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ELY, Nev. – On or around July 24, the Bureau of Land Management, Ely District Office, Bristlecone Field Office, will begin an emergency wild horse gather on the Triple B and Maverick-Medicine Herd Management Areas (HMAs) located about 75 miles northwest of Ely in Elko and White Pine counties, Nevada. The action is needed due to lack of water and declining health of the wild horses associated with herd overpopulation. 

The BLM plans to gather and remove approximately 360 wild horses from areas around the Cherry, Pony and Pot Springs water sources located within the Triple B and Maverick-Medicine HMAs. The gather is expected to last 15-30 days. The BLM will conduct gather operations utilizing temporary water and/or bait traps consisting of a series of corral panels stocked with water and hay; no helicopters will be used.

The Triple B HMA encompasses over 1,232,494 acres of public and private lands. The Maverick-Medicine HMA encompasses over 323,562 acres of public and private lands. The Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Triple B HMA is 250-518 wild horses. AML for the Maverick-Medicine HMA is 166-276 wild horses. As of March 1, 2020, the estimated population was 1,618 wild horses and 1,944 wild horses respectively, which includes additional foals born this year. The current population estimate, including the 2020 foal crop, puts the HMAs at approximately 3,562 wild horses or 448 percent over the high end of AML.

The gather is critical to ensuring the health of the HMA lands as well as the wild horses in the area, both of which are in jeopardy due to herd overpopulation and extremely limited water sources. The emergency gather will also help prevent further degradation of the public lands, associated with excess wild horses, and help make progress toward restoring a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands, consistent with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

“The BLM is committed to conducting safe and humane emergency gather operations as we work to save animal lives by reducing overpopulation and bringing herd size more in line with what the resources of the area can support,” said Leslie Riley, Acting Bristlecone Field Manager.

The BLM’s priority is to conduct safe, efficient, and successful wild horse and burro gather operations while ensuring humane care and treatment of all animals gathered. The BLM and its contractors will use the best available science and handling practices for wild horses while meeting overall gather goals and objectives in accordance with the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy.

All wild horses identified for removal will be transported to the Palomino Valley Center Wild Horse and Burro Corrals, in Sparks, Nev.,  where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sale Program. For information on how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit www.blm.gov/whb.

Due to the nature of the bait and water trap method, wild horses are reluctant to approach the trap site when there is too much activity; therefore, only essential gather operations personnel will be allowed at the trap site during gather operations.

Once the gather begins, gather reports and additional information for the “2020 Triple B and Maverick-Medicine  Emergency Wild Horse Gather” will be posted on the BLM website at https://go.usa.gov/xf8w4.

For technical information, contact Ben Noyes, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist at (775) 289-1800 or bnoyes@blm.gov.