Shawave Mountains HMA

Horses within the HMA are descendants of ranch horses and horses that either escaped or were released into the area. The majority of horses exhibit a bay, brown or sorrel color, however there are also quite a few roan and dun horses found in the area.

Location: The Shawave Mountains Herd Management Area (HMA) is located in western Pershing County, approximately 50 miles northeast of Reno, Nevada.  

Size: The area consists of 139,552 acres of BLM land and 37,652 acres of a mix of private and other public lands for a total of 177,204 acres.

Topography/Vegetation: The terrain in the area consists of north-south trending mountains separated by broad valleys. Elevations within the HMA range from 4,000 feet along the valley floor to 7,771 feet at Juniper
Mountain. Climate is characterized by warm dry days, cool nights and low yearly precipitation that ranges from 4 to 6 inches at lower elevations to approximately 10 inches at higher elevations.

Vegetation varies from salt desert shrub communities at lower elevations to big sagebrush/grass communities at upper elevations. Typical species in the salt desert shrub community includes shadscale, budsage, winterfat, black greasewood, indian rice grass, squirrel tail and desert needlegrass. Species typical of the sagebrush/grass communities include low sage, Wyoming sagebrush, desert peach, rabbit brush, needlegrasses, basin wild rye, squirrel tail, indian paintbrush and phlox.

Wildlife: The area is also utilized by domestic livestock and numerous wildlife species. Typical wildlife species found in the area include mule deer, pronghorn antelope, California bighorn sheep, chukar partridge, coyote, and various rodents.

AML:  82-136