absence of motorized vehicles and the Little High Rock Hilton." The canyon is part of the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon-Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, managed by BLM California's Surprise Field Office and BLM Nevada's Winnemucca Field Office.

MEET YOUR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Don Klusman
Northwest California Resource Advisory Council chairperson Don Klusman is a natural resources consultant and the off-highway vehicle recreation representative on the council. He has worked on several national forest and BLM management plans and recently completed work on a two-state advisory council subcommittee helping to develop a management plan for the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. Learn more in this weekly News.bytes feature:
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/rac/nwrac/member_profiles/klusman.html

PROFILE: Bud Jensen
In 22 years with the BLM, Hugh A. "Bud" Jensen has had the opportunity to fill a number of different positions. Following in his father's footsteps as a Cadastral Surveyor he started his career surveying for the Western Field Office in Portland, Oregon. He is currently an Information Technology Specialist with the California State Office.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/newsbytes/profiles/budjensen_cso.html

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Foxy
Common gray foxes have an unusual ability for canines. What is it?
(a) They can climb trees.
(b) They can swim.
(c) They can hold objects in their front paws.
(d) They can hold their breath for several minutes underwater.
(e) They can fly - or at least glide from high places.
(f) They can hold a week's supply of food in their cheeks.
(g) They win most of the best bargains on Internet auction sites.
Take your best guess - and see how others are answering - in our online interactive quiz:
http://www6.ca.blm.gov/forms/polls/issue181/wild/index.php

LAST WEEK'S WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION
See how people answered (also see the next item for more information):
http://www6.ca.blm.gov/forms/polls/issue180/wild/index.php?result=true

OUR READERS WRITE: Our estimation of estivation
Regarding last week's wildlife trivia question:
"Hi - I was under the impression that "estivation" is a brief period of dormancy or light sleep, as compared to hibernation, where an animal sleeps rather deeply for some weeks at a time, usually in winter (hiber coming from the Latin root for winter). I was not aware that the term is restricted to summer dormancy only. In fact, I think it isn't. Are you sure? I thought it could occur in different seasons.
Thanks - I enjoy your newsletter!"
- G.W.

Response: We asked one of our wildlife biologists to clarify this. She cites "Ecology: Concepts and Applications" by Manuel C. Molles, Jr. It states: some "animals can go into a state of reduced metabolism that may last several months. If this state occurs mainly in winter, it is called hibernation. If it occurs in summer, it is called estivation." Also, according to the Harper Collins Biology Dictionary, estivation is "(in animals) a state of dormancy during summer or dry season."

She adds: "I believe the reader is thinking of torpor, which is a general term for a state of low metabolic rate and lowered temperature. The most famous example I can think of is hummingbirds. Hummingbirds often go into a state of 'torpor' at night, especially as food becomes more scarce and night temperatures drop. This is a brief period of dormancy that allows the hummingbirds to conserve energy, an important thing when there isn't much spare energy because of the scarcity of food. I have always heard the term estivation in reference to a 'summer hibernation' and torpor in reference to shorter periods of dormancy."

SPECIAL STATUS PLANT OF THE WEEK: Hooker's manzanita
Evergreen shrub, generally mound-like, less than 3.2 feet (1 meter) tall. Leaves elliptic, upright, smooth edged with a bright green to shiny surface, and 3/4 - 1 1/8 inches (2-3cm) long, 3/8 - 5/8 inches (1-1.5cm) wide. Leaf stems are 1/8 - 5/16 inches (4-8mm) long. Inflorescence are racemes with generally 10 flowers. Flowers are roundish, with corollas 1/4 inch (4-6mm) long. Fruit are drupes, 1/4 inch (4-6mm) long.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/pa/ssp/plants/Hookers_manzanita.html

PHOTO ALBUM: Amboy Crater
Designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973, Amboy Crater was recognized for its visual and geological significance. BLM Web site:

Related: "Amboy Crater" (BLM California website)
Although Amboy Crater is not unique, it is an excellent example of a very symmetrical volcanic cinder cone. The inside of the 250' high crater contains two lava dams behind which has formed small lava lakes. These are now flat in general appearance, covered with light colored clay, creating the impression of miniature "dry lakes."
http://www.ca.blm.gov//needles/amboy.html

BOOKSTORE FEATURE: "BLM California wilderness pin "
A lapel pin: A colorful depiction of BLM Wilderness which comes with an information card. This quick reference card includes history and geography. It also describes why wilderness areas were designated in the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 and locations of BLM offices that manage the areas. This particular pin measures one inch by one inch.
http://store.ca.blm.gov/cgi-bin/webc.exe/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1460

Related: WILDERNESS

"Wilderness - BLM California" (BLM California website)
Wilderness areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management are remote and undeveloped. They offer visitors a place to truly "get away from it all:" away from crowds of people, away from modern conveniences like running water, electric power - away even from developed roads.  These wilderness areas are preserved under federal law, because they offer special ecology, scenery, geology, history or other values.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/pa/wilderness/index.html

"Precious wilderness; 1994 law by Congress preserves millions of acres" (San Bernardino County Sun, 10/29/2004)
"Days are scorching and nights freezing. The sunlight is golden and the darkness inky, dotted with diamonds. Sand dunes tower as tall as city buildings and the land dips to the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. Southern California's vast deserts are places of extremes. More than a decade ago, the fight between those who wanted to preserve its wildness and those who wanted to conquer it began....The U.S. Bureau of Land Management got involved in 1980 with the adoption of the California Desert Conservation Area Plan, which reserved portions of the region's 25million acres for various uses, including recreation and conservation."
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E2501036,00.html

"Protection of desert is delicate balance" (Riverside Press Enterprise, 10/30/2004)
"From towering, white sand dunes to enormous boulders prized by world-class climbers, more than 7.7 million acres of the desert were protected in perpetuity 10 years ago this Sunday. Historic and hard-fought, the California Desert Protection Act expanded Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks and boosted their status from national monuments, placing them in the company of Yosemite and Yellowstone and among the nation's most prized collection of public lands....The struggle over competing uses and incompatible interests in the desert continues to play out" over issues such as grazing, OHV use, Eagle Mountain landfill and Fort Irwin.
(Requires registration)
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_desert30.57d10.html

FIRE PREVENTION

"Fire Safe Council gets new backing" (Ukiah Daily Journal, 10/29/2004)
"In November, the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council will begin to receive funding from the Bureau of Land Management for the basic 'bare bones' operation of the council for its first year...."
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91%257E3089%257E2500468,00.html

"Wildland fire season officially ends for 2004" (BLM California news release, 11/1/2004)
Applies to areas covered by BLM's Bakersfield Field Office, the Sequoia National Forest and Kern County Fire Department. Recent heavy storms brought snow and rain to public lands.
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/2004/11/nr/CCNews14_fireseasonends.html