Bureau of Land Management to gather wild horses in the Owyhee Front
Wild Horse Herd Management areas include Black Mountain, Hardtrigger and Sands Basin
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BOISE, Idaho. – In an effort to maintain the appropriate number of wild horses in the Black Mountain, Hardtrigger and Sands Basin Herd Management Areas in Owyhee County, the Bureau of Land Management Owyhee Field Office plans to conduct a wild horse gather beginning Sept. 6, 2023. Wild horses will be gathered using the helicopter-assisted method.
The three Herd Management Areas encompass over 128,000 acres of public, state and private lands, and combined, have an Appropriate Management Level of 129-254 wild horses. The Black Mountain and Hardtrigger Areas are adjacent to one another, southwest of Marsing. Sands Basin is situated about ten miles further southwest of Marsing.
The BLM plans to gather approximately 220 wild horses, remove approximately 142 excess wild horses, and treat up to 38 mares with GonaCon Equine, a population suppression fertility control vaccine. Following treatment, these 38 mares will be released back to the range along with up to 40 stallions.
The purpose of the gather is to maintain the numbers of wild horses within the Appropriate Management Level by removing excess animals and reduce population growth by treating mares with a fertility control vaccine. This will ultimately prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands associated with excess wild horses and restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands, consistent with the provisions of Section 3(b)(2) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
“This gather is important to reduce the wild horse numbers in the Owyhees to the low end of the Appropriate Management Level,” said Owyhee Field Manager Ammon Wilhelm (acting). “This will allow us to implement management tools like fertility control to better balance the herd sizes with what the rangelands 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 Boise Wild Horse Off-Range Corral, located just off South Pleasant Valley Road in Boise. 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.
Members of the public are welcome to view the gather operations, provided that doing so does not jeopardize the safety of the animals, staff and observers, or disrupt gather operations. Due to the topography of the area, parking space is limited. Viewing may be reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once signed up and confirmed, an e-mail with instructions including meeting time and location will be sent out. To sign up, email BLM_ID_WHG@blm.gov before Sept. 5, 2023 and be prepared to give your name, phone number, and number of people in your party.
The BLM will escort the public to gather observation sites located on public lands. Once gather operations have begun, those wanting to view gather operations must call the gather hotline nightly by 5:30 p.m. MT at 208-735-2077 to RSVP. Registrants will receive specific instructions on each days’ meeting location and time.
The BLM is conducting the gather under the EA # DOI-BLM-ID-B030-2022-0008-EA Owyhee Field Office Herd Management Environmental Assessment decision signed on July 20, 2023, which may be accessed at https://bit.ly/44J0G2k
Gather reports and additional information will be posted on the BLM website at http://bit.ly/47URIR2
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.