DM header

DM header
Quartzsite, Arizona

Friday, November 3, 2017

What you need to know about coyotes

People who live in or visit Arizona can expect to see many species of wildlife. More and more often though, wild animals are venturing into areas where people live. Sometimes the wildlife becomes a problem, either by hammering on the side of the house, digging a den under the front porch, or eating all of your brand new landscaping plants. You can usually enjoy wildlife watching from a distance, but sometimes wildlife encounters involve conflict.

It is generally not normal for coyotes to attack or pursue humans; it is a learned
response to human feeding
or indifference.

Are Coyotes Dangerous?
On rare occasions, human-fed coyotes have bitten people. Although naturally curious, coyotes are usually timid animals that run away if challenged. Coyotes can be a risk to people once they become comfortable around humans, usually as a result of feeding or indifference. When this occurs, coyotes lose their natural fear and learn to see humans, their yards and their pets as food sources and safe havens. You must aggressively discourage coyotes from feeling comfortable around you and your family by never intentionally feeding coyotes, eliminating attractants (food sources, including pet food) from your yard, using aggressive gestures toward coyotes when you see them, and encouraging your neighbors to do the same.

Coyotes are wild canines that are clever and opportunistic. They are well adapted to living in cities, suburbs, rural towns and agricultural areas. When developments are built in their habitat, coyotes are not permanently displaced. Some move on to other areas, but many simply adjust to their new environment. Coyotes can be seen at golf courses, parks, preserves and in many neighborhoods — maybe even yours!

Coyote Traits and Behaviors
• Coyotes live throughout Arizona and in every state except Hawaii. Their range has expanded with the human removal of their predators, such as the wolf. • They weigh 15-30 pounds. Females are slightly smaller than males. • Coyotes eat whatever is available, including seeds, dates and other fruit, dead animals, rodents, rabbits, garbage, pet food, house cats and small dogs. • They breed every year. They have two to 12 pups per litter, with an average of six. Pups are raised in a den. • Coyotes may be seen in groups, called packs, or alone. • Removing coyotes from one area generally results in other coyotes moving in from surrounding areas and breeding faster.

What Should I Do If a Coyote Approaches Me?
Remember, the human is dominant and must act that way. Here are some things to remember: • Never approach a coyote. • Show you are dominant by keeping eye contact with the animal. • Yell or make loud noises with whistles, blare music, or bang on pots and pans. • Encourage coyotes to leave by spraying with a hose, throwing sticks or rocks near them, or shaking a can filled with pennies or pebbles. • Don’t stimulate a coyote’s chase instinct by running. • Pick up small pets. • Protect small children so they won’t panic and run.

How Can I Keep My Pet Safe?
Pets most likely to be endangered by coyotes are typically off-leash or smaller than 25 pounds. Coyotes have taken cats and small dogs in the vicinity of their owners and occasionally right off the leash. Coyotes have also been reported to attack larger dogs when the coyotes are in groups, or after one or two have lured a dog away from its owner.

Here are suggestions for keeping your dog or cat safe:
• Supervise small pets at all times when outside. • Allow pets off-leash only in enclosed areas. If your dog is off-leash, be sure it has immediate recall response to prevent conflicts with coyotes and other wildlife. • Take steps to keep coyotes out of your yard • If you see a coyote when walking your dog, let the coyote know you are there. Either gather your dog in your arms or keep it as close to you as possible, while also using some of the deterrents described above. Move toward an area of human activity. • Keep cats indoors or in a secure outdoor enclosure to protect them from coyotes, other wildlife (owls, hawks, etc.) and also from cars, domestic dogs and disease

 How Can I Discourage Coyotes from Entering My Backyard?
If there is a regular coyote food source in one yard on your block, then coyotes will be active throughout the neighborhood. All potential food sources must be removed to keep the coyotes from becoming dangerously comfortable around humans. An indifferent attitude toward a coyote in your yard has the same effect as feeding it. If a coyote is in your yard, you need to make the animal aware it is not welcome. Here are some things you can do: • Do not feed wildlife. • Store garbage inside or in wildlife-proof containers. • Place trash containers outside at the last possible time on day of pickup. • Feed pets inside or remove uneaten pet food between feedings. • Keep pets indoors or on a leash. When outside, keep pets in a secure enclosure with a roof or supervise at all times. • Supervise small children. • Trim back plants and bushes around the house to prevent hiding or resting places. • Install outdoor lighting. • Reduce a coyote’s ability to get over a fence or wall by building it at least 6 feet tall, burying the bottom a few inches underground, and installing barbed wire, electric wire, or a pipe that spins around a wire on the top.

You can also make a “coyote shaker,” which is a soft drink can filled with washers, pebbles or pennies, wrapped in foil and taped closed. Shake the can to scare away coyotes. The combination of the light reflecting on the foil, the noise and the aggressive gesture of shaking it provides several deterrents. • Spray coyotes with water from a garden hose or large squirt gun filled with diluted ammonia (10% ammonia and 90% water).

What About Rabies? Coyotes can be rabid. However, the Arizona Department of Health Service’s records show an extremely low occurrence of rabid coyotes in the state.

For more information on living with urban wildlife, see the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Living with Wildlife webpage at www.azgfd.gov/urbanwildlife or call the Department at: Flagstaff (928) 774-5045 Pinetop (928) 367-4281 Kingman (928) 692-7700 Tucson (520) 628-5376 Mesa (480) 981-9400 Yuma (928) 342-0091 Phoenix (602) 942-3000

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Quartzsite Camping


Are you planning your RV adventure this winter in Quartzsite? 

Here are the rules for dispersed camping, AKA "Boondocking",
 in  the Bureau of Land Management's  (BLM) 
Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA) located just south of Quartzsite.  



BLM Rules


The following 35 LTVA Supplementary Rules are issued by the Bureau of Land Management.

1. Permit Requirements and Fees

You must have a permit to use a designated LTVA between September 15 and April 15. The permit authorizes you to camp within any designated LTVA using those camping or dwelling unit(s) indicated on the permit between the periods from September 15 to April 15. There are two types of permits: Long-Term and Short-Visit. The long-term permit is valid for the entire season or any part of the season. The short-visit permit is valid for 14 consecutive days, and may be renewed an unlimited number of times for the cost of the permit. LTVA users must pay the cost of the fee indicated on the LTVA permit, in U.S. funds only, before or upon arrival. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will not refund permit fees.

2. Displaying the Permit

To make it valid, at the time of purchase, you must affix your short-visit permit decal or long-term permit decal, using the adhesive backing, to the bottom right-hand corner of the windshield of all transportation vehicles and in a clearly visible location on all camping units. You may use no more than two secondary vehicles within the LTVA.

3. Permit Transfers

You may not reassign or transfer your permit.

4. Permit Revocation

An authorized BLM officer may revoke, without reimbursement, your LTVA permit if you violate any BLM rule or regulation, or if your conduct or that of your family, guest, or pets is inconsistent with the goal of BLM’s LTVA Program. Failure to return any LTVA permit to an authorized BLM officer upon demand is a violation of these supplementary rules. If BLM revokes your permit, you must remove all of your property and leave the LTVA system within 12 hours of notice, and you may not enter any other LTVA in Arizona or California for the remainder of the LTVA season.

5. Unoccupied Camping Units

Do not leave your LTVA camping unit or campsite unoccupied for a period of greater than five days unless an authorized BLM officer approves in advance.

6. Parking

For your safety and privacy, you must maintain a minimum of 15 feet of space between dwelling units.

7. Removal of Wheels and Campers

Campers, trailers, and other dwelling units must remain mobile. Wheels must remain on all wheeled vehicles. You may set trailers and pickup campers on jacks manufactured for that purpose.

8. Quiet Hours

Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. under applicable state time zone standards, or as otherwise posted.

9. Noise

Do not operate audio devices or motorized equipment, including generators, in a manner that makes unreasonable noise as determined by the authorized BLM officer. Outdoor amplified music is allowed only within La Posa and Imperial Dam LTVAs and only in locations designated by BLM and when approved in advance by an authorized BLM officer.

10. Access

Do not block roads or trails commonly in public use with your parked vehicles, stones, wooden barricades, or by any other means.

11. Structures and Landscaping

  • a. Fixed fences, dog runs, storage units, windbreaks, and other such structures are prohibited. Temporary structures of these types must conform to posted policies.
  • b. Do not alter the natural landscape by painting rocks or defacing or damaging any natural or archaeological feature.

12. Livestock

Boarding or keeping livestock (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, etc.) within LTVA boundaries is prohibited.

13. Pets

Pets must be kept on a leash at all times. Keep an eye on your pets. Unattended and unwatched pets may fall prey to coyotes or other desert predators. You are responsible for clean-up and sanitary disposal of your pet’s waste.

14. Cultural Resources

Do not disturb any archaeological or historical values including, but not limited to, petroglyphs, ruins, historic buildings, and artifacts that may occur on public lands.

15. Trash

You must place all trash in designated receptacles. Public trash facilities are shown in the LTVA brochure. Do not deposit trash or holding-tank sewage in vault toilets. An LTVA permit is required for trash disposal within all LTVA campgrounds. You may not change motor oil, vehicular fluids, or dispose of or possess these used substances within an LTVA.

16. Dumping

Do not dump sewage, gray water, or garbage on the ground. This includes motor oil and any other waste products. Federal, State, and county sanitation laws and county ordinance specifically prohibit these practices. Sanitary dump station locations are shown in the LTVA brochure. You must have an LTVA permit for dumping within all LTVA campgrounds.

17. Self-Contained Vehicles

  • a. In Pilot Knob, Midland, Tamarisk, and Hot Springs LTVAs, you may camp only in self-contained camping units. The La Posa, Imperial Dam, and Mule Mountain LTVAs are restricted to self-contained camping units, except within 500 feet of a vault or rest room.
  • b. Self-contained camping units must have a permanent, affixed waste water holding tank of 10-gallon minimum capacity. BLM does not consider port-a-potty systems, systems that utilize portable holding tanks, or permanent holding tanks of less than 10-gallon capacity, to be self-contained.

18. Campfires

You may have campfires in LTVAs, subject to all local, state, and Federal regulations. You must comply with posted rules.

19. Wood Collection

Do not collect wood within LTVAs. You may not possess native firewood (i.e., mesquite, ironwood, palo verde) within LTVAs. Please contact the nearest BLM office for current regulations concerning wood collection.

20. Speed Limit

The speed limit in LTVAs is 15 mph or as otherwise posted.

21. Off-Highway Vehicle Use

Motorized vehicles must remain on existing roads, trails, and washes.

22. Vehicle Use

Do not operate any vehicle in violation of state or local laws and regulations relating to use, standards, registration, operation, and inspection.

23. Firearms

Do not discharge or otherwise use firearms or weapons inside or within 1/2 mile of LTVAs.

24. Vending Permits

You must have a vending permit to carry on any commercial activity. Please contact the nearest BLM office for information on vending or concession permits.

25. Aircraft Use

Do not land or take off in aircraft, including ultralights and hot air balloons, in LTVAs.

26. Perimeter Camping

Do not camp within 1 mile outside the boundaries of Hot Springs, Tamarisk, and Pilot Knob LTVAs and within 2 miles outside the boundary of Midland LTVA.

27. Hot Spring Spa and Day Use Area

Food, beverages, glass containers, soap, pets, and/or motorized vehicles are prohibited within the fenced-in area at the Hot Springs Spa. Day use hours are 5 a.m. to midnight.

28. Mule Mountain LTVA

You may camp only at designated sites within Wiley’s Well and Coon Hollow campgrounds. You may have only one (1) camping or dwelling unit per site.

29. Imperial Dam and La Posa LTVAs

Do not camp overnight in desert washes in Imperial Dam and La Posa LTVAs.

30. La Posa LTVA

You may enter La Posa LTVA only by legal access roads along U.S. Highway 95. Do not create or use any other access points. Do not remove or modify barricades, such as fences, ditches, and berms.

31. Posted Rules

You must observe and obey all posted rules. Individual LTVAs may have additional specific rules in addition to these supplementary rules. If posted rules differ from these supplementary rules, the posted rules take precedence.

32. Other Laws

If you hold an LTVA permit, you must observe and obey all Federal, state, and local laws and regulations applicable to the LTVA.

33. Campsite Maintenance

You must keep the LTVA and, specifically, your campsite, in a neat, orderly, and sanitary condition.

34. Length of Stay

Between April 16 and September 14, you may stay in an LTVA only 14 days in any 28-day period. After your 14th day of occupation at an LTVA, you must move outside of a 25-mile radius of that LTVA.

35. Penalties

Under 43 CFR 2932.56(b), if you knowingly and willfully violate or fail to comply with any of the supplementary rules provided in this notice, BLM will revoke your LTVA permit. You may also be subject to issuance of a citation and/or arrest with a fine under 18 U.S.C. 3571 and/or imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. 3581, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1733(a)).
To learn more visit: https://www.blm.gov/ 

(There are areas of Arizona State Trust lands located on the north side of Town, however campers must purchase Recreational permits online. Recreational Camping is limited to No More Than 14 Days per Year. To apply online visit: https://land.az.gov/sites/default/files/Individual-Family_Printable_Permit_Application_0.pdf )

Quartzsite has over 70 RV PARKS to choose from. 
Check out the Visitor Guide online at http://VisitQuartzsite.info 

Friday, January 6, 2017

International Space Station Contact for La Paz County Youth Jan. 11, 2017

NASA ARISS
International Space Station Contact with youth in Quarzsite is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, 2017. The contact will be first thing in the morning at 9:10am  in the morning. Students should arrive as early as possible. There will still have informational stations, presentations, awards and lunch, so the event will run until about 12:45pm.

Event will be held at Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) 
at 235 W. Ironwood, Quartzsite.



Ever since the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, hardware was first launched aboard space shuttle Atlantis on STS-106 and transferred to the space station for use by its first crew, it has been used regularly to perform school contacts. With the help of amateur radio clubs and ham radio operators, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station have been speaking directly with large groups of people, showing teachers, students, parents and communities how amateur radio energizes students about science, technology and learning. The overall goal of ARISS is to get students interested in mathematics and science by allowing them to talk directly with the crews living and working aboard the station.

The ARISS conversations usually last for about 10 minutes. During that time, chosen students on the ground ask a preselected set of questions, which the crew answers from aboard the space station.


In order for ARISS to work, the station must pass over the Earth-bound communicators during amateur radio transmissions to relay signals between the station's ham radio and ground receivers. Other issues, such as weather and crew availability, also factor into the timing of the transmissions. During this pass, an average of 18 questions can be answered, depending on the complexity of the query. To date, the space station has held more than 600 ARISS sessions with students around the world.
On December 14th, 2016 the United States Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program including National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), American Society for the Alexander Technique (AMSAT) and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) accepted our communities’ joint proposal for youth from seven towns in La Paz County to make a radio contact to speak with astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) next week!  The towns include Quartzsite, Ehrenberg, Bouse, Brenda, Hope, Wenden and Salome, AZ.

This program created opportunity for youngsters to explore the many wonders and possibilities that exist in radio science, amateur radio and space research, delivering fun and engaging learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and work hand-in-hand with local schools, communities, families and amateur radio clubs to create new opportunities to inspire and lift our youth up.

Students, teachers, supporters and the community are invited to share in being part of listening to students from across the county,  chosen by their schools,  to speak via radio with the Astronauts on the International Space Station.

“It has been amazing year; we have had had wonderful success and outreach. We are so grateful for all the support received. It has been truly a county effort in making this program such a success,” said Heather Caton of My La Paz dot org.
 

Please visit www.MyLaPaz.org for further details as they develop. 

To learn more about the NASA program visit: 

Followers

Search This Blog