Montana State Office
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BLM Releases Scoping Report for Proposed Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Gather
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Billings Field Office today released the scoping report for a proposed non-helicopter gather of excess wild horses within the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range (PMWHR). The report summarizes the comments received from the public during a 30-day scoping period from Aug. 1-30, 2011, and provides the BLM’s response to those comments.
The public scoping process was the initial stage in developing an Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyzes the effects of the gather. The BLM sought input from the public regarding the following topics: the development of a proposed action and alternatives (including type of capture techniques), further identification of issues, potential environmental consequences, mitigation opportunities, monitoring, or provide information, data, or analysis to be used in development of an EA.
Gathering methods could include bait trapping, water trapping, herding or a combination of these techniques. Since bait and water trapping can occur year-round, the gather will take place once the EA process is completed, which is anticipated to occur in 2012.
The gather is designed to manage the appropriate number of wild horses so that rangelands and horses can be healthy and productive for years to come. The current wild horse population is approximately 150 horses with 17 foals, exceeding the established Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 90-120 horses, excluding the current year foals.
The PMWHR is located in the Pryor Mountains south of Billings, along the Montana-Wyoming border and encompasses approximately 38,000 acres of BLM, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service managed land.
Click here for a copy of the scoping report.
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. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.
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