Bureau of Land Management to begin the FY2024 Nevada Wild Horse Range Herd Management Area Wild Horse Gather
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LAS VEGAS – On or about Dec. 8, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management plans to begin a wild horse gather on the Nevada Wild Horse Range Herd Management Area located about 30 miles southeast of Tonopah, Nev., using the helicopter-assisted method.
The Nevada Wild Horse Range Herd Management Area encompasses over 1.3 million acres of public lands and lies entirely inside the Nevada Test and Training Range. The Herd Management Area has an Appropriate Management Level of 300-500 wild horses. Based on the March 2023 population stats, 438 wild horses are estimated to be within the management area.
The BLM plans to gather approximately 350 wild horses, remove approximately 138 excess wild horses, treat up to 106 mares with GonaCon Equine, a population suppression fertility control vaccine, and release approximately 212 wild horses.
The purpose of the gather is to prevent wild horse numbers from exceeding high-end Appropriate Management Level and to restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands, consistent with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The action is also necessary to reapply fertility control to mares within the HMA to help reduce the overall population growth of wild horses in the management area.
“This gather will allow us to manage wild horses on the Nevada Wild Horse Range at an appropriate management level for the area,” said Nicholas Pay, Pahrump Field Manager. “As always, the BLM is committed to conducting safe and humane gather operations as we work to bring herd size more in line with what the resources of the area can support.”
The BLM’s priority is to conduct safe, efficient, and successful wild horse and burro gather operations while ensuring humane care and treatment of all animals gathered. The BLM and its contractors are committed to using the best available science and handling practices for wild horses and burros while meeting overall gather goals and objectives in accordance with the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program.
All animals identified for removal will be transported to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corrals in Ridgecrest, Calif. Upon arrival to the facility, all animals will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sales Program.
The Nevada Wild Horse Range is entirely inside the Nevada Test and Training Range; therefore, only essential gather operations personnel will be allowed at the trap site during gather operations.
The BLM is conducting the gather under DOI-BLM-NV-S030-2020-0003-EA Nevada Wild Horse Range HMA Wild Horse Gather Plan signed in November of 2020. Access to the Decision Record is available at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1504061/510.
Gather reports and additional information will be posted on the BLM website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/nevada-southern-nevada-do. For technical information, contact Tabitha Romero, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist at tromero@blm.gov.
For information on how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit www.blm.gov/whb.
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.