Rawlins Field Office
| Contacts: | Shelley Gregory | |||
| 307-315-0612 |
Marking Pen Creek Prescribed Fire a Success:
Caution Urged for Burn Area
The Bureau of Land Management High Desert District Rawlins Field Office (RFO) treated approximately 4,500 acres with prescribed fire in the Marking Pen Creek area during the week of May 2. Residual burning and smoke may linger for a week or more. Visitors are advised to use caution as trees may continue to fall in the burned area.
The Marking Pen Creek area is on the south-southeast portion of the Seminoe Mountains, west of the North Platte River and Seminoe Dam and Reservoir and approximately 23 miles northeast of Rawlins. A map of the prescribed fire area is available at
http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/news_room/2011/april/27rfo-mpcburn.html.
The Marking Pen Creek burn is included in the 26,000 acre Seminoe Mountains prescribed fire project area and is part of a multi-phase treatment over a 10-year period. The Seminoe Mountains project will treat conifer-encroached aspen stands, mountain shrubs, reduce wildfire fuel loading, and improve overall habitat for wildlife, including the recently augmented bighorn sheep population. To learn more about the Seminoe Mountains prescribed fire project area, please visit http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/Fire/rxfire/highdesert/seminoe.html.
Additional partners and funding sources for this ongoing project include the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, Wild Sheep Foundation - Wyoming Chapter, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wyoming Governors Big Game License Coalition.
For more information, please contact Chris Otto, RFO fuels specialist, at 307-328-4250 or chris_otto@blm.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.
Rawlins Field Office 1300 North 3rd Street Rawlins WY 82301