CASPER, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management Wyoming’s Buffalo Field Office is planning to conduct slash pile burning in the Bighorn Mountains and in Campbell County this fall and winter.
The prescribed burns are expected to begin around mid-November and could continue through April 2023. Burning will only be conducted if fuel moisture and weather meet appropriate conditions, the BLM said in a press release Monday.
Slash piles will be burned at the following areas:
Bighorn Mountains
• Gardner Mountain: BLM will target approximately 83 acres of hand piles resulting from fuels reduction projects to restore curl-leaf mahogany stands, completed in partnership with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
• Sawmill Creek off Hazelton Road: BLM plans to burn approximately 445 acres of hand piles resulting from forest health and fuels reduction projects.
• Billy Creek: BLM has completed forest health and fuels reduction projects in the area and will target 726 acres of hand piles. Additionally, BLM provides a public slash disposal site to local homeowners. The site is for non-commercial use and can accommodate small material such as branches and small trees, which BLM burns every winter. The BLM would like to remind users that excavated stumps are not allowed in the pile because they are difficult to maneuver and burn.
Campbell County
• Weston Hills: BLM will burn approximately 310 acres of hand piles resulting from a completed fuels reduction project.
BLM Buffalo Field Office
“Smoke may be visible from the surrounding areas during burning operations and days following as slash materials consume,” the release added. “For more information, please contact the Buffalo Field Office front desk at 307-684-1100, Jennifer Walker at 307-684-1164, or Jacob McClure at 307-684-1064.”
