BLM High Desert District plans to conduct prescribed burns

RAWLINS, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management’s High Desert District may conduct prescribed burns this fall and winter on multiple lands managed by the Rawlins field office and associated partners. This is contingent upon fuel moisture, snow conditions, and weather meeting optimal burn conditions. The treatments will only be implemented if specified prescription parameters are present.

Slash material left from the following projects will be removed by burning piles:

Morgan Creek WUI: The Morgan Creek wildland urban interface hazardous fuels treatment, located in the Seminoe Mountains approximately 30 miles northeast of Rawlins, will include the disposal of several slash piles created during a hazardous fuels mitigation project in fall 2021. Standing and fallen dead limber pine and encroaching live conifers were removed from a portion of the drainage to mitigate hazards to adjacent structures and deeded lands.

South Corral Creek: Slash piles from a conifer (juniper) encroachment project on the west flank of the Snowy Range Mountains, about 15 miles east of Riverside. This site is along the west slope of Barrett Ridge, north of Carbon County Road 660 (French Creek Road), on BLM Road 3404 (Bennett Peak Road). The project targets encroaching junipers that have established and dominated riparian areas and some adjacent uplands. Small, hand-constructed slash piles are located throughout the target areas and will be removed by burning. The overall conifer treatment project on Barrett Ridge was partially funded by the Platte Valley Mule Deer Habitat Partnership and the Governor’s Big Game License Coalition (mule deer, sheep, and elk funds). Current activities have been funded entirely by the HDD Hazardous Fuels Management program.

Wagonhound, One Mile, and North Prong Timber Sales: Large machine constructed slash piles on landing sites from timber harvest activities in three sale sites will be removed by burning. The Wagonhound unit lies immediately south of the Wagonhound rest area and interchange on Interstate 80, west of Arlington, Wyoming. This timber sale is on a tract of BLM land along the Medicine Bow National Forest boundary. Several piles were burned in January 2025, and the remainder are targeted for this season. The One Mile timber sale lies immediately south of Arlington and Interstate 80, between One Mile and Three Mile creeks along the forest boundary. The North Prong unit is in northern Albany County above the North Prong of the Medicine Bow River, south of Albany County Road 62 and just south of the Converse County line. Machine built slash piles will be burned on BLM lands in all three units.

Rawlins Frontier Prison Grounds Sanitation Treatment: During summer 2025, crews removed standing and down dead material in the historic prison grounds by cutting and stacking. The resulting piles are planned to be removed with prescribed fire during winter 2025-2026. This project is planned to be completed cooperatively by BLM, Carbon County Fire, and Rawlins Municipal Fire Department. This project is being cooperatively implemented through an agreement with the Old Penitentiary Joint Powers Board.

Prescribed fire projects conducted by the BLM follow strict approval, permitting, and environmental review processes. Each project includes specific design features and safety measures to meet treatment goals while minimizing impacts on other resources. Every burn is carried out under a detailed prescribed fire plan, with public and firefighter safety as the top priority. While no vegetation treatment is risk-free, the planning process works to reduce risk as much as possible. High Desert District fire crews may also assist partner agencies and landowners with additional treatments.

Smoke may be visible from long distances during operations but should clear quickly depending on weather conditions. Hunters, recreationists, and other public land users should remain aware of project locations and ongoing prescribed fire activity.

For more information, contact either HDD Fire Management Officer Mark Randall at (307) 231-9092, or Fuels AFMO Chris Otto at (307) 328-4250. For updates, follow BLM Wyoming on social media (X or Facebook).