The Bureau of Land Management conducted an emergency round of over 100 starving mustangs west of Ely, Wednesday.
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According to BLM spokesman Chris Hanefeld the 100 to 125 wild horses from the southern end of the Pancake Herd Management Area were at-risk of death if they remain on the range. The emergency helicopter gather was necessary to prevent a further decline in animal condition caused by minimal forage growth and reduced water availability due to severe drought conditions.
Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Pancake HMA is 240-493 wild horses. The current population is 1,200-plus wild horses. BLM has been monitoring the condition of the wild horses due to the ongoing drought conditions and animals in the southern portion of the HMA are currently in moderately thin to very thin body condition with further declines beyond the point of recovery anticipated if actions are not taken. The affected part of the HMA is within the South Sand Springs and Ike Spring/Ike Bench Use Areas which are part of the Duckwater grazing allotment. The South Sand Springs Use Area has been closed to cattle grazing since 2000 and the Ike Spring/Ike Bench has been grazed only once in 14 years.
The BLM has determined that the potential impacts of the actions that would be taken in this emergency gather have been analyzed in the Pancake Complex Environmental Assessment signed on November 28, 2011. The BLM will therefore prepare a Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) which will be posted on the National NEPA Registrar web page along with the Decision Record for the emergency gather at https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_register.do on or about Sept. 7, 2012.
For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842 or chanefel@blm.gov
