Date: June 3, 2004

CONTACT: Jamie Thompson, Public Affairs Officer, (775) 623-1500

BLM WINNEMUCCA COMPLETES FIRE REHABILITATION ASSESSMENT

The Bureau of Land Management’s Winnemucca Field Office has completed a programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) for the district's fire rehabilitation program for the coming years. The Winnemucca District averages 94 wildfires each year. This programmatic approach is more cost effective and allows quicker responses to rehabilitate burned lands than preparation of project-specific environmental assessments produced for each burned area proposed for rehabilitation.

The PEA is a single, landscape-scale environmental assessment that covers all public lands administered by the Winnemucca Field Office – approximately 8.3 million acres. The purpose of the PEA is to provide environmental analysis of various stabilization and rehabilitation treatments that will assist the field office in formulating and implementing sound Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ESR) proposals. The ESR proposals are site and project specific and would still be individually assessed to determine appropriate treatment methods already analyzed in the PEA. Every proposal would then be evaluated to ensure it is in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Where applicable, a separate Decision Record would be issued for individual projects.

The programmatic approach streamlines the National Environmental Policy Act compliance process and enables the field office to lessen time frames between the initiation of proposals and the completion of treatments. Shorter time frames will, in turn, translate into increased success rates for stabilization and rehabilitation efforts and decreased impacts to important resource values.

The public is asked to submit written comments or concerns regarding this PEA by close of business July 6, 2004. Comments may be submitted to BLM’s Winnemucca Field Office, Attn: Fire Rehab PEA, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca NV 89445-2921.

The PEA is available for review online here or at the Winnemucca Field Office. Further information is available by calling Jeff Johnson, Environmental Protection Specialist, at the field office, 775-623-1500.

- BLM -