My Public Lands
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Fun Fact Friday: #You’re it! Fence Modifications Help Grouse and Wildlife
By Nancy Patterson, Public Affairs Specialist, Greater Sage-Grouse Rocky Mountain Region
When you’re out in sagebrush country, you’re likely to spot fence lines. Fences crisscross western landscapes, often following ownership and livestock grazing patterns. Many of these fences are made of wire and can be hard to spot in certain light conditions.
The more than 350 species of wildlife that live here have to figure out ways to move through this landscape, even with fences across it. Mule deer agilely leap over fences. Pronghorn can’t jump over fences so they seek out places where they can slip underneath or detour around until they find a crossing point. Greater sage-grouse prefer to shuffle underneath fences to stay out of sight of predators.
Sometimes Greater sage-grouse will take flight, barely skimming above sagebrush let alone a fence. In addition, when males fly into a lek, their mating grounds, often it is in limited visibility near dawn or dusk. Since wire fences are relatively low and can blend into surroundings, this creates a collision hazard for the grouse.
A simple solution is to use tags to increase visibility of fences. Tags are placed about a wingspan apart on the top wire of a fence. Often made of white vinyl, tags help the birds recognize that a hazard exists. This works somewhat like how people will use lights to mark tall buildings, water towers, hills, and transmission lines to alert pilots of hazards.
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Explore public lands in Utah this winter!
The fun doesn’t stop when the snow falls! Explore Utah in the winter and enjoy your public lands all year round. Learn more about winter activities from your local BLM Utah office.
For more photos, visit BLM Utah’s Flickr.
Visit the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Winter
The expanded Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument offers outstanding opportunities for a variety of winter sports within a short drive of residents and visitors to southern Oregon. Plentiful snow at higher elevations makes cross-country skiing, snowmobile touring and snow-play a popular way to visit the monument in winter.
For cross country skiers, the Buck Prairie Nordic Ski Trails system is only 13 miles from Ashland and offers a well-marked trail system suitable for skiers of all levels. Views from high points on the system stretch from Mount Shasta in the south to Mount McLoughlin and the rim of Crater Lake in the north. Snowmobilers can access similar outstanding views on a diverse network of loop trails following unplowed roads through dense forests and open ridgetops. Families gather at the popular Table Mountain Winter Play Area near Hyatt Lake which contains a large tubing/sledding hill, warming hut and plowed parking.
A number of small bed-and- breakfasts and lodges in the immediate area are open in winter, or visitors can drive to Ashland, Medford or Klamath Falls for a complete array of visitor services.
BLM Junior Rangers ‘Join the Adventure’!
Officially launched in October 2016, the Bureau of Land Management’s Junior Ranger program is the agency’s vehicle for engaging young people in recreation, learning, and stewardship, and connecting them to the natural world and their cultural heritage. BLM-managed public lands encompass millions of acres where young people can pursue healthy recreational activities, spend time with friends and family, nurture their curiosity about the natural world, and discover clues to our country’s past. We encourage all to learn more, get involved, and reach out to young people, parents, and teachers to promote the BLM Junior Ranger Program. In other words: Inspire others to “Join the Adventure”!
Young people who are immersed early on in learning and recreation on the public lands are our nation’s greatest hope for the next generation of conservation stewards and leaders. The Junior Ranger program capitalizes on the amazing work that the BLM is already accomplishing with community and recreation partners to encourage kids and families to spend time exploring and learning outdoors.
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Visiting the New Bears Ears National Monument
In an area as vast and diverse as the new Bears Ears National Monument in Southeastern Utah, it’s hard to know where to start in exploring. Here are some ideas for capturing a sampling of what the new National Monument offers.
On the Northern end, take state route 211 into spectacular Indian Creek Canyon. Stop at Newspaper Rock, a large and spectacular petroglyph panel with carvings dating back to 2,000 years. Further along, the canyon opens up into a wide valley rimmed by Navajo Sandstone. The iconic “Sixshooter” spires soon become visible. Look for rock climbers scaling the narrow cracks in the vertical Navajo Sandstone.
Further south, Take Highway 261 and 95 onto Cedar Mesa. The twin Bears Ears rise just north of the mesa. This is one of the most significant archaeological regions anywhere, with ancient pueblos tucked into endless canyons. Visiting many of the pueblos require planning ahead as they include hikes and some also require visitor permits. However, a view of the spectacular Butler Wash Ruin is a one hour round trip hike from a developed trailhead while the Mule Canyon Ruin is located along the highway.
Driving south along the rolling pinion uplands of Cedar Mesa does not prepare one for the descent of Highway 261 via the “Moki Dugway”. The route drops precipitously with views of Monument Valley in the distance. Similar landforms to Monument Valley’s famous formations are found along a 17 mile unpaved loop drive beginning at the base of the Dugway which traverses the Valley of the Gods.
A final stop along the southern border of the monument is also a must see. The viewpoint at Goosenecks State Park takes in a spectacular sequence of tight and colorful meanders of the San Jun River carved into the sandstone cliffs.
Many parts of the new national monument are remote and there are no services. Make sure to stock up with supplies in Monticello, Blanding or Bluff which all offer a full array of services as well as accommodations.
Up Next in Our Weekly Instagram Takeover is New Mexico!
Explore your public lands in New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas this week and discover what we’re all about. Follow @mypubliclands on Instagram to get the most out of social media by experiencing your public lands in the Land of Enchantment!
Pictured here is the 3rd place winner of BLM New Mexico’s employee photo contest, showing the beautiful colors of fall at the Lemon Lime Cottonwoods at sunset. Stay tuned for more!
Visiting the New Gold Butte National Monument
The new Gold Butte National Monument covers nearly 300,000 acres of remote and rugged desert landscape in southeastern Nevada. The area is less than two hours from the Las Vegas Strip, but a world apart. Here dramatically chiseled red Navajo sandstone, twisting canyons, and tree-clad mountains of the adjoining Paiute Wilderness punctuate vast stretches of the Mojave Desert dotted with Joshua trees and desert shrubs.
The 99 mile long Gold Butte National Backcountry Byway provides access to a cross section of the area’s features and begins just south of Interstate 15 near Bunkerville, NV. The first 20 miles of the byway to Whitney Pockets are mostly paved and accessible by passenger vehicles. Other unpaved portions of the route can be accessed by high clearance vehicles and some may require 4-WD. Check visitor kiosks for area information.
The brightly hued sandstone provides a stunning canvas for the area’s famously beautiful rock art, and the desert provides critical habitat for the desert tortoise. The byway and other routes provide access outdoor recreation, and visitors to the monument can camp (undeveloped), hike to fantastic rock formations and hidden rock art sites, and visit the area’s namesake mining ghost town. Wildlife viewing and hunting opportunities are available and the area even has a population of majestic desert bighorn sheep. A full array of visitor services are available in Mesquite Nevada just north of the new monument. Stock up on supplies as no services are available on the byway or elsewhere in the monument.
RECAP OF MYPUBLICLANDS INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER BY BLM Alaska!
Last week BLM Alaska shared gorgeous photos of where to visit on your next Alaskan adventure!
Here we share a recap of some of the photos from BLM Alaska. For more great ideas for exploring your public lands, follow BLM Alaska on Facebook and Twitter.
Next up, follow us on Instagram this week with shares from our friends at BLM New Mexico!
Alaska’s Amazing Aurora
The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis is an awe inspiring natural phenomenon. To understand how the aurora occurs think of the earth as one giant magnet. The aurora is formed by electrons moving along our planet’s magnetic field to the Polar Regions where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere. In these collisions, the electrons transfer their energy to the atmosphere and it is released in the form of photons of light. The colors depend on the atoms that are excited with oxygen giving off the most familiar green and sometimes red glow and nitrogen a blue glow. The same type of energy exchange process works to make neon lights glow. The Aurora changes shape as the beams of electrons move. Often it appears as tall rays that look much like a curtain made of folds of cloth. The arcs twist and sway, just as if a wind were blowing on the curtains of light.
During major geomagnetic storms the aurora expands away from the Polar Region and can be seen over portions of the lower 48 states. However, the best place to observe the aurora regularly is under an oval shaped region between the latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year.
Interior Alaska is right in the heart of the northern hemisphere’s peak viewing latitudes with Fairbanks falling at 65 degrees latitude. Several BLM areas offer some of the best viewing opportunities anywhere for adventurous and prepared visitors. The White Mountains National Recreation Area has an extensive trail network and reserveable cabins for mushers, snowmobilers and cross country skiers. Further north, Coldfoot Camp (population 13) is a dramatic and very remote viewing area along the Dalton Highway and is accessed by guided aurora tour groups even in midwinter. The University of Alaska Geophysical Institute has an aurora forecast page for both Alaska and the lower 48: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/
Late Summer through Mid Spring are peak viewing times in Alaska as the midnight sun state does not have dark enough skies in summer for viewing the aurora.
Weekend inspiration from Wyoming’s great outdoors!
Recreating on public lands in Wyoming offers endless opportunities for the outdoors enthusiast.
Recreation opportunities abound throughout Wyoming’s18 million acres of BLM-managed public lands. These public lands host many unique and special outdoor opportunities where visitors can enjoy some extraordinary scenery and learn more about the state’s history.
Check out the spectacular wilderness study areas, fish in one of the many blue-ribbon streams, or go mountain biking in some gorgeous back country. Take a step back in time to learn more about Wyoming’s history by exploring the National Scenic and Historic Trails, including the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer and Pony Express.
View more Wyoming recreation photos on BLM Wyoming’s Flickr