News Release

Public Comments Sought on an Environmental Assessment for the Fire Management Plan Update

Firefighter conducting prescribed fire

News Release Date: February 14, 2019

Contact: Tom Blount, [phone]

Contact: Christopher Derman

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area proposes to update and improve the current Fire Management Plan to ensure compliance with recent changes to National Park Service fire management guidance. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Park Service is accepting public comments on an Environmental Assessment for the Fire Management Plan Update. The comment period begins February 14, through March 7, 2019. An updated fire management plan will allow the National Park Service to use current wildland fire management strategies and tools.

The full suite of wildland fire management tools are: suppression strategies, singularly or in combination: monitoring, confine, contain or control, managed wildfire for multiple objectives, prescribed fire, including broadcast burning, underburning and pile burning; manual and mechanical fuels reduction by scattering fuels, slash piling or chipping of fuels.

Available strategies and tools will help Big South Fork NRRA safely manage wildfires, utilizing wildland fire, which includes wildfire and prescribed fire, to meet resource/fire management/other management objectives, reduce the increasing amount of vegetation (burnable fuels), known as hazard fuels, encroaching on historic structures and infrastructure contained within park boundaries and threatening areas outside of park boundaries.

The National Park Service would like to hear any comments on the Environmental Assessment by March 7, 2019. The document is available for review and comment online on February 14, 2019, at http://parkplanning.nps.gov.  

For more information, please contact park headquarters at [phone].