Fuel breaks would be reseeded, using both native and non-native plant species throughout the project area. The preferred alternative identified in the Draft Programmatic EIS would create up to 11,000 miles of new fuel breaks within a 223 million-acre area that includes portions of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah. The two orders direct DOI 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. 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. BLM developed four alternatives, including the No Action Alternative, based on comments received during the initial scoping period. Tools used to create fuel breaks could include brown strips - areas where all vegetation has been removed green strips - areas where vegetation that is more flammable has been replaced with less flammable vegetation and mowing or targeted grazing depending on the locations and vegetation. The fuel breaks would be strategically placed along roads and rights-of-way on BLM-administered lands. When a wildfire burns into a fuel break, the flame lengths decrease and its progress slows, making it safer and easier for firefighters to control. The concept behind fuel breaks is to break up or fragment continuous fuels by reducing vegetation in key locations. Large, unbroken swaths of grasses, brush and other vegetation have provided a continuous supply of fuel for the recent catastrophic rangeland wildfires that have burned across the Great Basin states. “With this initiative and others like it, we’re working proactively to curb wildfires’ destruction and make it safer and more effective for firefighters to protect people and property.” “Wildfires devastate forests, rangeland and communities across Idaho and throughout the West, and without strategic planning they’re likely to continue in the years ahead,” said Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. “We look forward to receiving feedback from the public on this effort which promises to make a real difference in reducing the wildfire threat.” “The Department of the Interior is dedicated to leveraging all of its assets to reduce wildfire risk and safeguard western communities,” said Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. This Draft Programmatic EIS analyzes a system of up to 11,000 miles of strategically placed fuel breaks to control wildfires within a 223 million-acre area that includes portions of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah. The individual should seek local information for up to date fire restriction information.Boise, Idaho – Today, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management released the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin for a 45-day public comment period. Confusion can result from the multiple agency jurisdictions, especially when adjacent lands have different restrictions depending on the administering agency. Individual states such Oregon and Washington can impose restrictions on state managed land. Federal agencies such as the US Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, can impose restrictions on the public land they manage. Fire Restrictions Emergency Closure Info Region 06, Fire Closures Public View Mapįire restrictions can originate from many places.
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