Butte Field Office
| Contacts: | Contact David Abrams 406-533-7617 |
BLM Seeks Information On North Hills Vandals
The Bureau of Land Management’s Butte Field Office seeks information on incidents involving vandalism on public lands in the North Hills Area, approximately 6 miles northeast of Helena.
Working with the Crime Stoppers Program, BLM officials are asking the public to provide information on the person or persons responsible for at least $5,000 worth of damage to fences and gates at the lower trailhead of the North Hills Area.
During the summer of 2010, the Butte Field Office began implementing the East Helena Travel Management Plan, which was part of the Butte Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan of April 2009. BLM employees constructed a single gate, a double gate, and a fence-type walk-through, all connected by a large section of jack-leg fence at the trailhead. In accordance with the East Helena Travel Management Plan, the gates allow the BLM to close access to two routes from Feb. 14 to April 16 each year to prevent soil erosion.
Over the past three months, acts of vandalism have resulted in damage beyond repair to the single gate and jack-leg fence. Around that same time, the double gate was damaged, but has since been temporarily repaired. Multiple aluminum signs were also damaged and/or stolen.
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 North Parkmont Butte, MT 59701