National Forests

Mendocino National Forest Christmas Tree Permits on Sale Today

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Beginning today, Christmas tree permits will be available from the Mendocino National Forest for the 2013 holiday season.

Permits are available for purchase in person or by mail from Mendocino National Forest offices, as well as at area vendors. Vendors are listed below with contact information for the Forest Service.

Permits are $10 per tree at Forest Service offices. Customers are advised to call vendors to verify permit price and availability. The permits will be sold at Forest Service offices through Monday, December 23. Trees may be cut and removed any day of the week in authorized areas of the Mendocino National Forest. Please check current Forest fire closure areas in case your annual tree cutting spot is within the closure.

There is a limit of one permit per household, with each permit using a valid name and address. Up to four additional permits may be purchased for additional households, using separate names and addresses. Individuals must be 18 or older to purchase a permit. All Christmas tree permit sales are final, with no refunds. Permittees will receive a tree tag and Forest map.

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National Forests

Prescribed Burning Season Begins on Mendocino National Forest

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Mendocino National Forest is once again entering prescribed burning season.

The public may notice smoke in various parts of the forest during the next few months as part of the continued commitment to protect communities and natural resources from wildfires.

Forest visitors, including hunters, are asked to be aware of their surroundings and watch for prescribed burning operations to maintain personal safety.  Areas where prescribed burning operations are taking place will be well signed and there will be increased fire personnel in the area.  If visitors are uncertain, they are encouraged to contact the Forest at 530-934-3316 before their visit to see where prescribed burns are planned for the day.

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eBook, General

OS X Mavericks is here, and it brings iBooks to the Mac!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Apple announced new hardware and software today, including the FREE release of OS X Mavericks available on Apple’s website HERE.

For authors, Mavericks brings iBooks to the Mac.  From the Apple press release:

With OS X Mavericks, a new chapter in the iBooks story begins. Now you can launch the iBooks app on your Mac and the books you’ve already downloaded on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch will automatically appear in your library. And there are over 2 million more books in the iBooks Store, ready for you to download with just a few clicks.1 Reading books is intuitive and easy — turn pages with a swipe and zoom in on images with a pinch. If you’re a student hitting the books, keep as many open as you like and search through them with ease. And when you take notes, highlight passages, or add a bookmark on your Mac, iCloud pushes them to all your devices automatically. iCloud even remembers which page you’re on. So if you start reading on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, you can pick up right where you left off on your Mac.

You can find out more about the new products HERE and OS X Mavericks HERE.

You can find out more about iBooks HERE.

Conservation, Wildlife

Gov. Brown signs Assembly Bill 1213 that sort of bans California bobcat trapping

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

On October 11, 2013, California’s latest mistake for Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will prohibit commercial bobcat trapping in areas adjacent to California’s national and state parks, monuments and wildlife refuges where trapping is currently prohibited. Assembly Bill 1213 also requires the Fish & Game Commission to consider whether to prohibit bobcat trapping on private land adjacent to preserves, conservancies or any other public or private conservation area identified by the public for protection.

While some – like Brian Nowicki of the Center for Biological Diversity think “This is great news for California’s bobcats, and for the millions of Californians and visitors alike who love watching wildlife in our beautiful parks and other wild places,” the bill comes without any funding of any kind. And without funding, there’s no enforcement.

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Conservation, Hiking - General

American Hiking Society’s Save the Trails Fund

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I love to hike.  I love the outdoors.  One thing that disrupts the flow on our hiking trails is the insurgence of mountain bikes ridden in an unsafe manner on trails where mountain bikes aren’t allowed to be that puts hikers and the mountain bikers at risk.

From the American Hiking Society’s website:

In recent months there has been an upsurge of organized mountain biking groups attempting to gain access to sections of National Scenic Trails where mountain bikes are currently prohibited. These trails – or in some cases, sections of these trails – were neither designed nor built for mountain bike use. Due to concerns about safety, sustainability, and the displacement of hikers on trails with heavy bike usage, AHS believes that the sections of National Scenic Trails, where mountain bikes are currently prohibited, should remain closed to bikes.

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