BLM to conduct prescribed fires in Sublette and Lincoln Counties
by Bureau of Land Management
May 10, 2024
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) fire crews will conduct prescribed fire operations west of La Barge, Wyoming between mid-May and July as part of a multi-year project. Fire operations will begin only when conditions are favorable for a safe and effective burn on public lands managed by the Pinedale Field Office.
Prescribed burns will take place in two distinct project sites. The Burdick prescribed fire project is located approximately 13 miles west of La Barge, Wyoming on the east face of Miller Mountain, south of the La Barge Creek drainage. Within this area, 398 acres of slash and standing conifer are targeted to burn. The Deadline Ridge prescribed fire project is located approximately 12 miles Northwest of La Barge, on the east face of Deadline Ridge. The BLM has targeted 493 acres of slash and standing conifer to burn on this ridge.
This prescribed fire is part of the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Habitat Project, which was developed as part of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Wyoming Range Mule Deer Initiative in 2011. The project will reduce hazardous fuels and improve vegetation conditions in crucial mule deer winter range, transition range, and fawning ranges. Prescribed fires improve vegetation conditions by stimulating new aspen growth and reducing conifers that are encroaching on native aspen stands.
Fire crews will use several burning tactics to safely start and control the burns. Smoke will be visible to the public during the operations. Fire crews will remain on scene and monitor the burn areas until the fires are out.
Prescribed fire is a beneficial management tool that replicates natural wildfire. Many land management agencies use prescribed burns to improve the overall health of the land, vegetation, and wildlife. They can help return an ecosystem to its natural composition and healthiest function.
For more information, contact High Desert District Fire Management Officer Mark Randall at (307) 367-5350, Fuels Specialist Ross Dary at (307) 367-5317, or visit the Pinedale Field Office located at 1625 West Pine Street in Pinedale, Wyoming. For more information about BLM Wyoming, visit https://www.blm.gov/wyoming.
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