It was chartered in 1983 with an AML of 29, according to Section 4.1.2 of the Final EA for wild horse management actions therein.
To quality as an HMA, an area must supply forage, water, cover, space, and reproductive viability, according to Section 1.1. In 2007, Moriah was evaluated for wild horse suitability and “failed to meet one or more of the five required habitat components resulting in the decision, under the land-use plan, to drop its HMA status.”
But the EA does not say which requirements were not met and does not explain the 714 wild horses currently living there.
There must be another reason. The allotments that overlap the HA were not zeroed out so perhaps it had resources coveted by the public-lands ranchers.
The initial comments in Appendix V of the EA support that theory.
RELATED: Moriah Roundup Pending.
