Howdy, readers.
Just a quick update to let you all know that the scoping letter ahead of the EA for the Spring Creek Basin roundup (and, hopefully, fertility control program) will be coming out shortly. If you want to get on the mailing list to have a letter sent directly to you, please call the Dolores Public Lands Office in Dolores, Colo., at (970) 882-6800 by Monday, March 28.
I’ve been told the scoping letter and EA will be here when it comes out if you don’t want to call (you’ll have to provide contact information with your comment):
www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/sjplc.html
By the time of the roundup, we’ll likely have 90-95 horses. If a roundup is not held this year, we’ll have ~128 next year. The appropriate management level is 35 to 65. When 110-120 horses lived in the basin at the time of the 2007 roundup, the horses were very lean; after the roundup, with less pressure on scarce resources, the condition of the 43 remaining horses improved rapidly.
We are proposing that the fertility control program – using native/annual PZP and trained volunteer darters – be implemented in conjunction with the roundup this fall. It’s my understanding that this scoping letter is precisely our opportunity to let BLM know what we want to happen with management of our Spring Creek Basin mustangs going forward. Fertility control – limiting the birth rate of the horses – will limit the population growth – will reduce the need for roundups, which is the goal we’re all after. Continuing to allow the horses to breed unchecked is status quo – which is what we’re all trying to change.
When it does come out, I’ll post the direct link as well as specific information about where to send comments and by what deadline. We’re going to resubmit the fertility control proposal I wrote last year, but I hope to put together some points to make when crafting your own comments and have them available here on the blog.
This marks a potentially huge step in the “best science” and most hands-off (reduction in roundups) management of our Spring Creek Basin mustangs, and you all have the chance to be part of it – just like you have with the recent Pryor Mountain and McCullough Peaks EAs. Little Book Cliffs has been darting annually uninterrupted for almost nine years (this year). Pryor Mountain has done it, has been stopped, is doing it again. McCullough Peaks most recently approved an annual PZP darting program.
Please help Spring Creek Basin join that list. I know the horses, I’m trained, I’m ready to go. The program just needs the green light from BLM – and to get that, apparently, we need YOU to tell BLM this is what we, the people, want of our government, for our mustangs.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Too late for a phone call, so I’ll have to trust my luck to the Internet. I always ask whomever receives my emails to send a confirmation. Out of about 25 submissions, I received only one reply. Not very encouraging, when you put time and effort into thoughtful comments. And I’ve sent back-up copies by regular mail, also requesting an email confirmation. No dice on any of those. VERY frustrating!
I tried the link, but it didn’t work. Maybe it isn’t active yet.
Argh. That’s a typo – it should be by March 28. Thanks for catching that! I’ll get it changed. I moved the link to the next line – it should work now. (The EA is not up yet.)
It would probably be more surprising if you got a reply to your comments. In our case, the scoping letter and EA are being written by a retired BLM’er – time and personnel are short.
Called today (Thursday, March 24th about 2:00 PM) and asked to be put on the mailing list. I assume the stuff will be in the mail to us today or tomorrow. Still, that doesn’t leave much time, does it? I mean, do our comments HAVE to be back into the DPLO by, on or before March 28th?
Lynn and Kathy, I just called, and the gentleman said he didn’t know when the comments were due, but would call and find out. I think (legally) it’s supposed to be at least 30 days from publication of the letter, but I’m not sure about that.
Sorry if I was unclear! The March 28 deadline is just to get on the list to be mailed the scoping letter – the scoping letter itself is not out yet. I think it will come out very soon after that mailing list deadline – so next week? Once it’s out, yep – it’s usually a 30-day comment period. The letter itself will give the comment period deadline – and it will be online (though there are sometimes problems …). I just wanted to allow people to get on the list to get an actual letter if they want. Then you should be on the list to also get the EA.