Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment for the Winnemucca Off-Range Corrals
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The Bureau of Land Management, Humboldt River Field Office (HRFO) will be initiating a 15- day comment public comment period on a Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Winnemucca Off-range Corrals (ORC). The comment period will start September 2 and will conclude on September 17, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. (PDT).
The PEA is for a wild horse and burro off-range corrals holding facility located in Paradise Valley, Nevada. The proposed 100-acre facility would hold no more than 4,000 wild horses and burros and the perimeter of the facility would be fenced. The contractor will be responsible for getting all required Federal, State, or local permits for the facility.
The facility will serve as short-term holding and preparation facilities for animals to be transferred to off-range pastures or adoption and sale locations throughout the country. The facility will be staffed by contract personnel and overseen by BLM Nevada State Office staff with the knowledge, skills, and ability to handle wild horses and burros and provide appropriate veterinary care safely and humanely.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) removes excess animals from the range to control herd sizes, which can double in population every four years. Wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators that can control growth of herd size. These rapidly growing herds and the stress they place on public lands requires BLM to remove more animals from the range than the agency can immediately place into private care. Off-range corral facilities provide needed capacity to hold these excess animals. As such, they are essential to BLM’s mission of maintaining healthy wild horse and burro herds on public lands.
A 15-day public comment period on the preliminary environmental assessment is set for September 2-17, 2021. The public is encouraged to review the PEA, located at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015489/570, and provide substantive comments or concerns, prior to 4:30 p.m. (PDT) on September 17, 2021. All comments received will be fully considered and evaluated for preparation of the final EA. The technical point of contact is Krystle Wengreen, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist, kwengreen@blm.gov, (208) 329-4534.
If there are issues providing substantive comments to e-planning, comments and concerns may be emailed to wfoweb@blm.gov with “Winnemucca ORC” in the subject line or sent in writing to the BLM Humboldt River Field Office, ATTN: Off Range Corral Project, C/O BLM Nevada, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd, Winnemucca NV 89445. Hardcopies of the EA are available upon request from the BLM Winnemucca District Office.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be publicly available at any time. While you can ask that your personal identifying information be withheld from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Anonymity is not allowed for submissions from organizations or businesses and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses.
To learn more about the Wild Horse and Burro Program, visit www.blm.gov/whb.
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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.