Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Land Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
BLM updates Carson City district work in Churchill County, highlights grazing, wild‑horse counts and geothermal leasing
Summary
BLM Assistant Field Manager Mark Mazza briefed the Churchill County board on multiple federal projects: targeted grazing to reduce cheatgrass fire risk, corrected wild‑horse census figures for several herds, ongoing geothermal lease activity, and exploration proposals in Dixie Valley.
Mark Mazza, Assistant Field Manager for the Bureau of Land Management(BLM), told the Churchill County Board of Commissioners that several federal land projects affecting Churchill and neighboring Mineral County are moving through baseline and implementation stages. He described work on the Sand Canyon baseline study and reiterated that recently issued B‑16 grazing decisions completed their appeal period on Oct. 10.
Mazza said the BLM is implementing a first‑of‑its‑kind targeted grazing project under the Great Basin Targeted Grazing and Prescribed Grazing Fuels Reduction environmental assessment. The operator, Pleasant Valley Livestock, is constructing a required perimeter fence; after the fence is finished the BLM will issue a permit and a letter of authorization to graze the site to reduce annual grass (cheatgrass) fuel loads.
On wild horses, Mazza reported corrected figures from March aerial flights. He said the Pilot Mountain herd was counted at about 653 animals (appropriate management level, AML, high end 415), Marietta herd at 168 (AML 104), Pine Nuts at roughly 283 (AML 179), Garfield Flat about 206 (AML 125), and the Wausau herd at 128 (below its AML of 165). Mazza said corrected counts take terrain and visibility into account and that the BLM expects adoptions later this month, including saddle‑trained animals available at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center.
On energy and minerals, Mazza said baseline materials related to proposed geothermal work were provided to federal partners and the proponent Ormat; the Diamond Flat project, permitted under alternative arrangements, is in implementation. He also noted a Finding of No Significant Impact is expected to be posted so geothermal leases in the Carson Desert can proceed to resource confirmation.
Mazza highlighted two lithium/locatable‑minerals exploration proposals in Dixie Valley: a Cosmo lithium exploration project (larger exploration) and a separate Cosmo notice‑level exploration arrangement allowing up to five acres of disturbance for locatable minerals. He said BLM staff continue to coordinate externally for pipeline and transmission projects (including the Great Basin pipeline cooperative work with FERC and the Green Lake North protest resolution at headquarters).
Board members asked technical questions about grazing permits, appeal timelines and baseline surveys; Mazza clarified the 15‑day protest and 30‑day appeal periods and described the BLMs process for final decisions. He said staff are prioritizing affected grazing permits for full renewal and continuing wildlife and seasonal baseline surveys for sage‑grouse habitat planning.
The BLM briefing was presented as an informational update; no county action was taken.
