The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District (EYDO) has prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to address potential environmental consequences associated with livestock, wild horse management, and wildlife actions carried out during drought. The EYDO manages approximately 11.5 million acres of public land within White Pine, Lincoln, and Nye Counties in Nevada. The BLM administers this area through three field offices; the Egan Field Office (EFO) the Schell Field Office (SFO) and the Caliente Field Office (CFO) (see Map 1).

The EYDO is located within the Central Basin and Range and Mojave Basin and Range ecoregions defined by the Western Ecology Division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (see Map 2).

Drought has been defined by the Society of Range Management as, “(1) A prolonged chronic shortage of water, as compared to the norm, often associated with high temperatures and winds during spring, summer, and fall. (2) A period without precipitation during which the soil water content is reduced to such an extent that plants suffer from lack of water.” (Bedell 1998).

The effects of drought are often times far reaching, impacting the environment and economy of an area. This EA will focus primarily on the environmental impacts of drought. Specific impacts depend on drought severity but often include:

Increased number and severity of fires

Lack of forage and drinking water

Decreased vigor and production of plants

Damage to plant species

Increased wind and water erosion of soils

Reduction and degradation of fish and wildlife habitat

Increased death loss of wildlife, wild horses and livestock

Drought is a recurring, albeit unpredictable, environmental feature which must be included in planning (Thurow and Taylor 1999). The degree to which drought impairs the range depends on the intensity, frequency and timing of grazing (Howery 1999).

This EA analyzes a range of management alternatives that the BLM could implement to mitigate the effects of drought and to address emergency situations. Emergency situations include but are not limited to wild horse water depravation and death, major soil erosion events, rangeland degradation, livestock starvation due to lack of forage, Adverse impacts to habitats and non-managed species dependent upon them that could be mitigated through management of livestock and horses.