2016 Maverick-Medicine Emergency Wild Horse Gather

Gather Complete
9/20/16 - 10/1/16

Purpose of Gather:Wild Horse and Burro Logo

To remove excess wild horses from the Cherry Spring area of the Maverick-Medicine Herd Management Area (HMA) in Northeastern Nevada due to declining critical water sources on public lands. 

Details of Gather:

The Bureau of Land Management, Elko District, and Wells Field Office will begin on September 19 an emergency wild horse water and bait method gather to remove approximately 60 wild horses with placement of corrals near the Cherry Spring area located in Maverick-Medicine Herd Management Area (HMA). This water and bait method gather would attempt to remove excess wild horses from the Cherry Spring area due to the declining critical water source on public lands. In addition, gathering the excess wild horses and removing them from the area will prevent further resource degradation and allow the range to recover from wild horse impacts. 

Public Observation: 

Due to the sensitive nature of the bait-trap gather method, no public observation was offered so as not to disturb gather operations. 

Adoption Information: 

Wild Horses removed from this range will be sent to the Palomino Valley Center (PVC), north of Reno, NV to be prepared for the BLM wild horse adoption program.

Background:

The wild horses in the Cherry Springs area of the Maverick-Medicine Herd Management Area are in an area with declining critical water sources. This water and bait method gather would attempt to remove excess wild horses from the Cherry Springs area due to the declining critical water source on public lands. In addition, gathering the excess wild horses and removing them from the area will prevent further resource degradation and allow the range to recover from wild horse impacts.

The Maverick-Medicine HMA has an Authorized Management Level (AML) of 166-276 wild horses with an estimated population of 1,051 (not including 2016 foal crop) wild horses. Approximately 60+ horses are currently using Cherry Spring based on recent monitoring of the area.

This gather operation was reviewed as part of the Environmental Assessment and Decision Record released in 2013. 

For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program, call 1-866-468-7826 or email wildhorse@blm.gov.

Gather Reports

Tuesday, September 20

Summary: Gathered  8 horses (5 studs, 3 mares, 0 foals). Henneke Body Condition Score of Animals Gathered Today is 3 - 4.

Animals gathered: 8
Animals shipped:  0
Total deaths today:  0
Acute:
Chronic/Pre-existing: 

Thursday, September 29

Summary: Gathered  23 horses (9 studs, 11 mares, 3 foals). Henneke Body Condition Score of Animals Gathered Today is 3 - 4.

Animals gathered: 23
Animals shipped:  0
Total deaths today:  0
Acute:
Chronic/Pre-existing: 

Friday, September 30

Summary: Gathered  20 horses (7 studs, 11 mares, 2 foals). Henneke Body Condition Score of Animals Gathered Today is 2.5-3.

Animals gathered: 20
Animals shipped:  0
Total deaths today:  0
Acute:
Chronic/Pre-existing: 

Saturday, October 1

Summary: Gather operations completed.

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Total deaths today:  0
Acute:
Chronic/Pre-existing: 

---

A death labeled as "acute" is when an animal dies or is euthanized due to acute injuries or medical conditions brought about by the gather and removal process including those that occur during capture, sorting and holding at the gather site. This term will include animals that die for known or unknown reasons thought to be related to gather activities. 

A death labeled as "chronic/pre-existing" is when an animal dies or is euthanized for reasons related to chronic or pre-existing conditions such as body condition, lameness, serious physical defects, etc. This term will include animals that are euthanized for conditions not brought about by the gather activity.

Veterinary Reports

There are no veterinarian reports to display at this time.