Ely District Office
| Contacts: | Chris Hanefeld | , 775-289-1842 | , chris_hanefeld@blm.gov |
BLM Reschedules Moriah Herd Area Gather
Ely, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District, Schell Field Office is moving the planned-for starting date for the Moriah Herd Area Wild Horse Gather to late August to coordinate airspace use with the military. The gather was scheduled to begin Aug. 10.
The BLM will gather and remove approximately 72 excess wild horses from in and around the Moriah Herd Area (HA), located about 48 miles northeast of Ely. The gathered animals will be transported to the Salt Lake Wild Horse and Burro Facility, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals. Unadopted horses will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM does not sell or send any horses to slaughter.
The BLM Ely District is implementing the Ely Resource Management Plan that was signed in August 2008. Through the planning process, a decision was made to remove all wild horses and change the management classification from Herd Management Area (HMA) status to Herd Area status on12 HMAs. This was due to insufficient habitat resources to sustain healthy wild horse populations, including forage, water, space, cover and reproductive viability. The Moriah HA was included in this decision.
The public will be notified when the BLM sets the new gather start date. An opportunity to watch the gather operations will be provided.
For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842 or chris_hanefeld@blm.gov.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Ely District Office 702 North Industrial Way Ely, NV 89301