High Desert District
| Contacts: | Shelley Gregory, | |||
| 307-315-0612 |
BLM HDD Plans Prescribed Fires
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) High Desert District (HDD) plans to conduct several prescribed fires this fall and early winter contingent upon fuel moisture and weather meeting optimal burn conditions.
The prescribed fires are designed to improve wildlife habitat, including open water areas for waterfowl, increase livestock forage and distribution, enhance rangeland vegetation health, and reduce hazardous fuels by targeting stands of sagebrush, mountain shrubs, aspen, and conifers. Burning the overstory shrubs and trees also opens up the areas for grasses and forbs and new, more palatable and nutritious shrubs and aspen. The planned burns include:
- Iron Mountain: Nearly 800 acres of mountain mahogany, bitterbrush, and sagebrush within the 6,250 acre project area 30 miles northwest of Cheyenne, Wyo.
- Montgomery Pasture: Approximately 2,000 acres of sagebrush, mountain shrubs and aspen within the 5,000 acre project boundary 10 miles south of Rawlins, Wyo., along Atlantic Rim.
- Red Wash Wetlands: About 150 acres of cattail vegetation in the Red Wash wetland complex 20 miles north of Baggs, Wyo., along Highway 789.
Several prescribed fires will dispose of slash left over from forest health treatments and the pre-treatment of areas for wildfire suppression and broadcast burns. These include:
- Morgan Creek: Slash piles created during suppression of the 2012 Seminoe wildfire in the Seminoe Mountains approximately 30 miles northeast of Rawlins.
- Dirtyman Creek: Slash piles from timber harvest and conifer removal in the Dirtyman Creek drainage approximately 30 miles south of Rawlins along the west edge of the Medicine Bow National Forest.
- Airplane Park: Slash piles of conifer material resulting from the last several years of a Shirley Mountain forest health improvement project approximately 45 miles northeast of Rawlins.
Hunters and recreationists are advised to avoid these areas during prescribed fire operations. For more information, please contact HDD Fuels Specialist Chris Otto at 307-328-4250.
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.
High Desert District 280 Highway 191 North Rock Springs, WY 82901