Tassi-Gold Butte HMA

Location: The Tassi-Gold Butte Herd Management Area (HMA) is in northwestern Arizona, approximately 60 miles south, southwest of St. George, Utah and 35 miles south, southeast of Mesquite, Nevada.   It is on the Arizona Strip District – Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. The monument is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS), as is the HMA. The HMA is bounded on the west by the Arizona-Nevada Stateline and the Million Hills and on the east by the Grand Wash Cliffs.  It is northeast of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Size: Tassi-Gold Butte HMA is 101,816 acres of remote and rugged Mojave Desert landscape.

Topography/Vegetation: The area is a collection of steep cliffs on the eastern edge giving way to rough rocky hills and desert bajadas intersected by numerous draws and sandy washes.  Major topographic features include the Grand Wash Cliffs, Grand Wash, Pigeon Wash, Gyp Hills and the Nevershine Mesa. A series of springs run along the Grand Wash including Seven Springs and Tassi Spring providing water for desert creatures.  The Million Hills and Azure Ridge run along the southwestern edge near the Arizona-Nevada Stateline. Elevation ranges from 1,220 to 4,800 feet.  Climate is generally hot, dry in the summer and mild in the winter, with summertime temperatures reaching 110° F. Summer monsoon rains normally occur from July through September and are usually high intensity thunderstorms of short duration. Average annual precipitation is approximately 7 inches. The dominate vegetation is creosote bush/bursage, Mojave mixed shrub with some Great Basin black brush communities. There are small islands of desert riparian vegetation, which may include cottonwood trees and willows, around some of the perennial springs.

Wildlife: Home to the threatened Desert Tortoise as well as more common Mojave Desert species such as desert bighorn sheep, rabbits, coyotes, mountain lions, migratory birds, raptors, and of course rattlesnakes and other reptiles.

AML: The Appropriate Management Level (AML) is set at zero for both the BLM and NPS portions of the HMA. The most recent gather is 2019 Seven Springs Ranch Nuisance Wild Burro Gather where 40 wild burros were gathered, removed, and made available for adoption through the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program.