| Contacts: | David Boyd 970-876-9008 | |||
| Lynn Barclay 970-826-5096 |
Fire crews to burn slash piles southwest of Meeker
MEEKER, Colo. – Federal fire crews are planning to begin burning “slash piles” this week 30 miles southwest of Meeker on Wolf Ridge. The piles are spread over 60 acres south of Rio Blanco County Road 24.
The piles will be burned between now and March on days when weather conditions are favorable for lifting smoke out of the area and moisture in adjacent vegetation is at acceptable levels.
The slash was generated by a fuels reduction project conducted this fall that included thinning trees and removing low branches that can carry a fire into the forest canopy. This work helps reduce the wildfire threat as well as improve firefighter and public safety. A secondary benefit of this work is improved big game habitat.
The piles will be burned under the authority of an approved burn plan and a smoke permit from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The burn operations will occur Monday through Friday only, and will end two hours before sunset.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
2300 River Frontage Road Silt, CO 81652