The Bureau of Land Management Winnemucca District Office ordered a temporary closure and the prohibition of certain activities on public lands around the site of the 2010 Burning Man event through Friday, Sept. 17, 2010.

The BLM says this is to provide for public safety and to protect public resources.

The closures affect a small part of the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area Black Rock Desert playa during the Burning Man Event.

“Similar closures for the Burning Man event in past years have been implemented with minimal disruption to other public uses.”
- Black Rock Field Office Manager Roger Farschon

The closures reserve the 8-Mile entrance to the Black Rock Desert playa solely for Burning Man ticket holders, but all other playa access points and 93 percent of the playa, more than 97,000 acres, remains open to public use.

The closure order is posted on the BLM website.

The event’s 2011 Art Theme is called “Rites of Passage”

There are moments of crisis and frisson in our lives which inform us that we’ve somehow crossed an inner threshold and are changed. Thus moving from one state of being into an unknown other is not a facile transformation; it obliges us to face our innermost insecurities, and it requires faith, a willingness to leap off the ladder of ordered existence. Our theme this year invites participants to join with others in creating rites of passage.
- Burning Man Event website

Burning Man Event Illustration by Dominic "DA" Tinio

The Burning Man website has more information.

The mission of Communities In Schools of Northeastern Nevada is to empower students to stay in school and achieve in life.

Communities In Schools volunteers are hosting their first Toiletry Drive in front of the K-Mart at 2450 Mountain City Highway in Elko, on September 4, from 11:00am – 3:00pm.

This drive is a part of the group’s Health & Wellness Initiative. Members of the community can drop off items on the “Wish List,” including shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, mouth wash, deodorant, shaving cream, razors, hand sanitizer, Q-tips, lotion, hand soap, feminine hygiene products and briefs/boxers.

Communities In Schools of Northeastern Nevada Provide Hygiene Packs

Communities In Schools will then provide hygiene packs to students who need them in schools throughout Elko County. This is part of an effort to help children reach their academic, emotional and social potential.

Event Date: 09-04-10
Event Time: 11:00 AM – 03:00 PM PST
Location: KMart
2450 Mountain City Highway
Elko, NV 89801

To volunteer with Communities In Schools, contact Sara Hazelrigg (phone: 775-753-9183)

This is a response to the request from the city staff. The City analyzed various road projects and then selected the most important ones to endorse to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

They also discussed several other important matters during the meeting.

View full story at elkodaily.com

Elko’s Building Department issued 532 permits up to the end of July this year, 69 more than last year, collecting more than $1 million, more than double the amount received by this time last year. Most of those were from permit applications received prior to this year.

A possible sign of the slowdown in the economy, applications are down 11%, at 226, for the first seven months of the year.

Building permits can be quite complex, sometimes much more, depending on the purpose of the permit. Approvals are almost always needed from

• Elko Building Department
• Elko Fire Department
• Elko Engineering Department (Drainage & Grading)
• Elko Planning Department

Depending on the purpose of the permit, approval may be needed from

• Health Department
• FEMA
• EPA
• Other agencies

View another story at elkodaily.com

The Ruby Pipeline project, was started to address growing demand for natural gas and gas transportation infrastructure. The company filed their application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in January, 2009, requesting a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing the construction and operation of the Ruby Pipeline Project. The Federal Regulator approves the application in April this year, and additional approvals are pending from various regulatory agencies.

The Bureau of Land Management approval is one of those, but there are sure to be appeals against the project. FERC approved the company to proceed and begin construction in July this year, and construction began July 31, 2010. Planned completion date is March 2011.

See Ruby Pipeline Receives FERC Approval to Begin Construction

See a Ruby Pipeline reforestation story.

See a more in-depth story about the Sierra Club appeal at elkodaily.com

In all, 1,224 wild horses were rounded up and moved from the area, the BLM said, because of rangeland resources degradation on public and adjacent private lands due to the over-population of wild horses. The condition of the water-starved wild horses triggered what BLM called the “emergency rescue operations.” BLM brought in 46,000 gallons water for wild horses within the Owyhee HMA from July 12 to July 18.

Wild Horse Injuries

34 animals died or were euthanized during gather operations:  13 animals died due to insufficient water resources on the range, succumbing to water starvation/dehydration-related complications; 12 animals had pre-existing injuries or conditions such as lameness, blindness, pneumonia, or birth defect/physical injury-related deformities and were humanely euthanized.  Four wild horses died or were euthanized as a result of gather-related injuries, and five animals died from assorted causes after transportation to the short-term holding facility.

Two additional wild horses (a mare and foal) that were not being gathered were also found on the range during reconnaissance activities and were humanely euthanized because of life-threatening injuries.  The contractor found the two animals while rescuing a group of approximately 28 wild horses stranded on a steep cliff as he guided the horses down the steep mountain.

The BLM contractor transported 1,064 animals, including 346 studs shipped to the Gunnison Prison Wild Horse Training Facility at the Central Utah Correctional Facility, and 718 mares, foals, and studs to the Palomino Valley Center (PVC) near Sparks, Nev., without incident.  The animals are receiving good quality grass hay, water and veterinarian care as needed.

The animals will be de-wormed, vaccinated, freeze marked and gelded (all studs 12 months and older), all animals will be made available for adoption to qualified applicants through the BLM’s Adopt-A-Wild Horse or Burro Program. The public may visit the BLM’s website at www.blm.gov for more information about adopting a wild horse or burro.

Wild Horse Fertility Control

The BLM applied fertility control on 64 mares (PZP-22 – Porcine Zona Pellucida) and released them back into their respective HMAs. The BLM re-released a total of 126 mares and studs back into the Rock Creek and Little Humboldt HMAs.

More information may be available at the website: www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/elko_field_office.html. For further comments and questions about the wild horse gather, the public may call 1-866-468-7826.

Morning temperatures were cool and heat was not an issue. The contractor ended gather operations at 9:45.

Wild Horses Sorted

The observers watched the horses being sorted and loaded into trucks to be hauled to the temporary holding corrals – again without incident. The observers relocated to the temporary corrals, where they observed the wild horses being sorted and put into separate pens.

On Sunday, the BLM will apply fertility control and adjust of the sex ratios, and re-release 24 mares and 23 studs back into the Little Humboldt HMA. During the next two to three days, the BLM also anticipates removing approximately 425 excess wild horses that have moved outside the Rock Creek HMA, which are causing considerable impacts to rangeland resources on public and adjacent private lands, as well as impacts to habitat for the Lahontan cutthroat trout.

elko wild horses

The contractor shipped 46 horses to the Palomino Valley Center near Sparks, Nev. Upon arrival at the facility, the animals will be closely monitored, provided good feed, water and veterinarian care as needed.

During the next several months the animals will be wormed, vaccinated, and freeze marked, and all 12 month and older studs will be gelded. Once the wild horses have fully recovered, they will be made available for adoption to qualified applicants through the BLM’s Adopt-A-Wild Horse or Burro Program. The public may visit the BLM’s website at www.blm.gov for more information about adopting a wild horse or burro.

More On Wild Horses

As more information becomes available it will be posted at the website. For further comments and questions, the public may call 1-866-468-7826.

Read more at elkodaily.com

Elko Sheriff Lotspeich says an ICE visit to 10 Elko businesses found several people living and working in the community illegally.

ICE apparently told the Sheriff the illegal immigration problem was “very significant” in Elko County.

Lehmann said there are other circumstances that could lead to taking the person into custody, such as a previous deportation by ICE. An outstanding arrest warrants, as with any other person, also constitute a hold. But, as Morton said, if those who are here illegally are pulled over for a traffic violation or contacted for some other minor offense, they are most often cited and let go, despite a records search verifying their illegal status.

View full post at Search Results – elkodaily.com

In the deadliest BLM roundup this year, the BLM rounded up 228 horses, most of them stampeded by helicopter for eight miles in searing summer heat. BLM later reported at least 12 mustangs, died so far, 7 of them suffering gruesome deaths from dehydration-related causes, including brain swelling and “water intoxication.”

The dead mustangs included colts 2 to 4 months old.

A lawsuit and a separate administrative appeal warned BLM of the dangers of proceeding with this summer roundup so close to the foaling season.

“The Department of Interior’s mismanagement of our public resources, so tragically revealed in the Gulf oil spill, extends to our nation’s treasured wild horses and burros.”

Stuart G. Gross, of Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy.

A new lawsuit has been filed in California, to stop another BLM roundup, this time, of 2,000 horses.

“The Department of Interior has a policy of removing mass numbers of wild horses from the range without supporting its conclusion that such drastic measures are ecologically necessary,” said environmental attorney Rachel Fazio. “They completely ignore current scientific information regarding the harm associated with their proposed roundup, refuse to provide the public with documentation and data to support their conclusions, and utterly disregard the damage done by livestock. This circumvents the legal requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act to fully inform the public and take a ‘hard look’ at the consequences of their actions and that is why we were forced to proceed to court.”

Wild horses comprise a small fraction of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by livestock nearly 50 to 1. The BLM has recently increased cattle grazing allotments in areas where wild horses are being removed. Currently the BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres of this land, which must be shared with cattle. The Obama Administration has accelerated the removal of wild horses and burros from public lands in the past year. There are currently more than 36,000 wild horses warehoused in government holding facilities and only 33,000 wild horses free on the range.