Aviation

The BLM Office of Fire and Aviation is responsible for aircraft operation support for wildfire and resource management missions within the Bureau. BLM’s aviation program is the largest within the Department of Interior’s eight Bureaus. Aircraft are Bureau owned, contracted and are obtained as Call-When-Needed (CWN) or Aircraft Rental Agreement (ARA) to fill the mission requirements to meet BLM management objectives. 

Mission requirements are to support wildland fire and prescribed fire operations, disaster response, animal census, wild horse and burro gather, habitat management, range survey, cadastral survey, law enforcement, forest management, photo mapping, search and rescue, and other uses related to public land and resource management. Types of aircraft include helicopters, Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATS), air tactical aircraft, utility aircraft, Aerial Supervision Modules (ASM1), heavy air tankers smokejumper aircraft and large transport aircraft.

For more information, refer to our BLM Aviation program overview.