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Montana

Montana

August Tests Million Acre Refuge November 10, 2010

Cooperation Helps Catch Fire June 2009

Partnership Pays Off in Blackfoot Valley October 2008

Escaped Fire Fully Contained September 2008

Firefighters Extinguish Refuge Fire August 2008

Crew Contains Refuge Fire July, 2008

FWS Fire Safety Specialist Invited to Train "Down Under" June 2008

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Honors Former Employee June 2008

Montana Burn to Reduce Risk and Improve Big Game Hunting 2008

Wildland Fire at Charles M. Russell NWR 2007

Thinning Overgrowth Protects Historic Wildlife Refuge National Bison Range - 2003

Flathead National Forest Rehabilitation 2002

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 550 national wildlife refuges and 70 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages more than 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 80% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 300,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns more than 350,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 500 permanent fire professionals, along with 200 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 2,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.