Butte Field Office
| Contacts: | Contact David Abrams 406-533-7617 |
Butte BLM Completes Hazardous-Tree Removal Assessment
The Bureau of Land Management’s Butte Field Office has completed an Environmental Assessment for the Tri County Roadside Clearing project and is soliciting public comments on the EA, and unsigned Finding of No Significant Impact, for 30 days.
The project is designed 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 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 public is invited to submit comments on the EA by April 8, 2011. The EA is posted on-line and can be downloaded at: http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/butte_field_office.html.
Comments will be most useful if they are specific and do one or more of the following:
- point out inaccuracies in information;
- identify new information that would have a bearing on the project or analysis;
- identify new impacts or mitigation measures not already addressed in the EA; or
- make specific suggestions for improving the project.
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