Horrocks Access Disposal Environmental Assessment, Utah

The Region 6 Office of Conservation Investment (CI) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking public comment on a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding the proposed disposal of 1.48-acres from the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources’ (UDWR) Mail Draw Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Uintah County, Utah. Funding for the project administered by the CI Program constitutes a Federal action subject to the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended.  

The Mail Draw WMA is located approximately 22-miles northeast of Vernal and is managed as big game and sport fish habitat while providing hunting and fishing opportunities for the public. Region 6 CI has received UDWR’s notice proposing the disposal of 1.48-acres of the Mail Draw WMA to provide the adjacent landowner access to their property. 

The Mail Draw WMA was acquired through several purchases between 1964 and 2013 by UDWR, in part, with CI grant program funds for wildlife habitat. A purchase agreement for the parcel acquired in 1986 specified that an access route through the WMA would be given to the seller, but this was never formalized. Because access would otherwise be required, the proposed disposal to limit access to these acres will not result in a cumulative loss of wildlife resources or public hunting on the property.

The Draft EA prepared by the Service and UDWR analyzes the environmental effects of the disposal and provides an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to review and comment on the proposed action. In the Draft EA, the Service concluded that the proposed disposal would not have impacts to wetlands, floodplains, or farmland, would not affect historical and cultural resources, would not have any effect on threatened, endangered or candidate species, and would not have any effect on the vegetation in the area or on local fish and wildlife or their habitats.  

Public comments will be accepted for a 30-day period which ends March 20, 2025. Copies of the Draft EA and Appendices, which include details of the proposed action and the alternatives considered, are available online by clicking on the title of the document at https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/mountain-prairie-region-office-…. Those without internet access may request copies by calling the Services’ Office of Conservation Investment Program at (720) 654-6390. Comments will be accepted until March 30, 2025, and can be sent by email to: Jay Ogawa at jay_ogawa@fws.gov or via mail to: Office of Conservation Investment, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado, 80225.