BLM Outlines Its Plan to Remove Hundreds of Horses and Potentially Replace Wild Stallions with Geldings
Comments Are Due by November 29, 2011 - Please Take Easy Action Below
The Interior Department Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to remove more than 500 horses from the 756-square-mile Stone Cabin Complex located 30 miles east of Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada. The Complex includes the Stone Cabin and Saulsbury Herd Management Areas (HMAs). The "Allowable" Management Levels (AMLs) for the two HMAs were agreed upon with livestock grazers in the area nearly two decades ago through a settlement agreement. Despite these unique and cherished horses, the BLM will
The proposed roundup will:
► Remove more than 500 wild horses from within and outside the Complex -- including removal of 334 mustangs from the Stone Cabin HMA and 170 mustangs from the Saulsbury HMA;
► Jepordize the long-term viability of the herd in the Saulsbury HMA, which is divided in two parcels of land, by leaving only 29 horses behind and skewing the sex ratio of the few wild horses allowed to remain there; and
► Potentially replace wild,free-roaming horses with permanently sterlized horses.
The proposed roundup will aslo stampede horses in late winter, February 2012, when mares are heavily pregnant. The trauma of late winter roundups has been documented to cause pregnant mares to suffer spontaneous abortions.
Despite its mandate to protect wild horses and the fact that these areas are designated by Congress as wild horse habitat, the BLM allocates approximately 80 percent (80%) of the resources in the Stone Cabin Complex to privately-owned livestock, not federally-protected wild horses.
Help us continue to build a strong public record of opposition to the BLM's continued giveaway of our public lands to the livestock industry at the expense of the environment, our wild horses and other wildlife species!
Take Easy Action below to submit your comments on the proposed roundup and please share this alert with friends and family!
If you would rather send your comments directly, please keep in mind that they must be RECEIVED by November 29, 2011 and should be sent to: BLM Tonopah Field Office, P.O. Box 911 (1553 S. Main St.), Tonopah, NV 89049 Attn: Thomas J. Seley, Tonopah Field Manager.
Email comments should be sent to StoneCabinHMA@blm.gov. If you have any questions on this matter, please contact Dustin Hollowell, Tonopah Field Office Wild Horse and Burro Specialis, at (775) 482-7847.
See the Environmental Assessment on the Proposed Roundup & Related Documents Here.
History:
Sadly, in 1975, the very first wild horse roundup which took place after the passage of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was conducted in the Stone Cabin HMA with Velma Johnston herself in attendance.
The BLM notes that the Stone Cabin Complex is home to the "Stone Cabin Grey" which is a unique mustang to the areas and was reportedly revered by Velma Johnston. The Stone Cabin Grey is typically born black or dark, and begins to "roan out" as early as 3-4 years of age, continuing to become more grey until they are nearly white by age 15. Many of the grey horses retain dark black or grey manes and tails.
Location:
The Stone Cabin HMA is located approximately 30 miles east of Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada, and primarily includes Stone Cabin Valley, both north and south of Nevada State Highway 6, bordering the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Nevada Wild Horse Range to the south. The Saulsbury HMA is divided into 2 parcels. The southern unit of the HMA is located immediately west of the Stone Cabin HMA, south of Highway 6. This southern portion is bordered to the east by the Stone Cabin HMA and to the south by Nevada Test and Training Range. The northern parcel of Saulsbury HMA is north of Highway 6, and is bordered to the east by U.S. Forest Service Administered lands and the Monitor Wild Horse Territory (WHT). The proposed gather area includes areas within and outside of the HMA boundaries throughout the Stone Cabin, Ralston, Reveille, Hunts Canyon, and a portion of the Monitor Allotment.
Ranchers Played a Role In Low AML:
The AML for the Stone Cabin HMA and a portion of the Saulsbury HMA were established through a Consent Decision signed by Administrative Law Judge David Torbet on May 11, 1992, through the Department of Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals, Hearings Division. The Consent Decision established an AML for the Stone Cabin Allotment (and HMA) of 364 wild horses, and the Ralston Allotment portion of the Saulsbury HMA at 10 wild horses. The AML for the portion of the Saulsbury HMA in the Hunts Canyon Allotment was established as 30 wild horses through a Final Multiple Use Decision (FMUD) in 1996.
Estimated Wild Horse Populations in HMAs:
The most recent helicopter inventory flight of the Stone Cabin Complex was conducted in 2009, which resulted in a direct count of 560 wild horses. The 2011 estimated population based on 16% average annual increase (long-term average from inventory flights) is 752 wild horses in the Complex with approximately 552 located within the Stone Cabin HMA and 200 within the Saulsbury HMA. These population estimates exceed the established AML in Stone Cabin by 188 animals, and exceed the Saulsbury HMA by 160 wild horses. Prior to the proposed gather, an inventory will be conducted to obtain a more recent population estimate.
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