Bureau of Land Management

The second Free Fishing Day in 2013 in California will be Saturday, Sept. 7. The first was way back on Saturday, July 6.

On Sept. 7 you will be able to fish wherever you like without the need for a fishing license. However remember that you will need to abide by the rules and regulations that govern whatever water(s) you will be fishing.

Be sure to obey those rules and regulations, and don’t do something illegal. If you do, and if you get caught, it could be a very expensive experience.

A draft environmental impact statement to conserve, restore and enhance habitat for the sage grouse was released jointly this week by the Carson City Bureau of Land Management and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The State Historic Preservation Office, Nevada Site Stewardship Program, is pleased to announce a Stewardship Workshop to be held at the Churchill County Museum on Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This workshop is free of charge and is open to all who are interested in volunteering to help protect Nevada’s heritage.

The museum is located at 1050 South Maine Street, Fallon.

Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-2) met Wednesday with top officials from the U.S. Department of the Interior to discuss actions that can be taken to help prevent the Endangered Species Act listing of the sage grouse, as well as the negative impact such a listing would have on the economic growth and development of the Silver State.

Mike Beck brings cowboy songs and the tradition of storytelling through music to Café at Adele’s Thursday, Aug. 22, as the Summer Concert Series on the Veranda continues.

A favorite performer on the Cowboy Poetry circuit, singer-songwriter, poet and working cowboy Beck is touring in support of his album “Tribute,” which showcases original horse songs written through the years, raising money for The Joyful Horse Project, a non-profit organization based in Austin, Texas that pairs combat veterans with rescue horses being trained for rehabilitation.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The U.S. Forest Service and other land management agencies have a new fire safety campaign in California. The One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire campaign is designed to provide constant reminders during this fire season to reduce the numbers of human-caused vehicle and equipment wildfires throughout the state.

Carson City, NV – From the Carson Library and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada, librarian-led summer programs and activities are over the halfway point and more than 1,500 community youth are participating. Summer reading pages for prizes, technology enrichments, video journalism and art clinics are among the most popular ways youth are spending time.

With 80 percent containment, the mop-up and line rehab process has begun on the Bison Fire burning east of Gardnerville, fire officials report Friday morning. As the containment percent rises firefighters and equipment will be released from the Bison Fire and made available for other fires.

Fire officials report progress on the Bison Fire overnight, with plans Thursday to do continued work on hot spots and to begin the rehabbing process.

Voluntary evacuations for 78 homes were lifted Wednesday at around 6:30 p.m. The fire is 65 percent contained as of Thursday morning with the size of it being reduced to 24,136 acres at this time, said Lisa Ross, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management.

Below is the Thursday morning press briefing from the BLM:

Voluntary evacuations of a Smith Valley subdivision are underway as firefighters held flames along a ridge above to stop them from spreading into homes, the Bureau of Land Management reports this morning. Firefighters overnight were able to reinforce the line, with the day shift continuing its efforts today.

More than 1,060 firefighters continued efforts Tuesday battling the Bison Fire in the Pine Nut Mountains east of Gardnerville, which has prompted a voluntary evacuation of the Pipeline Canyon area in Lyon County. As of early Tuesday evening, the fire has burned 25,733 acres and is 25 percent contained.

The Bison Fire burning in Douglas County grew to 25,733 acres by early Tuesday morning, with 25 percent containment and Douglas County declaring a state of emergency to allow for more resources. More than 700 personnel are assigned to the fire.

Overnight the fire burned actively from the north side until about 3 a.m. the on the northeast and southeast sides. The night crews were able to make significant progress, said Lisa Ross, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management.

Containment of the Bison Fire burning in Douglas County is expected by July 14 as firefighters had a series of setbacks because of windy conditions, the Bureau of Land Management reports in its Monday morning briefing.

The fire has been downgraded to 15 percent contained with the wind event that occurred Sunday afternoon, according to the Great Basin Management Type II Team, operating under Incident Commander Mike Whalen

UPDATE 8:21PM The Bison Fire has grown to 1300 acres, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Pat Brooks. No structures have been damaged. No injuries reported. Additional resources have been ordered to assist, however due to other fires in the region and the 4th of July festivities, firefighting resources have been stretched thin.

***

Crews are responding to at least three lightning-sparked fires in Douglas County. The fires are located off Leviathan Mine Road and in the Pinenut Mountains at the Sunrise Pass and Mount Segal areas, according to U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Lisa Ross. There is no estimate to the fires’ size. No structures are immediately threatened.

UPDATE 10:30AM MONDAY: The Sierra Front Type 3 team battling the Pedlar Fire in Silver City took control of the fire at 11 p.m. Sunday night. As of 7:30 Monday morning the fire was 75 percent contained, according to the latest from Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch. Highway 341 from Highway 50 to the truck route "Y"was reopened. Highway 342 from the "Y' through Silver City to Virginia City will remain closed this morning.

With a heat wave developing throughout the region, the Carson City Fire Department has now implemented fire restrictions on city and privately owned lands within Carson City, according to the city's website.

Tinder-dry vegetation, lingering drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and several human-caused fires have prompted the Bureau of Land Management Carson City District Office, the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Nevada Division of Forestry’s to announce the implementation of fire restrictions today, Friday, June 28.

Local residents gathered at the Bureau of Land Management field office in Carson City Wednesday, amid concerns over pending action that may include removal of wild horses.

The area known as Fish Springs, three miles southeast of Gardnerville, is home to scattered bands of wild horses that have become part of the landscape to property owners over the past 20 years. The situation came to a head recently, when residents provided supplemental watering tanks for the horses.

UPDATE 12:30PM: The fire burning near the long rifle range off of Flint Drive in Carson City is under control at this time, according to firefighters at the scene. The mop-up phase has begun and firefighters expect to be at the scene for at least 45 minutes to an hour, according to dispatch.

****
Carson City Fire Department personnel are responding to a wildfire this afternoon near the rifle range at 400 Flint Drive. Smoke is visible and flames are reportedly being fanned by gusty winds.

An independent report released today by The National Academy of Sciences is critical of the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States and urges changes to its current roundup policies.

Wagons Ho! Just imagine an SUV trek for the entire family that traces the same route used by 8,000 early pioneers in more than 1,500 covered wagons from 1849 to 1852 that brought a flood of immigrants to California, most of whom had the Gold Rush fever.

The overland emigrant trip would take five to six months crossing mountains, deserts, rivers, and some of the most hostile country in the world.

Something very old is something really new at the Nevada State Museum. To celebrate Archeological Awareness and Historical Preservation Month in May, the Carson City museum’s Frances Humphrey lecture series hosts archaeologist Mark Giambastiani, who will share new Nevada discoveries of artifacts dating at least 10,000 years old. His presentation “Recent Rock Art and Archaeological Discoveries in Lincoln County” is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23.

Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei announced Wednesday the re-introduction of his "Small Lands Tracts Conveyance Act" (H.R. 1633) to accelerate the process for transferring small parcels of federal land to local communities.

In western states, straightforward, non-controversial public land sales to decrease the vast federal inventory and promote local control can take more than a decade to complete. While Amodei believes there should be scrutiny for any sale, he cites the bureaucratic regulatory maze and slow legislative process as the main culprits in dragging out the transfers.

The Bureau of Land Management detailed a proposed land-rehabilitation program for the Pine Nut Range Thursday night.

Several wild horses bought at a Bureau of Land Management auction in Carson City on Saturday, have been delivered to a 2,000 acre ranch in Northern California.

A herd of wild horses removed from an area off of Deer Run Road last month were purchased Saturday at a Bureau of Land Management adoption in Carson City.

The BLM-sanctioned silent bid adoption was held at Silver Saddle Ranch. The horses were bought for $850 by the Deer Run Preservation Group in a collaborative effort with the American Wildhorse Preservation Campaign.

About 100 people attended the auction, many of whom were supporting the group and its efforts to save the horses.

The Reno Gazette-Journal's Mark Robison, who authors the "Fact Checker" blog, looks into the claim that the Bureau of Land Management was justified in removing a family of wild horses off Deer Run Road near Carson City.

Earlier this year, Leon Thomas — the BLM’s new Sierra Front field manager — ordered the removal of 11 horses near Deer Run Road. Some were sent to a Colorado ranch; eight are up for auction Saturday. That much is agreed upon, nearly everything else is in dispute.

The Bureau of Land Management will hold an adoption on March 23 for several wild horses recently removed from the outskirts of Carson City. Currently eight wild horses including a mare and foal pair will be available. Meanwhile, advocates for the wild horses say they want the family at a California sanctuary instead of being put up for adoption.

Last Thursday, Doug ("Mack The Naw") Busey of Douglas County and I spent a very enjoyable day, fishing at Indian Creek Reservoir in Alpine County, Calif.

Indian Creek Reservoir (ICR) is a man-made reservoir located in the backcountry between Woodfords and Markleeville. ICR and its surrounding area is managed and maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).