Notice of Intent To Amend the Billings Field Office 2015 Resource Management Plan and To Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment, Montana, 18388-18390 [2022-06680]
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18388
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2022 / Notices
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respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
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The authority for this action is the
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Jeffrey Parrillo,
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[FR Doc. 2022–06708 Filed 3–29–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4334–63–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLMTC01000–L10600000–MC0000MO#
4500155770]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Billings
Field Office 2015 Resource
Management Plan and To Prepare an
Associated Environmental
Assessment, Montana
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Billings Field Office, Billings, Montana,
intends to prepare an amendment to the
Billings Field Office Resource
Management Plan (RMP) and an
associated Environmental Assessment
(EA). The EA will analyze a proposed
change to the RMP’s Management
Decision Wild Horse (MD WH–7) with
respect to managing genetic diversity in
the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse herd.
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SUMMARY:
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10
1
10
3
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736
92
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92
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24
8
2,208
736
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470
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10,702
This notice initiates the EA scoping
process for the RMP amendment to
solicit public comments and identify
issues and announces the opportunity
for public review of the planning
criteria.
DATES: In order to be included in the
analysis, all comments must be received
electronically or in writing no later than
April 29, 2022. The BLM does not plan
to hold any scoping meetings for this
RMP amendment. We will provide
additional opportunities for public
participation as appropriate.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted electronically through the
BLM e-planning website at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/1502632/510, or written
comments may be sent to Wild Horse &
Burro Coordinator, Billings Field Office,
Bureau of Land Management, 5001
Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dave LeFevre, telephone 406–896–5349,
or email dlefevre@blm.gov. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to
contact Mr. LeFevre during normal
business hours. The FRS is available 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question. You will receive a
reply during normal business hours.
Normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except for Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
document provides notice that the BLM
Billings Field Office, Billings, MT,
intends to amend the Billings Field
Office RMP and prepare an associated
EA, announces the proposed plan
amendment scoping process, and seeks
public input on issues and planning
criteria. Planning criteria help define
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decision space and are based upon
applicable laws, Director and State
Director guidance, and the results of
public and governmental participation
(43 CFR 1610.4–2). The draft planning
criteria considered in the development
of the proposed amendment include:
(1) The proposed amendment will be
completed in compliance with NEPA,
FLPMA, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses
and Burro Act, as amended, and the
implementing regulations in 43 CFR
1700, BLM Wild Horses and Burros
Management Handbook H–1700–1, and
other applicable laws, regulations, and
policy.
(2) The proposed amendment is
limited to MD WH–7 and would not
change any other existing planning
decisions in the Billings Field Office
RMP.
(3) The proposed amendment would
only apply to lands and resources
managed by the BLM as described in the
2015 Billings Field Office RMP; it
would not change management
direction for other agencies.
(4) Decisions are compatible with
existing plans and policies of adjacent
local, State, Federal, and Tribal
agencies, so long as the decisions are
consistent with the purposes, policies,
and programs of Federal law and
regulations applicable to public lands.
The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse
Range is located in the Pryor Mountains
in southeastern Carbon County,
Montana, and northern Big Horn
County, Wyoming, and encompasses
approximately 38,000 acres of land.
In 2009, the BLM approved the Pryor
Mountain Wild Horse Range/Territory
Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP)
that identified management objectives
for the Pryor Mountain wild horses and
horse range. The 2009 HMAP managed
the Pryor Mountain wild horses for a
E:\FR\FM\30MRN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2022 / Notices
phenotype animal reminiscent of a
‘‘Colonial Spanish Mustang’’ as
described by ‘‘Sponenberg North
American Colonial Spanish Horses’’
while balancing colors, sex ratios, and
age structures.
In 2015, the BLM approved a new
RMP for the Billings Field Office. That
RMP at MD WH–2 provides direction
for the BLM to ‘‘Maintain a wild horse
herd that exhibits a diverse age
structure, genetic diversity, and any
characteristics unique to the Pryor
horses.’’ Additionally, MD WH–7 states
that ‘‘Within an HMAP, herd structure
will be managed for all representations
in the herd, not allowing specific colors
or bloodlines to dominate from
management manipulation.’’ However,
the 2015 RMP does not define ‘‘all
representations’’ in the herd, and the
wording is ambiguous.
In the 2015 RMP, it is evident that the
intent of MD WH–7 was to limit the loss
of genetic diversity, consistent with
Goal WH–2 (‘‘Maintain a wild horse
herd that exhibits a diverse age
structure, genetic diversity, and any
characteristics unique to the Pryor
horses.’’). However, maximizing genetic
diversity at the expense of ecosystem
sustainability is not a management goal
or directive for the herd.
An interpretation that every possible
crossing of any given mare and any
given stallion should leave a surviving
foal (i.e., a ‘‘representation’’ of the
bloodline from that particular crossing)
is not practical to implement for several
reasons. If foals from every possible
pairing of any stallion and any mare are
interpreted to be a ‘‘representation,’’
then that precludes removal of any
animal unless it has full siblings.
However, because individual stallions
sire offspring with multiple mares, and
individual mares may mate with
multiple stallions, there would be an
ever-increasing number of
‘‘representations’’ in the herd. Because
the population recruitment rate far
exceeds the death rate, not removing
‘‘representations’’ without full siblings
would result in unsustainable
population growth. Under this scenario,
Appropriate Management Level would
be mathematically impossible to
achieve.
Other impracticalities exist as well.
The BLM cannot cause all patrilineal or
matrilineal lines to be propagated.
When considering patrilineal lines, not
all stallions get to reproduce; breeding
is often limited to the band stallion, and
some horses may forever remain a
bachelor stallion. There are also
practical matters related to the wellbeing of animals that are removed from
the wild. Wild horse adoption programs
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tend to place animals into homes more
readily with younger horses as they are
more adoptable and transition more
readily to domestic life compared to an
older horse. However, when young
horses are gathered and removed from
the range, many of them will not have
reached maturity and produced an
offspring.
The BLM proposes to amend MD
WH–7 to make it consistent with RMP
Goal WH2 to maintain genetic diversity
and to align with management guidance
in the BLM Wild Horse and Burro
Handbook H–4700–1 for maintaining
desirable genetic diversity (avoiding
inbreeding depression). Specifically, the
BLM proposes to amend the RMP to
modify MD WH–7 as stated below:
‘‘MD WH–7 (Proposed Amendment):
Maintain desirable levels of genetic
diversity, as measured by Observed
Heterozygosity (Ho). Observed
heterozygosity is a measure of how
much diversity is found, on average,
within individual animals in the Herd
Management Area (HMA). If Ho drops
below thresholds identified in the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Handbook
H–4700–1, then BLM would take one or
any combination of the following
actions to reduce the possible risks
associated with inbreeding depression:
(1) Maximize the number of fertile,
breeding age wild horses (6–10 years)
within the herd;
(2) adjust the sex ratio in favor of
males (but with not more than
approximately 60 percent males); or
(3) introduce mares or stallions from
other wild horse HMAs. Prioritize
introductions from herds with
characteristics similar to the Pryor
Mountain horses, such as the Sulfur
herd in Utah, the Cerbat Mountain herd
in Arizona, or others.’’
BLM Handbook H–4700–1 guidance
notes that herds with observed
heterozygosity values that are one
standard deviation below the mean are
considered at critical risk. Hair samples
last collected from the Pryor Mountain
herd in February 2013 indicated that
values for observed heterozygosity were
above the mean for feral horse herds at
that time. The BLM would continue to
collect genetic samples to monitor
genetic diversity. The results of current
and future genetic monitoring efforts,
along with previous monitoring results,
would indicate if loss of genetic
diversity is a concern and if any of the
management actions as noted in the
proposed amendment would need to be
taken.
Maintaining desirable levels of
genetic diversity would also assure a
variety of colors are maintained in the
Pryor Mountain horse herd. Pryor
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18389
Mountain horses exhibit a variety of
colors, with common colors including
dun, grulla, bay, black, and roan. Less
common colors that appear in the herd
include red or apricot dun, chestnut,
sorrel, palomino, and buckskin. Color is
a phenotypic representation of
dominant or recessive genes passed
through generations. A horse that is a
rare color may not produce offspring
that are also a rare color. BLM is
proposing to revise MD WH–7 to
address genetic diversity in a manner
that is consistent with the Wild Horse
and Burro Handbook, but consideration
of color would be addressed through
MD WH–2 (characteristics unique to the
Pryors) and Selective Removal Criteria.
Supplemental information on the
proposed plan amendment is available
on BLM’s e-Planning website at the
project link noted earlier in the
ADDRESSES section. The BLM will
prepare an EA to consider the proposed
plan amendment as well as revisions to
the 2009 HMAP including objectives for
fertility control, gather criteria, and
rangeland and riparian management (the
public comment period for scoping the
HMAP revisions is closed, and
previously submitted comments
regarding the HMAP revisions do not
need to be re-submitted). The proposed
plan amendment is limited to proposed
changes to MD WH–7 that would
replace direction to manage for ‘‘all
representations in the herd’’ with
direction to maintain desirable levels of
genetic diversity to reduce the possible
risks associated with inbreeding
depression.
You may submit comments
electronically or in writing on the
proposed amendment to the BLM as
shown in the ADDRESSES section earlier.
If you already submitted scoping
comments on proposed revisions to the
HMAP EA, including any comments
related to the Appropriate Management
Level, management objectives for the
wild horse population, including
fertility control and gather criteria, and
management objectives for the Pryor
Horse Range, during the comment
period that ran from April 9, 2020,
through May 15, 2020, you do not need
to re-submit your comments.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
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18390
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 30, 2022 / Notices
The BLM will work collaboratively
with interested parties to identify the
management decisions that are best
suited to local, regional, and national
needs and concerns.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR
1610.2)
Theresa M. Hanley,
Acting BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director.
[FR Doc. 2022–06680 Filed 3–29–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–DN–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCOG01200 L12200000.MA0000 223]
Notice of Intent To Implement Camping
Permit and Future Fee Program on
Public Lands at Rabbit Valley in Mesa
County, CO
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) is implementing a
future expanded amenity fee program
for camping at Rabbit Valley
campgrounds, located within McInnis
Canyons National Conservation Area
(NCA) in Mesa County, Colorado. The
fee program will allow the BLM to meet
increasing demand for camping
activities, protect resources, prevent
further deterioration of the recreation
setting, enforce existing rules and
regulations, and provide for enhanced
information and educational
opportunities.
DATES: Comments on the proposed fee
changes must be received or postmarked
by June 28, 2022 and must include the
commenter’s legible full name and
address. Starting on Friday, September
30, 2022, the BLM will have the option
to initiate fee collection at Rabbit Valley
campgrounds for overnight visitation,
unless the BLM publishes a Federal
Register notice to the contrary.
Comments received after the close of the
comment period or delivered to an
address other than the one listed in this
notice may not be considered or
included in the administrative record
for the proposed fee program.
ADDRESSES: Please send comments to
the BLM Grand Junction Field Office at
2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506
or by email at blm_co_gj_public_
comments@blm.gov. Documents
concerning this fee change may be
reviewed at the Grand Junction Field
Office. Phone: (970) 244–3000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Collin Ewing, NCA Manager, email:
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SUMMARY:
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cewing@blm.gov; telephone: (970) 244–
3000. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service at (800) 877–8339 to contact Mr.
Ewing during normal business hours.
The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement
Act (FLREA) and BLM policy, the BLM
may collect fees in conjunction with
Recreation Use Permits to manage
visitor use, protect natural and cultural
resources, achieve the goals and
objectives of the applicable management
plan, and authorize specific types of
recreational activities. Under Section
2(g) of the FLREA, certain campgrounds
qualify as sites where visitors can be
charged an ‘‘Expanded Amenity
Recreation Fee.’’ Visitors wishing to use
the expanded amenities can purchase a
recreation use permit as described in the
FLREA implementing regulations at 43
CFR part 2930. Pursuant to FLREA and
the regulations at 43 CFR subpart 2933,
the BLM may charge fees for overnight
camping and group-use reservations
where specific amenities and services
are provided.
The BLM is implementing fee
collection in the Rabbit Valley
campgrounds for overnight camping.
Rabbit Valley is a popular recreation
destination for off-highway vehicle
riding, mountain biking, horseback
riding, and hiking, located off Interstate
70, 2 miles east of the Colorado/Utah
border. In accordance with a July 2019
decision, the BLM will be constructing
new campgrounds in the Rabbit Valley
area. Most campsites in the Rabbit
Valley campgrounds will require a fee of
$20 per night, except for group
campsites, which will range from $20 to
$50 per night, depending on the number
of vehicles ($20 per night for the first
two vehicles, additional vehicles are
$10 per night up to a maximum of five
vehicles). The BLM will identify and
post specific visitor fees at each
campground. Visitors holding an
America the Beautiful—National Parks
and Federal Recreational Lands ‘‘Senior
Annual Pass,’’ ‘‘Senior Lifetime Pass,’’
or ‘‘Access Pass’’ would be entitled to a
50 percent discount on expanded
amenity fees. Veterans and ‘‘Annual
Interagency Pass,’’ ‘‘Fourth Grade Pass,’’
and ‘‘Gold Star Families Parks Pass’’
holders are not entitled to this discount.
The BLM is also implementing a
temporary, fee-free Individual Special
Recreation Permit (ISRP) for camping in
both undeveloped and developed
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designated campsites. Within the
footprint of planned future campground
development, undeveloped campsites
for ISRPs will be designated with a sign.
Dispersed camping outside of developed
and undeveloped designated campsites
will be prohibited. The BLM will phase
out the ISRP as the new campgrounds
in the Rabbit Valley are constructed.
In response to increasing visitor
demand, the BLM issued a July 2019
Decision Record approving the
development of additional campsites in
the Rabbit Valley area as described in an
Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOI–
BLM–CO–S081–2018–0005–EA), and
prepared a Business Plan for the project.
The proposed action described in the
EA, and approved in the Decision
Record, included the option to charge a
fee for overnight camping within the
Rabbit Valley project area. The EA
explained that the fee program would be
developed through a separate process,
which would include public
involvement and consultation with the
BLM Colorado Southwest District
Resource Advisory Council (RAC). The
BLM’s public outreach process and
analysis of the fee program are detailed
in the Business Plan.
The Business Plan outlines the agency
management direction, the need for fee
collection, and how the BLM intends to
use the fees to improve and maintain
the amenities in the Rabbit Valley area.
Information about the use of the fee
revenues will be posted at one or more
kiosks within the fee area annually. As
discussed in the Business Plan, the
camping fees are consistent with other
established fee sites in the region,
including other BLM-administered sites
and those managed by the U.S.
Department of the Interior—National
Park Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture—Forest Service, and the
State of Colorado.
In accordance with the FLREA and
the Council of Environmental Quality
regulations implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act, the BLM has
notified and involved the public
throughout this process. The BLM
released its draft Business Plan and the
Proposed Action for public scoping
from June 24 through July 25, 2018. The
BLM presented the proposed project
and the results of this scoping to the
BLM Colorado Southwest District RAC
on March 8, 2019. The RAC passed a
resolution to support fees in existing
and new campgrounds in Rabbit Valley,
with a separate resolution
recommending that the BLM release the
preliminary EA and an updated
Business Plan for additional public
comment. The public comment period
ran from April 16 through May 17, 2019.
E:\FR\FM\30MRN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18388-18390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06680]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLMTC01000-L10600000-MC0000MO# 4500155770]
Notice of Intent To Amend the Billings Field Office 2015 Resource
Management Plan and To Prepare an Associated Environmental Assessment,
Montana
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Billings Field Office, Billings, Montana, intends to prepare an
amendment to the Billings Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP)
and an associated Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will analyze a
proposed change to the RMP's Management Decision Wild Horse (MD WH-7)
with respect to managing genetic diversity in the Pryor Mountain Wild
Horse herd. This notice initiates the EA scoping process for the RMP
amendment to solicit public comments and identify issues and announces
the opportunity for public review of the planning criteria.
DATES: In order to be included in the analysis, all comments must be
received electronically or in writing no later than April 29, 2022. The
BLM does not plan to hold any scoping meetings for this RMP amendment.
We will provide additional opportunities for public participation as
appropriate.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically through the BLM e-
planning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1502632/510, or written comments may be sent to Wild Horse & Burro
Coordinator, Billings Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 5001
Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave LeFevre, telephone 406-896-5349,
or email [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact Mr. LeFevre during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. Normal
business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except for Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document provides notice that the BLM
Billings Field Office, Billings, MT, intends to amend the Billings
Field Office RMP and prepare an associated EA, announces the proposed
plan amendment scoping process, and seeks public input on issues and
planning criteria. Planning criteria help define decision space and are
based upon applicable laws, Director and State Director guidance, and
the results of public and governmental participation (43 CFR 1610.4-2).
The draft planning criteria considered in the development of the
proposed amendment include:
(1) The proposed amendment will be completed in compliance with
NEPA, FLPMA, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act, as amended,
and the implementing regulations in 43 CFR 1700, BLM Wild Horses and
Burros Management Handbook H-1700-1, and other applicable laws,
regulations, and policy.
(2) The proposed amendment is limited to MD WH-7 and would not
change any other existing planning decisions in the Billings Field
Office RMP.
(3) The proposed amendment would only apply to lands and resources
managed by the BLM as described in the 2015 Billings Field Office RMP;
it would not change management direction for other agencies.
(4) Decisions are compatible with existing plans and policies of
adjacent local, State, Federal, and Tribal agencies, so long as the
decisions are consistent with the purposes, policies, and programs of
Federal law and regulations applicable to public lands.
The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is located in the Pryor
Mountains in southeastern Carbon County, Montana, and northern Big Horn
County, Wyoming, and encompasses approximately 38,000 acres of land.
In 2009, the BLM approved the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range/
Territory Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) that identified management
objectives for the Pryor Mountain wild horses and horse range. The 2009
HMAP managed the Pryor Mountain wild horses for a
[[Page 18389]]
phenotype animal reminiscent of a ``Colonial Spanish Mustang'' as
described by ``Sponenberg North American Colonial Spanish Horses''
while balancing colors, sex ratios, and age structures.
In 2015, the BLM approved a new RMP for the Billings Field Office.
That RMP at MD WH-2 provides direction for the BLM to ``Maintain a wild
horse herd that exhibits a diverse age structure, genetic diversity,
and any characteristics unique to the Pryor horses.'' Additionally, MD
WH-7 states that ``Within an HMAP, herd structure will be managed for
all representations in the herd, not allowing specific colors or
bloodlines to dominate from management manipulation.'' However, the
2015 RMP does not define ``all representations'' in the herd, and the
wording is ambiguous.
In the 2015 RMP, it is evident that the intent of MD WH-7 was to
limit the loss of genetic diversity, consistent with Goal WH-2
(``Maintain a wild horse herd that exhibits a diverse age structure,
genetic diversity, and any characteristics unique to the Pryor
horses.''). However, maximizing genetic diversity at the expense of
ecosystem sustainability is not a management goal or directive for the
herd.
An interpretation that every possible crossing of any given mare
and any given stallion should leave a surviving foal (i.e., a
``representation'' of the bloodline from that particular crossing) is
not practical to implement for several reasons. If foals from every
possible pairing of any stallion and any mare are interpreted to be a
``representation,'' then that precludes removal of any animal unless it
has full siblings. However, because individual stallions sire offspring
with multiple mares, and individual mares may mate with multiple
stallions, there would be an ever-increasing number of
``representations'' in the herd. Because the population recruitment
rate far exceeds the death rate, not removing ``representations''
without full siblings would result in unsustainable population growth.
Under this scenario, Appropriate Management Level would be
mathematically impossible to achieve.
Other impracticalities exist as well. The BLM cannot cause all
patrilineal or matrilineal lines to be propagated. When considering
patrilineal lines, not all stallions get to reproduce; breeding is
often limited to the band stallion, and some horses may forever remain
a bachelor stallion. There are also practical matters related to the
well-being of animals that are removed from the wild. Wild horse
adoption programs tend to place animals into homes more readily with
younger horses as they are more adoptable and transition more readily
to domestic life compared to an older horse. However, when young horses
are gathered and removed from the range, many of them will not have
reached maturity and produced an offspring.
The BLM proposes to amend MD WH-7 to make it consistent with RMP
Goal WH2 to maintain genetic diversity and to align with management
guidance in the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Handbook H-4700-1 for
maintaining desirable genetic diversity (avoiding inbreeding
depression). Specifically, the BLM proposes to amend the RMP to modify
MD WH-7 as stated below:
``MD WH-7 (Proposed Amendment): Maintain desirable levels of
genetic diversity, as measured by Observed Heterozygosity (Ho).
Observed heterozygosity is a measure of how much diversity is found, on
average, within individual animals in the Herd Management Area (HMA).
If Ho drops below thresholds identified in the BLM Wild Horse and Burro
Handbook H-4700-1, then BLM would take one or any combination of the
following actions to reduce the possible risks associated with
inbreeding depression:
(1) Maximize the number of fertile, breeding age wild horses (6-10
years) within the herd;
(2) adjust the sex ratio in favor of males (but with not more than
approximately 60 percent males); or
(3) introduce mares or stallions from other wild horse HMAs.
Prioritize introductions from herds with characteristics similar to the
Pryor Mountain horses, such as the Sulfur herd in Utah, the Cerbat
Mountain herd in Arizona, or others.''
BLM Handbook H-4700-1 guidance notes that herds with observed
heterozygosity values that are one standard deviation below the mean
are considered at critical risk. Hair samples last collected from the
Pryor Mountain herd in February 2013 indicated that values for observed
heterozygosity were above the mean for feral horse herds at that time.
The BLM would continue to collect genetic samples to monitor genetic
diversity. The results of current and future genetic monitoring
efforts, along with previous monitoring results, would indicate if loss
of genetic diversity is a concern and if any of the management actions
as noted in the proposed amendment would need to be taken.
Maintaining desirable levels of genetic diversity would also assure
a variety of colors are maintained in the Pryor Mountain horse herd.
Pryor Mountain horses exhibit a variety of colors, with common colors
including dun, grulla, bay, black, and roan. Less common colors that
appear in the herd include red or apricot dun, chestnut, sorrel,
palomino, and buckskin. Color is a phenotypic representation of
dominant or recessive genes passed through generations. A horse that is
a rare color may not produce offspring that are also a rare color. BLM
is proposing to revise MD WH-7 to address genetic diversity in a manner
that is consistent with the Wild Horse and Burro Handbook, but
consideration of color would be addressed through MD WH-2
(characteristics unique to the Pryors) and Selective Removal Criteria.
Supplemental information on the proposed plan amendment is
available on BLM's e-Planning website at the project link noted earlier
in the ADDRESSES section. The BLM will prepare an EA to consider the
proposed plan amendment as well as revisions to the 2009 HMAP including
objectives for fertility control, gather criteria, and rangeland and
riparian management (the public comment period for scoping the HMAP
revisions is closed, and previously submitted comments regarding the
HMAP revisions do not need to be re-submitted). The proposed plan
amendment is limited to proposed changes to MD WH-7 that would replace
direction to manage for ``all representations in the herd'' with
direction to maintain desirable levels of genetic diversity to reduce
the possible risks associated with inbreeding depression.
You may submit comments electronically or in writing on the
proposed amendment to the BLM as shown in the ADDRESSES section
earlier. If you already submitted scoping comments on proposed
revisions to the HMAP EA, including any comments related to the
Appropriate Management Level, management objectives for the wild horse
population, including fertility control and gather criteria, and
management objectives for the Pryor Horse Range, during the comment
period that ran from April 9, 2020, through May 15, 2020, you do not
need to re-submit your comments.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
[[Page 18390]]
The BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to
identify the management decisions that are best suited to local,
regional, and national needs and concerns.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Theresa M. Hanley,
Acting BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-06680 Filed 3-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P
