Buffalo Hills HMA

Horses within the HMA are descendants of ranch horses that either escaped or were released into the area, and horses that were raised for the cavalry remount program. The majority of horses exhibit a bay, brown or sorrel color pattern. 

Location: The Buffalo Hills Herd Management Area (HMA) is located in central Washoe County, approximately 70 miles north of Reno, Nevada.

Size: The area consists of 125,207 acres of BLM land and 6,654 acres of a mix of private and other public lands for a total of 131,861 acres.

Topography/Vegetation: The terrain in the area consists of a circular shaped basaltic plateau dominated by large rugged rocky canyons. Elevations within the HMA range from 3,823 feet along the Smoke Creek Desert to 6,832 at Poodle Mountain. Climate is characterized by warm dry days, cool nights and low yearly precipitation that ranges from 4 to 6 inches at lower elevations to approximately 12 inches at higher elevations.

Vegetation varies from salt desert shrub communities at lower elevations to big sagebrush/grass communities at upper elevations. Typical species in the salt desert shrub community include shadscale, budsage, winterfat, black greasewood, indian rice grass, squirrel tail and Sandbergs bluegrass. Species typical of the sagebrush/grass communities include low sage, Wyoming and mountain big sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbit brush, Utah juniper, needlegrasses, basin wild rye, squirrel tail, indian paintbrush and phlox.

Wildlife: The area is also utilized by domestic livestock during part of the year and numerous wildlife species. Typical wildlife species found in the area include mule deer, pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, chukar partridge, coyote, and various rodents.

AML:  188-314