Pryor Mountain withdrawal extension discussed at public meeting last week

A meeting of the minds and information session regarding the extension of a federal withdrawal of public land in Big Horn County for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range was held Thursday at the Lovell Community Center.
Members of the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center board and Bureau of Land Management officials made up the bulk of those attending the public meeting, which was largely informational in nature, with those attending invited to submit comments to the BLM.
Cyndi Eide, BLM realty specialist and withdrawal lead with the Montana State Office, led the discussion with Stacie Thompson, assistant field manager with the Billings Field Office, running a PowerPoint presentation. Also present were BLM realty specialist Marzha Fritzler and Jon David, assistant field manager for lands and minerals from the Cody Field Office.
Also attending were Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center board members Amanda Bennion and Angelina Hutzenbiler of Lovell and board president Joann Almlof of Cody, as well as retired National Park Service archaeologist Chris Finley.
As explained in the PowerPoint presentation, the withdrawal extension applies to 1,960 acres of public land in Big Horn County, Wyoming. The legal location is identified in the Federal Register notice published January 17, 2024. A 90-day public comment period ends April 16.
According to the BLM, purpose of the existing withdrawal is to protect the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. It will expire on March 7, 2025, if not extended. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior proposes to extend the withdrawal for an additional 20-year term.
The original purpose of the withdrawal was to protect wild horse and wildlife habitat and watershed, recreation, cultural and scenic values within the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. The withdrawal is a distinct and separate action from the Wild Horse Herd Management Plan being drafted by the Billings Field Office, the BLM noted.
According to an FAQ presented at Thursday’s meeting, a withdrawal “serves to withhold (close) an area of federal land from settlement, sale, location or entry under some, or all, of the general land laws, including the United States mining laws, for the purpose of limiting activities under those laws in order to maintain certain public values in the area or reserving the area for a particular purpose or program.”
The BLM added that the final decision on the withdrawal extension will neither increase nor decrease the size of the current withdrawal. A withdrawal extension can only act to extend the term of the original.
The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range was created by order of Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall in September of 1968, the BLM said, and the first withdrawal of the 1,960 acres was done in September of 1980. The withdrawal expired in September of 2000 and was not renewed until March 8, 2005. This is the current withdrawal that will expire on March 7 of next year if not extended.
The proposed withdrawal extension would be subject to existing rights, but the BLM pointed out that no active mining claims exist within the boundaries of the withdrawal. Private surface rights and private mineral rights would not be affected, nor would other land management activities or management of the wild horse herd, the PowerPoint stated.
Some of the features of the withdrawal area incude:
• Fossils of Early Cretaceous land vertebrates and plants have been discovered and are protected by the withdrawal.
• Water capturing tanks, called guzzlers, have been installed to capture rain and snowfall to provide drinking water for horses and wildlife.
• Rare and sensitive plant species can be observed in this low rainfall area.
• Visitors are allowed to recreate on the withdrawn lands.
• UTV and ATV use is popular on the rough roads within the withdrawal area and wild horse range.
• Wild horses may be viewed from vistas along a paved road north of Lovell.
• Other wildlife found in the area include bighorn sheep, black bear, elk and mule deer.
Asked why the withdrawal applies only to a Wyoming portion of the wild horse range, Eide explained that Montana lands within the horse range are protected from mining, whereas Wyoming had “opened up” the lands to mining years ago. The withdrawal protects the horse range from mining, she noted.
The BLM welcomes comments, suggestions or objections regarding the proposed withdrawal extension, and all written comments submitted by April 16 will be considered. Written comments may be mailed or hand delivered to: BLM, Billings Field Office Manager, Attn: Pryor Mountain Proposed Withdrawal Extension, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101.