Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Office
| Contacts: | Sarah Beckwith | |||
| 307-347-5207 |
BLM Plans Prescribed Burns Throughout Bighorn Basin
The Worland and Cody Field Offices of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan to conduct prescribed burns and mechanical vegetation treatments at various locations in the Bighorn Basin this spring.
Small prescribed burns will be conducted east of Shell and north of Hwy. 14/16/20, on Little Mountain east of Lovell and north of Ten Sleep along the west slope of the Bighorn Mountains, and on the north fork of the Shoshone River west of Cody.
Currently underway are a number of mechanical vegetation treatments throughout the basin. The projects include aspen enhancement, juniper thinning and Russian olive and salt cedar removal. Funding for these projects comes from a variety of public and private sources.
Prescribed burns create a mosaic of burned and unburned areas which improves wildlife habitat and increases forage production for livestock. Burns can reduce the hazardous build-up of fuels which lessens the probability of a severe wildfire, remove slash from mechanical vegetation treatments and stop the conversion of productive grasslands into pine and juniper woodlands.
"In addition, sage-grouse will benefit from these prescribed juniper burns and mechanical treatments," said Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Ecologist Rance Neighbors. "The mosaic of small treatment patches in larger sagebrush areas and juniper removal improve nesting and early and late brood rearing habitat for sage-grouse."
For more information, or to participate in the planning of prescribed burns and vegetation projects for 2012 and 2013, contact Neighbors in the Worland Field Office at 307-347-5100 or Supervisory Range and Fuels Specialist Jack Mononi in the Cody Field Office at 307-578-5900. For more information on prescribed burning and vegetation management on public lands, visit http://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/.
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.
Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Office 101 South 23rd Worland, WY 82401