Not all wildland fire is bad. In its natural role, wildland fire cleans ecosystems and regenerates native habitat upon which wildlife thrives.
For centuries Native Americans used fire to improve hunting potential or to farm. Learning from the Native Americans, many of the initial European settlers likewise utilized fire.
Later settlers abandoned the practice, which, together with an increase in wildland fires, led to wildland fire being excluded from forests and woodlands, nationwide. The result is an increase in ready-to-burn fuels, or fuel loading, and the catastrophic wildland fires of today.
The BLM Ely District is today taking a pro-active stance in returning wildland fire to its natural and recurring role in the environment. Fire management is a challenging program, encompassing education and prevention, preparedness, predictive services, fuels management, fire planning, community assistance and protection, and perhaps most significant, safety. Guiding all BLM Ely District fire management decisions is the Ely District Fire Management Plan, part of which is the Ely Managed Natural and Prescribed Fire Plan.
Fire management utilizes science in decision-making processes and plays a key and significant role in the Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project, or ENLRP, and the larger Great Basin Restoration Initiative, or GBRI.
The hiring and training of personnel is an essential component of the fire management program because BLM Ely District firefighters are an integral part of an inter-disciplinary team charged with the mission of maintaining and restoring public land health.
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