Butte Field Office
| Contacts: | Contact David Abrams 406-533-7617 |
BLM Extends Comment Period For Hazardous-Tree Removal Plan
The Bureau of Land Management has extended the public comment period for its plan to remove hazardous trees and reduce fuels along roadways that have been identified as primary and secondary travel routes for the public.
These routes originate on private property and cross portions of BLM-administered lands in Broadwater, Jefferson and Lewis & Clark counties near Helena.
The public now has until Jan. 31, 2011 to submit comments on the proposal.
The purpose of this project is to remove available fuels, coinciding with the Tri-County FireSafe Working Group’s efforts to create access and egress routes through areas that could see active fire behavior when a wildfire occurs. The Mountain Pine beetle activity has contributed to large amounts of dead standing trees that may fall and limit travel on these routes.
Submit comments or issues to be considered in the Environmental Assessment to: Tri-County Roadside Fuels Project, BLM, 106 N. Parkmont, Butte MT 59701 or by email to Gregory_Campbell@blm.gov.
These fuel modifications are intended to minimize the fire behavior along these routes by reducing fuel loading and modifying the fuel arrangement adjacent to roadways up to 250 feet on BLM-administered lands. High fuel concentrations pose a greater risk for large fire events, with intense fire behavior that could threaten public evacuation and reduce firefighter access into these highly-populated areas. By removing the dead and dying trees and reducing the available fuels on the ground, the BLM would create access/egress routes that would be safer for travel in the event of a wildfire.
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 North Parkmont Butte, MT 59701