Public input sought on Ochoco wild horse planning
As part of a three-year effort to update the management plan for the Big Summit herd of wild horses on the Ochoco National Forest, interested members of the public are invited to join a monthly stakeholder group focusing on mutual education, exploration, dialogue and eventually bringing management recommendations to forest planners.
The Big Summit wild horse herd lives on the Ochoco National Forest and horses can often be observed near Ochoco Ranger Station and Lookout Mountain, about 25 miles east of Prineville.
The Big Summit Territory is a 27,300-acre herd management area established in 1975 to provide for the protection, management and control of the horses in a manner consistent with the Wild and Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
The Big Summit Territory Herd Management Plan is more than 40 years old, having been established in 1975. The Forest Service is undertaking an effort to review the herd management plan and update it in response to any conditions or circumstances which may have changed since the first plan was established.
“The tools prescribed 40 years ago are limiting or unavailable currently,” said Tory Kurtz, Rangeland Management Specialist and team leader for the project.
The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council is convening a stakeholder involvement group that will meet once a month for at least the next two years to engage in mutual learning about the issues associated with wild horse management and develop a set of recommendations that forest planners can incorporate into an environmental analysis for plan revision.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about this planning effort and who might consider volunteering to be a part of the public involvement group is encouraged to stop by the Ochoco National Forest office at 3160 NE Third Street in Prineville between the hours of noon and 7 pm on Tuesday, November 17, to discuss with forest employees.
Or, for more information, please contact Tory Kurtz at (541) 416-6407 or tlkurtz@fs.fed.us.
