BLM Kemmerer Holds Successful National Public Lands Day Event

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Kemmerer Field Office

Release Date: 08/20/12

Contacts:		Shelley Gregory,
		307-315-0612

BLM Kemmerer Holds Successful National Public Lands Day Event

On Aug. 15, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Kemmerer Field Office (KFO) held a very successful National Public Lands Day (NPLD) event to remove fencing treacherous to wildlife.

Volunteers turned out in force to help remove five miles of wildlife unfriendly fencing for the Kemmerer Field Office’s National Public Lands Day event.

Volunteers turned out in force to help remove five miles of wildlife unfriendly fencing for the Kemmerer Field Office’s National Public Lands Day event.
Forty-eight volunteers from the community, KFO, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and local Boy Scout Troop 64, as well as a Utah Conservation Corps crew, removed five miles of fencing located 16 miles south-southwest of Kemmerer, Wyo., along Sulfur Haul Road in the Albert Creek Allotment.

The 40-inch-tall fence, which consists of a 36-inch-tall woven wire bottom with a single strand of barbed wire at the top, extends nine miles and it is common to find up to 100 animals entangled in the fence each year. Following the winter of 2010-2011, over 200 animals were found.

The KFO, in cooperation with the private landowner, permittees and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, planned the fence removal to improve the movement of the Wyoming Range and Uinta deer herds and the Carter Lease pronghorn herd throughout their crucial winter range.

“We had an amazing turnout and were able to accomplish a lot thanks to our volunteers,” states KFO Outdoor Recreation Planner Wally Mierzejewski. “Our permittees even provided a fantastic barbeque lunch for everyone – it was definitely a team effort.” He adds that the removed fence materials will be recycled and that plans to take down the remaining four miles of fencing are underway.

For more information, please contact Mierzejewski at 307-828-4508.

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. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.

--BLM--

Kemmerer Field Office 312 Highway 189 North Kemmerer, WY 83101

Last updated: 08-20-2012