Dillon Field Office, 1005 Selway Drive, Dillon, MT 59725
| Contacts: | Contact: David Abrams, Public Affairs Specialist | |||
| dabrams@blm.gov | ||||
| (406) 490-0367 |
Dillon BLM to Burn Slash Piles in Beaverhead, Madison Counties
DILLON (Nov. 6, 2012) – The Bureau of Land Management’s Dillon Field Office plans to burn slash piles during the upcoming late fall and winter months in Beaverhead and Madison counties.
The slash piles are residual biomass from several BLM timber sales, and from fuel reduction projects around structures on public land.
Burning the slash piles in a timely manner is the last option for disposing of the material. If market conditions and time permit, some of the piled slash may be utilized by contractors as biomass, rather than burning.
Smoke from the burning piles may be visible for several days in the following areas:
In Beaverhead County:
Price Creek, Bean Creek and Curry Creek, on the south side of the Centennial Valley
South of the community of Lakeview, in the Centennial Valley
Rock Creek on the west side of the Big Hole Valley
Shale Creek on the west side of the Grasshopper Valley
South Fork of Everson Creek in Horse Prairie
In Madison County:
Stone Creek, above the Treasure Talc Mine
Aspen Creek, on the west side of the upper Madison Valley
Alder Gulch, 5 miles south of Virginia City
The timing of these burns depends on weather and fuel conditions. The slash piles will be burned when the ground is covered with snow, or when the surrounding fuels are wet enough to minimize the potential for unwanted fire spread. Fire managers from the BLM will be doing the burning, with assistance from the Forest Service and the Montana DNRC. Operations are conducted following air quality standards set by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
For more information, contact Joe Sampson or Kipper Blotkamp at the Dillon Field Office at (406) 683-8000.
For the latest BLM news and updates visit us on the web at: www.blm.gov/mt and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/BLMMontana.
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.
Dillon Field Office, 1005 Selway Drive, Dillon, MT 59725 1005 Selway Drive Dillon, MT 59725