U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Billings Field Office
Billings Field Office
| Contacts: | Mary Apple 406-896-5258 | |||
| Greg Albright 406-896-5260 |
Public Invited to Provide Input on Wild Horse Fertility Control Program
BILLINGS – The public is invited to provide input as the Bureau of Land Management begins updating its fertility control program for wild horses on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.
Fertility control would help limit herd growth so the wild horse population could be maintained at the appropriate management level more easily, thus limiting or reducing the need for gathers and helping to prevent deterioration of the range associated with overpopulation.
The new program would begin in the upcoming fiscal year and could last up to five years. Fertility control, in the form of a Porca Zona Pellucida (PZP) vaccine, has been used on select mares in the Pryors since 2001.
Written comments on the scope of this environmental assessment should be sent to: Jim Sparks, BLM Billings Field Office, 5001 Southgate Dr., Billings, Mont. 59101, by September 16. Written comments, including the names and addresses of commenters, will be available for public review. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment that your personal identifying information be withheld from public review, BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
For more information, contact BLM's wild horse specialist, Jared Bybee, at 896-5223.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Billings Field Office 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 59101