Category Archives: California

State Parks

Ocotillo Wells SVRA seeks input on Draft Planning Alternatives

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Comments due by March 10!

California State Parks has launched a comprehensive update of the General Plan for Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). As part of the update, Draft Planning Alternatives have been developed to illustrate different scenarios for how Ocotillo Wells SVRA may be managed over the long-term.

California State Parks is gathering public input to help identify which combination of options best serves the public’s interest in Ocotillo Wells SVRA’s future. The Preferred Planning Alternative ultimately identified for the General Plan Update process may be one of the alternatives or a combination of features from more than one alternative.

Learn about the Draft Planning Alternatives for the General Plan Update and submit your feedback via their Online Input Forum. HERE.

National Forests, National Parks

Redwood Poaching causes road closures at night

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

People are fucktards.  It’s that simple.  For their thirty pieces of silver, people are willing to destroy trees that have been around since before this country was a country.

From the National Park Service:

Newton B. Drury Parkway will be closed on a nightly basis starting Saturday, March 1, 2014. The parkway will be closed each day at sunset and reopened at sunrise. The hours of closure will be variable as the time of sunset and sunrise changes. Closure hours may also be impacted if staff is responding to other emergencies. Patrols will also be increased during this time to ensure the protection of our natural resources.

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Activities, National Parks

Half Dome Cables Day Use Permits Available for Reservation Starting March 1 2014

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Permits Required Seven Days Per Week to Hike Half Dome Cables 

Half Dome cables day use permits for the 2014 hiking season will be available for reservation starting tomorrow, Saturday, March 1, through Monday, March 31, 2014. Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are required seven days per week and reservations will be distributed via a lottery system. Successful parties will be notified in mid-April. A maximum of 300 hikers will be allowed on the Half Dome cables per day.

Reservations for the permits can be made online at www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.

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News

Happy Birthday Ansel Adams!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Shamelessly borrowed from Wikipedia:

Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer and conservationist. His black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books.

“Once destroyed, nature’s beauty cannot be repurchased at any price.” – Ansel Adams

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News

Ethanol production continues to drain California’s water resources during drought

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a scientist.  I’m just a guy who believes in conservation and making California the best it can be.  Now that we’re three years into below-average rainfall in California and even the sluggish state government has decided that we’re in a drought, it’s time to look at ways to conserve water.  It’s something we should have been doing for years, but … well, we’ve been too busy trying to decide what marriage is while we’re riding on the high speed rail train to bankruptcy.

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