BLM briefs Churchill County: grazing pilot in Pleasant Valley, sage-grouse decision expected, wild-horse counts corrected
October 16, 2025 | Churchill County, Nevada
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Mark Mazza, Assistant Field Manager for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), briefed the Churchill County Board of Commissioners on a slate of public-land projects that involve grazing, wildlife surveys, wild-horse management, geothermal and mineral exploration.
Mazza said the Sand Canyon project and other right-of-way and maintenance-agreement matters remain in baseline study stages. On rangeland management, he described a first-of-its-kind prescribed-grazing fuels-reduction project under the Great Basin Targeted Grazing and Prescribed Grazing Fuels Reduction environmental assessment. The county’s operator is Pleasant Valley Livestock at Eastgate Ranch; the expected grazing period was scheduled to begin Oct. 1 but BLM was awaiting construction of a required fence before issuing a permit and a letter of authorization.
On grazing permits and the B-sixteen grazing decisions, Mazza said those final decisions were issued and entered a 30-day appeal period that closed Oct. 10. He noted the BLM and Bureau of Reclamation interagency coordination remains ongoing.
Sage-grouse and wildlife surveys
Mazza said a Nevada-specific Record of Decision for a Sage-Grouse Land Use Plan Amendment originally targeted for October 2025 remained pending; staff are tracking the release and links to planning pages that describe how multiple uses are accommodated in sage-grouse habitat types.
Wild-horse counts and adoption
Mazza described corrected flight numbers from spring census flights, explaining the BLM adjusts raw counts to account for visibility (terrain, ground cover) and that the corrections took longer this year. He reported corrected counts from a set of herd areas: the Pilot Mountain herd at 653 horses (the herd’s appropriate management level, or AML, high end cited in the presentation was 415), the Marietta burro herd at 168 burros (AML cited as 104), the Pine Nuts herd at 283 (AML 179), the Garfield Flat herd at 206 (AML 125), and the Wausau herd at 128 (AML 165), the latter being the only herd the BLM flew this year that was below its AML. Mazza also noted an adoption event scheduled for Oct. 25 with 20 saddle-trained horses available through the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.
Geothermal and mineral developments
Mazza said the Diamond Flat geothermal project is in implementation after emergency permitting under alternative arrangements and that other geothermal leases in the Carson Desert were proceeding toward a Finding of No Significant Impact and lease sale for resource confirmation. He reported baseline documentation provided to Ormat for an ongoing project and said the BLM was awaiting responses.
On mineral exploration, Mazza updated the board that a Cosmo Lithium exploration proposal in Dixie Valley is being refined with the proponent and that the Bell Mountain Mine remains in pre-construction pending final design; a separate Cosmosagittarius exploration proposal is proceeding under a notice-level arrangement that allows up to 5 acres of disturbance.
Other items
Mazza said the Great Basin Pipeline relocation is a cooperative project with FERC and ongoing bimonthly meetings, and that the Greenlink North transmission project remains in a protest-resolution stage managed from BLM headquarters because it spans multiple districts. He also noted recent recreation events at Sand Mountain and that staff are preparing for the coming Halloween period when visitation is typically highest.
Questions from the commissioners focused on the novelty of the Pleasant Valley grazing permitting approach and the BLM’s process for appeals on grazing decisions. Mazza reiterated that the prescribed grazing authorization is a different permitting authority than standard grazing permits and requires monitoring tied to fuel-load reduction objectives.
Ending
Mazza closed by offering to follow up with affected county staff on specifics (fence completion, permit timing and the sage-grouse decision). Commissioners did not take action; the briefing provided situational awareness for future county coordination on road, grazing and mineral matters on federal land.
Mazza said the Sand Canyon project and other right-of-way and maintenance-agreement matters remain in baseline study stages. On rangeland management, he described a first-of-its-kind prescribed-grazing fuels-reduction project under the Great Basin Targeted Grazing and Prescribed Grazing Fuels Reduction environmental assessment. The county’s operator is Pleasant Valley Livestock at Eastgate Ranch; the expected grazing period was scheduled to begin Oct. 1 but BLM was awaiting construction of a required fence before issuing a permit and a letter of authorization.
On grazing permits and the B-sixteen grazing decisions, Mazza said those final decisions were issued and entered a 30-day appeal period that closed Oct. 10. He noted the BLM and Bureau of Reclamation interagency coordination remains ongoing.
Sage-grouse and wildlife surveys
Mazza said a Nevada-specific Record of Decision for a Sage-Grouse Land Use Plan Amendment originally targeted for October 2025 remained pending; staff are tracking the release and links to planning pages that describe how multiple uses are accommodated in sage-grouse habitat types.
Wild-horse counts and adoption
Mazza described corrected flight numbers from spring census flights, explaining the BLM adjusts raw counts to account for visibility (terrain, ground cover) and that the corrections took longer this year. He reported corrected counts from a set of herd areas: the Pilot Mountain herd at 653 horses (the herd’s appropriate management level, or AML, high end cited in the presentation was 415), the Marietta burro herd at 168 burros (AML cited as 104), the Pine Nuts herd at 283 (AML 179), the Garfield Flat herd at 206 (AML 125), and the Wausau herd at 128 (AML 165), the latter being the only herd the BLM flew this year that was below its AML. Mazza also noted an adoption event scheduled for Oct. 25 with 20 saddle-trained horses available through the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.
Geothermal and mineral developments
Mazza said the Diamond Flat geothermal project is in implementation after emergency permitting under alternative arrangements and that other geothermal leases in the Carson Desert were proceeding toward a Finding of No Significant Impact and lease sale for resource confirmation. He reported baseline documentation provided to Ormat for an ongoing project and said the BLM was awaiting responses.
On mineral exploration, Mazza updated the board that a Cosmo Lithium exploration proposal in Dixie Valley is being refined with the proponent and that the Bell Mountain Mine remains in pre-construction pending final design; a separate Cosmosagittarius exploration proposal is proceeding under a notice-level arrangement that allows up to 5 acres of disturbance.
Other items
Mazza said the Great Basin Pipeline relocation is a cooperative project with FERC and ongoing bimonthly meetings, and that the Greenlink North transmission project remains in a protest-resolution stage managed from BLM headquarters because it spans multiple districts. He also noted recent recreation events at Sand Mountain and that staff are preparing for the coming Halloween period when visitation is typically highest.
Questions from the commissioners focused on the novelty of the Pleasant Valley grazing permitting approach and the BLM’s process for appeals on grazing decisions. Mazza reiterated that the prescribed grazing authorization is a different permitting authority than standard grazing permits and requires monitoring tied to fuel-load reduction objectives.
Ending
Mazza closed by offering to follow up with affected county staff on specifics (fence completion, permit timing and the sage-grouse decision). Commissioners did not take action; the briefing provided situational awareness for future county coordination on road, grazing and mineral matters on federal land.
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