Ely District Office
| Contacts: | Chris Hanefeld | , 775-289-1842 | , chanefel@blm.gov |
BLM Concludes Pancake HMA Emergency Wild Horse Gather
Ely, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District, Egan Field Office concluded the Pancake Herd Management Area (HMA) Emergency Wild Horse Gather on Thursday, Sept. 13. The BLM gathered and removed 124 wild horses from the southern end of the HMA in south-central Nevada, about 30 miles west of Ely or 80 miles northeast of Tonopah, Nev. The animals were at-risk of death if they remained on the range because of minimal forage growth and reduced water availability due to severe drought conditions.
The horses were transported to the Palomino Valley Center outside Reno, Nev., to be prepared for the BLM’s adoption program. Un-adopted wild 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 wild horses to slaughter.
The emergency gather began on September 12. An Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) veterinarian was on site daily through the gather to evaluate animal conditions and provide recommendations to the on-site BLM wild horse and burro specialist for care and treatment. BLM staff utilized the Henneke body condition scale to classify gathered wild horses. On a scale from one to nine (one being poor condition and nine being extremely fat), the horses were generally a body condition score of two and three, with a few wild horses observed to be higher or lower.
The BLM’s Pancake HMA Emergency Wild Horse Gather website can be accessed at this address: www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/ely_field_office/blm_programs/wild_horses_and_burros/pancake_hma_wild_horse.html
For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842 or by email at chanefel@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 N. Industrial Way Ely, NV 89301