UnitedStatesDepartment f the InteriorBIIREAU OFLAND
MANAGEMENTBurns District Office28910Hwy 20 WestHines.OR 97738
4700oRB050/oRB060)Dearnterestedarty: APR 2 ?013The Bureau of
Land Management BLM), Burns District Office is beginning the
processofwriting a Wild Horse Gather Plan for the SouthSteensHerd
ManagementArea (HMA). Thepurposeof this letter is to provide
interestedparties an opportunity to participate n thedevelopmentof
this plan. BLM will be prep'aringan Environmental Assessment
DOI-BLM-OR-B070-2013-0027-EA) to analyzethe environmentaleffectsof
various altemativesassociatedwith returning and maintaining the
wild horsepopulation within the Appropriate ManagementLevel (AML)
set n the2005 SteensMountain CooperativeManagement and Protection
AreaResourceManagementPlan/Recordof Decision (CMPA RMP/ROD) and the
AndrewsManagementUnit (AMU) RMP/ROD (August 2005). The AML for
South SteensHMA waspreviously established,basedon monitoring
dataand following thorough public review, asarange rom 159-304wild
horses.The goalsof this project are to return and maintain the wild
horsepopulation within theestablishedAML on South SteensHMA,
protect rangeland esources rom deteriorationassociatedwith the
current overpopulation,and restore a thriving natural ecological
balanceandmultiple use relationship onpublic lands n the area
consistentwith the provisions of Section1333OX2)of the Wild
Free-RoamingHorseand Burro Act of 1971.The BLM has determined hat
at the time of the proposed gather (fall/winter
20131201\;approximately 301 excesswild horseswill exist within the
HMA andneed o be removed. Thisassessments basedon the following
factors ncluding, but not limited to:
o A direct count aerial inventory of 383 wild horsesconducted n
June2012. Afterincluding a 20 percentpopulation growth rate to
account or the 2013 foal crop,there would be approximately301 and
156wild horses n excessof low and highAML, respectively.. By sunmer
2013, useby wild horseswill be exceeding he forage allocated o
their use(3,648AUMs) by approximately51 percent.. Herbaceous
orageutilization monitoring documentshearly o
severeutilizationlevels in portions of the HMA experiencing
concentratedwild horse use.. Riparian monitoring documentsheavy
utilization of riparian forage, andextensivetrampling and soil
displacementat severalpublic and private land springswithinthe
HMA.
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o Field observationsin20l2 documentedpoor water availability
across he HMAdue to below average recipitation amounts. Large
concentrationsof wild horses(75+1havebeenobserved round hese imited
water sources.
Through internal scoping, BLM has developedaproposedaction which
includes; gathering90percentof the wild horses n the HMA;
selectingmares and studs o be releasedback to theHMA basedon
desiredcharacteristics f the overallherd; reat with
PorcineZonaPellucida(PZP) fertility control approximately60 mares
being releasedback to the HMA; re-establish hepopulationwith a 50
female/5Omale ratio of horses; he use of bait trapping in
areaswhereconcentrationsof wild horsesare detrimental o habitat
conditions or other resources;andconducting subsequentgathers,over
the next 10years, ollowing the proposedaction toefficiently
maintain AML.Comments eceived rom interestedparties ollowing
receipt of this letter will be used oidentifu potential
environmental ssues elated o gatheringwild horsesand to
identiffaltematives o the proposedactionthat also achieve he
objective of the project.Pleaseprovide information that you have on
the statusor condition of the resourcesor resourcevalues of the
proposedproject areaand BLM's proposedaction or alternatives o
consider. Wewould like to receiveall repliesby April 29,2013. For
responses, olnments,andlor any otherinformation pleasecontact Lisa
Grant, Burns District Offrce at the addressabove; sendan emailto
[email protected] or call (541) 573-4453.
cerely,
RhrAndrews/SteensResourceArea Field Manaser2 EnciosuresMap A -
South SteensHMA - VicinityMap B - South SteensHMA
