FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local & Entertainment
Bebe’s word search
Fuel breaks proposed to
protect Sage-grouse
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) is
proposing to develop a
network of strategic fuel
breaks along existing roads
on public lands in south-
west Idaho and southeast
Oregon to conserve and
protect sage-grouse habitat
and improve fi refi ghter
capabilities.
In order to assess the
pros and cons of construct-
ing the fuel break system,
the BLM plans to begin
an environmental impact
statement for the Tri-State
Fuel Break Project.
To start this process,
the BLM is seeking public
input on potential issues
related to the proposal.
The primary threat to
sagebrush-steppe habitat in
the Great Basin has been
identifi ed as large fi res,
longer fi re seasons, and
increasing fi re frequency
which has also led to the
spread of cheatgrass and
other invasive plants.
Fuel breaks work by cre-
ating corridors of reduced
fuels. Designed around
existing roads, these cor-
ridors inhibit fi res by either
slowing their progress or
stopping them outright.
Improved roads enable
fi refi ghters to get to new
fi res faster.
It all adds up to bet-
ter success at stopping
wildfi res before they grow
into the high-intensity
mega-fi res that damage
sagebrush communities.
The proposed fuel breaks
would affect a small per-
centage of the 3.6 million-
acre project area, whereas
a single large wildfi re can
potentially alter hundreds
of thousands of acres of
sage-grouse habitat in a
single burning period.
A Notice of Intent
published in today’s Fed-
eral Register details the
proposed action, identifi es
some preliminary issues
and begins a 30-day com-
ment period.
To allow adequate time
for the public to review
the materials and provide
constructive comments
during the holiday season,
the comment period will
be extended to 60 days and
will end on Feb. 3, 2017.
Public comments on
issues to be analyzed in the
EIS as well as possible al-
ternatives are welcome and
may be submitted by any
of the following methods:
Email: blm_id_tristate@
blm.gov
Fax: 208-384-3489
Surface mail: 3948
South Development Ave.,
Boise, Idaho 83705
The BLM will host
public scoping meetings
for this project in January,
with specifi c dates and
locations to be announced
shortly through local
media, newspapers, social
media outlets, and BLM
websites (Idaho, http://
www.blm.gov/idaho and
Oregon, https://www.blm.
gov/oregon-washington).
These websites also pro-
vide details and documents
about the proposed project.
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