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Environmental Assessment Tobin Range Herd Management Area And BLM Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-NV-WO10-2009-0007-EA Tobin Range Herd Management Area and Sonoma Herd Area Wild Horse Capture Plan Winnemucca District Office/Nevada District Winnemucca Wild horse herd in the Tobin Range HMA, August 2008. October 2009 Prepared by: U.S. Bureau of Land Management Winnemucca District Office 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd. Winnemucca NV 89445-2921 It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. BLM/NV/WN/EA-GI-09/22+8300 DOI-BLM-NV-WO10-2009-0007-EA 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background Information.............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Purpose and Need ......................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Land Use Plan Conformance ....................................................................................... 3 1.4 Relationship to Laws, Regulations, and Other Plans ................................................ 3 1.5 Conformance with Rangeland Health Standards ...................................................... 3 1.6 Identification of Issues .................................................................................................. 3 2.0 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ............................................................ 4 2.1 Description of Alternatives Considered in Detail ...................................................... 4 2.1.1 Proposed Action: Remove Excess Wild Horses ................................................. 4 2.1.2 No Action: Defer Gather & Removal ................................................................. 5 2.2 Alternative Considered but Dismissed from Detailed Analysis ................................ 6 3.0 THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................. 6 3.1 General Description of the Affected Environment .................................................... 6 3.2 Supplemental Authorities (Critical Environmental Elements of the Human Environment)............................................................................................................................. 6 3.2.1 Cultural Resources.................................................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Migratory Birds ........................................................................................................ 8 3.2.3 Native American Religious Concerns ...................................................................... 9 3.2.4 Water Quality ............................................................................................................ 9 3.2.5 Wetlands and Riparian Zones ................................................................................. 9 3.3 Additional Affected Resources ................................................................................... 10 3.3.1 Rangeland Management ......................................................................................... 11 3.3.2 Soils........................................................................................................................... 12 3.3.3 Special Status Species ............................................................................................. 13 3.3.4 Vegetation ................................................................................................................ 15 3.3.5 Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) ........................................................................... 16 3.3.6 Wild Horses ............................................................................................................. 16 3.3.7 Wildlife ..................................................................................................................... 17 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES .................................................................... 17 4.1 Supplemental Authorities ........................................................................................... 18 4.1.1 Cultural Resources.................................................................................................. 18 4.1.2 Migratory Birds ...................................................................................................... 18 4.1.3 Native American Religious Concerns .................................................................... 18 4.1.4 Water Quality .......................................................................................................... 19 4.1.5 Wetlands and Riparian Zones ............................................................................... 19 4.2 Additional Affected Resources ................................................................................... 20 4.2.1 Rangeland Management ......................................................................................... 20 4.2.3 Special Status Species ............................................................................................. 21 4.2.4 Vegetation ................................................................................................................ 21 4.2.5 Wilderness Study Areas ......................................................................................... 21 4.2.6 Wild Horses ............................................................................................................. 21 4.2.7 Wildlife ..................................................................................................................... 23 i 5.0 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ........................................................................................... 23 5.1 Past ............................................................................................................................... 24 5.2 Present .......................................................................................................................... 25 5.3 Reasonable Foreseeable Future Actions ................................................................... 25 5.4 Cumulative Impacts (For all affected resources analyzed in Chapter 4) .............. 26 6.0 MONITORING and MITIGATION MEASURES ..................................................... 26 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 26 Mitigation................................................................................................................................. 27 7.0 LIST of PREPARERS .................................................................................................... 27 8.0 CONSULTATION and COORDINATION ................................................................. 27 9.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 28 10.0 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 31 Appendix A – Standards and Guidelines for Management of Wild Horses and Burros of the Sierra Front-Northwest Great Basin Area (3/07) .......................................................... 31 Appendix B – Wild Horse and/or Burro Gathers Standard Operating Procedures ........ 33 Appendix C – Fire Management Stipulations ...................................................................... 40 Appendix D – Coordination and Consultation Notification List ........................................ 41 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Supplemental Authorities (Critical Elements of the Human Environment) ..................... 7 Table 2: Other Affected Resources ............................................................................................... 10 Table 3: Authorized Livestock Use .............................................................................................. 11 EXHIBITS Map 1. Project Location Map ...........................................................................................44 Map 2. Project Location Map with Land Status ...............................................................45 ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this environmental assessment (EA) is to analyze the potential impacts associated with the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) proposal to capture and remove excess wild horses from the Tobin Range Herd Management Area (HMA) and the Sonoma Range Herd Area (HA) during the fall of 2009. The Sonoma-Gerlach Management Framework Plan (MFP) (July 9, 1982) identified the management of zero (0) wild horses within the Sonama Range HA. Wild horses occupy an area within the Tobin Range HMA and the Sonoma Range HA, seasonally these wild horses can be found in either area and move back and forth. The proposed gather is needed to achieve and maintain the established AML and prevent further range deterioration resulting from the current overpopulation of wild horses within the area. This EA contains the site-specific analysis of potential impacts that could result with the implementation of the Proposed Action or No Action. Based on the following analysis of potential environmental consequences, a determination can be made whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or issue a “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI). A FONSI documents why implementation
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