2026 Outside Antelope HMA Emergency Wild Horse Gather
Purpose of Gather:
The purpose of this gather is to capture approximately 300 excess wild horses from outside of Antelope HMA and Moriah HA using drive trapping as the primary means of capture. Due to the overpopulation of wild horses within the Antelope HMA and Moriah HA these horses are currently residing in areas where BLM does not manage for wild horses.
Details of Gather:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Ely District, Bristlecone Field Office will begin an emergency wild horse gather on or about February 22, 2026, on horses outside the Antelope (HMA) and Moriah (HA) located about 70 miles Northeast of Ely in White Pine County, Nevada.
The project area encompasses approximately 30,000 acres in size. The area of work will be in the southern end of Antelope Valley.
Public Observation:
Opportunities are available for the public to observe daily gather operations through BLM-escorted tours, so long as conditions remain safe for both the burros and participants and gather operations are not disrupted. Observers must provide their own transportation, water and food. No public restrooms will be available. The BLM recommends weather-appropriate footwear and neutral-colored clothing. Binoculars and four-wheel drive or other high-clearance vehicles are also strongly recommended due to possible snowy and muddy conditions.
Details about the BLM-escorted tours will be updated each evening NLT 9:30pm during the gather and announced daily on the BLM gather hotline at 801-539-4050.
Adoption Information:
Removed animals will be transported to the Palomino Valley wild Horse and Burro center in Sparks, Nevada, checked by a veterinarian, and prepped for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Adoption and Sale Program.
Background:
Antelope HMA
The 1983 Schell Management Framework Plan (MFP) originally designated the Antelope HMA for the long-term management of wild horses. The HMA is nearly identical in size and shape to the original Herd Areas representing where wild horses were located in 1971. Some fences exist within the HMA but do not restrict wild horse movement as they are open ended drift fences. Management of the Antelope HMA is guided by the Ely District 2008 RMP as amended. The AML range for the Antelope HMA is 150-324 wild horses. The current estimated population is 1,374 wild horses.
Water available for wild horses within the Antelope HMA is limited to a few perennial sources.
Dipping Tank, Cottonwood, Cottonwood Spring Pipeline, Rock, Stockade, Flat, Becky, Water Canyon Springs, and Water Canyon Pipeline trough system.
The area is within the Great Basin physiographic region, characterized by a high, rolling plateau underlain by basalt flows covered with thin loess and alluvial mantle. On many of the low hills and ridges that are scattered throughout the area, the soils are underlain by bedrock. Elevations range from approximately 5,000 feet to 10,000 feet.
Vegetation in the HMA consists primarily of brush, fir and mountain mahogany in the higher elevations, pinion-juniper and sagebrush on the lower mountain slopes and white sage, black sage, saltbush and other “salt desert shrub” type communities on the valley floors.
Annual precipitation ranges from approximately 5 inches or less on some of the valley bottoms to 20 inches on the mountain peaks. Most of this precipitation comes during the winter and spring months in the form of snow, supplemented by localized thunderstorms during the summer months. Temperatures range from greater than 90 degrees to 98 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer months to minus 20 degrees in the winter.
- Daily Gather Reports
[Weekday, Month Day]
Summary: (Gather status, temp and weather conditions)
Animals Gathered: 0 (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 0 (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Treated with Fertility Control: 0 animals will be treated with fertility control
Animals Released: 0 (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals) 0 (0 Jacks, 0 Jennies and 0 Foals)
Deaths: 0
- Sudden / Acute: 0
- Pre-existing / Chronic: 0
Provide short description of each animal death
Gather Status
This gather will begin on Feb. 22, 2026
Animals Gathered: 0
0 Wild Horses (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 0
0 Wild Horses (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Treated with Fertility Control: 0 animals will be treated for this gather
Animals Released:
0 Wild Horses (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Deaths: 0
-Sudden / Acute: 0
-Pre-existing / Chronic: 0
Scroll to the bottom of this gather page for detailed “Daily Gather Reports"