Wild horses crossing California State Route 299 near the Nevada border, east of Cedarville, Calif.

The Bureau of Land Management plans to capture and remove “up to” 25 wild horses from the Carter Reservoir Herd Management Area. The agency says that the horses are posing a danger along California State Route 299, east of Cedarville, Calif., as they roam in search of forage and water.

The agency will use a trap made of livestock panels baited with water, not a helicopter.

“These horses are a safety hazard to high-speed traffic on the highway and are themselves in danger,” said Craig Drake, manager of the BLM Applegate Field Office, in a press release.

The 23,468-acre Carter Reservoir Herd Management Area is located in Washoe County, Nev., and Modoc County, Calif. It had a BLM-estimated population of 288 wild horses as of March 2021. The HMA has an agency-set “Appropriate Management Level” of 23 to 35 wild horses, or as few as low as one horse for every 1,020 acres.

The number of livestock Animal Unit Months assigned to allotments overlapping the HMA and active livestock use numbers were not immediately available for comparison. This post will be updated.

Captured wild horses will be relocated to the Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corrals, located east of Susanville, Calif., to be readied for adoption or sale.

The last roundup on the Carter Reservoir HMA took place in 2014.