The Press-Enterprise/Ramon Mena Owens

Hikers got out and about in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument last month by making their way up the Art-Smith Trail to the Hopalong Cassidy Trail connector.

Friends of the Desert Mountains is taking folks on an all-day "naturalist excursion by luxury coach" Saturday for a birding adventure through the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. Might be nice with all this heat expected, especially in the lower elevations. The $65 per person cost will benefit the monument that sits above the Coachella Valley. Kurt Leuschner, local naturalist and expert ornithologist, will lead the tour. Call 760-862-9984 today before 4 p.m. to check on space availability.

As for me and my friends, we'll be hitting the San Diego County coastline Sunday for the La Jolla Rough Water Swim and then head up Monday for our Mount Whitney attempt. Wish us luck!

And if you're staying inside this weekend, you can bid on EBay for Brian Wilson memorabilia for a charitable auction that benefits the Surfrider Foundation. Through Sept. 12, bidders will have a chance to win a custom surfboard, designed under Wilson's creative direction and shaped by legendary surfboard shaper Robert August, and Wilson's handwritten lyrics to "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl," from his newest album, "That Lucky Old Sun."

And Tuesday night, you can learn how to fix your bike at a free maintenance clinic at REI in Rancho Cucamonga.

Coming up close and personal with some of the wildlife that lives somewhat behind-the-scenes here in the Inland region has been a real treat. The above picture is one of my all-time favorites.

The photographer, Mark Zaleski, and I were hiking in the steep mountains above the Coachella Valley with biologists from the Bighorn Institute when we came upon this Peninsular bighorn sheep not too far from the buzz of the valley floor. The golden hue of his coat and the hills are breath-taking.

I bring this to your attention not to talk about our experience so much but because a recently revised critical habitat proposal has been issued by federal wildlife officials. Click here for details.

You may know that critical habitat is perhaps the most controversial issues when it comes to endangered species.

And don't forget there are public meetings next Wednesday at the Living Desert in Palm Desert so if you want your voice heard, you can do it then. The meetings begin at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Officials believe it is the source of the Inland region's largest unabated plume of perchlorate that came from military contractors and fireworks companies.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today it's proposing the Rialto site along with 10 others in the country to be on the Superfund list. Such a listing gives the EPA the chance to identify and locate parties that are potentially responsible for the contamination.

Because our environment here in the Inland region is laced with earthquake faults, I thought I'd remind you that September is National Preparedness Month.

So what better than to think of your emergency supplies kit?

You can go to this Web site operated by the San Bernardino County Fire Department's Office of Emergency Services to download checklists so you can be better prepared.

And remember, the Inland region will be front and center of the Nov. 13 drill of a major earthquake.

It looks like we're going to have some strange weather this holiday weekend, with some thunderstorms possible even here in Riverside. So check the forecast before taking off for the mountains or desert. Monday looks like it will be the clearest day on tap in the Inland area.

But if you head up to the mountains, you can take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and explore several hiking trails in the San Jacinto Mountains.

In the San Bernardino Mountains, the Big Bear Discovery Center has some animal tracking and other fun events this weekend.

And speaking of the Big Bear area, flashlight safaris will begin soon at the Moonridge Animal Park. The safaris happen every Saturday night during September and October, according to the Web site.

You may have read the story in today's newspaper about a water cop in western Riverside County and how one major agency is about to start fining residents for runoff if they don't heed warnings to fix their irrigation system.

When researching for this story, I came upon this fun video from a student at the Hemet Academy for the Applied Academics and Technology who wrote a rap song about water.
Click here to see the video by Michael "Lil' Fresh" Spencer.

Ever wonder how to go native in your garden?

Water agencies in western Riverside County are holding their annual "Native Nights," a free seminar tomorrow night at Western Municipal Water District in Riverside.

The seminar starts at 6 p.m. and features Ellen Mackay who will talk about California Native Plants and incorporating them into home landscapes.

Guided tours of the district's drought-tolerant garden will be provided before Mackay's talk. The event is free but pre-registration is required at water@wmwd.com or 951-789-5062.

If you can't make it, you can always check out the garden, which is open seven days a week except holidays and its array of native and drought-tolerant plants that will help cut your water usage and your water bill.

Construction has already started on a $5.1-million discovery center that will anchor the park straddling Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

California State Parks/John Rowe

Gary Watts, superintendent of state park's Inland Empire District, at the far right, stands beside David Myers, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy during last week's groundbreaking.

A groundbreaking ceremony last week included David Myers, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy. Myers is among those who are widely credited with preventing the park from being flattened to become a major international airport.

John Rowe, park superintendent, said the main focus over the last two decades was buying pockets of land to expand the park and preserve the biodiversity in the 14,102 acres of rolling hills.

Poly High isn't going to be known just as one of the Inland region's top schools for churning out some of the nation's best athletes.

The campus in Riverside recently had a water make-over, and officials are going to be celebrating tomorrow by flipping the switch.

The new irrigation retrofit is going to save 42 million gallons of water over the next decade. In this time of drought, officials are hoping it will inspire other schools to take a second look at their irrigation systems as outdoor water use is the biggest water hog there is.

Known formally as Polytechnic High, the campus was chosen after water-use audits were conducted across properties belonging to Riverside Unified School

It's going to be another hot weekend around the Inland area.

And you can make it even hotter by joining the local Audubon chapter's insane jaunt to the Salton Sea on Saturday. Why is it called insane? Because it's darn hot out there. Temperatures should be hovering around the 100-mark if not higher. Highlights from last year's trip included reddish egrets and the gray flycatcher.

And a reminder that the Wildlife Conservancy has opened its Whitewater Preserve north of Interstate 10 and east of Cabazon. The preserve this September will feature an open house month that will include weekend nature walks, hiking, camping, a docent training class and a volunteer restoration work day on Sept. 20. For more information, call 760-325-7222.

It seems like every event these days is going "green" so why not the nation's top political parties?

Humana and the bicycling advocacy organization, Bikes Belong, are doing their part by launching what they are saying is the nation's largest bike-sharing program ever at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

The Freewheelin program will bring 1,000 bikes to each convention city, starting with Democratic National Convention next week in Denver.

The Press-Enterprise/Rodrigo Pena

A desert tortoise is spotted just outside its home in the Pinto Basin area of Joshua Tree National Park in this 2004 photo.

Desert tortoises are not only the official state reptile of California, they are protected under federal and state endangered species laws. As such, the death is being taken seriously and is under investigation by law enforcement officials.

All visitors to the park, officials said, should be aware that is it illegal to handle, harass or otherwise disrupt tortoises and other park wildlife.

The dead tortoise was discovered Aug. 4 at Black Rock campground. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 760-367-5541.

Here in the Inland area, it seems like every mountain range — the San Bernardinos, San Jacintos and Santa Rosas — has been hit with a series of raids on illegal marijuana operations.

In the latest round of plantation raids, agents came upon one near Big Bear Lake that was about 40 acres in size.

John Miller, a San Bernardino National Forest spokesman, told me that criminals often grow the plants in creeks areas, where they can take advantage of the natural water to irrigate the plants.

But that's not good for the forest or the drinking water that comes down the mountains, he said.

Not only does the diversion of water cause erosion, the chemicals used in the operation flow into the creeks and drain through the mountains, he said.

The large-scale marijuana operations typically leave behind several tons of garbage, biohazard refuse and toxic waste.

For every acre of forest planted with marijuana, 10 acres are damaged, Miller said, meaning the farm near Big Bear alone damaged 400 acres.

You may have caught Michael Phelps getting his eighth Olympic gold medal over the weekend, but you may not know about the "green" features in the stadium where he competed.

In fact, the United Nations Environment Programme conducted a comprehensive pre-games environmental assessment of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and its use of solar energy, wind farms and recycled water.

At the Water Cube, where Phelps and the rest of the swimmers proved their might, builders used material similar to plastic wrap to create 4,000 translucent bubbles as the outer shell. The bubbles allow sunlight to filter in, while a rainwater-capture system on the roof saves water for irrigation and landscape purposes.

Solar panels in the 91,000-seat National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, generate enough energy to power the huge underground parking lot. The arena's open design, with its intricate external latticework, allows for natural ventilation instead of having a heating and cooling system, while the rainwater collection system uses 108 water tanks, as described in this Boston Herald article.

AP Photo/Oliver Multhaup

Visitors gather in Tiananmen Square today. Pollution concerns evaporated Friday under a picture-perfect canopy of blue skies and white clouds on the first day of the Olympic Games' signature track-and-field events.

So back here in the Inland area, my friends and I are escaping the heat and smog by taking the beach train down to San Clemente. We've never taken it so it should be fun. Click the above link if you want to find out more about it but the roundtrip cost from Riverside to San Clemente is $16.75. Cheaper than gas!

And if you're hanging out locally, there's a forest festival Saturday up in the San Bernardino National Forest. It sounds like fun for the whole family. It runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Barton Flats Visitor Center on Highway 38, about six miles past Angelus Oaks.

This year, the festival will feature the saw cross-cutting, crafts and basket weaving, and tips on camping and fishing. And of course, Smokey Bear is booked for the event, said Karen Saffle, coordinator of the festival sponsored by the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association.

Also on Saturday, there's free GPS clinic at the REI in Rancho Cucamonga.