Missouri Breaks BLM tour showcases fuels reduction efforts

The work in the Crooked Creek region of the Missouri Breaks was performed to reduce wildfire risk and improve wildlife habitat.

The tour will begin at 9 a.m. from the parking lot of the Bohemian Corner Gas Station near Roy. The trip will end by 3 p.m., at Bohemian Corner. Participants will drive their own vehicles and follow BLM staff along an approximately 80-mile route. The tour will stop at several locations, including the 2023 Crooked Creek Unit F prescribed burn, the site of a 2019 wildfire, and an area where mechanical conifer removal treatments were completed from 2014-2017. Each stop will include presentations by BLM project experts.

During the tour, BLM staff will also discuss the upcoming South Phillips Sage-Grouse Habitat Improvement and Fuels Reduction project. The project is currently in the early planning stages, and features terrain and vegetation conditions similar to the Crooked Creek Unit F prescribed fire and mechanical conifer removal treatments. The project is designed to reduce conifer encroachment, improve sage grouse habitat and develop a landscape more resilient to wildfires. The project is part of the Hi-Line Sagebrush Anchor Restoration Landscape in partnership with the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance and other organizations to complete on-the-ground conservation projects.

“Limiting disturbances on the landscape has increased conifers at the expense of grass, flowers and shrubs,” said Matt Comer, BLM Hi-Line Sagebrush Anchor Restoration Landscape project manager. “More conifers also increase fuel loads and change how wildfires burn. Prescribed burns and conifer mechanical treatments give us proactive ways to manage the benefits fires can provide, like increased grasses and desirable shrub sprouting, and decrease the risk of uncontrolled fires that threaten people and communities.”

Those interested in participating in the driving tour should register online with the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance: BLM Conifer Treatment Tour Registration.

Vehicles should be capable of travel on backcountry gravel and two-track roads and contain enough fuel to complete the tour. Participants are encouraged to carpool.

Participants should bring any needed personal food and drink, and wear closed-toe, sturdy shoes and apparel suitable for the day’s weather conditions. Be prepared for some short-distance walking over uneven terrain to access off-road project areas. A portable toilet will be stationed mid-way along the tour route.

The BLM’s fuels management program is focused on active management to reduce wildfire risk, improve wildfire resiliency and promote fire-adapted communities. The program includes creating fuel breaks to provide safe access for firefighters, reducing fuel loads by removing ladder fuels, and reducing fire risk near communities.