EL DORADO HILLS
BLM Central California District to host Resource Advisory Council meeting
The Bureau of Land Management has rescheduled its in-person public meeting of the BLM Central California Resource Advisory Council (RAC) for Thurs., Feb. 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Fairfield Inn, 2956 Mission St., Santa Cruz, CA. The meeting is open to the public with a public comment period scheduled at 1 p.m. The revised meeting agenda can be found online at https://ow.ly/WWlR50Qzhga.
The BLM will also host a field tour at the Cotoni-Coast Dairies on Wed., Feb. 28, from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Individuals participating in the field tour will meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Fairfield Inn, 2956 Mission St., Santa Cruz, CA. Members of the public are welcome on the field tour, but must provide their own transportation, meals, and water. To attend the field tour, please RSVP by Feb. 23 to Philip Oviatt at poviatt@blm.gov.
The public meeting will include a virtual option via Zoom. Meeting participants must register in advance to attend at https://ow.ly/Hwwi50QywRs. Upon registering, participants will receive an email, including the meeting link and dial-in numbers.
The council will be briefed on the management of the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coastal National Monument in Santa Cruz County. The BLM is also seeking feedback on implementation projects, including habitat restoration and recreation facility development. The Resource Advisory Council will also receive updates from the BLM Central California District and field offices. In addition, the Council will hear fee proposals from the USDA Forest Service for sites located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the Stanislaus National Forest.
The public will be given an opportunity to address the RAC during the meeting. Time for individual public comments may be limited due to the number of persons wishing to speak. Written statements to address the council may also be sent prior to the meeting to the BLM Central California District Office, Attention: RAC meeting comments, 5152 Hillsdale Circle, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, or emailed in advance of the meeting to poviatt@blm.gov and will be recorded in the meeting minutes.
The 12-member council advises the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of planning and management issues associated with BLM public lands in central California. The Council is authorized to make recommendations on BLM and USDA Forest Service recreation fee proposals. The BLM maintains 38 chartered advisory committees throughout the West. Each citizen-based council consists of members from diverse interests in local communities, who assist in the development of committee recommendations by sharing their unique perspectives.
To learn more about the Central California RAC visit https://www.blm.gov/get-involved/rac/california/central-california-rac. For specific questions to include reasonable accommodations to participate, please contact BLM Central California District Public Affairs Officer Philip Oviatt at poviatt@blm.gov or 661-432-4252.
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SACRAMENTO
Covered California achieves record enrollment
With its open-enrollment period ending on Feb. 9, Covered California announced that a record number of Californians have selected health plans for 2024.
As of Jan. 31, there are 1,784,653 Californians who have chosen a health plan through Covered California for 2024, with 306,382 new enrollees and 1,478,271 renewing their coverage. The total surpasses the previous high set in 2022[1].
The increased federal subsidies through the Inflation Reduction Act paired with California’s new cost-sharing reduction program for 2024 helped create the highest number of new sign-ups during an open-enrollment period since 2020.
Covered California is an independent part of the state government whose job is to make the health insurance marketplace work for California’s consumers. It is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the governor and the Legislature. For more information about Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.
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