2015 Beaty Butte Wild Horse Gather
Gather Complete
Purpose of Gather:
Our overall goal is for the range to achieve or maintain a thriving natural ecological balance.
Details of Gather:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to gather 1,500 wild horses from the Beaty Butte Herd Management Area (HMA), and return 100 horses (60 studs and 40 mares) to the range to re-establish the low end of the Appropriate Management Level (AML) following the gather.
It is anticipated 4-5 capture sites (traps) will be used to collect wild horses from the HMA. Trap site corrals will typically be approximately 800 square feet. With secondary disturbance areas such as trap wings, total surface disturbance will be approximately 2,400 square feet (0.05-acre) per trap site. Trap wing configuration will vary, depending on terrain and materials. Trap sites will be selected during the gather operations. Traps are built as close to the horses' location as possible.
Adoption Information:
Horses removed from the Beaty Butte Herd Management Area will be available for adoption from Oregon's Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines, Ore., and Palomino Valley, Nev., later in the year.
Public Observation:
The public is welcome to attend the Beaty Butte wild horse gather and must read the Field Observation Protocol information before visiting. Observation will be held daily during the Kiger HMA portion of the gather, with a maximum number of 15 people attending each day.
If you are interested in observing the gather, you must contact Larisa Bogardus at the BLM Lakeview District Office (lbogrdus@blm.gov or 541-947-6237) to have your name added to the viewing list. Observation will be offered in order of request. If for some reason you are not able to attend, please notify Ms. Bogardus as soon as possible so that your slot can be offered to the next person.
The estimated gather start date is proposed for the last week in October and wrap up the first week of November. Dates are subject to change depending upon weather and gather operations. Some days of the gather may not provide a viewing opportunity at the capture site, due to variable circumstances such as moving the trap location (not gathering), no safe area to view activity or disguise vehicles, etc. Viewings may be canceled on short notice—perhaps the day before or the morning of the gather operation.