Butte BLM to conduct prescribed burn near Townsend
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(BUTTE, Mont.) – This spring, the Bureau of Land Management’s Butte Field Office will conduct prescribed burns on just over 400 acres in the Iron Mask area west of Townsend.
The project is designed to improve wildlife habitat in a grassland area where heavy conifer encroachment is occurring.
Exact timing of the prescribed burn is contingent on snow cover and fuel conditions, but BLM managers hope to begin in early March. The burn window will close sometime in the following six weeks.
The prescribed burns will be implemented and closely monitored by fire managers and firefighters from the BLM, the Forest Service and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
The proposed treatments are part of a larger national wildfire reduction strategy guided by President Trump’s Executive Order 13855 – Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Lands to Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk, as well as Secretary’s Order 3372 – Reducing Wildfire Risks on Department of the Interior Land through Active Management.
The two orders direct Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture agencies to implement policies to improve forest and rangeland management practices by reducing hazardous fuel loads, mitigating fire risk and ensuring the safety and stability of local communities through active management on forests and rangelands.
For more information, contact the Butte Field Office at (406) 533-7600.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.