The BLM has drafted a Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement for proposed changes to wild horse management by the Rock Springs and Rawlins field offices, according to an announcement published this morning in the Federal Register.
- Change the Salt Wells Creek HMA to a herd area, which would be managed for zero wild horses, and re-gather the herd area to zero wild horses if its wild horse population exceeds 200
- Change the Great Divide Basin HMA to a herd area, which would be managed for zero wild horses, and re-gather the herd area to zero wild horses if its wild horse population exceeds 100
- Change the AML for Adobe Town HMA to 225-450 wild horses or lower, and do not relocate horses gathered from Adobe Town to Salt Wells Creek
- Manage the White Mountain HMA as a non-reproducing herd with a population of 205 wild horses by utilizing fertility control and sterilization methods, and initiate gathers if the HMA’s population exceeds 205 wild horses
The draft RMP and EIS had not been included with other project documents at the time this post went live.
The driver of these changes is the infamous Rock Springs consent decree, a court order resulting from legal action by the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
RELATED: Comments Invited on Scope of Rock Springs Gather Plan.
