Training for wild horse fertility control darting on BLM lands to begin with support from the State
LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The State of Colorado will provide approximately $100,000 to USDA Wildlife Services to assist BLM Colorado and partner organizations to administer fertility control to wild horses in Colorado in 2025.
The BLM and State of Colorado have allocated the additional resources through funds made available by Colorado Senate Bill 23-275, which also created the Wild Horse Working Group. The funding will help maintain wild horse herds at sustainable levels with the goal of administering fertility control to at least 425 wild horses in 2025.
“CDA’s Wild Horse Working Group has identified fertility control to be an effective part of a balanced, responsible strategy that will benefit wild horse herds and their homelands,” said Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg. “We’re glad to work in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management to manage our natural resources while helping these horses thrive.”
“Twenty years ago we began using fertility control for managing wild horse populations in Colorado and we are excited to expand these efforts with the help of volunteer partner groups like the Sand Wash Advocacy Team, the Wild Horse Warriors, the Friends of the Mustang, Piceance Mustangs and the Spring Creek Basin Mustangs. We truly appreciate the efforts of volunteers and the additional resources available as a result our partnership with the state and the Wild Horse Working Group,” said BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack.
USDA Wildlife Services will supply and train eight people with the goal of establishing two-person teams in each of Colorado’s four Herd Management Areas (HMAs). The darting teams began training in December to administer fertility-control vaccines alongside volunteers with BLM’s wild horse partner organizations.
The BLM often works with wild horse partner groups, who volunteered more than 15,000 hours in fiscal year 2024 to identify, track and dart wild horses to help control herd growth. Ensuring that horse populations in all four of the HMAs in Colorado are at sustainable levels is necessary to reduce the frequency of gathers while maintaining healthy herds on healthy lands.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.