The Bureau of Land Management seeks initial public comment on the proposed Clan Alpine Herd Management Area Wild Horse Gather
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CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Stillwater Field Office is initiating a second 30-day scoping public comment period seeking input in preparation of an environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed Clan Alpine Horse Gather. To help inform the BLM’s decision, BLM is seeking public comments and input under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the project. This includes seeking information and identifying historic properties in or near the Project area. The first public comment period was from December 21, 2022, to January 20, 2023. For this second comment period, public comments will be accepted through March 30.
When drafted, this EA will address potential environmental consequences associated with excess wild horses within and outside of the Clan Alpine herd management area (HMA) located in Churchill County.
The project would occur in the Clan Alpine HMA, located approximately 40 miles outside of Fallon, Nevada. The proposed action is to gather and remove excess wild horses from within and outside the Clan Alpine HMA to achieve the established Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 612-979 wild horses and implement a range of fertility control techniques to maintain the population within AML over a period of up to 10 years.
In July 2021. BLM conducted an aerial census flight and estimated the population of the HMA to be at 1,736 horses, which is well above AML. BLM completed a census flight in February of 2023 to calculate a more current estimate. Those figures are currently being reviewed and will be available for analysis in the EA. The EA will analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects from implementation of the project.
“The BLM’s priority is to conduct a safe, efficient, and successful horse gather operation while ensuring humane care and treatment of all animals gathered,” said Stillwater Acting Field Office Manager, Mark Mazza.
BLM prefers comments to be submitted via the ePlanning website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning ui/project/2022686/5 l 0. Comments may also be submitted via mail to: 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, NV 89701, via email: blm nv ccd whb@blm.gov or fax to (775)-885-6147. Written comments must be postmarked or otherwise hand delivered by 4:30 p.m. on or before March 30, 2023. Should you have any questions or access issues, email blm nv ccd whb@blm.gov.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment-including your personal information may be publicly available at any time. While you ask us in your comment to withhold personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. After the public review period has ended, comments will be analyzed and considered part of the decision-making process.
For more information contact: John Axtell, Wild Horse & Burro Specialist at 775-885-6146 or by email at jaxtell@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.