The Bureau of Land Management announced on Friday that it was temporarily delaying the start of its controversial helicopter roundup on the Onaqui Herd Management Area in Utah. 

The roundup is tentatively set to begin July 13 and last about 12 days, according to a press release. The BLM will confirm the start date of the roundup on the BLM Utah webpage (http://www.blm.gov/utah) and on social media.

No other changes have been made to the agency’s plans, which include rounding up 400 wild horses, removing 296 and treating and releasing with fertility control 52 mares as well as releasing a similar number of studs. The BLM estimates the HMA’s population at 475 wild horses compared to the agency’s “Appropriate Management Level” of 121 to 210 horses.

The BLM plans to remove horses from state, private, U.S. Forest Service and military lands as well as BLM-managed rangeland.

Members of the public who wish to observe the roundup should meet on the first day of the gather at the northeast end of the Walmart parking lot located at 99 West 1280 North in Tooele, Utah, where tours will depart at 5:30 a.m. MDT.

Horse selected to be released back onto the HMA will be released from the trap site or shipped to Sutherland, Utah, Off-Range Contract Facility. The Sutherland facility is not open to the public.

Horses selected for removal and offered up for adoption and/or sale will be shipped to the Delta, Utah, Wild Horse & Burro Facility. Horses removed from the Onaqui gather will be available for adoption via the BLM Online Corral Adoption beginning in mid-October.