Battle Mountain District Office
| Contacts: | Dustin Hollowell | , 775-482-7800 | , dhollowe@blm.gov |
BLM to Gather Wild Horses from Stone Cabin Complex
Battle Mountain, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Battle Mountain District, Tonopah Field Office has issued the Decision Record for the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Stone Cabin Complex Gather Plan. The decision is for the BLM to gather and remove up to 550 wild horses from in and around the Complex to bring the number of wild horses to achieve a post-gather population of 247 to 274 wild horses. The appropriate management level (AML) for the Complex is 404 wild horses. The proposed gather area is 30 miles east of Tonopah, Nev., in Nye County. The gather will tentatively begin on February 1, 2012 and run for approximately 18 days.
The Stone Cabin Complex includes the Stone Cabin and Saulsbury Herd Management Areas (HMAs) and areas outside of designated HMA boundaries where wild horses have established residency. The BLM estimates there are currently 824 wild horses within and outside the Complex. The proposed gather is needed to remove excess wild horses to help prevent further deterioration of the range, achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and achieve and maintain healthy, viable wild horse populations. All mares selected for release back to the HMAs would be treated with PZP, a fertility control vaccine, and sex ratios would be adjusted to 60/40 to favor stallions in the post-gather population.
The BLM will use helicopters to gather the wild horses and will transport the animals by motorized vehicles. The use of helicopters, which is authorized by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, has proven to be the safest and most practical means for gathering excess wild horses.
Wild horses removed from the range will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals through the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program. An on-site adoption will be held one day of the gather. The date of the on-site adoption will be determined closer to the start date of the gather. Information for this adoption will be posted on website listed below. Un-adopted wild horses will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for, and will retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 law. The BLM does not sell or send any horses to slaughter.
The gather and impacts are described and analyzed in the Stone Cabin Complex Gather Plan Final EA. The EA, Decision Record, associated documents, maps and other information about the Stone Cabin and Saulsbury HMAs are posted on the BLM Battle Mountain website at www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html.
The BLM also will provide updates and information at the same Web address on a regular basis throughout the course of the gather. For more information, please call Dustin Hollowell, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist, Tonopah Field Office at 775-482-7800.
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.
Battle Mountain District Office 1553 South Main St. Tonopah, NV 89049