The attached Allotment Management Plan/Environmental Assessment (AMP/EA) analyzes recommended management actions developed through a 2002 evaluation process for West Warm Springs Allotment to aid in accomplishing resource objectives and meeting Standards for Rangeland Health and land use plan objectives for West Warm Springs Allotment set forth in the 1992 Three Rivers Resource Management Plan/Record of Decision/Rangeland Program Summary (RMP/ROD/RPS). During the 2002 West Warm Springs Allotment evaluation an Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) of Burns District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff determined Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management were not met and one of five Standards for Rangeland Health were not achieved with livestock and wild horses being causal factors (see Table 1 in the attached EA). The IDT recommended and the Three Rivers Resource Area Field Manager concurred Standards for Rangeland Health could be achieved through changes in livestock grazing management and by implementing additional range improvements. West Warm Springs Allotment #7002 is located approximately 34 miles southwest of Burns, Oregon. The 303,653-acre allotment contains 297,449 acres of BLM-managed land, 138 acres of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-managed lands, 57 acres of State of Oregon lands, and 6,009 acres of private land. There are four physically distinct use areas separated by physical boundaries (fences or topography) including the Big Stick, Buzzard, Basque Wells, and the Silver Lake Use Areas. The Big Stick Use Area incorporates two term grazing permits and to distinguish grazing management between both entities, this area is divided into two use areas including the Big Stick and Rimrock Lake Use Areas. Four term grazing permits authorize 11,006 AUMs of active use within West Warm Springs Allotment. The allotment is part of the Warm Springs Wild Horse Herd Management Area.Â
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