BLM Kemmerer Working on Fire Breaks

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Kemmerer Field Office

Release Date: 06/25/09

Contacts:		Lorraine Keith, 307-352-0399
		Gavin Lovell, 307-828-4512

BLM Kemmerer Working on Fire Breaks Near Cokeville and Kemmerer

The BLM Kemmerer Field Office (BLM) recently created a fire/fuel break around the Longview Estates subdivision south of Cokeville, Wyo.

BLM mows creating a break
in the sagebrush fuels around
the Longview Estates
subdivision south of
Cokeville, Wyo. to decrease threats from wildland fire.

BLM removes diseased trees while constructing fuel breaks north of Kemmerer, Wyo. at Commissary Ranches to protect homes and other structures.
Fire/Fuels Specialist Gavin Lovell stated that numerous fires during the past four years have threatened the subdivision south of Cokeville. In an effort to protect the homes from future fires, a buffer was created by mowing sagebrush to reduce the threat from wildfire. The buffer will allow BLM and other wildland fire fighters to utilize fire engines to protect houses and other structures more effectively.

BLM is also working on a second fire/fuel break project located north of Kemmerer in the Commissary Ranch area. The area contains a thick stand of mature conifers - primarily lodgepole pine - that has been infested by mountain pine beetle; the dead and dying trees are a significant fire hazard to private residences in the area. BLM is thinning the trees to reducing the hazardous fuels and restore the forest to a healthy, productive condition. The project is scheduled to be completed this fall and the slash piles will be burned next winter.

For more information contact Gavin Lovell at 307-828-4512.

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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.

--BLM--

Kemmerer Field Office 312 Highway 189 North Kemmerer, WY 83101

Last updated: 06-25-2009