Action Alert: Help Nevada's Desatoya Herd
28 MARCH 2012
Please submit your comments to BLM's "Desatoya Mountains Habitat Resiliency, Health, and Restoration Project," which is available here if you feel like a little light reading. (PDF)
Or via email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with "Desatoya EA comments" in the subject line.
Below is a sample letter with bullet points. Please use your own polite words.
Dear Sir;
Sincerely,
[Your name]
As many as 500 horses could be removed from their legally designated Wild Horse Herd Management Area of over 160,000 acres. BLM is only allowing for only 127-180 wild horses while permitting the year round grazing of 600 head of privately owned livestock.
Instead of preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for just the wild horse removal, BLM has included this wild horse action as part of a habitat restoration project EA. The "restoration" plan calls for the cutting of pinyon, juniper and sagebrush to improve the habitat for threatened populations of sage grouse. Yes, that's right—destroying sagebrush habitat to help struggling sage grouse populations. It is easy to conclude that the "restoration" might also create more grazing land for welfare cattle. Livestock damage has been the major cause of declining sage grouse populations throughout the West.
Please submit your comments to BLM's "Desatoya Mountains Habitat Resiliency, Health, and Restoration Project," which is available here if you feel like a little light reading. (PDF)
 |
| Two horses chased by the helicopter at the Calico Roundup in December 2011 |
Comments must be submitted by Wednesday, April 4th, no later that the close of business day at 4:30 PDT.
| Comments can be submitted via mail to: | BLM Carson City District Office Attn: John Wilson & John Axtell 5665 Morgan Mill Rd Carson City, NV 89701 |
Or via email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with "Desatoya EA comments" in the subject line.
Below is a sample letter with bullet points. Please use your own polite words.
Dear Sir;
- Look at alternatives that allow the wild horses to remain on their ranges with their families:
- Allocate more forage to Wild Horses and increase the wild horse AML (Appropriate Management Level
- Reduce the number of cattle grazing in this Wild Horse Herd Area
- Focus on range improvements (i.e. water guzzlers, noxious/invasive weed treatment, etc.)
- Consider the use of the one-year reversible, field-dartable version of PZP combined with water/bait-trapping in lieu of costly and cruel helicopter stampedes
- Do not consider skewing wild horse sex ratios which will only cause social disruption and injury and has the potential to actually increase reproduction
- Conduct an accurate, current census using the most up-to-date technology prior to any removal of wild horses.
- Do not count wild horse foals in calculating the AML per your own BLM Handbook
- In any removal action Standard Operating Procedures should include:
- Temperature & distance parameters if helicopter stampedes are conducted
- No removal of older animals—allow older horses the dignity of dying a natural death them on the range
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Here's some more information about the Desatoya Environmental Assessment plan:
As many as 500 horses could be removed from their legally designated Wild Horse Herd Management Area of over 160,000 acres. BLM is only allowing for only 127-180 wild horses while permitting the year round grazing of 600 head of privately owned livestock.
Instead of preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for just the wild horse removal, BLM has included this wild horse action as part of a habitat restoration project EA. The "restoration" plan calls for the cutting of pinyon, juniper and sagebrush to improve the habitat for threatened populations of sage grouse. Yes, that's right—destroying sagebrush habitat to help struggling sage grouse populations. It is easy to conclude that the "restoration" might also create more grazing land for welfare cattle. Livestock damage has been the major cause of declining sage grouse populations throughout the West.
