WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Just a minute
Suckers in general are one of the most ____ fish in California. (fill in the blank)
a. destructive
b. common
c. noisy
d. colorful
e. drab
f. gullible
------> See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes.

WEED OF THE WEEK: Scotch broom...
...is native to south Europe and northern Africa, and grows up to 8 feet tall. Its seed pods can split noisily, throwing the seeds some distance from the plant. These seeds can remain in the soil for a long time - and start growing years later.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/redding/weeds/redcysc.html

RELATED: "National Public Lands Day 2006 - work projects" (BLM California, Folsom Field Office website)
Removing this invasive weed is one of BLM's Folsom Field Office's National Public Lands Day projects.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/folsom/npld_projects.html

RELATED: "Species profiles: Scotch broom" (USDA National Agricultural Library)
More information on this invasive plant -- and links to even more information, at many other websites.
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/scotchbroom.shtml

WILDFIRE DANGER STILL HIGH

"Authorities close part of I-5 in Castaic in bid to contain blaze" (Los Angeles Times, 9/12/06)
BLM firefighters have joined others to fight a number of wildfire, including "...a stubborn brush fire that has already burned more than 16,000 acres since Labor Day moved into Los Angeles County and threatened to jump the freeway...which was expected to be closed...into the early morning hours and perhaps intermittently during the day...." Firefighters hope to stop the blaze from jumping the freeway - then they would have to fight it on two fronts. Includes links to video.
(Free registration required.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fire12sep12,0,5337097.story?coll=la-home-headlines

RELATED: "Taking pride in battling inferno" (Santa Clarita Signal, 9/12/06)
"Since Sept. 4, a small army of men and women has been getting on helicopters and advancing toward an inferno that has blackened a spread of land nearly half the size of Santa Clarita. On Monday, there were 1,487 firefighters battling the so-called Day Fire, which had burned 15,687 acres - about 21 square miles - in the Los Padres National Forest northwest of Santa Clarita....The majority of personnel assigned to the fire are from the U.S. Forest Service, as well as county fire departments, the California Department of Forestry and the federal Bureau of Land Management...."
http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=32735&format=html

"BLM special fire restrictions in effect" (BLM California news release, 9/8/06)
“We’re coming into the most dangerous part of fire season,” said BLM Fire Prevention Officer Tim Mullen, “People need to be especially careful.” Extreme conditions prompted fire restrictions on BLM-managed public lands in Nevada, Yuba, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Sacramento, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Sutter, and Mariposa counties, a total of about 230,000 acres. The fire restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/2006/09/nr/CCNews67_firestric_folsom.html

"County's air to remain smoky" (Grass Valley Union, 9/11/06)
"Fire officials don't expect to have the growing Ralston Fire in Foresthill contained for another week, and that means more smoky air for Nevada County residents. The 4,464-acre wildfire east of Foresthill in the Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests was 11-percent contained Sunday and is not slated for complete containment until Sept. 18, according to a news release Sunday from Tahoe National Forest...." Firefighters include the BLM.
(Now requires free registration.)
http://www.theunion.com/article/20060911/WEBUPDATE/109110168

"Current wildland fire information" (National Interagency Fire Center)
Information on current wildfires in California and the U.S. - "National Fire News" section currently links to five burning wildfires in California, including the Day and Ralston fires. Information is updated daily during wildfire season.
http://www.nifc.gov/information.html

"BLM Snapshots" (BLM national website)
Wildfire prevention stories from California and Utah in this issue. California: "Bulletin boards help to get the word out."
(PDF file, 915 kilobytes):
http://www.fire.blm.gov/textdocuments/9-8-06.pdf

"Mark Beighley: New Wildland Fire Coordination Director" (Department of the Interior news release, 0/7/06)
The Department of the Interior announced that Mark Beighley is its new Director for the Office of Wildland Fire Coordination. Beighley, who grew up in Placerville, California, comes to Interior from the U.S. Forest Service.
http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/060907.html

HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS

"Desert restoration internship program" (News.bytes Extra)
As summer ends, so does the new Desert Restoration Internship Program hosted by the BLM Barstow Field Office. This summer the Barstow Field Office was successful in recruiting nearly 30 students ages 15-17 to participate in a desert restoration project. Read more, and see some of what they did.

"Land agency calling on volunteers" (San Bernardino County Sun, 9/11/06)
"Over the past 12 years, more than 1,000 volunteers have pitched in to spruce up public lands across the Mojave Desert. They've hauled away tons of trash, built hiking trails, installed signs to guide visitors, filled in abandoned mine shafts, and refurbished benches and other facilities at campgrounds. Now, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has put out a call for 150 volunteers to take part in a variety of projects Sept. 30 at Rainbow Basin...to mark the 13th National Public Lands Day."
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_4317033

RELATED: "National Public Lands Day events"
Find events that you can take part in, throughout California.
http://www.publiclandsday.org/involved/california.cfm

"Getting the dope on it: Pot production problematic on public lands" (Hollister Freelance, 9/9/06)
"The discovery of a large-scale marijuana growing operation in and around the Clear Creek Management Area in southern San Benito County Thursday highlighted the environmental havoc wreaked by dope farmers on public lands....'It's a major problem,' said John Dearing, a spokesman for the California Bureau of Land Management. 'It's damaging to the land and can be dangerous for recreational users'."
http://hollisterfreelance.com/news/contentview.asp?c=194395

"Shut down; Early morning raid reveals large-scale marijuana operation" (Medford, Ore. Mail Tribune)
A BLM law enforcement officer spotted suspicious activity in a southern Oregon forest, which led to "7,000 plants from a complex of eight gardens." California law enforcement offered expertise, based on their experiences uncovering marijuana gardens. The county sheriff "said the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department has served as a mentor in training local authorities to deal with large growing operations. Siskiyou County has battled large grows, believed to be linked to cartels, for years, he said."
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0909/local/stories/marijuana_raid_9-9.htm

"Mammoth tubbers in hot water" (Mammoth Times, 9/8/06)
"Negligent users of the Long Valley natural hot tubs could find themselves in some hot water -- but not the sulfuric kind. 'We are still discussing what to do here,' said Larry Primosch, the realty specialist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 'But there has been a growing amount of disappointing use of the tubs. People are camping right next to them and leaving their trash out there'."
http://www.mammothlocal.com/news/mammoth_tubbers_in_hot_water.php

"Wilderness plots won't be sold for oil exploration" (San Luis Obispo Tribune, 9/9/06)
"Months after an environmental coalition challenged its plan to auction...land for possible oil exploration, the federal Bureau of Land Management announced it will suspend the sale of 10,000 acres that include some of San Luis Obispo County's most remote areas."
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispotribune/15478258.htm

"Cell tower appeal hearing stacked with pros, cons" (Eureka Times-Standard, 9/10/06)
"The long-mulled debate over U.S. Cellular's request to add two antennas to existing poles and new equipment cabinets to the top of Trinidad Head is about to come to an end" with a Thursday city council vote. "In April, Yurok Tribal Chairman Howard McConnell wrote a letter to Bureau of Land Management asking the agency to review whether the city had complied with the conditions set when it took over ownership of the property from BLM in 1983. BLM said Trinidad had not violated any conditions."
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_4315616

"Current job openings - BLM California" (USAJOBS website)
Current listings include outdoor recreation planner, administrative officer, student trainees and firefighting jobs.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9blm-ca.asp

SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS

Find out more about these events on the BLM California website at:
https://www.blm.gov/ca/forms/calendar/

NPR2 oil and gas lease auction - Sept. 13
Also see the BLM California news release at:
http://www.blm.gov/ca/news/2006/08/nr/CCNews62_sept_oilgas_auction.html

"There's a National Monument in your backyard" - Sept. 14 and 18
Palm Desert - Take a photographic journey of the magnificent landscape, plants, animals, and places to visit in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. Free.

Los Angeles County Fair- Caring for the Land Exhibit- Camp Smokey - through Oct. 1
Children and adults can explore majestic forests and desert landscapes, discover woodland creatures, learn about the environment, learn survival skills, find out how to save local forests and desert landscapes, and much more.

NATIONAL AND/OR DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ITEMS

"Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture announce waiver of fees for veterans and members of U.S. Armed Forces on Veterans Day" (Department of the Interior news release, 9/8/06)
Beginning this Veterans Day (Nov. 11), U.S. veterans, members of the U.S. armed forces and their families will be admitted free-of-charge on Veterans Day to most public lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. The administrative fee waiver of entrance and/or standard amenity fees will apply annually on Veterans Day at public recreation lands managed by Interior's National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation and Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service.
http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/060908a.html

WILDLIFE TRIVIA answer
b. common -- BUT some types of suckers are now endangered. For instance, "Early records indicate that shortnose suckers were once widespread and abundant in the upper Klamath Basin of Oregon and California." The shortnose sucker is now an endangered species.

SOURCE: "Shortnose sucker, Chasmistes brevirostris - endangered species fact sheet" (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon office)
"Currently, the shortnose sucker occupies only a fraction of its former range and is restricted to a few areas in the Upper Klamath Basin, such as the Upper Klamath Lake, Tule Lake, and Clear Lake drainages." With information on habitat, life history, reasons for decline, conservation methods and more.
http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/EndSpp/FactsFish/Shortnose.htm