U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Lewistown Field Office
Lewistown Field Office
| Contacts: | Craig Flentie 406-538-1943 | |||
BLM Lewistown Field Office Plans Pile Burning Projects for Winter 2010-2011
The Bureau of Land Management will be conducting several fuels mitigation, forest restoration, and range improvement projects throughout the winter months in several north central counties of Montana.
The following slash pile burning projects are planned in Fergus County during the winter months of 2010-2011:
The Tyler Cutoff Pile Burn project is located approximately 12 miles south of Grass Range, Montana. Previous thinning treatments on 26 acres of BLM administered public land in this area improved forest health and reduced hazardous fuels. Slash piles created by the thinning project will be burned as conditions allow and when the area has adequate snow cover to limit the potential for the fire to spread.
The Buck Ridge Pile Burn project is located in the Little Snowy Mountains approximately five miles east of Forest Grove. This slash pile burning project will treat non-merchantable fuels that remained after earlier commercial thinning activities on approximately 113 acres of BLM administered public land.
These two projects are scheduled to occur anytime favorable conditions develop between December 15, 2010 and March 1, 2011. “While the impacts to air quality are anticipated to be insignificant and of short duration, smoke may be visible for many miles while we’re burning,” according to Steve Knox, BLM Fire Management Specialist.
For additional information please call Steve Knox, Fire Management Specialist, at (406) 538-1976.
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.
Lewistown Field Office 920 NE Main Lewistown, MT 59457