BLM to gather wild burros at Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area

PHOENIX – On April 1, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin gathering wild burros in and around the Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area north of Phoenix. The BLM plans to gather and remove up to 1,500 wild burros to address herd health while also conserving resources and protecting public health and safety.  

BLM contractors will conduct gather operations utilizing temporary bait and water traps consisting of a series of corral panels stocked with water, forage, or both. Gathered burros will be humanely transported to the Arizona Wild Horse and Burro Training and Holding Facility in Florence, where they will be prepared for the BLM’s Adoption and Sales Program.

The Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area includes about 103,000 acres of federal, state, and private land. Nearby communities include New River, Anthem, northern Phoenix, and northern Peoria. An estimated 2,300 burros are present in and surrounding the herd management area. The priority will be to gather burros that are outside the herd management area on state and private lands where they can damage property and cause public safety concerns.  

The BLM recently updated the herd management area plan for the Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area through an approved environmental assessment. That decision set an appropriate management level (AML) of 140-250 wild burros in the herd management area. Implementation will include gathering and removing excess burros to reach the lower end of the AML range, as well as administering fertility control to help maintain a healthy population.  

Gather reports and additional information will be posted on the 2026 Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area wild burro gather page.

For information on how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit www.blm.gov/whb.