ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) — A public comment period has started for a draft resource management plan amendment and associated draft environmental impact statement for wild horse management in southern Wyoming, land agency officials said.
The Bureau of Land Management has made the draft amendment and related documents available for review and comment until April 30, the Rocket-Miner reported Thursday.
The draft amendment would update wild horse management direction within the White Mountain, Great Divide Basin, Adobe Town, and Salt Wells Creek herd management areas, officials said.
The analysis considers strategies for the herd management areas, which encompasses about 4,400 square miles (11,400 square kilometers), agency officials said.
“Resolving land-use conflicts in an area with closely mingled public and private lands can be difficult, especially when managing wild animals accustomed to freely roaming between them. We’re working to comply with the consent decree and resolve the conflict over wild horses’ use of private resources in the most effective way,” agency High Desert District Manager Tim Wakefield said.
The Bureau of Land Management hopes to protect wild horses and burros on public land through its wild horse and burro program, agency officials said.
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act requires the protection of wild horses on public lands, but it also requires the agency to remove wild horses that stray onto private land if requested by landowners, officials said.