BLM Initiates Wild Horse Research in White Mountain and Little Colorado HMAs

ROCK SPRINGS – An innovative wild horse study will be launched by the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Field Office. This initiative aims to explore new solutions for population control on public lands.

The BLM has initiated a 30-day public scoping period to prepare an environmental assessment for a proposed gather of excess wild horses from the White Mountain and Little Colorado (WMLC) Herd Management Areas (HMAs). A key component of this gather is researching the behavior of spayed mares.

The RSFO proposes to conduct the research study in conjunction with the United States Geological Service (USGS) in the two HMAs. The study involves placing radio collars on some mares and radio tail tracker tags on some stallions in the HMAs.

Approximately one year after implementing the radio collars and tags, a portion of the White Mountain mares will be selected for gathering, spaying, and further study. This will examine their behavior, band fidelity, demography (birth and survival rates), and spatial ecology both pre- and post-treatment. The Little Colorado HMA will be gathered to the high Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 100 wild horses and will serve as a control group.

According to recent population surveys, there are approximately 268 adult wild horses in the White Mountain HMA and about 330 adult wild horses in the Little Colorado HMA. Besides being over the appropriate management level, the White Mountain HMA is part of the Consent Decree, requiring BLM to gather horses to low AML.

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 January 14, 2016, and may be emailed to [email protected] (please list “WMLC Scoping Comment” 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, WMLC Scoping Comment, 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 – including your personal identifying information – 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/whitemtn_littlecolo.html.

Originally posted by Sweet Water.