BLM High Desert District plans to conduct prescribed burns

RAWLINS, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) High Desert District (HDD) may conduct prescribed burns on multiple lands managed by the Rawlins Field Office and associated partners this fall and winter. This is contingent upon fuel moisture, snow conditions, and weather meeting optimal burn conditions. These treatments will only be implemented when all specified prescription parameters are met.

Prescribed burns will dispose of slash material from the following projects:   

• Boulder Ridge Hazardous Fuels Mitigation: Slash piles from a mechanical hazardous fuels mitigation and forest health improvement project on the Wyoming/Colorado border, approximately 20 miles south of Laramie will be burned. This site is located on a small slice of public lands along the state line immediately north of the Arapahoe/Roosevelt National Forest bisected by Albany County Road 319 (Boulder Ridge Road). This project targets overgrown vegetation threatening nearby private lands and established structures. Most material was removed and utilized for commercial firewood sales and the remaining slash was mechanically and hand piled. Approximately 171 acres were treated in 2023 and early 2024, and 21 acres piles remaining on the treatment unit are ready to burn. The overall treatment was funded by the BLM Hazardous Fuels and Forestry program and implemented through an agreement with Wyoming State Forestry Division.

• Morgan Creek Wildland Urban Interface (WUI): Located in the Seminoe Mountains, approximately 30 miles northeast of Rawlins, this WUI treatment will burn slash piles from a 2021 hazardous fuels mitigation project. 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, approximately 15 miles east of Riverside will be burned. This site is located along the west slope of Barrett Ridge north of Carbon County Road 660 (French Creek Road) along BLM Road 3404 (Bennett Peak Road). The project targets encroaching junipers which have established in 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 was partially funded cooperatively by the Platte Valley Mule Deer Habitat Partnership and the Governor’s Big Game License Coalition (mule deer, sheep, and elk funds). Current activities are funded entirely by the HDD Hazardous Fuels Management program.

• Wagonhound and Spool Timber Sales: Large Machine Slash piles constructed on landing sites from timber harvest activities on two sale sites. The Wagonhound unit lies immediately south of the Wagonhound rest area and interchange on Interstate 80, west of Arlington, Wyoming. The site of this timber sale lies on a tract of BLM land along the Medicine Bow National Forest Boundary. The Spool timber sale was completed on BLM and Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments state trust lands south of Carbon County Road 500 and immediately east of USFS Road 452 (Jack Creek Road) as it enters the forest. Machine built slash piles will be burned on BLM lands that lie along the forest boundary in the McClain and Jack Creek drainages.

Prescribed burn treatments implemented by the BLM follow stringent authorization and permitting procedures. They are implemented only after environmental review which incorporates project design features and mitigation measures intended to ensure that objectives can be met with minimal impacts to other resources. Prescribed burn plans prioritize safety for the public and firefighters. While risk cannot be entirely eliminated, the planning process seeks to mitigate it as much as possible. HDD BLM Fire and Fuels resources may assist partner agencies and landowners in additional treatments.

During burning operations, smoke may be visible from long distances but should dissipate quickly due to seasonal weather and atmospheric conditions. Hunters, recreationists, and public land users are encouraged to remain mindful of these project areas and active prescribed burns.

For more information, contact HDD Fire Management Officer Mark Randall at (307) 231-9092, or Fuels Specialist Chris Otto at (307) 328-4250. For more information about BLM Wyoming, visit https://www.blm.gov/wyoming.