Butte Field Office
| Contacts: | David Abrams 406-533-7617 |
BLM Field Office Updates Weed Management Plan
The Bureau of Land Management’s Butte Field Office has updated its weed management plan after completing an Environmental Assessment and issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact and Decision Record.
The new plan revises an older 1987 plan and adopts provisions that were contained and approved in a Bureau-wide Record of Decision issued in September 2007 which addressed vegetation treatment using herbicides on BLM lands in 17 Western states.
The updated weed plan also dovetails with the recently-approved Butte Resource Management Plan. The new weed management plan provides clear direction and guidance on how aerial applications may be conducted within the Butte Field Office’s public lands, establishes 15 weed management areas, and outlines standard operating procedures to be applied during herbicide operations in order to limit environmental consequences.
The Environmental Assessment and associated Finding of No Significant Impact /Decision Record has been posted to the Butte Field Office website. Go to www.mt.blm.gov and select the Butte Field Office link on the Montana map.
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.
Butte Field Office 106 N. Parkmont Butte, MT 59702