Butte Fire Media Viewing Feb. 25 for Helicopter Wood Shreds Spreading
Organization
BLM Office:
Media Contact:
MEDIA ADVISORY - WHAT: Opportunity for media to view helicopter spreading wood shreds on Butte Fire site and talk to project managers.
WHEN: Thursday, February 25, 10 a.m.
WHERE: BLM rice straw pile off Jesus Maria Road. Go east from Mokelumne Hill on Highway 26 about 2 miles, then turn onto Jesus Maria Road and go 5 1/2 miles to the pullout where straw bales have been stockpiled.
WHO: Bureau of Land Management Mother Lode Field Office staff, helicopter contractors.
BACKGROUND: As part of the ongoing Butte Fire rehabilitation, the BLM has contracted for a helicopter firm to drop wood shreds for erosion control.
About 35,000 cubic yards of wood shreds are being dropped by helicopter on 1,400 acres, almost all of that in the Jesus Maria Creek area in Calaveras County.
The helicopter work should be complete by early April, depending on weather. In addition, some wood straw will be spread by blower in the Mokelumne and Calaveras River watersheds along dozer lines and roads.
BLM also has done other rehabilitation work including spreading rice straw by hand on more than 100 acres and chipping dead trees and brush.
The Butte Fire in Calaveras and Amador counties started Sept. 9 and was fully contained on Oct. 2. A total of 70,868 acres were burned, 12,058 acres of BLM land in Calaveras County and the remaining 58,810 acres private lands.
For more information, contact David Christy, (916) 941-3146, dchristy@blm.gov
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.