Fire Management Activities: Oregon and Washington

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-932-2810-00; GP8-0091]

Fire Management Activities: Oregon and Washington

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to review and modify fire management plans, as

necessary, and to conduct associated public participation.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Oregon (Burns, Coos

Bay, Eugene, Lakeview, Medford, Prineville, Roseburg, Salem, and Vale

Districts) and Washington (Spokane District) are reviewing their fire

management activities on all of the BLM-administered public lands in

Oregon and Washington. New fire management plans for all BLM districts

must be completed in Fiscal Year 1998. The initial phase for completing

these plans will address fire management direction based on existing

land management plans, and will be available for public review by early

February at the BLM offices indicated below. Other possible public

involvement activities may include open houses, workshops, and/or field

trips if there is sufficient interest.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Meeting dates and other public participation activities

in BLM

[[Page 5570]]

districts will be announced in other public notices, the local media,

and in letters sent to interested and potentially affected parties.

Comments will be accepted throughout the process of modifying the fire

management plans. Interested persons may request to be added to the

mailing lists by contacting the applicable district offices. Portions

of the fire management plans and/or related documents may be available

in an electronic format; and some of the documents may also be

available on BLM electronic Internet ``web sites.'' Interested

individuals should contact the individual district offices to determine

the availability of planning documents and reports in local libraries

or in electronic formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO SUBMIT COMMENTS, CONTACT ANY OF THE

FOLLOWING:

Burns District: Michael Green, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, HC 74-12533 Hwy 20 West, Hines, OR 97738, (541) 573-4400

Coos Bay District: Neil Middlebrook, Acting Assoc. District Manager,

Bureau of Land Management, 1300 Airport Lane, North Bend, OR 97459,

(541) 756-0100

Eugene District: Denis Williamson, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 2890 Chad Drive, P.O. Box 10226, Eugene, OR 97440, (541)

683-6600

Lakeview District: Steve Ellis, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, P.O. Box 151, Lakeview, OR 97630, (541) 947-2177

Klamath Falls Resource Area: Barron Bail, Area Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 2795 Anderson Avenue, Bldg. 25, Klamath Falls, OR 97603,

(541) 883-6916

Medford District: Van Manning, Acting District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504, (541) 770-2200

Oregon State Office: William Bradley, Deputy State Director for

Resource Planning, Use, and Protection, Bureau of Land Management, 1515

SW 5th Avenue, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208, (503) 952-6056

Prineville District: James Hancock, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 3050 NE 3rd, P.O. Box 550, Prineville, OR 97754, (541) 416-

6700

Roseburg District: Cary Osterhaus, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 777 NW Garden Valley Blvd., Roseburg, OR 97470, (541) 440-

4930

Salem District: Mark Lawrence, Assoc. District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 1717 Fabry Road, SE, Salem, OR 97306, (503) 375-5646

Tillamook Resource Area: Dana Shuford, Area Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 4610 Third Street, Tillamook, OR 97141, (541) 815-1100

Spokane District: Joe Buesing, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 1103 North Fancher Road, Spokane, WA 99212-1200, (509) 536-

1200

Wenatchee Resource Area: James Fisher, Area Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 915 North Walla Walla Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801-1521,

(509) 665-2100

Vale District: Ed Singleton, District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 100 Oregon Street, Vale, OR 97918, (541) 473-3144

Baker Resource Area: Penelope Dunn, Area Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 1550 Dewey Avenue, Room 215, Baker City, OR 97814, (541)

523-1256

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Wildland Fire Policy and Program

Review (1995) directs federal land managers to develop fire management

plans for every area with burnable vegetation. The BLM in Oregon and

Washington currently has such plans for each district. However, the BLM

is reviewing and revising district fire management plans in 1998, and

this is an opportunity to ensure that wildland fire management

decisions are based on Land and Resource Management Plans. New fire

management plans must be developed in Fiscal Year 1998.

The Federal Wildland Fire Policy and Program Review (1995)

reaffirms the protection of human life as the first priority in

wildland fire management. Property and natural/cultural resources are

jointly the second priority, with protection decisions based on values

to be protected and other considerations. The Federal Wildland Fire

Policy and Program Review (1995) also stresses the need to reintroduce

wildland fire into the ecosystem. The planning review will identify any

need for additional fuels management prescriptions and/or changes to

overall fire suppression strategies, as appropriate under existing

approved land management plans. Some goals of the planning review are

to identify fire management strategies to achieve desired resource

conditions, reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfires through the

management of fuels, and achieve a better understanding of fire's role

in the natural environment.

The initial phase of fire management plan revisions will focus on

the following proposed management categories for fire management within

each planning unit:

--Wildland fire is not desired at all.

--Unplanned wildland fire is likely to cause negative effects, but

these effects may be mitigated through fuels management, including

prescribed fire.

--Fire is desired, but there are constraints because of the existing

vegetation condition due to fire exclusion.

--Fire is desired, and there are no constraints associated with

resource condition or social, economic, or political considerations.

These management categories will be based on considerations

including: protection of human life, protection of property and

natural/cultural resources, reintroduction of fire into ecosystems,

reducing the cost of fire suppression, integration of fire and resource

management strategies, air quality, recreation, watershed management,

livestock grazing, visual resources, and wildlife habitat.

Dated: January 22, 1998.

William L. Bradley,

Deputy State Director, Oregon/Washington.

[FR Doc. 98-2520 Filed 2-2-98; 8:45 am]

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