A helicopter pursues wild horses during the recent Owyhee Complex roundup in Nevada. RTF file photo by Steve Paige.
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Bureau of Land Management press release (pdf)
Ely – The Bureau of Land Management Ely District is scheduled on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, to begin gathering and removing approximately 100 excess wild horses from public and private lands adjacent to U.S. Highway 93 and State Route 322 in and outside the Eagle and Silver King Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in eastern Nevada. The helicopter gather is necessary to provide for public and animal safety.
The District will remove up to 50 wild horses from between Pioche and Eagle Valley that have moved outside the Eagle HMA in search of forage. Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Eagle HMA is 100-210 wild horses. The current population is 1,322 wild horses.
The District will remove up to 50 wild horses from the Bennet Springs area southwest of Panaca that have moved outside the Silver King HMA in search of forage. AML for the Silver King HMA is 60-128 wild horses. The current population is 912 wild horses.
The gather is expected to take four days to complete. A veterinarian will be on call during gather operations, which will be conducted by a contractor.
The gathered animals will be transported to the BLM’s Indian Lakes offrange corrals located in Fallon, Nev., where they will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals. Un-adopted horses will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and treated, and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM does not sell or send any horses to slaughter.
The Eagle and Silver King Emergency Wild Horse Gather and impacts are described and analyzed in the Ely District Public Safety and Nuisance Gather Environmental Assessment available by clicking here.
For public viewing opportunities, please call the Eagle and Silver King Emergency Gather hotline at (775) 861- 6700 option #1.
Gather reports will be posted on the BLM .