BLM announced yesterday the opening of a thirty day comment period on a the scope of a proposed plan for managing wild horses on five HMAs in the Wyoming Checkerboard, a patchwork quilt of public and private lands along the I-80 corridor in southern part of the state.
Affected HMAs include Adobe Town, Divide Basin, Little Colorado, Salt Wells Creek and White Mountain, home of the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour.
Public comments are the first step in preparing an Environmental Assessment for a proposed action, according to the scoping statement.
Roundups in this area are driven by the infamous Rock Springs consent decree, a court order resulting from legal action by the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
The scoping documents include maps of the HMAs but do not provide any information on domestic livestock grazing, such as the number and size of the allotments, permitted AUMs and grazing seasons. Those figures will likely appear in the draft EA.
