Bridger Teton National Forest Projects
Kemmerer Ranger District: Kemmerer Roadside Treatments
The purpose of the Kemmerer Ranger District Roadside treatments (KRT) is to support Potential Operational Delineations (PODS) and support fire management.
PODS to pre-plan for fire using a risk management approach, and to give land managers a process for developing landscape-scale wildfire response options before fires start. The KRT would increase the response options to fires within the Kemmerer Ranger District. Fire plays a natural role in the ecosystem and can serve as a land management tool, but without pre-work and planning actions, managers are often left in a defensive suppression stance.
The KRT is located along Forest Service roads 10062, 10069, 10172, 10193, and Highway 89. The legal locations are included within the Kemmerer Ranger District. The project boundaries are located along these roads and currently total 9,224 acres. The treatment units identified within the KRT total 1,029 acres.
Thinning and piling of fuels to occur in units associated with 2H, 2I, and 2J after August 1st of 2025.
For more information on this project contact Tim Sherwin, Fire Management Specialist (Fuels), 307-828-5112.
Kemmerer Ranger District: Hams Fork Vegetation Treatment Project
This multi-unit project area covering approximately 74,267 acres is a result of the Hams Fork decision which includes timber sales, aspen restoration, hazard tree removal and prescribed burning.
The purpose of this project is to improve existing aspen stands by prescribed burning in a large area to stimulate aspen cover types. This objective will allow improvement over a large enough area to help minimize impacts from big game animals. In addition to lowering fuel loads and benefiting wildlife, the project will also enhance the visual quality of aspen.
For more information on this project contact Tim Sherwin, Fire Management Specialist (Fuels), 307-828-5112
Kemmerer Ranger District: La Barge Vegetation Restoration Project
Continued fire suppression has attributed to the homogeneous, older, conifer-dominated landscape. There are currently large areas of the late secessional mountain sagebrush habitat resulting in the reduction of diversity in herbaceous plants. There remains a need to increase the health, vigor and resiliency of forest stands while diversifying the sagebrush successional stages. The La Barge Vegetation Restoration project area is 52,573 acres. 2,217 acres have been identified for future prescribed fire operations to be conducted over multiple years and broken into smaller units.
Thinning and piling of fuels to occur in units 29, 8, 17, 9, and 10 after August 1st of 2025.
For more information on this project contact Tim Sherwin, Fire Management Specialist (Fuels), 307-828-5112
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Big Piney Ranger District: Monument Ridge Vegetation and Recreation Management project
The Monument Ridge Vegetation and Recreation Management Project, proposed by the Sublette County Collaborative, is multifaceted. It addresses vegetation management within the wildland urban interface, wildlife habitat enhancement activities, along with safety and access improvements for recreation. These activities are set to improve forest health and promote wildlife populations for elk, mule deer, and sage grouse. This project will provide positive wildlife benefits and recreation opportunities well into the future.
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Greys River Ranger District: Greys River Roadside Treatments
The purpose of the Greys River Ranger District Roadside Treatments (GRRT) is to support Potential Operational Delineations (PODS) and support fire management. PODS allow for fire pre-planning using a risk management approach and give land managers a formal process for developing landscape-scale wildfire response options before fires start.
The GRRT is located along Forest Service roads 10081, 10124, 10138, 10072, and Highway 89. The legal locations are included within the Greys River District. The project boundaries are located along these roads and currently total 18,144 acres. The treatment units identified within the GRRT total 2,093 acres.
Prescribed pile burning of the fuels to occur in units associated with 3B in the fall/winter of 2025.
For more information on prescribed fire, fuels reduction projects and defensible space, call the Greys River Ranger District at 307-886-5300.
Greys River Ranger District: Star Valley Front Vegetation Project
The Greys River Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest plans to implement a 2,000-acre prescribed burn, southern portions of Unit 2B and 2A, in the spring of 2025. Unit 2B and 2A are within Unit 2 of the Star Valley Front Vegetation Treatment Project is located on the Forest Service between Afton and Grover, Wy. Additional units are targeted for implementation this fall. These units include the Unit 9 (Strawberry unit) and unit 8. More information will be shared via a press release when the prescribed burning opportunity becomes available.
The Star Valley Front Vegetation Treatment Project is located east of Star Valley and consists of a 72,577-acre project area with 31,477 acres of proposed burn units extending from Strawberry Creek south to Cottonwood Creek, from the forest boundary to the top of the Salt River Range. The main purpose for treating vegetation in the Star Valley Front Project Area is to begin restoring a balance of age classes in mountain shrubland, mountain big sagebrush, aspen, and conifer communities.
This vegetation treatment is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Forest Service, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, and other partners.
For more information on this project contact Timothy Sherwin, Fire Management Specialist (Fuels), 307-828-5112.
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Jackson Ranger District: Teton to Snake Fuels Reduction Projects 2025
Teton to Snake (T-6)
Fuels mitigation contactors will initiate the final phase within the Phillips Ridge treatment area as early as July 15th. Some heavy equipment activity is excepted to impact trails in the area while hazardous trees are fallen and moved to loading areas. The Jackson Ranger District will work with contactors and recreationalists visiting the area to help minimize trail delays and closures by using a "phased approach" while work is under way in the immediate project areas. These short-term closures and delays are necessary for public safety and to help expedite the treatment progress.
Teton to Snake (T-43)
This Red Top unit is a small 8-acre parcel with thin, cut and pile strategy addressing community protection directly adjacent to private property south of Redtop meadows. Local fire staff will prepare piles for burning later and after the vegetation cures, guaranteeing complete consumption during the burning process.
Munger Mountain Prescribed Fire (RX) (PF-47)
Beginning spring of 2025, north zone fuels staff plans to begin implementation of Munger Mountain Prescribed Fire Unit (1,663 acres). This unit involves a multi-phase/multi-year approach, treating smaller segments of the overall unit at a time. Unit field work including ongoing monitoring and protection of values through fuels reduction activities will begin onsite this spring and summer. When conditions are met in 2025, fire personnel will begin burning within the unit as snow recedes, targeting lighter fuels including grass and brush within the unit and heavier fuels along the unit boundary. Completion of this initial stage will allow for safer and more manageable firing operations in future entries that will involve burning timbered areas of the unit that create more active fire behavior.
Upper Gros Ventre Wildlife Enhancement -Prescribed Fire (RX)
Primary objectives include burning to enhance wildlife habitat in the Gros Ventre drainage. Elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep benefit from open grassland and forb communities and healthy aspen stands. Unnatural fire suppression has greatly altered successional fire regimes in this area, resulting in a decline in aspen community health from advanced succession and conifer encroachment. Habitat enhancement and maintenance on the Bridger-Teton is particularly important to meet the interagency objective of increasing elk utilization of native winter range as an alternative to feed grounds, particularly in the context of increasing risk of wildlife disease transmission. This project is an extension of the Lower Gros Ventre Prescribed Fire Treatments completed in 2010 and is supported by Wyoming Game and Fish Trust Fund.
Map and flyer will be posted soon
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Pinedale Ranger District: Big Sandy Fuels Reduction Project
Plan is to treat up to 3,000 ac to improve forest health, protect infrastructure and egress within the Big Sandy wildland-urban interface area and portion of the West Slope Winds roadless area. Actions include thinning, sanitation, salvage and pile burning.
Grand Teton National Park Projects - 2022
Granite Entrance / Seligman
Colter Bay Ridgetop
Snake River Land Company
Historic Structures Mowing
This annual effort will treat primarily grass and herbaceous fuels in the immediate vicinity of a number of historic properties in Grand Teton National Park. These mechanical treatments are completed primarily with mowers and weed-eaters. Project implementation is in the summer once most grass growth has finished and prior to the fine fuels fully curing for the year. Wildland fire continues to be one of the greatest threats to loss of historic properties in the area.
Fire Effects Monitoring
The Teton Interagency Fire program includes a robust Fire Effects Monitoring element. The Fire Effects Crew visits treatments before implementation and post-treatment. Treatment objectives are designed not only to be effective in changing fire behavior but also measurable in the field post treatment in order to determine success. The crew may establish permanent plots, measure burned area recovery, conduct fuels transects, and/or establish photo points. Post treatment visits are scheduled at regular intervals (1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years..) dependent on how each projects objectives are written.
In 2022 the Fire Effects Crew workload will include the following:
Proposed projects where pretreatment monitoring will be established:
Beaver Creek Historic Housing Phase II Mechanical Treatment - Establish monitoring to assess pretreatment conditions for a proposed mechanical treatment to reduce fuels around employee housing.
Snake River Land Company Mechanical Treatment- Establish monitoring to assess pretreatment conditions for a proposed mechanical treatment around structures.
Lizard Creek Campground Mechanical Treatment - Establish monitoring to assess pretreatment conditions for a proposed mechanical treatment to reduce fuels around the campground.
Project revisits to previous treatments, both prescribed fire and mechanical:
Colter Bay Housing Mechanical - Retake photopoints in the employee housing area 10 years post treatment, assess the need for additional fuels reduction
Granite Creek Prescribed Burn - Retake photopoints and assess smooth brome impact on shrub regenerations 15 years post burn
Jackson Lake Lodge Willow Prescribed Burn - Retake photopoints at 20 years post treatment
Kelly Prescribed Burn - Retake photopoints at 20 years post treatment
Leeks Mechanical - Retake photopoints 10 years post treatment, assess need for additional fuels reduction
Lower Spread Cr Prescribed Burn - Retake photopoints at 25 years post treatment
Matilda Fire - Retake photopoints at 15 years post treatment
Timbered Island Prescribed Burn - Retake photopoints at 20 years post treatment
Wolff Ridge Prescribed Burn - Retake photopoints at 20 years post treatment
The crew works across the Teton Interagency Fire area, visiting treatments conducted across the Bridger-Teton National Forest and adjacent lands as well.
For further information regarding fuels management activities in Grand Teton National Park or the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, please contact Bill Mayer, Deputy Fire Management Officer at 739-3313.