News Release

For Release:   January 24, 2008       
Contact:  Barbara Williams (916) 985-4474
CA-CC-08-25

BLM Offers Spring Tours at Pine Hill Preserve

Field trip time is coming at the Pine Hill Preserve!

The Folsom Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, has scheduled six springtime guided field trips to view wildflowers and other features at the Pine Hill Preserve in western El Dorado County. The Pine Hill Preserve is managed under a cooperative agreement among nine federal, state, and county agencies and consists of 4,002 acres in five separate units to protect rare plants that grow in gabbro-associated soils.

According to BLM Volunteer Coordinator Barbara Williams, the Pine Hill Preserve may be one of the most botanically diverse areas in California. "The spring wildflower display is spectacular," Williams said, "Five plant species are listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, and three of those are found nowhere else in the world."

The guided field trips, all on Saturday, are scheduled as follows:

April 26 (Cameron Park) (Birding)
May 3 (Cameron Park) 
May 10 (Pine Hill)              
May 17(Cameron Park)       
May 31 (Pine Hill)      
June 7 (Salmon Falls)        

The birding trip on April 26 starts at 7 a.m. and features prominent birder, Chris Conard, who will speak about the birds of the preserve. All other field trips start at 9 a.m. Field trip participants will meet at designated areas and car pool to the site. All are asked to bring a lunch or snacks, water, sturdy shoes, hats, sunscreen and insect repellant.

All trips are limited to 30 participants. Participants must pre-register with the BLM.

For more information, please contact the Bureau of Land Management, Folsom Field Office, 63 Natoma St., Folsom Calif. 95630, or call (916) 985-4474. Barbara Williams can be contacted directly by e-mail at Barbara_Williams@ca.blm.gov.

-BLM-

Folsom Field Office, 63 Natoma Street, Folsom, CA  95630