COLORADO HMA

GENETICS #geneticseastdouglas

2006 – Genetic Analysis of the Piceance-East Douglas HMA, CO – Cothran 

2003 – Genetic Analysis of three populations of the feral horses of the Piceance CO HMA – Cothran 

1995 – Genetic analysis of the feral horses of the White River Resource Area of Colorado  – Cothran 

1994 – Strategies for genetic management of feral horse populations on public lands in the US  – Cothran 

1993 – Genetic analysis of the Barcus Creek wild horse population – Cothran 
Mentions: Barcus Creek, Mesa 84, Spring Creek herds (From maps: I think spring creek was a part of the ‘zeroed out’ North piceance herds)

REPORTS & EA’s #piceancereports

Piceance East Douglas – and surrounding areas (West Douglas, North Piceance)

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS (EA,DNA,DR,FONSI,eplanning), LAWS, DOCS, Rio Blanco county records, maps  

WHBA Note: Dated ‘Headline Title’ is usually ‘first linked’ to the ‘archived version’ so that the access will always be there in case the original link goes dead (which is common). You can find the original link and archive at the bottom of each listing. Archive shows different versions by date of changes.

Dead links are strikedthrough but still documented  (I try to find a workable access to these important hidden/lost/missing documents)

I show basic notes of what is found in link so you have some general understanding of what the link refers too.

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For request: ‘special access’ of a current updated list of these docs in PDF format: WHBA contact

Jul 7 22  WILD HORSES OF THE PICEANCE-EAST DOUGLAS HERD MANAGEMENT AREA – AN ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF HERD AND HABITAT CONDITION – Delia G. Malone, Ecologist  (tags: 2022 July Piceance Basin Ecology Report, Delia Malone, Scott Wilson, Sierra Club)

Rio Blanco County https://rbc.us  https://www.rbc.us/578/Natural-Resources   / White River Field Office – Piceance East Douglas HMA (PEDHMA) will include all of the regions herd areas documents here. As often has occurred, many West Douglas Herd Area (WDHA) and North Piceance Herd Area (NPHA) removals (includes Whiter River, Cathedral Creek, etc…) fell under the ‘Outside of Piceance-East’ once the herd areas were zeroed out. I will include those ‘herd area’ specifics in their own sections as well.  archive

Jun 15 22 BLM COLORADO VIRTUAL WILD HORSE INFORMATION MEETING – PICEANCE about 7,000  aums CATTLE (noted at 23:10) / Aum for horses –   low 135 x12 = 1620     high 235×12= 2,820  piceance  about 25% are authorized for horses /  (26:00) claim 1300 on hma using 14000 aums
https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-colorado-virtual-wild-horse-information-meeting   archive Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcYIlVr1WzM&t=1471s   archive

2022  jun 15 Board of County Commissioners of Rio Blanco County, Colorado Special Work Session BLM Colorado Wild Horse Virtual Information Meeting When: Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 5 PM Where: Via Zoom link  https://www.rbc.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06152022-507  

2022  feb 2 Rio Blanco County Meeting  – Agenda 2022-02-22   

This meeting will be streamed live on the RBC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBicnhlMpB47tzL_NjN0FIg  archive

Based on the 2021 census, there are now well over 1,500 horses in and around the Piceance East Douglas Herd Management Area (PEDHMA), which has an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 135 – 235.

In partnership with BLM, the Conservation Districts have been conducting intense range monitoring in this area over the past four years and that monitoring is showing severe overgrazing by horses in multiple locations. There was 100% utilization of the grass in many monitoring sites last fall. We look forward to providing that detailed data in the near future as the analyses and reports are currently being drafted.

Rio Blanco County commends the local office for finalizing the Environmental Assessment and signing the decision record to remove the excess horses from within the PEDHMA. We are thrilled that the PEDHMA is on the national gather schedule for this August/September. The gathering of wild horses will provide much needed relief for the rangeland.

The county’s only concern is that removing 750 horses will not get the numbers down near AML. Please continue all efforts to remove ALL the excess horses from Rio Blanco County. Reducing the number of horses to a maximum of 235 would give the land an opportunity to recover.
https://www.rbc.us/documentcenter/view/3426     archive

2020-22  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2020-0056-EA   DR  FONSI  appendices   eplanning Nov 23 20 PR Feb 22 21 PR  jun 13 22 PR    Piceance-East Douglas HMA Gather and Fertility Control Plan  removal of excess wild horses over the next few years (10 years)  will reduce impacts to private property and promote healthy rangelands. The aml in the HMA is 135-235 horses. Current 2021 estimates place the herd population at 838 wild horses.  The BLM would gather and selectively remove excess wild horses down to the low end of AML using an initial gather operation conducted as soon as possible and return periodically to gather excess wild horses to maintain the AML within the PEDHMA. (DR: The BLM would use a variety of gather techniques including bait trapping, helicopter drive trapping, and helicopter assisted roping (helicopter use would only be scheduled between July 1 and February 28, 2021. The BLM would also initiate the administration of fertility control treatments to reduce the current annual recruitment rate. Fertility control treatments would primarily consist of vaccine treatments (e.g., PZP, PZP-22, GonaCon – Equine; preference is GonaCon – Equine) along with the potential use of intrauterine devices (IUDs).  https:/eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2003177/570    

2021 Nov 2 2021-0237.pdf (doi.gov) / DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2020-0056-EA  Notice of Appeal (IBLA 2021-236, IBLA 2021-237, IBLA 2021-238) – Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area Gather and Fertility Control Plan / Motion to Consolidate Denied; Motion to Dismiss Granted   / LAWSUIT https://www.oha.doi.gov/IBLA/Dispositives/2021%20Dispositive%20Orders/Nov%202021/2021-0237.pdf    archive

2021  Instruction memorandum added to NATIONAL OFFICE, COLORADO RIVER DO /
PIM 2021-007 – Euthanasia of Wild Horses and Burros Related to Acts of Mercy, Health or Safety. 

PIM2021-007 ATT1 WHB EUTHANASIA POLICY (UPDATED) (PDF / 537 KB)
Individuals to whom the AO may consider delegating this authority include BLM employees, veterinarians, individuals under contract with the BLM, individuals performing duties under assistance agreements with the BLM, federal, or state wildlife management officers, animal control officers, and law enforcement officers.

On gathers, at preparation facilities (facilities where animals are prepared for transport or adoption), at off-range corrals (ORC) or off-range pastures (ORP) facilities, and at inmate training facilities, the AO is responsible for ensuring trained personnel are available to perform euthanasia at appropriate times. This includes anytime when wild horses or burros are being captured, sorted, worked, or loaded for transportation, regardless of location. At adoptions and public events, the AO will ensure that a veterinarian is on-site or on-call to perform timely and discreet euthanasia if necessary, as an act of mercy.

“All personnel authorized to perform euthanasia will be trained to use gunshot. Only those specifically trained on the techniques for injection or captive bolt are authorized to use these techniques.”

PIM2021-007 ATT2- HENNEKE BODY SCORING CHART (PDF / 243 KB)

PIM2021-007 ATT3- FIREARMS TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION (PDF / 84 KB)

WHBA notes: Curious as to why the national office wasn’t sufficient enough to list this, that they had to actually add mention of ‘Colorado River DO’ as shown in the search? What changed from the past to the current. Anything significant? It is noted that the 2018 Authorize Use of Firearms to Euthanize Wild Horse and Burros by Non-Law Enforcement Personnel became INACTIVE on 09/30/2021. This new policy language allows for ‘captive bolt’ euthanasia.

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2021  2021 WEST DOUGLAS HERD AREA EMERGENCY WILD HORSE GATHER: COMPLETED AUG. 13   &  GATHER REPORT   Jul 23 21 PR    remove the entire estimated population of 450 wild horses from the WEST DOUGLAS herd area, state, and private land.    https:/www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/colorado/2021-west-douglas-herd-area-emergency-wild-horse-gather

2021  2021-12  Resolution: Management of Wild and Free Roaming Horses within RBC- may 11 21 signed   archive  In 1975 the White River Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management wrote Wild Horse Management plans which specified the areas wild horses would be allowed to exist and in this plan it was determined that all feral horses would be removed from the lands West of Colorado Highway 139, commonly known as the West Douglas Herd Area.

BLM has failed to abide by their own plans and have allowed wild and feral horses to proliferate to the point that they have migrated out of The West Douglas Herd Area and have been in trespass in those areas for 45 years.

may 11 Rio Blanco County Meeting Agenda 2021-05-11 – Amended (WHB page 124-6 unsigned)

2021 census (need locate)

2020  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2020-0040-CX   DR  Fonsi  oct 27 20 PR    eplanning  
Removal of Wild Horses (75) from Private Lands in the Greasewood Allotment in the Piceance-East Douglas HMA (claims the last roundup in the PEDMA area was 2011, but I show more below)

This action is needed to address concerns of wild horses impacting private property within the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area. The BLM has received requests from a private landowner to remove the horses. The BLM’s wild horse management responsibilities under the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act include removing wild horses from private land when requested in writing by private landowners. Wild horses will be gathered using a bait trapping technique located within the Greasewood Allotment at either Thompson Spring, East Fork Spring, or Berry Bros. Windmill. Once captured, the wild horses will be taken to a BLM facility in either Wyoming or Colorado for adoption or sale. Some of these wild horses would potentially be used for the annual Meeker Mustang Makeover event held in Meeker, Colorado; the event’s mission statement includes the use and promotion of local wild horses. https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2000200/510

2020  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2020-0056-EA  – EA  DNA  DR  FONSI  appendices  eplanning   Piceance-East Douglas HMA Gather and Fertility Control Plan  The purpose of the Proposed Action is to remove excess wild horses from within the PEDHMA, to manage wild horses to achieve, and maintain within the established AML ranges, and to reduce the wild horse population recruitment (growth) rate in order to prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands by protecting rangeland resources from deterioration associated with an overpopulation of excess wild horses within the PEDHMA, and to restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple use relationship on the public lands consistent with the provisions of Section 1333 (a) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.   (appendice: The WRFO has conducted wild horse gathers some 20 times over the past 40 years either within and/or outside of the PEDHMA, including during 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2017, public comments, fertility references) https:/eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2003177/570

2018  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2018-0071-DNA    DR   Fonsi  eplanning  eplan – CO Jun 5 18 PR
gather all excess wild horses (374) that are outside the designated Piceance-East Douglas HMA, including those in the West Douglas area. https:/eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/108096/510  

2018  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2018-0068-DNA    DR  Fonsi   eplanning  – In progress / 84 Mesa Area Fence Extension – These fence sections and extension are needed in order to retain wild horses within the (PEDHMA).“The boundary of the Piceance-East Douglas HMA will be expanded to include the Greasewood allotment (presently a part of the North Piceance Herd Area. The proposed fence sections and fence extension, at approximately 1,260 feet in total length includes three shorter sections (west to east 100 feet, 85 feet, and 75 feet) in areas that are not rimmed out by the topography plus the approximate 1,000 feet fence extension that has been allowing wild horses access to the private lands. These fence sections and extension are needed in order to retain wild horses within the (PEDHMA). The BLM would use fence tags to mark the fences which would help make the fences more visible to wildlife, wild horses, and livestock. At this time all fences are proposed to be four stranded barbed wire with wildlife “friendly” spacing. https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/102542/510

2018  IM-2018-007 – Authorize Use of Firearms to Euthanize Wild Horse and Burros by Non-Law Enforcement Personnel  INACTIVE  (Expires: 09/30/2021)  archive   CO-IM-2018-007

Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) establishes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado’s requirements for on-the-job transport, possession and firearms use by nonlaw enforcement personnel to euthanize wild horses and burros with firearms. This IM provides guidance for complying with BLM WO IM-2013-059 (Wild Horse and Burro Gathers: Comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy); the Department of the Interior Departmental Manual Part 446; BLM Manual 4730; and BLM Handbook 1112-1, Chapter 37; and 1112-2, Chapter 17; pertaining to the authorization, qualification, use and storage of Bureau-issued firearms to wild horse and burro personnel. This policy does not apply to law enforcement personnel. Policy/Action: Non-law enforcement personnel with firearms qualifications may be authorized to transport, possess, or use a firearm while on official duty to euthanize wild horses and burros that meet criteria outlined in Attachment 1. Personnel must be authorized to perform this duty and will strictly follow the training, safety and operational requirements outlined in Attachment 2.

In accordance with Federal Regulations, 18 U.S. Code § 930, firearms are prohibited inside Federal facilities. Exceptions are made for law and non-law enforcement personnel with firearms qualifications.

The BLM can use either lethal injection or firearms to humanely euthanize wild horses and burros. Lethal injection is not an option for horses on the range due to drug residues that may poison wildlife or enter the environment. Currently, BLM Colorado relies on law enforcement to euthanize wild horses with firearms. Many times, law enforcement officers are unavailable to euthanize an animal in a timely manner, causing undue suffering. Allowing nonlaw enforcement employees to carry firearms in the field will allow timely responses to humanely euthanize wild horses and burros to prevent undue suffering.

2017  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2017-0056-EA      DR   fonsi   eplanning  eplan – CO  Jun 9 17 PR   Aug 11 17 PR  (ep-co: The decision will also allow future gathers to remove wild horses that stray from the 300-square-mile Piceance-East Douglas HMA designated for their management) (ea: The BLM’s White River Field Office has ‘approved a plan that would allow future gathers to remove all excess wild horses that are outside the designated Piceance-East Douglas HMA, including those in the West Douglas area’. Gather of Excess (100) Wild Horses from Areas Outside of the Piceance-East Douglas HMA. (PR aug: The BLM will primarily use a helicopter drive trap method to gather the horses from private lands in the Cathedral Creek area. If less than 100 wild horses are gathered from this area, the BLM may elect to gather horses from additional nearby areas outside the HMA. The decision area does not include the West Douglas HA) (PR jun: remove 72 of the 217 west douglas (PR:The EA is a baseline document for potential future wild horse removals outside the HMA over the next several years that could include using helicopters and/or bait- and water-trapping. It specifically includes a proposed helicopter gather this fall to remove 72 wild horses outside the HMA. The BLM currently estimates there are 217 wild horses outside the HMA within the analysis area, which includes about 773,000 acres in the White River Field Office east of Colorado Highway 139, south of Colorado Highway 64 and west of Colorado Highway 13. The analysis area and EA do not include the West Douglas Herd Area, which is west of Colorado Highway 139 – WHBA: means it’s been approved for future removals even though it isn’t listed specifically in docs) https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/77052/510

2016  Jul 21 16 PR  BLM to Hold Public Hearing Regarding Use of Motorized Equipment for Wild Horse Management

2016  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2016-0057-EA   DNA  DR  FONSI   eplanning  oct 31 15 PR / Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Duck Creek Fence Construction Project and Corcoran Spring Reconstruction –  The proposed new Duck Creek fence section does not necessarily follow the previously delineated HMA boundary it is located as close as possible to the boundary where the fence will be effective and result in the least impacts to the other resources (i.e. listed plant species and cultural resources). The proposed fence will be a 4 strand barbed wire fence. The proposed reconstruction of the Corcoran Spring will be to place the new water feature out of the drainage, it will also include a design feature such that the wild horses and wildlife will make use of the new water source where the water has been placed into a “container” of some kind at or near ground level to avoid placing the water into a tank which the wild horse and other wildlife have shown they will not use. (EA comments: there are approximately 184 acres of the HMA that would be fenced out of the rest of the HMA. If the BLM were to find wild horses in this area that is technically within the HMA but outside of the fence, then we would attempt to move the wild horses back into the fenced portion of the HMA. If wild horses are found outside of the HMA boundary, then those wild horses would not be moved into the HMA since the HMA is currently over AML./ Uses prison labor to build fences / mentions bladderpod trampled by horses and cows in duck creek CO06031 – 2020 aum 1,270 cattle- which was a part of the North Piceance herd area that was zeroed out. Do horses even have access to this area anymore?) DR: Construction of the new 0.9 mile section of the Duck Creek fence – means they took the shortest route and the horses lost another 184 acres. https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/57016/510    

2016 may 20 LAND and NATURAL RESOURCES PLAN and POLICIES RIO BLANCO COUNTY, COLORADO 

4.13 Wild Horses, Burros, and Estray livestock West Douglas and Piceance areas (pg 89)

1. Recognize the horses protected under the WFRHBA are in fact feral horses even when they are referenced as “wild”.
2. Proactively manage horses within the PEDHMA at AML (135 – 235) as identified in the current Resource Management Plan (U. S. Interior 1996): a. Demand all excess horses (those above 235 within the PEDHMA) be gathered and removed from the rangelands.
3. Feral horses within the PEDHMA should be managed for a viable, healthy herd that will result in the thriving natural ecological balance (including the standards and guidelines for rangeland health) and multiple-use relationship in that area as required by the Act.
4. Immediately remove wild horses from private lands when notified of their presence as defined through the WFRHB Act and Colorado estray laws. Immediate removal should be conducted in such a manner so that the horses will not return to the private land nor be placed within County boundaries as long as the BLM is out of compliance with AML.
5. Demand the immediate removal of all feral horses within Rio Blanco County that are found outside the PEDHMA in accordance with the Act, including the areas referenced as the West Douglas and North Piceance Herd Areas.
6. Any proposed enlargement or expansion of the current HMA or HA boundaries or any new HMAs or HAs are outside the WFRHB Act and unacceptable.
7. Inventory wild horses at least every three years.
8. Remove horses to the lowest range of the AML to reduce the frequency of gathers. Because completing a gather is a lengthy and expensive undertaking often hampered by litigation, and because horses have no predators, if not gathered to the lowest end of AML population, numbers will rebound requiring another gather in too short of time.
9. Support the use of long-term fertility control such as spaying of mares but only if the numbers are within AML.
10. Public education programs should be created to inform the public at large about the need to maintain healthy ecosystems and the differences between livestock, wild horse, and wildlife management needs and impacts.
11. Rulemaking should be pursued to give the BLM additional options for the disposal of wild horses to allow BLM to meet their existing statutory requirements.
12. Modifications of HMA boundaries would be allowed only for the purpose of reducing resource conflicts and adverse effects on private lands so long as there is no net increase in boundary size or AML numbers.
13. Any reduction in HMA size should be completed with appropriate reduction in AML.
14. Develop and implement habitat management and/or monitoring plans to specifically determine impacts of wild horses on range, riparian, water, wildlife, and other resources.
15. Monitoring plans should accurately identify the causal factors in resource changes (e.g., separate wild horse, livestock, and wildlife impacts) and if monitoring shows any adverse impacts, take action to manage the activity based on the specific results in the monitoring.
16. Once excess horses are removed from areas where livestock grazing permittees have taken reductions in AUMS, livestock grazing reductions shall be reinstated as soon as resources recover.
17. Any equine animal released from private individuals, tribes, or neighboring lands onto public lands after 1971 is considered as estray as defined in Colo. Rev. Stat. 35-44-101 and dealt with accordingly.
18. Support non-reproducing herds within HMA boundaries and within AML.
19. Develop monitoring programs that separate the utilization by species (e.g., wild horse, livestock, or wildlife) that can be used to inform management.

https://www.rbc.us/DocumentCenter/View/1702/20160520_rio_blanco_land_use_plan_final?bidId    archive

2016 feb 22 Wild Horse Aerial Inventory PEDHMA & WDHA    https:/eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/77052/108386/132712/Wild_Horse_Aerial_Inventory_2016.pdf    archive

2016 2016 PEDHMA map of west douglas and north Piceance, both dissolved  https://web.archive.org/web/20161230123751/https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/co_pedhma_map.pdf

2015  DOI-BLM-CO-N05-2015-0024-DNA   EA  (DNA)   DR  fonsi  eplanning   Jan 30 15 PR  Jul 29 15 PR Sep 13 17 PR  2017  Cathedral Creek Gather   GATHER REPORTS  Cattoor Livestock INL17PD00944 (9/14-9/19/17)(86G/1D) Canon VETERINARY REPORTS /  Piceance-East Douglas HMA and Adjacent Areas (Tommys Draw,Catherdal Creek,North Piceance HA) Wild Horse Gathers (gather up to 167 horses using water and bait trapping and helicopter gather operations) (DNA: The predominant land uses within the gather area are livestock grazing, recreation and energy development.) (PR sep: Thursday the Bureau of Land Management will begin gathering up to 100 wild horses that have strayed from the designated Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area in northwestern Colorado.  The BLM will primarily use a helicopter-drive trap method to gather the horses from private lands in the Cathedral Creek area south of Rangely. If less than 100 wild horses are gathered from this area, the BLM may elect to gather horses from additional nearby areas outside the HMA east of Colorado Highway 139) https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/43789/510  

2015 COLORADO WILD HORSE AND BURRO COALITION, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. SALLY JEWELL, et al., https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_15-cv-01454/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_15-cv-01454-0.pdf  archive  map of original piceance/douglas territory 1974  pg 27-31 / remove 167 wild horses from contiguous sections of Colorado’s White River Resource Area: the West Douglas Herd Area (“West Douglas HA”) and the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area (“East Douglas HMA) / LAWSUIT

2015  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2015-0023-EA  DNA  DR  Fonsi   eplanning  NEPA  West Douglas HA Wild Horse Gather: plans to gather excess (167) wild horses in the White River Field Office in northwest Colorado as early as September 2015 using water and bait trapping and helicopter gather operations to sustain healthy public lands and wild horse populations.
 
Maintaining healthy herd populations is a key aspect in the BLM’s multiple-use mission to manage public lands for a variety of natural resources and a sustained yield. When wild horse herds grow at levels that are unsustainable for local resources, the ecological balance of these areas is altered and can impact plant and animal species on the range. The BLM has determined that current wild horse populations south of Rangely pose a serious and potentially permanent risk to the area’s ecological balance.
 
The horses in the West Douglas herd became isolated from the larger Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area to the east when construction of the State Highway 139 right-of-way fences created a physical barrier to movement between the herds. The BLM decided to remove the wild horses from West Douglas through various public planning efforts since 1975, including the 1997 White River Resource Management Plan and a 2005 RMP amendment. The West Douglas Herd Area currently has 365 horses, which is not sustainable for the area. The Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area currently has 377 wild horses, but its appropriate management level is between 135 and 235 wild horses.
 
The BLM evaluated several alternatives in conjunction with scientific data, range-specific conditions and public input through a formal environmental analysis. The planning documents evaluating the planned gather operations are available at the White River Field Office at 220 E. Market St., Meeker, CO 81641 and online at: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/wrfo/wrfo_wild_horses.html   
 2008-sep 2016 archives   https:/eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/43788/510

http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/wild_horse_documents.Par.92698.File.dat/Final%20EA%20WDHA%2020150023_7.27.15_withappendices.pdf     archive

2015  Memo: West Douglas Herd Area Review of Current Situation (1/14/15)

2015  Memo: West Douglas Herd Area Excess Wild Horse Determination Decision (1/27/15)

2015  Wild Horse Management History and Current Conditions within the West Douglas Herd Area (January 2015, Revised April 2015, Revised September 2015)   https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/2003177/200391671/20029713/250035912/WDHA History Document_Final_Jan2015_Revised Sep2015.pdf  archive west douglas / 1974 territory map

2015 Rio Blanco County Fence Laws https://www.rbc.us/225/fence-laws  archive

2015  White River Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment for Oil and Gas Development – BLM / Meeker County https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/lup/65266/79043/91308/2015_Oil_and_Gas_Development_RMPA_ROD.pdf    archive 

Piceance-East: A lease notice would be added to leases that encompass portions of a wild horse herd management area. In order to protect wild horses within this area, intensive development activities may be delayed for a specified 60-day period within the spring foaling period between March 1 and June 15.

The lessee may be required to perform special conservation measures within the wild horse herd management area including:
• Habitat improvement projects within the HMA in areas adjacent to development if such development displaces wild horses from crucial habitat.  
• Disturbed watering areas would be replaced with an equal source of water, having equal utility.
• Activity/improvements would provide for unrestricted movement of wild horses between summer and winter ranges

2015  Northwest Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment

The major threats to GRSG and GRSG habitat on BLM-administered lands in the northwest Colorado sub-region are the following:   No mention of horses

• Fluid mineral development—fragmentation of GRSG habitat due to mineral exploration and development
• Infrastructure—fragmentation of GRSG habitat due to development, such as rights-of-way (ROWs) and renewable energy development
• Grazing—loss of habitat components due to improper ‘livestock’ grazing 
• Wildfire—loss of large areas of GRSG habitat due to wildfire 
• Invasive species—conversion of GRSG habitat to cheatgrass-dominated plant communities

“This may require temporary or longterm changes in livestock grazing, wild horse management, travel management, and other uses to achieve and maintain the desired condition of ESR and Burn Area Emergency Rehabilitation projects to benefit GRSG”

Improper Livestock grazing:  NOTE ‘NO’ removals for livestock whom ARE a major threat to GRSG

• Prioritize the review and processing of grazing permits and leases in PHMA
• Include in National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) analysis for Renewals and modifications of grazing permits and leases specific management thresholds, based on the GRSG habitat objectives table land health standards and ecological site potential, to allow adjustments to grazing that have already been subjected to NEPA analysis

Free-roaming equid (wild horses and burros) management: NOTE removals for WHB who ARE NOT mentioned as a major threat in the GRSG

• Manage herd management areas (HMAs) in GRSG habitat within established appropriate management level ranges to achieve and maintain GRSG habitat objectives
• Prioritize rangeland health assessment, gathers and population growth suppression techniques, monitoring, and review and adjustment of appropriate management levels and preparation of HMA plans in GRSG habitat Range management structures 

And noted here which shows consistent ‘favor to livestock’, whom ARE a major threat to GRSG:

“MD FIRE-12: (PHMA) During fuels management project design, consider the utility of using livestock to strategically reduce fine fuels (Diamond at al. 2009), and implement grazing management that will accomplish this objective”

Objective RM-1: GRSG objectives and well-managed livestock operations are compatible because forage availability for livestock and hiding cover for GRSG are both dependent on healthy plant communities

MD RM-3: (PHMA) The BLM will prioritize: 1. the review of grazing permits/leases, in particular to determine ‘ if ’ modification is necessary prior to renewal, and 2. the processing of grazing permits/leases in PHMA.

See section:2.2.5 Wild Horses and Burros (WHB) – for all the negative efforts specific objectives directed at WHB  https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/lup/36511/63221/68470/Northwest_Colorado_ARMPA_508.pdf   archive

2014 DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2014-0035-EA / DOI-BLM-CO-N05-2014-0035-EA (dead link)   (need to locate)

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/Documents.Par.43516.File.dat/doiblmco11020100089eav7.pdf   

https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/108096/20013072/250017874/Excess_Memo_AFM_to_FM_2.5.20.pdf

https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/108096/147194/180948/doiblmcoN0520180071dna_Unsigned_FONSI_public_review.pdf dead link mentioned in DOI-BLM-CO-N05-2018-0071 https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/108096/20013069/250017871/doiblmcoN0520180071dna_final_2.14.20.pdf

2018  DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2018-0071-DNA (Gather of Excess Wild Horses Located Outside of the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area) Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) – Draft  Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) – Unsigned    archive 

https://web.archive.org/web/20180710114255/https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/planAndProjectSite.do?methodName=dispatchToPatternPage&currentPageId=159952

https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/108096/147193/180947/doiblmcoN0520180071dna_public_review.pdf

2014   Feb 24 14 PR piceance fence  proposed construction of five segments of a Herd Management Area fence in Rio Blanco County.  The proposed fence would serve to improve management of wild horses within the Piceance-East Douglas HMA.  The 137-mile perimeter of the HMA is not adequately fenced and wild horses can leave the HMA.  Wild horses leaving the HMA are at risk of vehicle collisions and pose concerns to natural resources on both public and private land.

2013. BLM Approved Land Use Plan Amendments/Record of Decision (ROD) for Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. United States Department of the Interior.

2012 Aerial Inventory February 16-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20151011075435/http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/Documents.Par.31886.File.dat/Signed%20Memo%20and%20Report%20022812.pdf

2012 DOI-BLM-CO-110-2012-0104- (unsigned EA, FONSI)  –  (only copy available) WHBA

 [these docs below align with 0088EA but dates could also work for 0104EA, unclear if related as I can find no other info on the 0104EA]   July 15-August 13 2012 West Douglas Emergency Wild Horse Gather 2010 West Douglas Emergency Gather Reports  Documents and Maps Facility & Veterinary Reports 

• IMMEDIATE CLOSURE OF PUBLIC LANDS: The Bureau of Land Management, Northwest District, White River Field Office is giving notice that the BLM is temporarily closing certain access roads and certain areas to all public use, including vehicle operation and sightseeing, from June 20, 2012 to December 1, 2012. The closed area is located on or near Texas Mountain east of BLM Road 1214 and east of BLM Road 1063.

https://web.archive.org/web/20161001123929/http:/www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/co/information/nepa/white_river_field/completed_2012_documents.Par.30857.File.dat/doiblmco110201200104ea_FINAL_6%2024%2012.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20120922003809/http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/wrfo/wrfo_wild_horses/White_River_2011_Gather.html

————-

2011 jul 19 12 VIDEO – BLM CO – West Douglas Herd – no water – no mention of the thousands of livestock that utilize this public lands

2012  DOI-BLM-CO110-2012-0105-CX        

2011  DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0058-EA (EA, FONSI, and Decision Record)  DNA  DR  FONSI  eplanning

 PICEANCE-EAST DOUGLAS HMA WILD HORSE GATHER PLAN AND SELECTIVE REMOVAL / gather approximately 382 wild horses, and remove excess (247) wild horses / actual use of grazing pastures 2007-10 / description Wild Horse Herd Distribution  in HMA pg 70- / yearly pop est 1974-92 / lot of tables counting foal, and old horses pg77

WHBA notes: that while this document is labeled DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0058-EA officially, the left hand corner of all pages internally notates it as ‘DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0089-EA’ which can lead to confusion with screenshots.  Uncorrected BLM error.

The BLM considers the 20% figure the most common annual increase and accounts for naturally occurring population losses (i.e. normal death loss, old age, starvation, and predation). If 100 horses are observed in an inventory, 120 horses would be expected the following year. However, the two right hand columns indicate that the “expected” number of horses is not always found on a subsequent inventory. For example in 1982, 207 horses were observed in the HMA inventory. Compounded at 20%, less the 64 head gathered in 1983 and 1984, 283 horses were expected in the 1985 inventory. The table shows that only 93 were found – which is only 33% of expected. Both 1983 and 1984 were deep snow years, so death loss is a distinct possibility. This theory is supported by data from West Douglas Herd Area where only 41 percent of the expected number of horses were found in the 1986 inventory.

Consequently, while the BLM utilizes a 20% increase, as it appears to be the most common in any one year, the Table 3-21 indicates that the herd populations do not average that figure due to a variety of factors including sever winter events and drought. The table shows that the original inventory total of 139 horses compounded at 16.16712% since 1974 (less the 1,407 horses known to be removed during the period) produces the population of 265 found in the 2010 inventory

[In 1996, through the WRRA Wild Horse Removal Plan EA #96-72, BLM analyzed a stocking rate of 450 AUMs to wild horses in Pasture C of the Square S Allotment for 30 wild horses and 1,275 AUMs to wild horses in the Yellow Creek Allotment for 85 wild horses. In the 2002 Piceance-East Douglas Wild Horse Herd Management Area EA and Gather Plan #WR-02-049, BLM analyzed a stocking rate of 258 AUMs to wild horses in the Tommy’s Draw Pasture of the Cathedral Bluffs Allotment for 17 wild horses, 150 AUMs in the Hogan Draw Pasture of the Cathedral Bluffs Allotment for 10 wild horses, and 435 AUMs in the Greasewood Allotment for 29 wild horses. Wild horse AUMs were based on wild horses accounting for 1.25 AUs. The 1997 WRRMP/ROD allocated 2,101 AUMs for the wild horses within the HMA, however, the above gather documents analyzed an increased stocking rate which allows for a maximum of 214 (2,568 AUMs) wild horses at season long grazing. The BLM’s current AML of 135 – 235 is based upon this increased stocking rate. ] pg 69 http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/wild_horse_documents.Par.87813.File.dat/DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0058-EA.pdf   archive  same file as https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/2003177/200391671/20029707/250035906/DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0058-EA.pdf   archive

2010  DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0089 DR, FONSI, EA     2010 PICEANCE-EAST DOUGLAS HERD MANAGEMENT AREA WILD HORSE GATHER PLAN AND SELECTIVE REMOVAL (318) wild horses, and remove approximately 183 excess wild horses from within and outside the PEDHMA. Of the 135 wild horses returned to the PEDHMA, approximately 10% will be yearlings or approximately 13 head (7 studs and 6 mares). Of the remaining 122 wild horses returned to the PEDHMA, approximately 60% (72) would be studs and 40% (50) mares. BLM would treat all released mares, older than 2 years of age, with PZP. Wild horse selection for release would be to maintain a diverse age structure, herd characteristics and body type (conformation). (EA: A previous gather to remove excess wild horses from the PEDHMA was conducted in 2006. At that time, a total of 258 wild horses were gathered from inside the PEDHMA and 62 wild horses were gathered from outside the PEDHMA. Of the 258 wild horses gathered inside the PEDHMA 216 wild horses and one domestic horse were removed, and all of the wild horses gathered outside were removed. Of these, 41 wild horses were released back to the range, which included 11 studs, 28 mares treated with fertility control, and one filly. The estimated postgather population was 224 wild horses.) The WRFO completed an aerial inventory (direct count method) from February 2 through March 17, 2010. During the inventory 265 wild horses were observed within and 115 outside the PEDHMA. https://web.archive.org/web/20161001123940/http:/www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/2010_completed_eas.Par.49945.File.dat/Final%20doiblmco11020100089ea.pdf

2010 DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0089  DR FONSI EA, comments   2010 PICEANCE-EAST DOUGLAS HERD MANAGEMENT AREA WILD HORSE GATHER PLAN AND SELECTIVE REMOVAL  (as noted in advocate comments, look up USGS Z:\Research\Literature\Wild Horse ContraceptiveResearch.mht  WO-IM-2010-057

2010 WILD HORSE & BURRO POPULATION INVENTORY AND ESTIMATION  WO-IM-2010-057 https://www.blm.gov/policy/im-2010-057   archive

2010 DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0088-FINAL (EA, FONSI, and Decision Record) – WEST DOUGLAS HERD AREA WILD HORSE GATHER  removal of all the excess wild horses from within the WDHA. It is also my decision to removal all excess wild horses that have relocated outside the WDHA boundaries, as described in Alternative A

text of gov.uscourts.dcd.122483

https://archive.org/stream/gov.uscourts.dcd.122483/gov.uscourts.dcd.122483.5.8_djvu.txt

2010 PICEANCE-EAST DOUGLAS HMA WILD HORSE GATHER PLAN AND SELECTIVE REMOVAL DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0089-EA   2010  DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0089-EA   DR remove some

2010 2010 White River Wild Horse Gather White River 2010 Gather Report (North Piceance, Mares Canyon, Magnolia Bench, Magnolia Flat Documents and Maps

2010  feb 2-mar 17 Direct Count Aerial inventory  (mentioned in 110-2010-0089)
 265 wild horses were observed within and 115 outside the PEDHMA

2002 Piceance-East Douglas Wild Horse Herd Management Area EA and Gather Plan #WR-02-049  (as mentioned in DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0058-EA locate)

2008 WRFO mapPiceance – East Douglas Herd Management Area (HMA)

2006  CO-110-2006-030-EA Final  NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION FULL FORCE AND EFFECT 2006 PICEANCE-EAST DOUGLAS HERD MANAGEMENT AREA WILD HORSE REMOVAL

2006  DOI-BLM-CO-110-2006-166-EA   text  final D text mentioned in DOI-BLM-CO-N050-2017-0056-EA  Gather and Removal of Wild Horses from the West Douglas Herd Area

2005-7  CO-110-2005-083-EA and 2007 Affirmed Decision #CO-WRFO-05-083-EA (tags:1974 Census Information, original maps west douglas (lots of mentions of land us plans and maps to document) https:/www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/Documents.Par.51133.File.dat/2005%20West%20Douglas%20Herd%20Area%20Amendment_EA_Appendices_with%202007%20Affirmed%20Decision.pdf   archive  Appendix A    Appendix B    Appendix C    Appendix D    Appendix E   Comments/Responses    Affirmed Decision 

2005-2012 Archived BLM missing EA files West Douglas

2005 H-1610-1 Land Use Planning Handbook

2004 BLM – Nepa in CO – planning

2003 CO-WRFO-03-050-EA    Appendix A: SURFACE STIPULATIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL SURFACE DISTURBING ACTIVITIES / lease holder (oil and gas)  West Douglas Herd Area Amendment to the White River RMP Environmental Assessment (CO-WRFO-03-050-EA)  (WHBA notes: This is no longer an issue for the lease holders as it is not a protected area for horses now?)

1999 Wild Horse Program Analysis and Operational Plan – douglas herd areas

1997 White River – RMP      Amendments (oil) to the 1997 White River RMP   EA  DNA  DR  FONSI  eplanning (includes 1994 & 96 proposed versions)

1996  WRRA Wild Horse Removal Plan EA #96-72    (as mentioned in DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0058-EA locate)

1993  West Douglas HMA / Oil Springs Mountains WSA – A southwestern portion of this herd area is designated as a (WSA) wilderness study area in 1980. It was determined: 1981 Acreage Study area: 17,740 acres / recommended acreage for wilderness: 0 acres  (pg 27) https://www.gao.gov/assets/rced-93-151.pdf    https://www.blm.gov/site-page/programs-national-conservation-lands-colorado-oil-spring-mountain-wsa    learn about WSA

1985  BLM is unsuccessful in removing all horse from west douglas pg 14

1983  Completion of fence separating West Douglas from Piceance East  pg 14

1981 – Management Framework Plan – 1) Allocate 2,101 AUMs of forage for a range of 95-140
wild horses in the 148,153 acre Piceance-East Douglas Creek Herd Management Area, 2)
removal all horses west of Douglas Creek, 3) remove horses from all other allotments within the
Piceance Planning Unit, 4) complete boundary fencing of Yellow Creek and Cathedral Bluffs
(allotments) to eliminate drift of wild horses into adjacent allotments.
Square S and Cathedral Bluffs have allotments that are outside of than the HMA.

1981 White River Resource Area Grazing Management EIS.

The recommendations of the 1980 Management Framework Plan (MFP) were again presented to the BLM’s internal and external publics along with the scoping process for the court ordered grazing EIS. The Multiple-Use Recommendations from the MFP became the proposed action for the 1981 Grazing EIS. In addition to the proposed action, the Grazing EIS evaluated five other alternatives, some of which were developed from opportunities or objectives identified in the URA/MFP. As relates to wild horses, the grazing EIS evaluated the following alternatives in detail:   

(WHBA:They rarely ever veer from the first alternative)

Alternative A (Proposed Action)· o Manage 90 to 140 horses on 148,153 acres public land (161,300 total acres) which includes parts of both herd units. o Allocate 2,101 AUMs of forage for wild horse use within the area described. o Remove all horses west of Douglas Creek and from all other allotments in the Piceance Basin not designated for management of wild horses. 

Alternative B (No Action)· o Manage present herd of 625 horses on 443,979 acres public land recognized as the area occupied by wild horses in 1971. o Allocate 9,364 AUMs of forage for horse use within the area described. 

Alternative C (Eliminate all Livestock Grazing)· o Manage 500 to 750 head of wild horses on 443,979 acres public land. o Allocate 9,364 AUMs of forage for horse use within the area described. 

Alternative D (Optimize Livestock Grazing)· o Manage 52 wild horses on 148,153 acres public land (161,300 total acres). o Allocate 797 AUMs of forage for horse use within the area described. o Remove all horses west of Douglas Creek and from all other allotments in the Piceance Basin not designated for management of wild horses. 

Alternative E (Emphasis on Other Resource Uses)· o Manage 280 to 450 head of wild horses on 148,153 acres public land (161,300 total acres). o Allocate 4,200 AUMs of forage for horse use within the area described. o Remove all horses west of Douglas Creek and from all other allotments in the Piceance Basin not designated for management of wild horses.

 Alternative F (Optimize Wild Horses)· o Manage 700 to 1,125 head of wild horses on 443,979 acres public land. o Allocate 16,865 AUMs of forage for horse use within the area described. During public review of the Draft Grazing EIS, responses indicated concern regarding proposals for managing wild horses. Major areas of concern included: 1) the need for reducing the size of the wild horse range; 2) the proposed population levels; and 3) the possibility of the proposals violating the mandates of the Act.

1980  Management Framework Plan (MFP) – U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

1976  FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT  “On public land (for purposes of this piece we will discuss BLM, more public land than any other agency) we have “Multiple Use. This policy outlines how land use plans are to be created to manage public land for the “public good.”

1975 White River Unit Resource Analysis (URA)  noted on pg 14 (Meeker 77-400606  google books and Rangely Unit Resource Analyses   

1977 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NATURAL RESOURCE INFORMATION: Northwestern Colorado mentions details of Unit resource analysis citings for multiple CO counties

1975 BLM drafted a White River Resource Area (WRRA), Management Framework Plan (MFP) (locate)

BACKGROUND: In 1975, BLM drafted a White River Resource Area (WRRA), Management Framework Plan (MFP) based on the information developed in the 1975 Unit Resource Analysis (URA). The 1975 URA identified two wild horse herd units, the Douglas Creek Herd Unit and the Piceance Basin Herd Unit. The 1975 Unit Resource Analysis further identified wild horse utilization/distribution problems resulting from human development and projected human population increases. Based on this analysis, the decision of the 1975 MFP was to: 1) remove wild horses west of Douglas Creek, 2) retain wild horses east of Douglas Creek, and 3) construct a fence along the Douglas Creek road (State Highway 139) from Rangely up East Douglas Creek.”

From 1978 through 1980, another planning effort was undertaken to update the 1975 MFP. This update was driven by court-ordered environmental impact statements requiring area-specific analysis of the livestock grazing program. A 1980 URA again identified two wild horse herd units, the Douglas Creek Herd Unit and the Piceance Basin Herd Unit. Based on the 1980 URA, the Piceance-East Douglas Area (including that portion of the Douglas Creek Herd Unit east of Douglas Creek) was selected for management of wild horses because of a “lower density of both developed and undeveloped energy resources than any other area within the two wild horse herd units” and, “[t]he topography of the proposed area is highly suited to the needs of wild horses… offers both summer and winter ranges and provides all other elements necessary for the survival of wild horses.”

The BLM’s 1980 White River Resource Area MFP called for the complete removal of wild horses from the herd area as the BLM, through information gained in land use planning completed pursuant to Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, determined there to be an overpopulation on the public lands. As defined in 16 USC § 1332(f) “excess animals” includes wild free-roaming horses or burros which must be removed from an area in order to preserve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple- use relationship in that area. Through the MFP process, the BLM determined that it could not maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship outside of the designated Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area (HMA).

1975 Unit Resource Analysis (URA).  (need locate)

In 1975 , the BLM developed a unit resource analysis (URA) for the Oliver – Mercer Planning Unit ( Montgomery , 1975b ) . This analysis is quite….
https://casetext.com/case/natural-resources-defense-council-inc-v-morton-2    COLORADO WILD HORSE AND BURRO COALITION, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Kenneth Lee SALAZAR, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, et al., Defendants. Civil Action No. 10-1645 (RMC). United States District Court, District of Columbia. Sept. 13, 2012. Douglas Creek area. It noted that the primary land use for the local economy was the oil and gas industry and that no forage had been allocated to wild horse use. A.R. Vol. 4, Tab 14, p. 379.³  The *101White River Field Office prepared a Management Framework Plan ⁴ for the WRRA in that same year and determined that conditions were not suitable for managing a population of wild horses west of Douglas Creek (the “West Douglas Herd”). It concluded that the West Douglas Herd should be removed because “[t]he increase in oil and gas activities in this area … is causing horses to disperse into areas where they did not exist prior to 1971.”

1975   77-400606 USDI Bureau of Land Management . MEEKER PLANNING UNIT RESOURCE ANALYSIS . 1975 . unpublished ; contact : USDI Bureau of Land Management , Meeker , Colo . This report begins with a physical profile of the Meeker Planning Unit describing climate , topography , geology , soils , vegetation , water resources, animals , fire , limiting physical factors , and developments . Resource data on lands , minerals , timber , range management , watershed , wildlife habitat , recreation , and an ecological profile follow . The resource data are presented both from the standpoint of present situation and from capabilities and opportunities for development as well . (need locate)

1975  77-400616 USDI Bureau of Land Management . WHITE RIVER MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK PLAN . 1975 . unpublished ; contact: USDI Bureau of Land Management , Craig , Colo . The Management Framework Plan presents the Bureau of Land Management’s management strategy for all the natural resource land from Meeker , Colorado , west to the Utah line , with a northern boundary between the Yampa and White Rivers extending southward to Douglas Creek Pass on the west and Rifle on the east . The plan is derived from the resource information presented in the Bureau’s Rangely , Piceance, and Meeker Unit Resource Analysis reports , collectively .  (need locate)

1974  map of original territory piceance herd units (located in 2015 COLORADO WILD HORSE AND BURRO COALITION vs SALZAR)

19?? Land Use Planning for Wild Horses and Burros – The 2005 H-1610-1 Land Use Planning Handbook   (2005 how to) identifies the following (see 2004  CFR-2004-title43-vol2-part4700-subpart4700): page 10

a. Herd Areas: Herd Areas (HAs) are limited to areas of the public lands identified as being habitat used by wild horses and burros at the time of the passage of the Wild Horse and Burro Act as amended (16 U.S.C. 1331-1340). b. Herd Management Area Designation: Herd Management Areas (HMA) are established only within Herd Areas, or portions of a Herd Areas within which wild horses and/or burros can be managed for the long term. For Herd Management Areas identify the following: (1) Initial and estimated herd size that could be managed while still preserving and maintaining a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationships for that area. (2) Guidelines and criteria for adjusting herd size.
c. Herd Areas Not Designated as Herd Management Areas. Where appropriate, the LUP may include decisions removing horses from all or part of a herd area.

Environmental Assessments and Docs

As many of these docs are intertwined and combined within the East Piceance HMA plans, that is where they can be located. #piceancedocs

#2022influenzacanon

2022 BLM – CO – daily situation reports – canon city archive

2022 Influenza has killed 144 (West Douglas) horses held at Canon City Prison since the outbreak began on April 22, 2022 Dedicated on the ground advocates state that they want proof of necropsy and images of bodies as numbers don’t match up with visual inspections at facility weeks prior to report of outbreak. They feel horses may have went to slaughter, and this is a cover-up to falsify numbers. They state they have evidence that shows this.
apr 26 22 OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION REPORT  
may 20 22 Situation Report 2022 Canon City Equine Influenza Outbreak
may 27 22 Canon City Equine Influenza Outbreak – only West Douglas horses infected and died map included

May 24 22 Canon City Off-Range Corral (Canon City, CO)   2 non compliance for WDHA horses /
Standard 1.IV.D.2 Facilities must conduct Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) testing and apply freeze-marks within 30 days of receiving WH&Bs, unless directed by the facility veterinarian when age or physical condition requires a delay. (major) Non-Compliance: EIA testing and freeze marking has not always been completed within 30 days. The delays appear to be a combination of management and staffing issues, such as the prioritization of other tasks (preparation of Sand Wash Basin horses) over more long-standing needs (West Douglas horses).

Standard 1.IV.D.6 Facilities must adhere to the current BLM vaccination policy. (major) Non-Compliance: Among animals received from gather operations as well as those that had been at the facility for some time, current and timely vaccinations had not been maintained in several instances. This appeared to be for several reasons as described above as well as the attempt to accommodate unusually high-strung animals received from a gather (West Douglas).