Enjoy your #MyPublicLandsSummer in California this week! Public lands in the Golden State offer a sense of adventure for the outdoor enthusiast, offering rivers, trails, campgrounds, off-road open areas, and more. The experiences are as varied as the landscapes.
Spectacular scenery can be found among scenic vistas, such as the foggy bluffs of the King Range National Conservation Area, in the ancient redwood forest of the Headwaters Forest Reserve, in the geological formations of the Alabama Hills, the valley of golden flowers in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, and the wind sculpted sand dunes in the California Desert Conservation Area. You will also find wilderness areas, national scenic and historic trails, national wild and scenic rivers, wildlife viewing areas and even a lighthouse or two to explore and learn about California's history.
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Piedras Blancas Light Station hosts second annual “Meet the Scientists”
On Sunday, April 29, the Piedras Blancas Light Station celebrated National Volunteer Month by hosting the second annual “Meet the Scientists” event for local volunteers, agency and non-governmental partners.
Biologists from a variety of agencies and non-governmental organizations were on hand to present their research and answer any questions visitors might have about their work.
Dr. John Durban and Dr. Holly Fearnbach from the NOAA Satellite and Information Service demonstrated the drones they use to take aerial photographs of gray whales and check on the health of the cows and newborn calves on the migration north.
Participants also heard from Melissa Clark with Ventana Wildlife Society on the California Condor Recovery project. Karah Ammann of UC Santa Cruz presented on Abalone Recovery, and Carolyn Skinder of NOAA discussed Zooplankton. Brian Hatfield of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) presented on California Sea Otter Recovery.
Heather Liwanag of California Polytechnic State University showcased the pilot elephant seal surveys she and her graduate students are working on.
The event attracted visitors from Friends of the Elephant Seal, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center -..., California State Parks, Caltrans HQ, as well as BLM volunteers and their friends and families. A few whales and otters even made an appearance!
Story by Jodie Robb Nelson, BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner at Piedras Blancas Light Station. Photos by Piedras Blancas Light Station volunteers.
Monterey Off-Road Cycling Association volunteers complete 1,020 hours at Fort Ord in 2017
The Monterey Off-Road Cycling Association (MORCA) has been actively volunteering at Fort Ord National Monument since 2009. They currently have around 30 active members, with 20 who regularly participate in monthly trail work days. At one of these monthly trail days they had reached out to the local mountain bike teams to reach a total 41 volunteers, many of whom were from the Salinas High Mountain Bike Team.
Throughout the year, they work with Salinas High, Palma School and the Monterey Lightfighters mountain bike teams. These opportunities for the student athletes to come out and help give them the chance to learn what it takes to build and maintain the magnificent trails that they get to ride and race on throughout the year.
Over the past year MORCA volunteers have completed 1,020 hours of trail work at Fort Ord, and this total does not include the time that they spend planning and coordinating the trail work. The have rerouted, restored and maintained 18 of the 72 BLM-managed trails, or 25% of the single track trails, making them more sustainable for the recreationalists of Fort Ord.
Making a difference: Mendocino 4x4 Club volunteers with BLM Ukiah Field Office.
The Mendocino 4x4 Club has been close partners with the BLM-California’s Ukiah Field Office for over 40 years. They have been strong supporters of BLM’s mission by always helping BLM staff improve the safety, education and accessibility to OHV recreational areas. Any time BLM staff needed support or an extra pair of hands, the Mendocino 4x4 Club has always been there and answered the call.
At these events and volunteer work days, they communicate and contribute to the areas recreational and natural resources. Over the past year, the Mendocino 4x4 Club has contributed over 350 hours of volunteer work and labor and donated over $6,000 in labor, mileage, fuel, and materials. Their volunteer work has been fundamental in the Ukiah Field Office maintaining our recreation opportunities in our OHV areas. The Club has been a fundamental building block in helping create a safer, more educational, exciting and diverse recreation program in the Ukiah area.
During #NationalVolunteerMonth, we celebrate the selfless work of our volunteers. The BLM values the thousands of volunteers who offer their time, skills and service to help care for the nation’s natural and cultural resources. Volunteers contribute to many BLM program areas, including recreation, wild horses and burros, cultural and historical resources and environmental education and interpretation. Our volunteers work with us to be good neighbors in the communities we serve.
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Endurance racing is not for the faint of heart, or mind or body. If you compound that with an animal who cannot talk to you, it adds to the challenge. But challenge is what drives endurance racers and riders. Endurance riding is a popular sport in the horse world that is dominated by Arabian horses. Some riders, however, prefer wild horses because the horses are natural trail horses who possess the stamina, intelligence and toughness to do these races. Do not worry, unlike other types of horse racing, endurance horses must pass several veterinary examinations and get several rest stops during the races, which can last as long as 24 hours.
The Tevis Cup 100 Mile One Day Western States Trail Ride is an internationally known race that takes place annually in Auburn, California. The town of Auburn dubs itself "the Endurance Capital of the World," as it holds at least two endurance races with long histories, the Tevis Cup 100-Mile Endurance Equestrian Ride, established in 1955, and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, started around 1977. This year, six mustangs started the Tevis Cup on August 7, 2017. Five mustangs finished, and four mustangs completed the grueling race.
Dr. Jennifer Mather, an equine veterinarian, horse trainer and endurance rider from Grass Valley, California, rode the Tevis on her mustang, Ivan, a seven-year-old gelding from the Eagle Herd Management Area. Dr. Jennifer and her friend and client, Danielle Alfaro, both participated in the 2016 Reno Extreme Mustang Makeover. Dr. Jennifer was paired with a horse she named Buster, and Danielle with Ivan. After the Makeover, Buster found a home with a new adopter. One of Dr. Jennifer's friends asked her if she could haul a horse home from the adoption should she win the bid. It turns out the friend won Ivan! Dr. Jennifer knew that Ivan was a quirky, high-strung horse, and offered to help her friend continue his training. Dr. Jennifer trained him for two months and ended up keeping the horse.
In the spring, Dr. Jennifer started working with Ivan and conditioning her Arabian mare for the Tevis Cup. Ivan needed remedial work after the long winter; he was reactive, energetic and bucked when she rode him. She started to look for another home for him. Just ten weeks prior to the Tevis, her mare pulled up lame. Without another horse to ride, she thought, why not try Ivan instead? Ivan had plenty of energy and stamina. Dr. Jennifer entered Ivan in the Wild West Ride, a weekend-long event in June with several races on U.S. Forest Service-managed lands, near Grass Valley. On Friday, Dr. Jennifer entered the 30-mile ride. Even though Ivan was out of control and running into the bushes at the start, the duo finished in seventh place. On Sunday, Dr. Jennifer rode Ivan in a 25-mile event, where they placed third. Two weeks later, Dr. Jennifer took Ivan to race in the Gold Country 50 and Ivan finished, despite very high temperatures. Ivan clearly had potential as an endurance horse. When Dr. Jennifer asked an experienced Tevis racer and friend if she thought Ivan could do Tevis, the answer was, "Yes, if you ride him properly." Dr. Jennifer entered Ivan in the Tevis.
At Tevis, Dr. Jennifer and a friend started last because both had misbehaving horses. They rode their unruly horses together. The horses started overtaking those in front of them. By the stop in Forest Hill, Ivan was tired. However, he got a second wind at Francisco, because Dr. Jennifer thought Ivan may have recognized the trail. He even tried to take a shortcut across the river about 10 miles from the finish. The team finished with 25 minutes to spare! Needless to say, Dr. Jennifer is no longer looking to rehome Ivan. She plans to keep doing endurance rides with him. Their next ride is the Virginia City 100 on September 16. Good luck Ivan and Dr. Jennifer!
Mark Montgomery has adopted several mustangs and rides endurance races on them. Mark has ridden the Tevis several times and has sold several to other riders. This year, Mark rode his horse, MM Remington, to the finish but they did not complete due to Remy not passing the final vet check. Remy recovered quickly as his electrolytes were a little unbalanced. Mark's former horse, MM Chief, who he sold, raced and completed this year under the guidance of rider Juliana McElroy, who is only 15 years old.
Mark still has at least three endurance horses and only one rider! What does one do? He leases horses to other riders. The following is from Australian rider, Erin Krahnen, who with her mother, Simone, leased two of Mark's horses for Tevis. Erin said:
"My family has been involved in endurance riding in Australia for over 30 years, and having completed the Tom Quilty many times (Australia's "Tevis"). We wanted to have a go at completing the Tevis as well. Our first attempt was in 2015, when I rode Mark's horse, MM Cody. Unfortunately, I was pulled at Lower Quarry with only a few miles to go. Mum was riding another horse and was pulled earlier in the day. We kept in touch with Mark and planned to try again this year, after Mark visited Australia in 2016 and rode one of our horses in the Quilty to a successful completion."
"This year, I again rode MM Cody, and Mum (Simone) rode MM Woodrow. Mark had done a superb job conditioning them for the tough track, and both horses felt strong, fresh and happy throughout the day. I've ridden all of my life, however, almost exclusively on Arabians or Anglo-Arabians (Arabians crossed with thoroughbreds), so it certainly was exciting to ride the iconic Tevis on an American Mustang.
"I feel the best thing about Cody and Woody was their willingness to keep moving, and eat and drink anything that was offered to them. They never seem to feel tired or 'fizzy,' but instead were just really smart and focused on their job without wasting energy. Woody and Cody look after themselves incredibly well and are so easy-going and sensible. I felt really lucky to be given a horse like Cody to ride; he is the safest, most surefooted horse I've ever sat on, and never took a wrong step throughout the difficult rocky terrain. I believe both Cody and Woody are consistent performers in American Endurance Ride Conference rides, with many wins and best conditions to their records. Mark has done a great job with them, and not only are they great endurance horses, they are also well-mannered and friendly horses to handle in every aspect—unfortunately, Cody wouldn't fit in my suitcase!" Erin added.
Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer, Simone, Erin, Juliana, and Mark for their efforts to finish the Tevis Cup!
UPDATE: Mark and Woody just won the Virginia City 100. Congratulations!
The North Fork American River is the poster child of what a Wild and Scenic River should be. It has gorgeous tourmaline blue waters that are crystal clear; its location in a deep gorge makes accessing the river a little tricky so despite being quite close to modern civilization the river channel remains quite wild and unchanged from the way it looked back in the mining days of the late 1800s and probably even before the first human beings arrived in North America. The river lies in the region of California that attracted gold rush seekers back in 1849. You can find remnants and artifacts from that time in this region; things like abandoned mine shafts and domestic fruit trees that have long since turned wild are all over if you know where to look. You can even still find people gold panning along the river today, trying their luck like all those before them.
Besides its water quality and scenic characteristics, other outstandingly remarkable values of the river that made it eligible for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act include its fish and wildlife species and vegetation. The canyon throughout which the river runs is home to a healthy population of many native birds, mammals, fish, and plants. The river supports a variety of habitat types including higher elevations of forested land and more grassland and chaparral in the lower elevations.
There are many opportunities for recreation here as well – hiking and rock scrambling, fishing, camping, gold panning, biking, and of course boating. There are numerous trails that can take you down to the river and in the summer nothing beats a swim in the cold clear water of the American River after a hike down to the bottom. Just remember, if you go down, you still have to go back up! Make sure to bring plenty of water and a shade hat if you’re planning a trip in the summer.
One great trail to explore the North Fork American River on your public lands is The Steven’s Trail. This trail is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Built and run by Truman Allen Stevens during the Gold Rush era, the trail connected Iowa Hill and Colfax, two gold mining towns on opposite sides of the river. There was a suspension bridge back in that day to cross the river. This bridge was run by Stevens and essentially operated as a toll road between the two mining towns at that time. You can still see many of the original rock retaining walls that were built along the trail.
This trail was regularly trafficked in the 1870s but eventually as the mining became less profitable it became disused and was mostly forgotten about despite remaining on some maps. In 1969 it was “rediscovered” by a boy scout of the name Eric Kiel, and since then has become a recreation trail managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Story and photos by Alex Studd-Sojka, American Conservation Experience Intern.
Story by Alison Lipscomb, Environmental Protection Specialist. Photos by Alison Lipscomb, Environmental Protection Specialist and Rebecca Brooke, Associate Field Manager.
Last month, a team of BLM California employees and volunteers spent the morning with the Shafter Youth Center to talk about backyard biology. The event takes place inside the gymnasium at the youth center and is part of the camp's Nature Week. The age of the children range from 8-12 years of age, with approximately 40 children present. Backyard Biologist is an educational public outreach program that is designed to educate children about typical animals found in their own backyards, as well as the different classes of vertebrates.
Prior to the event, BLM California employees trapped common animals, such as black widows, cockroaches, crickets, and western toads, that were all released after the event. BLM volunteer Athena Quan brought her rabbit, Snickers, to the event. Snickers is cottontail mixed rabbit, so he looks very similar to wild rabbits seen in a backyard!
The children are given a RIMBA (reptiles, invertebrates, mammals, birds, amphibians) bingo card to complete, where students must go table-to-table to learn about each animal class and fill out the card.
Once all the students completed the RIMBA bingo card, BLM California employees led a quick feeding session, as the crickets were dumped in the western toad aquarium. The students had to be very still and quiet for the toads to catch some of the crickets!
BLM California has done this program with the Shafter Youth Center every year since 2004. Every year is different, all depending on the variety of species we are able to catch. We love putting on Backyard Biologist for all of the kids are really excited and we get the chance to educate children about science!
