The Bureau of Land Managementâs Rock Springs Field Office proposes to remove all wild horses from the checkerboard lands within and outside of the Great Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek, and Adobe Town Herd Management Areas (HMAs). Wild horses located within the BLM solid block lands of the HMAs will not be gathered.
Free roaming wild horses
The wild horse populations on the checkerboard lands exceed the limits set forth in the 2013 Consent Decree, therefore triggering their removal.
© 2016 by Kersti Nebelsiek
According to 2015 population surveys, there are approximately 232 wild horses on checkerboard lands within the Great Divide Basin HMA, approximately 242 wild horses on checkerboard lands within the Salt Wells Creek HMA and approximately 26 wild horses in the checkerboard lands within the Adobe Town HMA.
The wild horse populations on the checkerboard lands exceed the limits set forth in the 2013 Consent Decree, therefore triggering their removal.
The removal of wild horses from the checkerboard portions of the HMAs, will be conducted under Section 4 of the Wild and Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burros Act of 1971 (WHA), 16 U.S.C. §1334 and by regulation, 43 CFR 4720.2, and the consent decree entered by the U.S. District Court on April 3, 2013, in Rock Springs Grazing Association v. Salazar, Civ. No. 11-263-NDF (2013 Consent Decree).
Public input is valuable early in the process and will enable the BLM to develop a well-informed environmental assessment. Written comments should be received by April 22, 2016, and should be emailed only toblm_wy_checkerboard_hmas@blm.gov (Please include âCheckerboard Scoping Statement Commentsâ in the subject line), mailed or hand-delivered during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to: BLM Rock Springs Field Office, Checkerboard Scoping Comments, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment â including your personal identifying information â may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
For more information, please contact the BLM wild horse specialist at 307-352-0256.
A copy of the project map and additional details can be found at: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/rsfo/Checkerboard.html
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.
The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.