Pinedale Field Office
| Contacts: | Serena Baker, 307-212-0197 | |||
| Shelley Gregory, 307-315-0612 |
BLM Pinedale Field Office Plans Upper Billies and Camp Creek Prescribed Fires
This weekend, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) plans to conduct two prescribed fires of roughly 660 acres of conifer encroached aspen along the Wyoming Range Front in the Upper Billies and Camp Creek project areas, approximately 20 miles northwest of Big Piney, Wyo.
In the Upper Billies, 450 acres is scheduled to be burned within the 850 acre project area. In Camp Creek, a 210 acre prescribed fire is planned within the 3,523 acre project area. The Camp Creek treatment is a continuation of a prescribed burn initiated in June 2011. Both prescribed fires are part of the 9,000 acre Wyoming Front Aspen Restoration Project (WFARP) in Sublette and Lincoln counties. The WFARP is a multi-year joint effort by the BLM and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to improve forest health and wildlife habitat in aspen and aspen-mixed conifer stands. The burn will also reduce existing fuel loads and improve fuel breaks to reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfires.
It is anticipated that optimal burn conditions will allow operations to commence Saturday, May 19 and, depending on weather, will last approximately one week.
The Upper Billies and Camp Creek prescribed burn areas are located between South Cottonwood Creek and Beecher Creek along the BLM and U.S. Forest Service boundary in Township 31 North, Range 114 West, Sections: 5 and 6; Township 32 North, Range 114 West, Sections: 7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33; and Township 33 North, Range 114 West, Sections: 29 and 32.
Additional information on prescribed fires planned throughout the High Desert District is available at: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_offices/Rock_Springs/HDDFireFuels/highdesert.html. For more information, please contact Greg Reser, PFO natural resource specialist for fire and fuels, at 307-367-5350 or greser@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.
Pinedale Field Office 1625 West Pine Street Pinedale, WY 82941