For more information or to obtain a permit contact the BLM's California Desert District Office at (951) 697-5200 or local field offices in Barstow (760) 252-6000, El Centro (760) 337-4400, Needles (760) 326-7000, Palm Springs-South Coast (760) 251-4800 or Ridgecrest (760) 384-5400.
By Shep
Ok, here's my report on May 19th's CFMS/Co-Op field trip to Field Siding and the Green Ash Hills.
I counted 23 attendees plus a few pebble pups representing about a half dozen clubs including the Sierra Pelona, Del Aires, Searchers, Santa Ana
Rock & Mineral Club, the Southern San Joaquin Lapidary Society (hope I didn't miss anyone) and all were anxious with some people already collecting at the meet area who were camping out the night before.
By 9:30am most everyone had arrived but without knowing who else was planning on coming we waited about 20 minutes more then decided to head to the search site before the heat of the day began setting in. This is a wide-spread area along the northern Cady's with the best collecting south of the RR tracks. Driving the short distance to the old siding ruins we parked and hiked from that point.
Most took my advice and walked the flatlands a mile or so from the tracks to the richer, more diverse float and all found varied material of varying sizes including moss agates, moss jaspers, plasma agates of multiple colors, many many solid agates and jaspers of varying colors with everyone quickly filling their buckets and bags.
Hiking back to the park area early with everyone satisfied we broke for lunch early comparing and washing our finds then drove the fifteen minutes to the Green Ash area. Thankfully, so far, no incidents of run-ins with squirrels with attitudes.
We stopped at the ice cream shop on the way to the Early Man turnoff only to find it was now open only on Sundays due to new ownership but all marvelled at the pond with giant Koi ( I think they're on steroids personally). Having ice cream from the service station across the road we continued on the road to the Early Man Site before turning off to the collecting area and parking.
From there we spread in all directions picking various ravines to search. The heat got hotter (funny how heat has a tendency to do that!).
Shortly we resembled the Lost Battalion wandering the deserts of Libya and began our march to exhaustion with many leaving after collecting
samples of more agate, jaspers, chalcedonies (which fluoresce), opals and petrified wood.
Ruth and Paul , on their ATVs (they cheated! hehehe) found the largest agates and a watermelon sized chunk of multi-colored petrified wood. They were the winners!
By late afternoon most had left for their drives back home. Good collecting by everyone....and no incidents with squirrels with attitudes. Until the next trip, Happy Hunting.
By Dave Muster
There will be a Field Trip Seminar on October 6th, 2007 from 9:00am to 12:00 noon in the Garden House at Shoup Park, 400 University Ave, Los Altos, CA.
Topics include Boundaries, Quarter corners, Township, Section and Range Lines, and using the BLM to check land status.
Crumpier at 9:am with sandwich lunch provided.
Hosted by Peninsula Gem & Geology Society.
Reprinted from California News Bytes Issue 285 - 6/13/07
By John Martin P.L.A.C. South
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released its Sierra Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS). The plan provides direction and guidance for more than 230,000 acres of public land located primarily in nine central California counties including Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado , Mariposa , Nevada , Placer, Sacramento , Tuolumne and Yuba counties.
"This plan helps define the role of BLM land in meeting the public's need for open space; safety from wildfire; clean, abundant water for domestic, recreational and agricultural uses; economic opportunities on public lands; protection and interpretation of the area's rich historical heritage; and diverse, resilient habitats for enjoyment and ecosystem health," said Bill Haigh, BLM Folsom Field Office manager.
The Sierra Proposed RMP/FEIS covers a wide geographic area, from the Yuba River area near Marysville, to the American River in the Sierra foothills, to the Merced River in Mariposa County , to the Cosumnes River Preserve in the Sacramento Valley . The plan includes a finding that both the South Fork American River and the North Fork/Mainstem Mokelumne River are suitable for inclusion in the federal Wild and Scenic river system.
In addition, public comments over the past few months resulted in corrections, clarifying text and a new proposal to designate 1,129-acres of public lands along the North Fork Cosumnes River as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
A 30-day public protest period begins June 8 and ends July 9, Haigh said. Because the North Fork Cosumnes River ACEC is a new proposal developed in response to suggestions made by the public last fall, the BLM will accept additional comments on the ACEC until August 7, 2007. Procedures on how to file a formal protest are contained in the document available online at http://www.blm.gov/ca/pdfs/folsom_pdfs/Proposed_RMP_Final_EIS/0a_cover.pdf.
Scoping for the Sierra RMP began in late 2004 and included numerous meetings with the public and other agencies and groups. The Sierra Draft RMP/EIS was available for comment from September 15 to December 13, 2006 and included four public meetings, as well as many other meetings with agencies and groups. The approximately 2,000 comments received were analyzed and are responded to in the RMP/EIS.
Printed copies of the document are also available at the Folsom Field Office, 63 Natoma St. , Folsom, CA 95630. For more information, contact Sandra McGinnis, environmental planner at BLM's Folsom Field Office, at (916) 985-4474.
For Immediate Release: June 8, 2007
Contact: David Christy (916) 985-4474
CA-CC-07-52
