Nevada State Office
| Contacts: | Doran Sanchez, BLM Nevada | , 775-861-6629 | , doran_sanchez@blm.gov | |
| Jan Bedrosian, BLM California | , 916-978-4622 | , jan_bedrosian@blm.gov | ||
| Jody Weil, BLM Oregon | , 503-808-6287 | , jody_weil@blm.gov | ||
| Damien Miller, Sheldon-Hart National Wildlife Refuge | , 541-947-3315 | , Sheldon-Hart@fws.gov |
Federal Managers Sign Agreements to Improve Management of Wild/Feral Horses and Burros
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) managers signed the Charter and 5-Year Work Plan for the Tri-State Wild and Feral Horse and Burro Executive Team and Operational Working Group (Working Group), which will provide improved coordinated management of horses and burros on BLM-managed public lands in northwest Nevada, northeast California and south central Oregon and FWS-managed lands within the Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
The BLM Executive Team signatories on March 3, included Edward Shepard, Oregon/Washington State Director Amy Lueders, Nevada Acting State Director, James Wesley Abbott, California Acting State Director and FWS Regional Director Robyn Thomson. The Working Group will include BLM district managers, field managers, state program leads and the FWS Project Leader/Refuge Managers/specialists.
The tri-state area encompasses the FWS’ Sheldon-Hart Refuge Complex and thirteen BLM-managed herd management areas (HMAs): six in Nevada, six in California; and one in Oregon. The agencies have different missions, laws and regulations for management of wild/feral horses and burros, and the Charter and Work Plan will provide the agencies a framework to cooperatively administer the area as a single unit to better manage animals that frequently move across BLM and FWS-managed lands.
The Executive Team and Working Group will develop a 5-year Work Plan that will help the agencies prioritize their respective project proposals, coordinate funding/cost sharing strategies, planning and implementation to leverage cost/benefits, and establish strategies for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) completion as needed. The BLM also will analyze options to consolidate HMAs and as necessary, use the BLM’s planning process to adjust appropriate management levels.
The Working Group will provide oversight and leadership to implement actions established by the Executive Team under the framework of the BLM-FWS Memorandum of 'Understanding (MOU) for Wild and Feral Horse and Burro Management signed September 2010. The MOU established the BLM and FWS will jointly coordinate administration of the wild/feral horses and burros within the tri-state area to ensure the animals are managed as a single population using the best available science regarding all aspects of program management (population inventories, gathers, habitat monitoring, outreach, etc.). The Charter, Operational 5-year Work Plan, and MOU are available on the web at www.blm.gov/nv.
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.
Nevada State Office 1340 Financial Blvd. Reno NV 89502