The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carson City District is seeking comments on the preparation of a new Resource Management Plan (RMP), which addresses the management of wild horses and burros in 21 Herd Areas (HAs), including six zeroed out HAs in central/western Nevada, north of Reno.
This area accounts for roughly 1.8 million acres of Nevada’s wild horse herd management areas (including one burro herd management area). Included are the Dogskin Mountains & Granite Peak, Flanigan, Pine Nut Mountains, Clan Alpines, Desatoya, Garfield Flat, Lahontan, Pilot-Table Mountain, South Stillwater, and Wassuk Herd Management Areas and the Marietta Wild Burro Range.
This is the stage of the planning process when the BLM sets management strategies, allocates resources, and sets “appropriate” management levels for wild horses and burros. Now is the time to raise our collective voices to demand change for the wild horses and burros in the heart of mustang country!
Please take easy action below to send a strong message on behalf of Nevada’s mustangs. Please customize your comments.
The BLM has also created a public comment form which is available by clicking here - you may use this form when sending your comments to the BLM by fax or mail.
Additional Information on the Carson City District RMP Revision
All documents and reports relating to the Carson City District RMP are available here.
Following are a few of the issues addressed RMP Planning Fact Sheets which the Carson City District created to help guide public comments:
Land Tenure Adjustments - Buying and Selling Land
Rights of Way - Building/Developing on BLM Land
Surprisingly, the Federal Register notice on the Carson City District RMP posted by the Nevada State Director Amy Luerdes makes no mention of the impact that the RMP will have on wild horse and burro herds - despite listing a myriad of other areas that the RMP will address. The BLM's notice in the Federal Register is available here.
An additional BLM map showing Herd Management Areas in the Carson City District is available here.
Below are maps of two Herd Areas (HAs) -- the Pah Rah Mountains and Horse Springs HAs -- which the Carson City District zeroed-out (eliminated all wild horses) while continuing to permit livestock grazing. The BLM claims that due to the private-public checkboard ownership issues, the agency eliminated all wild horses from these areas. However, the BLM could certainly require the ranchers to tolerate wild horses on their private lands in exchange for the privilege of grazing their livestock on public lands.
NOTE: The zeroed-out Herd Areas are shaded red and the livestock grazing allotment are outlined in green (the names of the allotments are in small black font). The yellow-shaded land is BLM managed.
The map below shows the southern portion of the Pine Nute Mountains Herd Area which has been zeroed-out, while livestock grazing in the Buckeye, Pinenut and Churchill Canyon allotments continue.
