[cdt-l] Water in Wyoming; Yogi's CDT Guide; Butterflies

[Ginny & Jim Owen]

Karen Somers wrote:
>
>I just called the Wyoming BLM office after seeing
>Spirit Eagle's page on water sources through the Great
>Basin.  Jim and Ginny, I know you are traveling and
>may not see this post, but I am curious if you
>know.....WHEN does the BLM update the Wyoming Great
>Basin water information that you have copied onto that
>page on your web site?  Does anyone know?
>
>I can't get the BLM guy to answer his phone; I've rung
>him three times.  The BLM site seems to have updated
>information that differs from Jim and Ginny's page,
>but it is not actually dated.  Also, I'm wondering, is
>this information for the official CDT route only or
>for the entire region?  It's hard to tell from just
>waypoints without plugging them into a map.
>
>One way or another, I will get across the Red Desert,
>but it would be nice to know more about water there.
>

Karen -
The BLM website is useful only for the location - and "sometimes" for the 
descriptions of the water sources.  Otherwise, it's crap.  If you look 
closely at it, (I just did) the information is from 2003.  It's the original 
information that was sent to us back when the BLM site was down for other 
reasons.

Some of the descriptions are definitely "in error"  For example, the 
description for Fish Pond Spring - it was bone dry last year and the BLM 
ranger promised to put out a water cache for the southbounders.  Never heard 
if she actually did it though.  Bull Spring was fenced several years ago.  
It's a beautiful source now.  So is the A&M Reservoir - they filled it, 
stocked it with fish and replanted the vegetation - GOOD water although a 
filter might be in order.

Enuff.  If I were hiking this year, I'd use the Spiriteagle information - 
it's more recent and more accurate in spite of being a year old.  We updated 
it when we updated the website last fall.

re: contacting BLM - Jared Oakkleaf is based out of the Lander office.  He 
doesn't have the information or responsibility for the entire desert 
segment.  The southern part is managed out of the Rawlins office by their 
Recreation Planner (ask for Crystal).

Finally - the BLM page is 'supposed to be updated' once a month.  It isn't.  
The status information (when it's collected - by BLM interns) is sent to 
their web contractor and they update the site "when they get around to it." 
I'll let you guess how important it is to them - considering that the 
present description information is 4 years old and the status information is 
from at least June 1, 2006.  It was useless when we went through Wyoming in 
July/Aug 2006.

Walk softly,
Jim


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