Outdoors News Stories

Laura said:
I didn't realize they were so rare. I remember being on a trip to the Sierra Nevada when I was a kid and seeing one. Of course, that was 40 years ago or so, but now I feel especially lucky!
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It's possible you just saw a different type of fox. If I understand correctly, there are other more common subspecies around there, it's just this particular type that is extremely rare.
 
Nick said:
It's possible you just saw a different type of fox. If I understand correctly, there are other more common subspecies around there, it's just this particular type that is extremely rare.
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Yeah, pretty much this.
 
Nick said:
It's possible you just saw a different type of fox. If I understand correctly, there are other more common subspecies around there, it's just this particular type that is extremely rare.
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No, not in the Sierra Nevada: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/nuis_exo/red_fox/ The only red fox species in the Sierra Nevada is the Sierra Nevada fox. Other non-native red foxes have been introduced into CA but haven't migrated into the Sierra (see the territory map in the article). It was definitely a red fox I saw, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, so the only species that fits is the Sierra Nevada fox.
 
ha ...... "According to the report, respondents in favor of canceling the Thompson Divide leases indicated that communities and residents strongly oppose oil and gas development in the area" ....... But they want the gas for their cars.
 
Natural gas.
And oil is not really the problem here.
BTW, opposition to these leases range across political and societal spectrums. Hippies, ranchers and long time locals are pretty united. Google earth "Rifle, Co" and you will see 1000's of gas wells, and the only thing stopping them from reaching our area is the Thompson Divide.
Ha.
 
I would love to see a few new roads added to the SRS.

Price, Utah—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office (PFO) announces that the public scoping period for the San Rafael Desert Travel Management and Transportation Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) will run from January 21, 2015, to February 21, 2015. Two public open houses will be held during this period to give interested members of the public an opportunity to get involved in the planning process by providing written comments.

The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will influence the environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide the planning process. The BLM will host open houses where the public can provide input on route designation criteria and travel routes in the planning area that are important to their use of public lands. These meetings will also help inform the public about the BLM’s multi-step travel management planning process. Written comments will be accepted during the public scoping meetings and throughout the scoping period, which ends February 21, 2015.

The Price Field Office will be subdivided into five Travel Management Areas, and a separate EA with a 30-day public scoping period will be completed for each of the five areas.

The first area to be analyzed is the San Rafael Desert Travel and Transportation Management Area. This area includes the San Rafael Desert South of I-70 and East of HWY 24 to the Green River and Emery County line. In advance of the open houses, the public is encouraged to view a map of the planning area and the current route inventory map on the BLM PFO webpage at:
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/price.html an online comment form is also available on the webpage for those wishing to submit comments electronically. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your entire comment – including personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. The BLM will not consider anonymous comments.

Written comments can be mailed to the Price Field Office, 125 South 600 East, Price, UT 84501 or submitted to: blm_ut_pr_comments@blm.gov All submissions from organizations and businesses,
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety. Please note the most useful comments are those that identify issues relevant to the proposed action or contain new technical or scientific information. Comments which contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision making process.

For additional information, contact Kelly Buckner @ (435)-636-3639. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the BLM during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
 
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steve said:
I would love to see a few new roads added to the SRS.
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gnwatts said:
My opinion, relevant or not, is that we have enough roads for people to recreate in the swell.
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I've had similar discussions with my father-in-law and others a few times. On one hand, you have some handicapped and disabled people that would still love to see and experience places currently closed off from motorized travel. On the other hand, with more motorized access to such pristine areas will inevitably come more lazy and irresponsible people who leave litter behind and are careless with cultural resources and artifacts, and so on. In my experience, the closer you are to roads, the more litter there is to be found scattered about, and the further away you get from a road, the less litter there is to be found and thus a better wilderness experience. There are people out there, if they had it all their way, would have roads built all the way up all of the bigger basins of the Uintas, Winds, and every other mountain wilderness area out there, not to mention a number of canyons and other areas about the Southwest.

I'm sure there are a myriad of other great reasons both for and against opening up such areas to more motorized travel, but unfortunately, there seems to be no easy answer and no way to satisfy all. Hopefully, a good compromise can result from this San Rafael event and others like it that will still respect and protect pristine areas that remain rich in cultural and/or wilderness resources, provide ample space for those who seek solitude and tranquility and for vital wildlife and ecosystems to thrive, and at the same time serve those who would benefit from more motorized routes.
 
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