New Pass-Ravenswood HMA

The primary colors of the horses are bay, black, and brown. Some of the animals are Curlies. 

Location: The New Pass-Ravenswood Herd Management Area (HMA) is located approximately 35 miles northwest of Austin, Nevada, in Lander County.

Size: The area consists of 284,475 acres of BLM land and 1,403 acres of a mix of private and other public lands for a total of 285,878 acres.

Topography/Vegetation: The terrain across most of the former Shoshone-Eureka planning area managed by the Battle Mountain Field Office is typical of the Great Basin region. There are steep north and south trending mountain ranges separated by large, sweeping valley bottoms. Temperatures range from in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to less than 20 degrees below zero in the winter. Precipitation is in short supply with an annual total of only 5 to 16 inches. 

The HMA is approximately 18 miles wide and 24 miles long and consists of north-south trending mountains surrounded by valley bottoms. The New Pass Range provides the western boundary of the area, with the Ravenswood Mountains in the eastern portion of the HMA. The Antelope and Reese River Valleys fall in between the mountain ranges at an elevation of 5,100 feet. The highest point in the HMA is New Pass Peak at 9,003 feet. 

Vegetation types are distributed according to topography and elevation and the associated precipitation. Within the highest elevations, and subsequently the greatest precipitation, the vegetation consists primarily of pinyon pine and juniper trees, mountain mahogany and low sagebrush.  The lower and drier elevations consist of saltbrush, greasewood, sagebrush and a variety of annual and perennial grasses and wildflowers. In some areas it may take 25 acres to support one horse for a month.

Wildlife: In addition to the wild horses, domestic cattle and domestic sheep often utilize the HMAs. Wildlife species occurring in the area include mule deer, sage grouse, chukar, coyote, mountain lion, bobcat, pronghorn antelope and numerous other small mammals, birds and reptiles.

AML:  340-566