Antelope Valley & Triple B EA Comments Due 8/24
The BLM is planning one of the largest roundups in US history in Nevada in the Antelope and Triple B Complexes removing 6,737 "excess" wild horses. They have released an Environmental Assessment which has a public comment period ending August 21st 2017.
Click this Link to get instructions on where to send your comments.
- The the roundup will be conducted across almost 4 million acres, an area larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
- BLM estimates the current combined horse population of the project area (Antelope and Triple B Complexes) at 7559 adults.
- This works out to almost 400 acres per adult horse, more than enough acreage to support the current population of wild horses.
- Antelope and Triple B Complexes have an AML range (number of allowed horses) of 889-1,678.
- If the population is reduced to the low AML there will be more than 3,374 acres per adult horse.
- Therefore the AMLs in these complexes should be dramatically revised upward.
- As such it is essential that BLM conduct a revision of the Resource Management Plan with the goal of converting the existing Herd Management Areas into designated Wild Horse Ranges, which would entail a reduction in livestock. BLM declined to include this alternative in their recommendations in this EA but described in detail in section 2.6.5 on page 25.
- If Removals must be made the horses removed should be of 5 years of age or younger so that they have a reasonable chance at being adopted by qualified people.
- BLM should incur the expense of training any removed animals to encourage adoptions.
- If BLM immediately instituted an aggressive fertility control program a large scale helicopter gather would be entirely unnecessary.
In the interest of informing the public and the BLM about the conditions in these complexes currently, we have asked one of our associates to conduct field research of the HMAs over the next few weeks. She is posting pictures and videos of these areas which you can view here.