The Bureau of Land Management has released decisions authorizing livestock grazing and setting an appropriate population level for wild horses on public lands in the Massacre Lakes area in northwest Nevada, about 40 miles east of Cedarville.
The Decision Record, available online, authorizes one livestock grazing permit holder to harvest 1,693 animal unit months of forage per year which would support a maximum of 450 cattle in a grazing season running from mid-May to mid-September. The decision for the Massacre Lakes Allotment mandates that cattle be rotated among five grazing pastures in a two year cycle.
The appropriate management level for wild horses in the Massacre Lakes Herd Management Area is set at a range of 25 to 45 animals with a corresponding forage allocation of 300 to 540 AUMs per year. The current AML is 25 to 35 horses.
These decisions were selected from among five alternatives analyzed in an environmental assessment that was available for public review and comment.
BLM Alturas-Surprise Field Manager Tim Burke said the alternative was selected because it will best meet the BLM’s mandate to manage public lands for multiple uses and sustained yield, and is likely to result in significant progress toward meeting land health objectives set forth in the resource management plans for the Surprise Field Office and the Black Rock-High Rock National Conservation Area.
Details on opportunities to protest or appeal the decisions can be found in the Decision Record document at the web address shown above.
For more information, contact the BLM Surprise Field Office, (530) 279-6101.
