BLM to conduct wild horse gather in Juab and Millard Counties in July

Organization

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Office:

Fillmore Field Office

Media Contact:

FILLMORE, Utah — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Fillmore Field Office announced today that it will conduct a wild horse gather in the Swasey Herd Management Area (HMA) beginning in July. The BLM plans to gather and remove approximately 550 horses and administer population growth suppression to other horses captured. The gather is being conducted due to declining rangeland health and overpopulation of wild horses, which is currently estimated at 721 animals.

The Swasey HMA is in Juab and Millard Counties, about 50 miles west of Delta, Utah, and consists of approximately 120,113 acres of public and State lands. The Appropriate Management Level for this HMA is 60-100 wild horses. With the addition of foals in 2020, the HMA will have an estimated population of 865 wild horses, more than eight times above the AML upper limit.    

The gather impacts are described and analyzed in the Swasey HMA Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA and Decision Record are posted on the BLM’s ePlanning website at: https://bit.ly/Swasey_EA

Horses removed from the range will be prepared for the BLM adoption and sale program. For more information on how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro website at www.blm.gov/whb or call (866) 468-7826.

For additional gather-specific information, please contact Trent Staheli at (435) 743-3164. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.


The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.