BLM and Forest Service seek public comment on proposed wild horse management in the North Hills Joint Management Area
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CEDAR CITY, Utah.— The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Cedar City Field Office and and Dixie National Forest Service Pine Valley Ranger District (USFS) are seeking public comment on an environmental assessment (EA) analyzing a proposed Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) including wild horse gathers and removals in the North Hills Joint Management Area (JMA).
The North Hills JMA is located in Iron and Washington Counties, about 2 miles northwest of Enterprise, Utah. It consists of approximately 84,600 acres in size and is managed cooperatively by the BLM’s Cedar City Field Office and USFS Pine Valley Ranger District. It contains about 50,127 BLM acres and the WHT contains about 24,006 Forest Service acres with approximately 10,511 acres of private and state lands. The JMA has a current estimated population of 212 wild horses as of March 1, 2018. The Appropriate Management Level (AML) has been established at 40-60 wild horses.
The EA analyzes a proposed Wild Horse HMAP along with a proposal to gather and remove excess wild horses in response to several issues currently occurring in the JMA. This includes, but is not limited to, emergency stabilization and restoration of land affected by wildfires, reduction of impacts due to over-population of wild horses, and vegetation treatment interactions, and the actions to comply with Utah Rangeland Health and Standards.
The EA, including maps, is available on ePlanning at: https://go.usa.gov/xUbjB
Written comments will be accepted by letter or ePlanning until August 14, 2018. Special attention will be given to those comments that contain new technical or scientific information relevant to the proposed action. Comments should be as specific as possible. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process. Please reference “North Hills Wild Horse Joint Management Area” when submitting comments.
Written comments may be mailed or e-mailed using the following:
Mail
BLM Cedar City Field Office
Attn: Chad Hunter
176 E. D.L. Sargent Sr.
Cedar City, UT 84721
ePlanning
https://go.usa.gov/xUbjB
Those who provide comments are advised that before including their address, phone number,
e-mail address, or other personal identifying information, they should be aware that the entire comment – including the personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While those commenting can ask in their comments to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that they will be able to do so.
For additional EA-specific information, please contact Chad Hunter at (435) 865-3088. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question with the above individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
-BLM–
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.