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Cedar City, Utah —The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Cedar City field office will soon be capturing and removing excess wild horses from within and outside the Blawn Wash Wild Horse herd management area (HMA) in western Utah.

The BLM plans to capture and remove approximately 150 wild horses from State, private and BLM lands located in Beaver County.  This is being done in accordance with Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-UT-C010-2014-0035 which analyzed the environmental impacts associated with the proposed capture and removal.

This removal is also being done in an effort to fulfill an Agreement made between the BLM and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) entered into on February 3, 2016 that provides for a mutual commitment to work cooperatively to manage wild horses that have entered onto SITLA lands.  The Agreement, which is subject to congressional appropriations, places priority on the removal of excess horses in the south-central and southwest areas of the state, where a lawsuit was originally filed by SITLA aimed at increasing the management of wild horse herds.  The Agreement enables SITLA to fulfill its trustee role in a more robust and effective manner by promoting healthy and productive rangelands on SITLA lands affected by wild horses.

Helicopter drive-trapping operations are scheduled to begin Wednesday, August 10. Members of the public are welcome to view the daily gather operations, provided the safety of the animals, staff and observers are not jeopardized and operations are not disrupted.

The BLM will conduct escorted public tours to gather observation sites. Details will be announced daily on the BLM gather hotline, (801) 539-4050.

Those interested in participating should meet at the KB Express Convenience Store/Subway, 238 South Main in Milford, Utah, where tours will depart at 5 a.m. MST.

Participants must provide their own transportation, water and food. The BLM recommends footwear and clothing suitable for harsh field conditions. Binoculars and four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicles are also strongly recommended.

Public lands will remain open unless closures are deemed necessary due to safety concerns. Outdoor recreationists and visitors to the gather area should be aware that there will be low flying helicopters and should avoid recreational use of drones near the Wah Wah Mountain range, areas south of Highway 21, and near the Shauntie Hills. Brief road closures may also be needed to allow movement of horses during gather operations.

Gather updates and information will be posted online. Anyone interested can get updates on Twitter by following @BLMUtah or searching #BlawnWashGather.

Animals removed from the range will be made available for adoption through the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program. Those that are not adopted will be cared for in long-term pastures, where they retain their protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

Details on the EA and the proposed action can be found on the BLM’s planning documents website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/

To learn more about the wild horse and burro program or to obtain an adoption application, visit the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro website, https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro

For additional information on participating in public observation days, contact Lisa Reid, public affairs specialist, at (435)743-3128 or lreid@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for Reid. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.