File Code: 1950

Date: April 15, 2003

Re: Environmental Assessment for the Jicarilla
Wildhorse Territory on the Jicarilla Ranger District,
Carson National Forest

Dear Interested Party:

The intent of this letter is to inform you about the status of the environmental assessment (EA) for the Jicarilla Wild Horse Territory. The Jicariula Ranger District has been reevaluating the pre-decisional EA that was previously sent out for comment in September 2000. After evaluating the status and proposed action for the previous EA, the Responsible Official has decided that it would be prudent to manage the Wild Horse Territory at the appropraite management level (AML) instead of trying to manage for a specific number of horses, as proposed in the previous assessment. It has also been determined that the 1,300 acres of proposed annual range improvements documented in the previous EA was probably not realistic based on limited budgets and labor. However, range improvements will continue to be planned and implemented. The range improvements will be analyzed seperately as they are proposed.

Based on the present condition of the available forage capacity within the Territory, the number of horses left on the range during any given period will be determined by analysis that considers range conditions at the time of consideration. The reason for this change of the proposed action includes the present reocurring drought conditions and the fact that recent horse counts show a horse herd of 200+ animals. The combination of the two factors has severly impacted range conditions within the Jicarilla Wild Horse Territory.

Because of the time since the review of the original EA, we are asking again for your comments and concerns pertaining to the revised proposal. We plan to have a revised EA out for 30-day pre-decisional review in the next few months. We ask that you provide us with any comments or concern no later than May 16, 2003. We would also like to ask you to notify us if you are interested in receiving a copy of the EA during the 30-day pre-decisional review period. If we do not hear from you, it will be assumed that you are no longer interested and you will not receive a copy of the pre-decisional assessment when it becomes available.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please contact Stan Dykes or Randy Houtz at the Jicarilla District office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

MARK S. CATRON
District Forest Ranger

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Last modified: 04/25/08