[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 195 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54154-54155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27015]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[MT-923-1990-00]


Notice of Intent To Prepare Fire Management Plan and Amend 
Resource Management Plans and Management Framework Plans Where 
Appropriate in Montana and the Dakotas

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will update and amend its 
Fire Management Plans for Montana and the Dakotas. This may also result 
in Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Management Framework Plan (MFP) 
amendments. An environmental analysis of the Fire Management Plan 
updates will involve an RMP/MFP consistency review. If the fire plan 
updates are inconsistent with the existing RMPs and MFP, then RMP/MFP 
amendments may be appropriate for the Garnet, Headwaters, West Hi-Line, 
Judith, Valley, Phillips, Billings,

[[Page 54155]]

Big Dry, and Powder River RMPs in Montana; the Dillon MFP in Montana; 
the North Dakota RMP; and the South Dakota RMP. The fire plan update 
will help guide future management decisions concerning fire management 
objectives, wildland fire suppression and rehabilitation, the use of 
prescribed fire and other fuel management techniques.

DATES: Comments and issues should be submitted by November 30, 1998. 
The EA is scheduled for release to the public in late 1998 or early 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to John 
Thompson, Project Manager, P.O. Box 36800, Billings, MT 59107.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Thompson, 406-255-2852.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM has fire protection responsibility 
on more than 8 million acres of public land in Montana and the Dakotas. 
By agreement, the BLM also protects more than 600,000 acres of other 
federal and state agency lands in eastern Montana while other federal 
and state agencies protect 1.7 million acres of public lands for the 
BLM in western Montana. Over the 10-year period between 1987 and 1996, 
the BLM responded to over 1,500 wildland fires for which BLM had fire 
protection responsibility. Over 265,000 acres were burned and the fires 
averaged 176 acres. The largest fire burned an estimated 58,300 acres.
    The Fire Management Plans are being updated to comply with the 
Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Program Review, reduce the 
risk and cost of severe wildland fires, and ensure the ecological 
health and function of grasslands and forest ecosystems that are fire 
dependent. As part of these fire plan updates, the BLM will carefully 
analyze resource objectives, fire management objectives, appropriate 
response to wildland fires based on consideration of firefighter and 
public safety, threats to private property, anticipated suppression 
costs, resource values at risk, resource benefits, and political and 
social concerns. An environmental analysis will address how fire can be 
used to help achieve resource objectives identified in land use plans 
and to reduce dangerous accumulations of fuel especially near populated 
areas. Where appropriate, the BLM will amend existing RMPs to be 
consistent with current fire management policy and to better achieve 
priority resource management objectives.

    Dated: October 1, 1998.
John E. Moorhouse,
Acting Deputy State Director, Division of Resources.
[FR Doc. 98-27015 Filed 10-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P