BLM updates Lyon County on wild-horse gather, fuels work and multiple solar proposals

Kim Dow, district manager for the Bureau of Land Management—s Carson City District, told the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners on April 17 that the agency is juggling public events, wild‑horse management and a growing number of renewable‑energy applications in the district.

Dow said the BLM plans five off‑highway vehicle races in the coming months and has released an environmental assessment to support a planned gather in the Houghton wild‑horse management area. "We just released it for public comment on April 10," Dow said, referring to the gather plan.

Why it matters: The Houghton HMA was described by BLM staff as well over its appropriate management level. Commissioners and members of the public pressed the agency about how gathers will be timed and coordinated with nearby Naval expansion, tribal concerns, and ranch allotments.

John Palmer, BLM fire management officer, summarized hazardous fuels work completed and planned in Lyon County for the current fiscal year, which runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. "So for this fiscal year so far, we've completed in Lyon County, 53 acres of mastication, 47 acres of pile burning, and then 79 acres of pile creation," Palmer said, and added that the agency plans larger herbicide and mastication treatments in the fall to reduce cheatgrass and other fuels.

BLM lands staff also briefed the board on a long list of solar right‑of‑way applications and associated baseline studies in and around Yerington, Mason Valley and Smith Valley. Shida Rexro, assistant field manager for the Sierra Front Field Office, and other realty staff described several active projects: Parkview Butte (baseline work and raptor surveys), Mason Valley (EIS in progress; geotechnical study requests), Arabia Power/Libra Solar (right‑of‑way issued Nov. 8, 2024), Artemisia Solar (early, applicant engagement pending) and Sleeping Orange (a 500‑megawatt solar facility with a 500 MW battery energy storage system proposed east of Yerington).

Rexro said some projects are at the baseline and survey stage ahead of NEPA work; others are farther along. "We have just a little bit of solar that is also being applied for in Washoe County, but the lion's share of it is in Lyon County," she told the commissioners.

Commissioners pressed BLM on what local control or influence the county can exercise, particularly over road impacts, permitting and possible profit‑sharing or community benefit arrangements. Dow said BLM authorizes use of federal land but that construction and operation also require power‑purchase agreements, transmission interconnection and permits from other agencies. "Our authorization alone cannot approve a project to move forward with being built," Dow said, adding that NV Energy interconnection and county permitting both matter.

The BLM representatives said they offer cooperating‑agency status when NEPA work begins and that proponents sometimes conduct baseline work before formal NEPA is opened, which can surprise local jurisdictions. Rexro said the BLM would make additional notifications to the county and attempt to include county priorities during NEPA and protest periods.

On wild horses, BLM staff said some HMAs are well over AML (appropriate management level) while two HMAs—Horse Mountain and Wasatch—were not flown this year; Horse Mountain had zero horses and Wasatch had an earlier estimate of 197 animals. The agency said public comment on the priority gather will run 30 days and that they are prioritizing completion of an EA so a gather could take place later this summer if approved.

Ending: The BLM said it will provide more detailed NEPA schedules and baseline timelines to the county recorder and will offer cooperating‑agency letters once NEPA phases begin. Commissioners asked the BLM to increase early notifications to county staff and advisory boards when proponents conduct fieldwork or when the Navy or other federal partners are involved.