Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
General Description
Extending 125 air miles up the Missouri River from Fort Peck Dam in north-central Montana, Charles M Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR) contains approximately 1,000,000 acres of native prairies, forested coulees, river bottoms and badlands. Within this 125 miles, two crossing are available to motor vehicle traffic; Highway 191 on the west end using Fred Robinson Bridge and State Highway 24 on the east crossing Fort Peck Dam. Gravel roads are not abundant on the refuge; most roads are clay, which are impassable when wet.
Cities and towns
CMR has three field stations (Sand Creek, Jordan and Fort Peck) with Refuge headquarters located in Lewistown, Montana. Several small towns are located near the Refuge with larger ones within 1 to 2 hours drive time. Sand Creek Field Station is the only station not located in a town. The towns of Jordan and Fort Peck have field stations. The closest major airports to CMR are approximately 2 hours away and are located in Billings and Great Falls. Flights come to Lewistown now through Great lakes Airlines. A table with services found in each town is in the appendix section.
Towns Near Charles M. Russell
Town |
Grocery |
Gas station |
Airport |
Motel |
Lewistown |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Jordan |
X |
X |
|
X |
Fort Peck |
X |
X |
|
X |
Roy |
X |
X |
|
|
Billings |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Great Falls |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Malta |
X |
X |
|
X |
Glasgow |
X |
X |
|
X |
Mile City |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Accommodations
Each field station has a bunkhouse; that houses CMR seasonal employees as well as detailers if room is available. All efforts will be made to house crews that are assigned in the bunkhouses if available, otherwise hotels will be authorized.
What to expect… fires and when not on fires
Fires on CMR are usually type 4 classification, and last anywhere from 2 to 4 days. Type 3 incidents in and around the Refuge vary in duration. Be prepared to stay in spike camp situations while on fires within CMR and when assisting local cooperators. Meals normally are MRE’s or Rat packs. A hot meal is normally ordered on the third day depending on projected length of the fire. Breakfast orders are no longer made due to limited logistical support. When not on fires, opportunities will be made available to be involved with all aspects of Refuge operations. Depending on the potential for lighting, or fire activity, crews stay involved with Refuge operations to help support the mission of the Fish and Wildlife Service. We always keep fire response the number one priority when involved with projects; we limit distance to vehicles for a quick response time.
Communications
The repeater system used by CMR is a digital linked system, so when a repeater is keyed it in turn keys all repeaters in the system. Each of our repeaters has the ability to transmit in analog which does not link. Dispatch offices utilize the digital frequency when talking to CMR fire personal being dispatched to incidents. On a wildfire incident, analog frequencies (for tactical and air to ground) are used. Cell phones are used but much of the Refuge has limited coverage. In the appendix under communications are the two tactical groups used on CMR.
Cooperators/ Dispatch Offices
CMR works closely with the six surrounding county VFD programs, along with the BLM to suppress fire on and off the refuge. The Refuge is broken into two dispatch areas. Lewistown dispatch handles all fires west of the Musselshell River and north of the Missouri River. Mile City dispatch takes care of lands east of the Musselshell and south of the Missouri River. Refuge resources can be moved between the two dispatch areas by the CMR Fire Management Officer (FMO).
Appropriate Management Response
The Appropriate Management Response (AMR) for CMR is not a “let burn” or “wild land fire use” policy. Fire fighter safety is the number one priority. Within the Refuge natural barriers and roads are used to control fires. This may mean dropping back to a road and allowing a burn out to contain a fire. Heavy equipment is not used to establish control lines. Retardant is not used unless approved by the CMR FMO or the Refuge Manger. We have found that retardant is not effective unless followed up closely with ground resources, so using retardant without ground support is not policy on CMR. Helicopters are the most effective aerial resources available to the Refuge.
Fuels
Within the Missouri breaks, coulees consist of Douglas fir or ponderosa pine with a juniper understory. The pine and fir stands vary depending on aspect, north facing slopes are closed timber stands, south facing slopes open. Crown runs are limited to the stand of timber in which they start; it is not uncommon to have several stands develop crown runs at the same time. Spotting distance from the timber can be as far as one mile in extreme fire behavior conditions. Outside of the coulees, timber, juniper and brush are intermixed with grass. The grass bed can be from 1 to 3 feet deep, grass is the primary carrier of fire. River bottoms consist of cottonwood and willows with heavy grass and some cattails. In most years the river bottoms serve as a fire break, the fuels will burn but are suppressed easily. Extreme fire behavior is not normal (in the bottoms), but possible, if conditions are favorable.
Work to Rest Guidelines
CMR personnel will comply with the National Wildland Coordinated Group (NWCG) Work to Rest guidelines (2;1) while conducting fire suppression operations on the Refuge.
The exception on CMR will be during an extended initial attack incident where the likelihood of catching the fire is high and or these efforts will prevent the need to call in additional resources or an overhead team. CMR firefighters will have prior approval to work no more than 32 continuous hours during these situations. This does not apply to non-refuge firefighters. These individuals will be limited to no more than 24 hours during initial attack operations unless they have written agency approval. After the first 32 hours, CMR employees will comply with the work/rest ratio stated in NWCG policy.
Initial attack IC’s and crew supervisors should be especially vigilant to ensure firefighters can safely perform their duties when working under this exception.
