Carter Cattle Company Grazing Term Permit Renewal on the Big Six Well, Brown Knoll, Cattle Camp/Cave Valley, Dee Gee Spring, East Wells, Maybe Seeding, North Cove, Preston, Rock Canyon, Sheep Trail Seeding, Sorensen Well, Swamp Cedar, Wells Station, and Swamp Cedar Allotments (Operator No. 2704605).  NEPA number NV-043-09-006.  Together these 14 allotments encompass approximately 168,000 public land acres.

The legal location of the permit renewal summary area is as follows:

T. 8N., R. 59, 60E.
T. 9N., R. 59, 60, 61E.
T. 10N., R. 59, 60, 61, 63, 64E.
T. 11N., R. 61, 62, 63, 64, 65E.
T. 12N., R. 61, 62, 64, 65E.
T. 13N., R. 61E.

The purpose and need for the action is to fully process and renew the grazing term permit and reissue the permit for Carter Cattle Company on the Big Six Well, Brown Knoll, Cattle Camp/Cave Valley, Dee Gee Spring, East Wells, Maybe Seeding, North Cove, Preston, Rock Canyon, Sheep Trail Seeding, Sorensen Well, Swamp Cedar, Wells Station, and Swamp Cedar Allotments.  The current term permit for Carter Cattle Company has been issued for the period 09/14/2006 to 02/28/2015 and authorizes 6,640 AUMs of active permitted cattle use with an overall season of use from 03/01 – 02/28.  Season of use varies by allotment.  Carter Cattle Company is permitted to graze according to Holistic Resource Management principles. A biological plan is submitted each grazing year that requires authorized officer approval.  An evaluation of the range monitoring data and rangeland health will be conducted for the fourteen allotments  permitted to Carter Cattle Company.  This data will be summarized in a Standards Determination Document.  The grazing permit area occurs within both White Pine and Nye Counties, Nevada and is situated in the west central portion of the Ely District BLM, approximately 20 to 40 miles south and southwest of Ely, Nevada.  The permit area occurs within the White River Central (160B), Cave Valley (181), and South Steptoe (161) Watersheds.  A portion of the permitted area also occurs within the Mt. Grafton Wilderness.  The permit renewal area includes sage grouse, deer, elk, and antelope habitat.  The term permit will be issued in accordance with Title 43 CFR 4130.2(a), “Grazing permits or leases shall be issued to qualified applicants to authorize use on the public lands and other lands under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management that are designated as available for livestock grazing through land use plans.”

Contact:  Mark Lowrie
Phone:  775 289-1888

The status of this project is public scoping