Press Releases

oday the Bureau of Land Management helped Unleash American Energy by approving the Sapphire gen-tie transmission line and facilities project on approximately 40 acres of public lands in eastern Riverside County. EDF Renewables Development, Inc., is authorized to construct, operate, maintain, and eventually decommission a transmission line and associated facilities connecting the planned Sapphire Solar photovoltaic and storage facility on private lands to the electric grid.

ARCATA, Calif. – Experience the majestic beauty of ancient redwood stands on a guided hike with the Bureau of Land Management along the Salmon Pass Trail, just six miles from Eureka, and immerse in the wonders of nature. These hikes in the southern part of the Headwaters Forest Reserve are planned for weekends from mid-May through mid-November at the south end of the Reserve. Registration on Recreation.gov  is required for each outing. Registration will open on March 17. The BLM will announce hike dates and open registration two months before each hike. The registration links on Recreation.gov will close three days prior to each hike. 

BISHOP, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office is offering a $1,500 reward for information on the individuals responsible for damaging petroglyph panels at the Volcanic Tableland, north of Bishop. The perpetrators vandalized three locations within the site.

BISHOP, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service have approved a plan for the agencies to gather and remove excess wild horses that have roamed outside the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory near Benton onto public and private lands, in accordance with the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act of 1971. High priority areas for this gather include, but are not limited to, horses located in the Mono Basin and horses along CA State Route 120 East and U.S. Highway 6.

The Bureau of Land Management is offering an opportunity to live and work in a beautiful public land setting along the Susan River in Lassen County, as a camp host at a popular day use area.

The Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office plans to conduct prescribed fire operations as soon as Feb 24 in areas of the Bodie Hills, northeast of Lee Vining, in Mono County. Pile-burn operations will only be conducted when weather and fuel moistures allow for safe and successful burning.

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on a draft environmental assessment for a proposed access road and associated facilities on about six public acres adjacent to the existing Chubbuck Mine in San Bernardino County.

There’s a new tool for recreationists planning visits to public lands. The Free National Mobile Map Package Program allows anyone to access maps so they have the information they need to get outside, even when they are offline

REDDING, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management welcomes anyone interested in off-highway vehicle recreation on public lands to share ideas about the use of California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division grant funding, when the Northern California District hosts a virtual public meeting via Zoom, Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 4 to 7 p.m. The meeting will be divided into three, one-hour segments for the Eagle Lake, Redding and Arcata field offices.

The Bureau of Land Management is hosting several in-person and virtual public and stakeholder meetings to gather input to develop off-highway vehicle grant proposals for submission to the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. Grants support off-highway vehicle management activities, including visitor services, law enforcement, resource protection, planning and monitoring, and maintenance on BLM-managed public lands.

The Bureau of Land Management Central California District is hosting virtual public and stakeholder meetings to gather input on the development of off-highway vehicle grant proposals for submission to the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. Grants support off-highway vehicle management activities, including visitor services, law enforcement, resource protection, planning and monitoring, and maintenance on BLM-managed public lands.

The federal grazing fee for 2025 remains $1.35 per animal unit month for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and $1.35 per head month for lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 

The Bureau of Land Management has issued a temporary emergency closure on part of the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail in response to a rockslide that has blocked the route about three miles west of the Susanville Trailhead.

The BLM has selected Neal Craig as the Ukiah Field Manager who will oversee management of more than 270,000 acres of public lands within Marin, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, Colusa, Glenn, Yolo, and Solano counties.

The BLM Northern California District RAC will discuss a range of public land management topics in a meeting to be held virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, Feb. 5, beginning at 9 a.m.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central California Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will discuss a range of public land management topics in meeting to be held virtually on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The business meeting includes a public comment period scheduled at 1:45 p.m. The business meeting agenda can be reviewed in advance.

The Bureau of Land Management has selected Gabriel Garcia to serve as the new District Manager for the Central California District. In this position, Garcia will be responsible for roughly 2.2 million acres of BLM-managed public lands stretching from the Pacific coast through the Central Valley across the Sierra Nevada to the California-Nevada border.

BLM acquired the Lost Coast Redwoods property, ensuring lasting protections for about 4,500 acres along 8 miles of California coastline.

The Bureau of Land Management today announced approval of a noncompetitive sale of approximately 30 acres of public lands in San Bernardino County to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, which will use the land for the Barstow International Gateway project, an approximately 4,500-acre, $1.5-billion integrated rail facility that would transfer goods from international to domestic containers and create roughly 20,000 new jobs while helping to address logistics and supply chain issues. The project is also expected to help reduce freeway congestion around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

In order to protect the historic and cultural integrity of the Schwartz and Leff Administrative Site along the North Fork of the Salmon River, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has withdrawn approximately 40 acres of National Forest System lands within the Klamath National Forest from location and entry under U.S. mining laws for 20 years. The withdrawal, initiated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, prevents new mining claims, but allows leasing under the mineral or geothermal leasing laws and disposal under the Materials Act of 1947.

The Bureau of Land Management will implement a temporary closure of public lands from Jan. 30– Feb. 8, 2025, in the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area, San Bernardino County, during the annual 2025 King of the Hammers desert race event. The race is authorized by a BLM Special Recreation Permit and the temporary closure is necessary to facilitate public safety and provide an enhanced recreation experience for event participants and spectators.

Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Rangers will conduct driving under the influence (DUI) and registration checkpoints from noon to 2 a.m., Dec. 27 to Dec. 31, 2024, on BLM-managed public lands in Imperial County, within the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.

The Bureau of Land Management today announced the Desert Quartzite Solar facility, located near Blythe in eastern Riverside County, is now fully operational and producing clean energy to power up to 120,000 homes. The 300 megawatt (MW) solar facility also has 150 MW of battery storage, increasing reliability and availability of clean energy on the state grid.

The Bureau of Land Management today approved the Easley Solar project proposed on approximately 2,700 acres of BLM-managed public lands and 990 acres of private lands in Riverside County. The project is expected to generate up to 390 megawatts of photovoltaic solar energy and 650 megawatts of battery storage capacity, delivering reliable clean energy to the statewide transmission grid. The project will add nearly $305 million in infrastructure investment to the community and create 530 construction jobs followed by 10 operational positions once construction is complete.

The Bureau of Land Management is hosting five events to quickly fill more than 100 vital wildland firefighter and various supporting positions throughout the state for the 2025 fire year. Applicants are encouraged to attend one of the in-person events but may apply online in advance.