National Trails Day 2006 Activities Scheduled in Lincoln County

National Trails Day 2006 will be officially recognized nationwide on Saturday, June 3, but one day of fun-filled family outdoor activities is simply insufficient for Lincoln County, Nev., where two days are planned for.

Activities begin at 7:30 a.m., Friday, June 2, with registration, followed by an ATV poker run. Saturday's activities also begin with a 7:30 a.m. registration, followed by your choice of guided ATV rides, hiking or horseback riding. A Dutch oven dinner Saturday evening concludes the two-day event.

The registration fee includes a T-shirt, the Dutch oven dinner and a raffle ticket. You can either pre-register or register on the day(s) of the event.

Lincoln County's 3rd Annual National Trails Day is sponsored by the American Hiking Society and hosted by the Lincoln County Trails Day Coalition, Greater Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce and Bureau of Land Management.

For more information or to register, call the Cathedral Gorge State Park visitor's center at (775) 728-4460 between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. You can also register online at www.lincolncountynevada.com.

Local Teen gets Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

White Pine High School student and BLM Ely Field Office employee Ryan Ingle is experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

John Longinetti, BLM Ely Field Office rangeland management specialist (left), and Ryan Ingle, BLM Ely Field Office student employee (right), confer on an upcoming project. Ingle, a valued BLM employee, has been accepted into the University of Notre Dame’s renowned Summer Experience program. (Click photo to see a larger picture)

The 17-year-old Ely resident is participating in the University of Notre Dame's Summer Experience program, which this summer is offering selected high school student's courses in acting, investing, film, life sciences, literature, policy debate and public speaking, psychology, theology and pre-law. Ingle will study pre-law.

Ingle is a National Honor Society member. He participates in high school sports and sings in his local community and parish choirs. He is one of twenty students selected nationwide by the summer program to study pre-law.

The BLM Ely Field Office employs Ingle through the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP), which allows him to gain valuable experience and earn a paycheck while attending high school. To learn more about the STEP program, contact Alicia Hankins, BLM Ely Field Office supervisory administrative support assistant, at (775) 289-1800.

Computer Donations Benefit Local Communities

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely Field Office regularly donates previously-used computers and related equipment to schools and other qualified recipients.

Mary Eldridge, Little People's Head Start director (left), looks on as Jerry O'Donnell, BLM Ely Field Office property manager (right), signs over more than $4,100 of donated computers and related equipment. (Click photo to see a larger picture)

Most recently, the BLM donated equipment valued at nearly $128,000 to two local school districts. The field office also recently provided about $4,100 worth of equipment to the local Head Start program.

BLM Ely District Recreation Map Available Free to the Public

The BLM Ely District is making available to the public, free of charge, the district's new map-style recreation guide for eastern Nevada.

The full-color Eastern Nevada Recreation Guide provides an overview of all BLM recreation sites in the Ely district. The guide replaces a similar guide created approximately 30 years ago. The guide does not replace detailed maps of specific sites.

The fold-up guide is available at the BLM Ely Field Office, 702 N. Industrial Way, in Ely, and at the BLM Caliente Field Station, 1400 South Front Street, in Caliente.

Wilderness Stewardship Workshops

The Bureau of Land Management Ely District is looking for a few good volunteer wilderness stewards to participate in weekend restoration projects in Lincoln County.

The Fortification Range is composed almost entirely of volcanic materials. Most of the range is comprised of gentle ridges, however, the north end becomes very rugged and precipitous with sheer cliffs and massive outcrops. The Fortification Range Wilderness is located in Northern Lincoln County, Nev., about 50 miles southeast of Ely.

The one-day projects will provide participants an opportunity to help protect and preserve our nation's precious wilderness areas, as well as explore these magnificent and largely untrammeled treasures. The work will involve using hand tools to relieve soil compaction, transplant vegetation and disguise man-made disturbances.

Participants will need to bring sturdy work boots, a pair of work gloves and plenty of sunscreen. The BLM will provide all necessary hand tools and direction in their use.

Scheduled are a wildlife guzzler inspection/workshop, Saturday, March 4, in Las Vegas, Nev.; a small site restoration project/workshop, Saturday, March 25, in the Mormon Mountains Wilderness, about 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nev.; and an unauthorized route restoration project/workshop, Saturday, June 17, in the Mount Grafton Wilderness Study Area, about 30 miles south of Ely, Nev.

For details on any of the above projects/workshops, or to enroll, contact Steve Leslie, BLM Ely Field Office wilderness planner, at (775) 289-1800.

Train to be a "Leave No Trace" trainer!

The BLM Ely District is scheduled in FY 2006 to conduct three "Leave No Trace" trainer courses. The dates and locations are Friday, April 14 through Sunday, April 16, South Pahroc Wilderness; Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6, Weepah Spring Wilderness; and Friday, June 2, and Saturday, June 3, Mount Irish Wilderness.

"Leave No Trace" is a nationwide outdoor education and ethics program that teaches visitors to public lands about the impacts they leave behind, as well as how to minimize or even prevent such impacts.

The Weepah Spring Wilderness is an excellent unspoiled example of mountain ranges representative of the Great Basin. The complex geology of the area forms a confused landscape of isolated peaks, maze-like canyons, walls of fossil-bearing rock, natural arches and odd volcanic hoodoos. The Weepah Spring Wilderness is located in northwestern Lincoln County, Nev., about 35 miles north of Alamo.

The goal of the "Leave No Trace" trainer course is to promote, inspire and teach "Leave No Trace" outdoor ethics to individuals committed to promoting such ethics. Successful graduates gain the skills necessary to teach "Leave No Trace" concepts to family, friends, and students or clients in a variety of educational settings.

The overnight backpacking and/or camping courses are designed to enhance a person's understanding of "Leave No Trace." Individuals are challenged to strengthen "Leave No Trace" practices and ethics through a variety of activities that include formal discussions and field activities.

For details or to enroll, contact Steve Leslie, BLM Ely Field Office wilderness planner, at (775) 289-1800.

Vendors Encouraged to Complete CCR Registration

Vendors wanting to receive a federal solicitation, purchase order or contract - for example, an Emergency Equipment Rental Agreement - are reminded by the BLM Ely District to first register in the Central Contractor Registration System, or CCR.

CCR is a self-service and single government-wide system for storing contractor procurement and payment information. You may register on-line at http://www.ccr.gov.

Vendors must also obtain a valid Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) number from Dun & Bradstreet. To obtain a D&B number, call (800) 333-0505 or go on-line at http://www.dnb.com.

For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842.