BLM Issues Decision for Cedar Mountain Wild Horse Gather
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SALT LAKE CITY—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Salt Lake Field Office today signed the Decision Record for the upcoming Cedar Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) wild horse gather. The decision was made to remove excess wild horses from the HMA near Dugway, Utah, and vaccinate mares with fertility control prior to releasing them back into the area. The objective of the gather is to protect the range and wild horses by helping to slow the herd population growth.
Beginning in February 2017, the BLM plans to gather an estimated 600-700 wild horse from the Cedar Mountain HMA. Approximately 200-300 horses will be removed from the range and placed into the adoption program or in an off-range pasture facility. An estimated 200 of the captured mares will be treated with the fertility control vaccine Procine Zona Pellucida - 22 and returned to the range along with an estimated 200 studs.
The HMA is located in Tooele County approximately 50 miles west of Tooele, Utah, and encompasses 197,252 acres. The current population on the HMA is estimated at 960 wild horses. The Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Cedar Mountain HMA has been established at 190-390 wild horses.
This gather is being conducted to meet local and national goals of slowing wild horse population growth, maintaining a thriving, natural ecological balance and supporting multiple use and sustained yield management on public lands in the Cedar Mountain HMA.
AML is determined through land-use planning efforts that involve public participation, vegetation inventories and allocation of forage in terms of animal unit months. The BLM determines the appropriate number of wild horses and burros that each Herd Management Area can support in balance with other uses and resources on public land. Planning efforts include an inventory and the monitoring of all uses of the public rangelands.
“Animals removed from the Cedar Mountain HMA will be available for adoption through the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program,” said Matt Preston, BLM Salt Lake Field Office Manager. “Those that are not adopted will be cared for in long-term pastures, where they retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.”
The gather impacts are described and analyzed in the Cedar Mountain Wild Horse Gather, Removal, Treat and Release Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA). The DNA and Decision Record are posted on the BLM website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-
For additional gather-specific information, please contact Tami Howell at 801-977-4300. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
To learn more about the program or to obtain an adoption application, visit the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro website at www.blm.gov.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.