BLM approves plan to remove wild horses from outside established area
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MEEKER, Colo. –The Bureau of Land Management today announced a final decision to remove up to 100 wild horses this fall from private land and other areas outside the designated Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area (HMA) in northwestern Colorado.
The decision will also allow future gathers to remove wild horses that stray from the 300-square-mile Piceance-East Douglas HMA designated for their management.
“The BLM is committed to maintaining a healthy wild horse population on healthy rangelands in the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area,” said BLM White River Field Manager Kent Walter. “Wild horses that stray from the established Herd Management Area need to be removed to reduce conflicts with other resources and private land under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.”
The BLM will primarily use a helicopter drive trap method to gather the horses from private lands in the Cathedral Creek area. If less than 100 wild horses are gathered from this area, the BLM may elect to gather horses from additional nearby areas outside the HMA.
The BLM currently estimates that there are 210 wild horses outside the HMA within the area covered by this decision, which includes about 773,000 acres in the White River Field Office east of Colorado Highway 139, south of Colorado Highway 64 and west of Colorado Highway 13. The decision area does not include the West Douglas Herd Area, which is west of Colorado Highway 139.
Wild horses removed through this gather will be taken to the Canon City holding facility and be made available for adoption or sale.
The decision record and environmental assessment are available at http://bit.ly/2rDXBi1 .
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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.