| Contacts: | Cass Cairns, BLM: 719-269-8553, Barb Timock, USFS: 719-553-1415 |
Southern Colorado interagency spring prescribed burn program to commence (02-02-10)
Cañon City, Colo. – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Royal Gorge Field Office and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) Pike and San Isabel National Forests will join forces as they carry out their 2010 spring prescribed burning program in southern Colorado. Planned ignitions will begin when weather and fuel conditions become optimal for achieving management objectives while keeping smoke impacts to a minimum in surrounding communities. Weather and fuel conditions will be closely monitored and the prescribed burning program will continue through the spring season as long as conditions allow.
Prescribed fire combined with mechanical and/or hand thinning treatments are effective land management tools used to reduce the accumulation of hazardous fuel and decadent vegetation. Reducing hazardous fuel lowers potential fire intensity and the risk of catastrophic wildland fires, which in turn minimizes the risk to firefighter and public safety. It also improves wildlife habitat and promotes and maintains healthier ecosystems.
Each prescribed burn has a detailed prescribed fire plan developed in advance, along with appropriate smoke permits obtained from state agencies.
Areas slated for treatment are:
Black Mountain: 600 acres on the San Isabel National Forest. Fuels are primarily ponderosa pine, grasses, and pinion and juniper fuels in Huerfano County. The project area is located six miles north of Gardner, Colorado.
Lakemoor West: 132 acres on BLM lands, ponderosa pine, thinning slash, and grasses in Teller County. The project area is located 40 miles northeast of Canon City and 17 miles south of Florissant, Colorado.
Rice Gulch: 400 acres on BLM lands in ponderosa pine, oak brush, and grasses in Fremont County. This project area is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Canon City.
Booger Red: 350 acres on BLM lands in ponderosa pine, oak brush, grasses, and mechanically treated fuels in Teller and Fremont Counties. This project area is located approximately 21 miles north of Canon City, Colorado.
Blue Heron: 25 acres on BLM lands in grass in Fremont County. The project area is located approximately two miles east of Florence, Colorado along the Arkansas River.
For more information contact Tyler Webb, BLM Fire Management Specialist at 719-269-8560 or Dennis Page, FS Fire Management Specialist at 719-269-8584.
The BLM manages more land - over 245 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. 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.
3028 E Main Street Canon City, CO 81212