Battle Mountain District Office
| Contacts: | Schirete Zick | , 775-635-4067 | , schirete_zick@blm.gov |
BLM Finalizes Prescribed Fire Activities in Red Hills
Battle Mountain, Nev.— Controlled burning activities in the Red Hills area west of Roberts Mountain will resume between May 18 and May 22, 2009. The prescribed burn will reduce hazardous fuel accumulations, removing bug-killed pinyon and juniper trees in the Red Hills/Tonkin Spring area of Eureka County, Nevada.
Actual burning operations will likely take 2-3 days to complete.
Smoke will be visible from S.R. 278 and from U.S. Hwy 50. Given prescriptive requirements of the burn plan, smoke is not expected to impact these highways, nor Eureka or Diamond Valley. Local ranchers will be notified individually prior to burning activities. Signs will be posted along S.R. 278 and U.S. Hwy 50 on days that burning activities will take place to notify motorists of prescribed fire activities, visible at a distance. Additional signs will be posted on the local dirt roads, including the 3-Bars road, warning of smoke and prescribed fire activities in the immediate area.
A Prescribed Fire Burn Plan has been developed to diminish the risk of an escaped fire, as well as to promote attainment of project objectives. The burn may occur any time between the above mentioned dates or be postponed until a window of acceptable prescriptive conditions opens.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Battle Mountain District (BMD) successfully burned 732 acres within the project area in the spring of 2007. The BMD did not receive funding last year to continue the burn activities. The District secured funding this year to burn approximately 1,000 acres more towards project completion. The BMD plans to resume burning activities where the 2007 burn left off and continue towards the 3-Bars road to the northwest.
For further information please contact Donovan Walker, Fire Ecologist or Schirete Zick at the Battle Mountain District, phone (775) 635-4000.
The BLM manages more land - 253 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. 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.
Battle Mountain District Office 50 Bastian Road Battle Mountain, NV 89820