Blog Archives

Nevada City native new BLM District Director of 5 BLM field offices, including Mother Lode

7/30/2020

The Bureau of Land Management has named Chris Heppe as its new director for the Central California District.

Heppe grew up playing in the streams and forests of the Sierra Nevada foothills in Nevada City. It is his love of water, wildlife and their habitat that led him on a lifelong career in federal service to remote corners of the world. But Heppe’s path has now brought him back home as the new Bureau of Land Management Central California District Manager based in El Dorado Hills.

“It is a tremendous privilege to be a steward of such a diverse landscape and spectacular cross-section of California that is enjoyed and utilized in a variety of ways,” says Heppe. “I look forward to supporting the BLM managers, staff and specialists who are fantastic at handling the popularity of our recreation areas, while building partnerships with other agencies and communities. Together we can leverage resources and enhance the work being done on the ground.”

The Central California District encompasses roughly 2.2 million acres of BLM-managed public lands stretching from the Pacific Ocean through the Central Valley across the Sierra Nevada and Eastern Sierra to the California-Nevada border.

It includes five BLM field offices – Bakersfield, Bishop, Central Coast, Mother Lode and Ukiah – as well as four national monuments, among them the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. The district also includes three wild and scenic rivers, two national trails and a national scenic area scattered across 42 counties.

Two weeks after graduating with a biological sciences degree from the University of California at Davis, Heppe started his federal service as a Peace Corps volunteer planting trees as living fences that provide habitat, forage and erosion control in Paraguay.

He then hooted for spotted owls as a seasonal wildlife technician in the Tahoe National Forest, before earning a master’s degree in environmental management from the University of San Francisco.

Heppe went to work for the Environmental Protection Agency in their Regional Office reviewing hazardous waste management permits, then transitioned into the Water Management Division administering grants to states to improve water quality and watershed health.

Watershed restoration next led him to the Redwood National Park as a natural resource program manager and onto the BLM as manager of the Headwaters Forest Reserve.

Heppe most recently served as the assistant field manager for the BLM Arcata Field Office where he oversaw a variety of natural and cultural resource programs in partnership with local communities.

Heppe succeeds Este Stifel, who retired from federal service last year.

When not in the office, Heppe enjoys family time, hiking and shooting hoops in the driveway.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation.

CLICK HERE to read original article.

Adventure travelers beware: Your travel insurance may not cover your extreme trail activity

7/27/2020

Interest in adventure-travel activities such as hiking and mountain climbing is at an all-time high this summer, more than tripling last year, according to travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth. However, action enthusiasts should be aware that depending on the specifics, travel insurance policies may not cover them.

Many travel insurance policies cover hiking and exclude mountain climbing and other extreme sports. However, the difference between the two activities isn’t always clear to travelers. Here’s what outdoor enthusiasts need to ask when purchasing travel coverage – some useful tips for brokers to pass on:
While some policies do provide coverage for mountain climbing, they may not cover other activities travelers participate in.

Travelers should consider policies with sports and activities coverage, which can cover a wide array of activities often excluded from standard policies, such as mountain biking, ice climbing and skiing.

To read the complete article, CLICK HERE.

Mt. biking most disruptive to wildlife and ecology, according to California government science report

7/26/2020

The California Fish and Wildlife Journal (CFWJ) report was just published on trail users effect on wildlife, entitled "Balancing Conservation and Recreation." CFWJ is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal focused on the biology, ecology, and conservation of the flora and fauna of California.

Public access to the complete 126-page report CLICK HERE.

The Journal is published with:
STATE OF CALIFORNIA Gavin Newsom, Governor
CALIFORNIA NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
CALIFORNIA FISH AND WILDLIFE EDITORIAL STAFF

"Balancing Conservation and Recreation" overview
California is one of the most biodiverse states in the U.S. and while 47% of the state is currently protected, 97% of these protected lands are opened to human access. This report...serves as a starting point for cooperatively exploring the challenge of protecting wildlife while balancing non-consumptive recreation use. If we are to meet conservation goals related to wildlife and wildlife habitat, it may not be appropriate to allow recreation use in all county, state, and federal park and protected areas and at all times.

This study uses years of previous study and new peer-reviewed articles, such a the results of ten years of camera-trap studies on conservation lands, bobcat (Lynx rufus) movement modeling using more than ten years of telemetry data, and compiled 69 journal articles that describe the results of original research examining the effects of non-motorized nature-based recreation on birds.

ALL wildlife are disturbed by mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding. Biking is the most disruptive, followed by hiking and then by horseback riding, but ALL human activity disrupts wildlife.

Distinguishing facets of mountain biking:
"Together with the extent and creation and use of unauthorized trails and technical trail features by mountain bikers, the mass-marketing of the sport, and the very large numbers of mountain bikers (Burgin and Hardiman 2012), at least four facets of mountain biking distinguish it from other recreational activities such that it may be of potentially greater concern with respect to its effects on wildlife: distance traveled, speed of travel, biking in the dark, and political lobbying and advocacy.

Distance traveled.
-Bikers traveling faster obviously travel farther than hikers per unit time and could therefore disturb more wildlife than hikers per unit time (Taylor and Knight 2003; Burgin and Hardiman 2012); the same applies to bikers and equestrians when bikers travel faster than equestrians. Larson et al. (2016) reasoned that, since motorized activities often cover larger spatial extents than non-motorized activities, it is possible that the effects of motorized activities have been underestimated. For valid comparisons among recreation-related ecological effects, the comparisons must account for distances traveled and the associated levels of disturbance to wildlife along the entire route traveled.

Speed of travel.
-While recreation-related effects on wildlife are generally assumed to be indirect (Dertien et al. 2018), the speed at which mountain bikers travel, combined with their relatively quiet mode of travel, can result in direct disturbance to wildlife. A relatively fast moving, quiet mountain bike may approach an animal undetected until well within the animal’s normal flight response zone. The result may be a severe startle response by the animal with significant consequences to the animal and/or the mountain biker (Quinn and Cherno 2010). The sudden encounter is the most common situation associated with grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribillis) inflicted injury (Quinn and Cherno 2010). Biking-caused wildlife fatalities likely resulting because of bikers’ speed occur with amphibians and reptiles that may be attracted to trails for thermoregulation and are thus exposed to collision with bikes’ wheels (Burgin and Hardiman 2012); photo-documentation provides evidence of three such fatalities in CDFW’s Del Mar Mesa Ecological Reserve in San Diego where a San Diego horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillii, a species of concern under CDFW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), three western toads (Anaxyrus boreas), and two Baja California treefrogs (Pseudacris hypochondriaca) were killed by mountain bikes (J. Price, CDFW, personal communication, 2019). The treefrogs appear to have been mating when run over—the photo documentation shows eggs spilling out of the female. Biking is prohibited in this ecological reserve, and two of the run-overs occurred on unauthorized trails (J. Price, CDFW, personal communication, 2019).
Though there are methods (e.g., bells attached to bikes) for mountain bikers to give warning of their approach to other trail users, and these can be effective for this purpose, these methods themselves can introduce additional disturbance to wildlife. And, such warning sounds are ineffective for wildlife whose hearing range does not detect them or who do not hear them soon enough to avoid a collision. Moreover, when recreationists are visible on approach to wildlife, the more threatening (e.g., faster, more direct) the recreationists appear to wildlife (as potential predators), the greater the flight initiation distance from the recreationists (Stankowich 2008). Fleeing from a perceived predator represents potentially needless expenditure of valuable energy.

Biking in the dark.
—Mountain biking in the dark (i.e., night riding), which is on the rise in protected areas, can disrupt the natural balance between diurnal and nocturnal wildlife. Consequently, night riding poses a dual threat to wildlife that exhibit diel shifts toward night: night riding can compound the pressure such wildlife experience from daytime recreational activities by increasing encounters with competitors and even further reducing the time available for foraging and breeding (Reilly et al. 2017). Night riding can also startle naturally nocturnal wildlife and wildlife that has become increasingly nocturnal to avoid daytime recreationists and other anthropogenic disturbances. Generally, temporal shifts by wildlife involve disruptions to both the shifting wildlife and to the wildlife naturally active during the time frame the shifting wildlife move into. In this way, such shifts set both groups of wildlife up for conflict and competition, disrupt predator/prey relationships, reduce feeding/hunting time and success, and disrupt breeding and other activities (Gaynor 2018). Temporal shifts can also result in spatial shifts and thus potentially cause further ecological disruptions. Thus, temporal shifts are disruptive not only to individuals, but also to communities, and ultimately, populations (Gaynor 2018).

Political lobbying and advocacy.
—In part due to the markedly different motivation driving mountain bikers compared to other recreationists in protected areas, especially in the more extreme forms of mountain biking (Burgin and Hardiman 2012), the mountain biking community has come to wield significant lobbying and advocacy pressure throughout the United States. Networking among members if the mountain biking community has resulted in changes in land managers’ decisions (Bergin and Hardiman 2012). In California, a newly formed mountain biking nonprofit aims to gain a voice at the capital with lawmakers to put trail access and trail development front and center (Formosa 2019). And, the community has much experience in planning trail networks, experience that is necessary to negotiate areas appropriate for mountain biking. In San Diego County, the local mountain biking coalition and the United States Forest Service (USFS) work in partnership to build trail networks on national forest lands; because the USFS does not have a budget for recreation, the only way trails will be built on national forest lands within the County is if the coalition pays the USFS for the agency’s sta time, studies and environmental review, and project-processing needed to approve the trail networks (SDMBA 2017). While the USFS-biking coalition partnership may be similar to the accepted practice of an applicant (e.g., utility) paying a lead/permitting agency to dedicate personnel to the applicant’s project(s) or a certain body of work, conflicts of interest are usually inherent in such collaborations. In addition, much of the USFS-biking coalition partnership’s planning process occurs outside of public view, prior to the public knowing anything about it. It is notable that, while not all USFS lands are considered protected areas in the meaning of this paper, the wilderness areas the USFS manages are."

Public access to the complete 126-page report CLICK HERE.

Image below showing the extent of unauthorized trails (the yellow trails on ecological preserve)
created and maintained by mt. bike riders

Guaranteed funding for our National Parks due to pass - the most important conservation law in 40 years

7/18/2020

And now for some good news from Congress and the president. No joke. In a rare, welcome display of bipartisanship, Congress is poised to approve the most important conservation law passed in the United States in 40 years.
The legislation, known as the Great American Outdoors Act, would provide $9.5 billion over the next five years to repair America’s national parks. It also would provide $900 million a year in perpetuity from offshore oil drilling royalties to the Land and Water Conservation Fund to pay for maintenance, repairs and expansion of national parks, state parks and city parks across the nation.
(Photo and article by MERCURY NEWS & EAST BAY TIMES EDITORIAL BOARDS)
The bill passed the Senate 73-25 in June. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., both voted in favor. So did Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C.
The House should approve the legislation when it votes on the issue in the next two weeks. President Trump has said he will sign it into law.
Chalk the compromise up to the kind of election year politics that was once commonplace in Washington, D.C.
Democrats, working in tandem with environmentalists, have tried for years to lock in a guaranteed source of funding to deal with the national parks’ $12 billion maintenance backlog. The deal came about because Republicans are trying to save the Senate seats held by Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Steve Daines, R-Mont. Voters in those states have largely opposed efforts by Trump and Republicans to roll back environmental protections.
Congress approved the $900 million annual Land and Water Conservation Fund in 1964 as a way to expand the parks system as the nation’s population grew. But Congress and past presidents have too often shifted more than half of the funding to other purposes. Trump’s budget this year, for example, allotted only $15 million for parks and public lands.
The legislation would guarantee that the money would be used exclusively to maintain parks and buy new park land. The bill allocates 70% of the money to national parks. The remainder would be split between the U.S. Forest Service (15%), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (5%), Bureau of Land Management (5%) and Bureau of Indian Education schools (5%).
The funding is urgently needed to improve aging roads, bridges, trails, camping facilities and lodging in national parks.
The National Park Service reported in 2018 that California’s nine beloved national parks need more than $1 billion in essential repairs, including Yosemite ($645.6 million), Sequoia and Kings Canyon ($169.9 million), Death Valley ($128.8 million), Joshua Tree ($65.9 million) Lassen ($33 million), Redwood ($23 million), Channel Islands ($11.2 million) and Pinnacles ($10 million).
State and local parks would also benefit. The Bay Area News Group’s Paul Rogers reported that in the past the money has funded state grants to build 40,000 swimming pools, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, fishing piers, jogging trails and other projects at local parks nationwide.
It was John Muir who said, “Everybody needs beauty … places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.”
The Great American Outdoors Act is a great way for us to preserve what Wallace Stegner famously called America’s best idea.

Exploring State Parks in Nevada County

7/13/2020

California’s state parks system is a rich collection of natural treasures, fascinating historic sites, and one-of-a-kind destinations. That includes western Nevada County’s three state parks — Empire Mine State Historic Park, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park and South Yuba River State Park — all within a short drive of Grass Valley and Nevada City. From miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails, to historic sites that provide a bridge from our past to the present and future, each park offers recreation and educational opportunities.

SOUTH YOUTH RIVER STATE PARK
17660 Pleasant Valley Road, Penn Valley; 530-432-2546
Hours: Seven days a week — 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Parking Fees: High Season — Thursday to Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., $10/per vehicle; off season — Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $5/per vehicle
This 20-mile portion of the South Yuba River canyon stretches from Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park to Bridgeport covered bridge. The area includes the longest single-span covered bridge in the world (currently closed for restoration), the steep rugged canyon of the South Yuba River, and the Independence Trail — the first identified wheelchair-accessible wilderness trail in the country. South Yuba River State Park offers many scenic vistas. Visitors can view swift moving water carving the canyon peppered with seasonal native blooms in springtime, and experience refreshing swimming holes that dot the 20-mile length of the Yuba River. Along the length of the park, visitors can see several unique bridges (Bridgeport, Jones Bar, Highway 49 Crossing, Purdon Crossing and Edwards Crossing) spanning from the Gold Rush era to the mid-20th century.

MALAKOFF DIGGINS STATE HISTORIC PARK
23579 North Bloomfield Road, Nevada City; 530-265-2740
Hours: Seven days a week – 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Parking Fees: $10 per vehicle, self-serve station
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park is nestled amongst the pine-studded chaparral forest of the Sierra Nevada Foothills and is home to California’s largest hydraulic gold mine. The 3,000-acre park encompasses the now ghost-town of North Bloomfield and the historic Diggins site, which allows visitors to step back in time and experience the boom and bust of the California Gold Rush.

EMPIRE MINE STATE HISTORIC PARK
10791 Empire Street, Grass Valley; 530-273-8522
$7 ages 17 and over
$3 ages 6-16, Children under 6 admitted free. Free parking
Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Trails open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Empire Mine State Historic Park preserves one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California. The mine was owned by William Bourn, Jr. who was possibly the richest man in the country in the early 1900s. Dedicated restoration and care have resulted in the houses, gardens, reflection pool, fountains and greenhouses. The park also encompasses 856 acres of forested backcountry and 14 miles of trails perfect for hiking, biking and horseback riding.
Between 1850 and its closure in 1956, the Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of gold, extracted from 367 miles of underground passages. Visitors can explore the park with tours of the estate, mine yard, grounds and gardens.

To see the original article and photos in The Union newspaper, CLICK HERE.

Nevada CO Sheriff's Search and Rescue team saves experienced riders in Chalk Bluff area

7/7/2020

Sunday evening the team was called out to rescue 3 very experienced equestrian riders who left a staging area just east of the Washington Overlook at 0900 hrs for a 2-3 hour ride. After heading out on TNF trail 66, they entered the Burlington Ridge Motorcycle Trail system. After getting disoriented they continued to make loops and poor choices. At around 1800 hrs they called family stating they were lost in an area east of the Five Mile House At 2030 they called 911 which gave us their GPS location.

Our Hasty Team and Motorcycle Team responded and located the 3 riders and all were in good health. The oldest member of the group was driven out as she could no longer ride due to preexisting health issues, and her horse was lame. After a 1.4 mile walk out, they were shuttled over to their vehicles; which they returned to load the horses.

To learn more about Nevada County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, and this rescue, CLICK HERE.

Day Hiker: Sierra Buttes Trail

7/4/2020

On a clear day you can see Lassen Peak. The views are just one of the many reasons to make the climb to the top of the Sierra Buttes Lookout Tower. Being the tallest peak in the Sierra Basin in Sierra County, you get a bird’s eye view of the nearby Sardine, Packer and other mountain lakes. With the 1,600 feet elevation gain over 2.5 miles of hiking trail you get a good workout. In the spring the wildflowers, including Mule’s Ear, Paintbrush and many others, grow lush close to the trail. The higher elevation also means cooler temperatures. The Sierra Buttes Trail is varied, going from exposed rocky switchbacks to pine and brush forest.

I always prefer hiking uphill first to get to the destination. It means downhill on the way out. This is true of this 5-mile round trip in-and-out trail. The last 150 feet to the tower is easily managed by climbing a sturdy metal staircase. At the top is the locked up lookout tower. You can look inside at the basic accommodations the lookouts had when this tower was in use. After taking in the 360-degree view and all the pictures and video you want, it is time to make your descent. On the way out the tower gets smaller. You may be amazed that you were all the way up at the very top in that tiny square building once back at the parking area.

To get there from Auburn take Highway 49 north toward Grass Valley/Nevada City. Stay on 49 to Sierra City. From Sierra City head northeast on Highway 49 for about 5 miles. Turn left on Gold Lake Highway. After 1.3 miles turn left again on Packer Lake Road. Follow signs for Packer Lake, turning right at the split. Shortly before reaching Packer Lake turn left on County Route 621 (marked with a sign reading: Sierra Buttes). Follow this road up a steep grade until you reach a wide junction with many parking spots (Packer Saddle). Turn left on Butcher Ranch Road and follow it south for 0.6 more miles. The trailhead has a wide dirt area for parking and is marked with trail signs for both the Sierra Buttes Lookout and the PCT. Start your hike around the green gate and you are on your way.
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Mary West is the author of the book series “Day Hiker — Gold Country Trail Guide.” The books are a collection of Day Hiker columns where West shares her longtime love of the outdoors and favorite hikes in Northern California’s Gold Country and beyond (available on Amazon). West was the recipient of the CRAFT Award in 2017 and 2019 for Best Outdoor Newspaper Column by the Outdoor Writers Association of California. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.