Contact: David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist, 970 947-2832
    Denise Adamic, Public Affairs Specialist, 303 239-3671

Oct. 9, 2008

BLM to gather wild horses at Sand Wash
Adoption to follow

CRAIG, Colo.— The Bureau of Land Management will be conducting a wild horse gather Oct. 17-27 in the Sand Wash Basin west of Craig. An adoption for some of the horses gathered will be held Oct. 25 at the Moffat County Fairgrounds in Craig.

BLM periodically conducts these wild horse gathers throughout the West to help keep wild horse populations within appropriate levels. Wild horses have few natural predators, and their populations can double within four years.

“The natural growth of the herd combined with long-term drought in this area have created the need for this gather,” said BLM Little Snake Field Manager John Husband.  “The BLM manages the Sand Wash Basin to ensure adequate forage to sustain a healthy herd, and ongoing monitoring tells us it’s time to conduct the gather.”

BLM plans to gather about 383 wild horses from the Sand Wash Basin and outlying areas. About 261 wild horses will be removed from the range and either adopted locally or shipped to the Canon City holding facility; 122 will be returned to the wild. Once the gather is complete, BLM estimates 163 horses will remain in the Sand Wash Basin.

About 60 mares returned to the wild will be treated with a fertility control vaccine as part of a joint research project with the Humane Society of the United States. This should help slow the rate of population growth within the Sand Wash Basin herd, which should reduce the number of future gathers.

BLM plans to offer 20-30 of the gathered horses at the Oct. 25 adoption at the Moffat County Fairgrounds.

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NOTE TO MEDIA:  BLM is holding an on-site media day for photo ops and interviews Oct. 18 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Sand Wash Corrals. This day will provide the best opportunity for good footage of the gather, but a lot of variables such as weather and gather progress are involved. Call David Boyd at the number above for more details and directions, and to RSVP.