BLM file photo

The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday began a hay and water bait-trapping operation to capture and remove 75 burros from privately owned land near Pahrump, Nevada.

The roundup is necessary because the burros are traveling from the Johnnie Herd Management Area into the town of Pahrump, crossing State Route 160 and damaging fencing, water line and vegetation on private property, according to the agency.

“Due to limited forage and, at times, very limited water availability, many burros have been forced to seek resources outside of the HMA. For example, two northern springs, Kwichup and Diebert, have dried up. This has caused the animals to move further south to Grapevine Spring and the northern portion of the town of Pahrump.

“Due to the very limited resources and high population level of burros and horses within the Johnnie HMA, these nuisance wild burros would likely return to Pahrump if relocated back onto the HMA or they would further exacerbate the degraded conditions within the over-populated HMA.”

The Johnnie HMA is made up of 177,237 acres of BLM land and 2,131 acres of a mix of private and other public lands. Its “Appropriate Management Level” is 65-108 burros. BLM estimates that there are 311 burros there.