Butte Field Office
| Contacts: | David Abrams 406-533-7617 |
Fuels Project In Scratchgravel Hills Leads To Intermittent Closures
Some roads and trails on Bureau of Land Management property in the Scratchgravel Hills may see temporary closures as a public safety measure during a fuels-reduction project in the area.
The BLM project includes the removal of trees with a skidder and a masticator and the resulting debris can often fly up to 300 feet.
To protect the public, the BLM will temporarily close those areas where trees are being removed. Signs will be posted along those closed routes, identifying where the machinery is working. The public is being asked to stay a minimum of 300 feet away from the working equipment. The closures will be in effect between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day, including weekends. The fuels reduction project is scheduled to be completed by June.
The public is also advised that the contractor performing the logging operation will be hauling timber products from the Scratchgravel Hills for the BLM starting as early as May 14 . The log trucks will enter the area via Head Lane and exit using Echo Drive. The hauling should be complete by 7 p.m. each day. To accommodate school-bus schedules, the contractor will not conduct hauling operations on Head Lane from 6:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and on Echo Drive from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Similarly, there will be no hauling traffic on Head Lane and Echo Drive from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information, call Charles Tuss at the BLM’s Butte Field Office at (406) 533-7600.
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. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.
Butte Field Office 106 N. Parkmont Butte, MT 59702