Fires have burned nearly 500,000 acres of BLM land in Eastern Oregon

Think Out Loud

The Bureau of Land Management administers 16 million acres of land across Oregon and Washington, and wildfires burned a large swath of that land this summer, including nearly half a million acres in Eastern Oregon. For ranchers who lease BLM rangeland for their cattle, that can mean that new leases will be hard to find. The fires also threatened other uses of the land, including logging, recreation, and wildlife protection. Rebecca Carter is responsible for managing rangeland for the BLM in Oregon and Washington and for leading fire recovery efforts. She joins us to discuss how the agency is facing this summer’s fire season.