[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5569-5570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2520]


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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]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P