forest

Fire restrictions will be lifted Tuesday for national forest land in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the U.S. Forest Service announced.

“The arrival of cooler, wetter weather brings safer conditions and has allowed us to lift restrictions on Forest Service managed lands,” said Forest Service fire chief Kit Bailey. “Even though restrictions will be lifted, we still need hikers and campers to use caution with campfires, stoves, barbecue grills and cigarette smoking.”

Last week, I wrote about our visit to the remote Ookpik Wilderness Lodge on Babine Lake in British Columbia.
This week, I would like to offer a suggestion for taking a 2014 vacation trip beginning in Smithers, British Columbia, traveling to Watson Lake in the Yukon and returning to Smithers.

It will basically replicate the trip we took, after our return to Smithers from staying at the Ookpik Wilderness Lodge. If you are interested and if you have the vacation time, you might want to consider a 2014 Canadian vacation trip.

Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations and Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office have determined the Rim Fire began when a hunter allowed an illegal fire to escape.

There is no indication the hunter was involved with illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands and no marijuana cultivation sites were located near the origin of the fire. No arrests have been made at this time and the hunter's name is being withheld pending further investigation, according to a Forest Service news release.

Clearing skies through some of the smoke will persist today in Carson City, Carson Valley, Lyon County and Lake Tahoe as the Rim Fire is now 75 percent contained. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity helped firefighters gain on the fire which has now consumed 235,841 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park.

Elaine and I just returned from a memorable visit to a very special place: It was our second visit to that remote, far-north locale. The first time was about 15 years ago, when Elaine and her late husband Jim McGee and I went there to film Canadian fishing experiences for our weekly TV show.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Aug. 28 through Labor Day. Don't forget, California's second free day of fishing without a license will be Saturday, Sept. 7.

An active wildfire season has sent Carson City Fire Department personnel on more than 20 assignments this year, including the Rim Fire burning near Yosemite National Park.

On Saturday Carson City Fire Department Capt. Matt Donnelly was assigned as a strike team leader with other area engines to the fire, which has chewed nearly 180,000 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County. Thick smoke from the Rim Fire continues to push through Carson City, Carson Valley, Lyon County and much of Northern Nevada.

A wildfire burning in Tuolumne County near Yosemite National Park is causing much of the smoke seen Thursday in Carson City and Carson Valley, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center. The Rim Fire burning in the Stanislaus National Forest is 2 percent contained and has burned nearly 53,000 acres since August 17. Around 2,500 structures are threatened in the Pine Mountain Lake area. The smoke from the fire has pushed north filling much of the valley areas around Carson City and into the Lake Tahoe Basin, said Sierra Front spokesman Mark Struble.

Carson City firefighters were called to the area of Old Clear Creek Road and Highway 50 Spooner Wednesday afternoon after a brush fire was touched off, possibly due to lightning strikes in the area.

The fire was reported at around 1:30 p.m. in the canyon about 2 miles from Highway 50 and the Douglas County line, according to fire spotters surveilling the area from the top of Spooner Summit.

With the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and a determined committee, an unnamed peak on the North Shore of the Lake Tahoe Basin has been renamed “Gold Star Peak” in honor of soldiers from the area that paid the ultimate price in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the War on Terrorism.

A ceremony to dedicate Gold Star Peak will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe.

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.

It has been 17 years since President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore stood on the shores of Lake Tahoe and issued a challenge. They urged the frequently fractious perspectives in the region to come together in support of the restoration of Lake Tahoe.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is marking this year’s Lake Tahoe Summit by highlighting the Environmental Improvement Program’s 15 years of achievement restoring and protecting Lake Tahoe’s fragile ecosystem.

Launched at the 1997 Presidential Forum at Lake Tahoe by then President Bill Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore, the Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) is a partnership of more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies, private interests, and the Washoe Tribe.

Forest thinning on public land along the west side of Fallen Leaf Lake will begin Friday, Aug. 16, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit announced Thursday. Thinning will take place south of the dam and will move closer to the dam in a couple of weeks.

The Forest Service will issue a forest order to close a portion of the area from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily beginning Aug. 19, through Oct. 11 for public safety due to heavy equipment operations and the felling of trees.

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.

From Tahoe’s mountaintops to the lake’s sandy bottom, scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno continue to study and find solutions to the breadth of issues that face the entire Lake Tahoe Basin. Their research is making a tangible contribution to the decisions, policies and practices that guide the basin’s environmental health.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Aug. 1-6.

Sigh, it’s that time of the year again.

This is my annual reminder that if you’re someone like me, summer’s sweltering heat is not much fun. I do not like summer months.

I am an outdoors person who dearly loves the cold, frost, ice and snow of winter, and I absolutely and totally wilt at this time of the year.

And, especially, right now, with our record-setting temps in triple digits.
I am miserable and grouchy during hot weather months.

To be honest, I dislike the weather anytime it gets past 80-85 degrees.

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.

ANGEL LAKE, ELKO COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (http://www.ndow.org) reports:
Fishing varies from day to day, with some days being good, while others being slow. Best time of day is from about 6:00 am to 10:30 am and then again after the shadows start to hit the water in late afternoon.
Best conditions seem to be with a 5 to 10 mph breeze, putting a small chop on the water.
A few fish are being taken with small dry flies, mostly yellow in color, but most of the luck is still coming with nymphs below an indicator or dry fly.

A single engine Mooney airplane crashed shortly after take off from the South Lake Tahoe airport at approximately 11:10 AM today.

The plane was observed by numerous witnesses begin to lose altitude after take off, and bank sharply into a wooded area east of the airport. The plane crashed into some large pine trees and flipped over.

The male pilot, Steven Lefton 67 years of age of Palo Alto, CA was killed on impact. His wife, Karen Lefton sustained moderate injuries and was pinned in the wreckage of the plane.

Here is a suggestion if you would like to take an mid-summer vacation at an out-of-the-way location, right here in the state of Nevada.


If you are interested, did you know that our very own White Pine County is home to one of the Nation's least visited and Nevada's only National Park: The 77,000 acre Great Basin National Park? 
If you've never been there, here is a whole bunch of useful information:

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of July 10-17. Pack your fishing license and sunscreen.

The University of Nevada, Reno’s Nevada Seismological Laboratory has produced stunning time-lapse, high-definition video of the Bison Fire since its inception Friday, July 5.

“This imagery represents an evolution for the lab as it incorporates multi-hazards and climate monitoring using its high-speed microwave IP-based network,” Graham Kent, director of the Seismological Lab said. “These videos are the opening salvo of a demonstration project that will encompass the Tahoe basin and nearby areas such as Reno and Carson City.”

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, Lake Tahoe and the Sierra. This report is for the week of July 3-10. Be sure to pack sunscreen and plenty of cold beverages.

North Lake Fire Protection District personnel responded to a brush fire at 3:17 a.m. Tuesday at 400 Fairview Blvd., in Incline Village. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, containing it to approximately a half-acre in size.

The cause is under investigation. If anyone has information regarding this incident, please contact Assistant Fire Marshal, Mark Regan at 775-461-6200. The next door neighbor’s defensible space supported the suppression efforts with proper vegetation clearance and management.

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.

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about the wildflowers blooming along the paved highway in the Davis Lake area of Plumas County, California.

This week's article is about a high-altitude hike that Elaine and I took to little Frog Lake in the Mokelumne Wilderness Area of California, as our way to celebrate Father's Day on June 16.

Our purpose for that Sunday hike was three-fold: To walk on snow fields (which we did), to photograph wildflowers (which we did) and to fish for rainbow trout (which we did).

Elaine and I just returned from a fun-filled trip to Lake Almanor, which is located in Northern California near the towns of Chester and Westwood.

Our trip was the result of a chance meeting with Gary and Birgitta Metz of Carson City. We met them at Duke's Steak House in the Fandango Casino, when our dinner party was there in early May to celebrate my birthday on May 08, and his dinner party was there to celebrate his birthday on May 06.