Duckwater Shoshone Tribe Grazing Term Permit Renewal on the Duckwater Allotment (Operator No. 2704608).  NEPA number NV-043-09-005.

The legal location of that portion of the Duckwater Allotment permitted to the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe is as follows:

T. 10N., R. 54, 55E., many sections.
T. 11N., R. 54, 55E., many sections.
T. 12N., R. 54, 55, 56E., many sections.
T. 13N., R. 54, 55, 56E., many sections.
T. 14N., R. 54, 55E., many sections.
T. 15N., R. 54, 55E., many sections.
T. 16N., R. 54, 55E., many sections

The entire Duckwater Allotment encompasses approximately 808,000 public land acres.
That portion of the allotment permitted to the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe (Bull Corner/Poison Patch, Duckwater Hills, Pogues Station, North Sand Springs Valley, Pancake East Bench/Duckwater Valley, and South Sand Springs Valley Use Areas) together encompass approximately 322,000 acres.

The purpose and need for the action is to fully process and renew the grazing term permit and reissue the permit for the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe on the Duckwater Allotment.  The current term permit for the Tribe has been issued for the period 3/01/2007 to 2/28/2017 and authorizes 4,693 AUMs of active permitted cattle use with a season of use from 04/15 – 01/30.  This is according to a grazing agreement signed July 11, 2001. Grazing use occurs in six primarily unfenced pastures of the allotment.  An informal rotation grazing system has been in place since 2001 whereby the north portion of the allotment is grazed in year 1 and the south portion the following year.  An evaluation of the range monitoring data and rangeland health will be conducted for those six pastures of the Duckwater Allotment permitted to the Tribe.  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 portion of the Ely District BLM, approximately 50 to 65 miles west of Ely, Nevada.  The permit area occurs within the North Little Smoky Valley (143), Big Sand Springs Valley (164), Duckwater (154), and Railroad Valley (156) Watersheds.  The permit area occurs within the Pancake Wild Horse Herd Management Area.  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