“The U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District (USACE), intends to issue the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) a perpetual permit, authorizing the BLM to conduct fuels reduction activities on USACE managed federal lands at the McNary Lock and Dam Project, Benton County, WA. The BLM's proposed action aims to proactively manage and prevent the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in two separate wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas within Benton County. The two WUI’s would include the Horse Heaven Hills area (located just south of, and adjacent to Benton City) and the McNary Units (located just north of, and upstream of McNary Lock & Dam).

The proposed project includes approximately 1,155 acres of BLM-administered land, 112 acres of USACE land, 21 acres of private property, and 11 acres owned by the Kennewick Irrigation District, totaling about 1,289 acres. The BLM’s proposed action would include fuels reduction activities such as prescribed burning, herbicide application, native plant seeding, adaptive management, and interagency coordination. The USACE, Real Estate Division, plans to issue the BLM a perpetual access permit to implement these proposed fuels reduction activities on McNary Lock & Dam Project lands.”

Public Scoping Comments:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, is soliciting public and agency comments regarding the scope of the Prescribed Burn project. 

Scoping comments will be accepted from Feb. 14 to Mar. 1. USACE is particularly interested in input regarding alternatives and environmental effects that should be considered. Scoping comments will be used to 1) identify issues and opportunities to address, 2) develop alternatives, and 3) identify potential environmental effects (detrimental and beneficial) of possible changes to the watershed.

How can I comment?

There are several ways that you can provide input on this study.

You can submit a comment through the NEPA Online Comment Form, https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/EnvironmentalComplianceComment/ or by emailing NEPANWW@usace.army.mil, inserting “BLM Prescribed Burn” in the subject line.

You may submit written comments via U.S. Mail to:

Comments need to be submitted or postmarked no later than March 14, 2025 for consideration.  All comments submitted will be considered and become part of the public record.

For more information on the public meetings or about this study, please contact Austen Whelan at Austen.P.Whelan@usace.army.mil.