BLM concludes Eagle Complex wild horse gather
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ELY, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management’s Caliente and Cedar City field offices concluded the Eagle Complex wild horse gather on February 25, 2020. The BLM gathered 1,716 excess wild horses from in and around the Chokecherry, Eagle and Mt. Elinore Herd Management Areas (HMAs) located in Lincoln County, Nevada and Beaver and Iron counties, Utah. The BLM treated 28 mares with the fertility control vaccine GonaCon-Equine and released them with 19 stud horses.
The purpose of the gather was to remove all excess wild horses from areas not designated for or suitable to their long-term management and prevent further degradation of public lands. In the 2008 Ely Resource Management Plan, the BLM decided to manage this area for zero wild horses as it no longer met the criteria for maintaining a thriving ecological balance with multiple uses as authorized under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. The gather was necessary to improve watershed health, protect wild horse health, and make significant progress towards achieving Mojave-Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council Standards for Rangeland Health.
The BLM transported wild horses removed from the range to the Palomino Valley Center Wild Horse and Burro Corrals, in Sparks, Nevada, to be readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sale Program. Wild horses not adopted or sold will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
Additional gather information is available on the BLM website at https://go.usa.gov/xpSxK.
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.