BATTLE MOUNTAIN – Bureau of Land Management Battle Mountain District Manager Doug Furtado collaborated on a grazing agreement Friday, May 23 with the permittees of the Argenta Allotment located in Lander County, Nevada.
“Over the past year, BLM Nevada managers have been working with stakeholders who use and enjoy the public lands in Nevada to find ways to cope with drought throughout the state,” said BLM Nevada State Director Amy Lueders. “We will continue to work collaboratively to find solutions that allow for resource recovery and meet the needs of the many hunters, ranchers, hikers, mining industry, wildlife enthusiasts and others who rely on these lands.”
The agreement becomes valid for a full grazing year following a two-week temporary measure to allow the paperwork to be finalized. The District staff has been working with the permittees and local county commissioners since February 2014 to come to an equitable solution.
As reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor – operated out of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln – dry conditions are prevailing across most of the West, with severe, extreme, or exceptional drought now covering all of California, most of Nevada, and parts of Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The BLM is taking measures in response to these drought-related challenges. BLM field offices where drought is occurring are working with livestock operators to implement temporary changes in grazing practices, which may involve livestock adjustments, grazing rotations, water hauling, or rest of pastures. In Nevada, there has been a voluntary reduction of more than 400,000 Animal Unit Months (AUM) by livestock permittees. This is a 20 percent reduction from total AUMs.
Although the drought’s impact on ecosystem process and function is beyond the control BLM staff, the agency will continue to address issues and manage uses with a view toward the long-term health and productivity of the public lands, which includes working with affected ranchers to minimize impacts to their operations.
