Nearly 300 people watch wild horses return to Hardtrigger Herd Management Area today
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BOISE, Idaho – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the first group of 14 wild horses to the Hardtrigger Herd Management Area (HMA) today. Nearly 300 people, some who traveled from as far away as Montana, Oregon and Washington attended the release.
The entire Hardtrigger HMA was burned by the 279,144-acre Soda Fire in 2015. The BLM gathered the wild horses following the fire, and have been caring for those destined to return to the range at both the Boise and Bruneau Off-Range Wild Horse Corral facilities since then.
The Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Hardtrigger HMA is 66 – 130 wild horses. As there are 21 horses currently on the range, the BLM is releasing 45 wild horses throughout the HMA to reach the low end of the AML.
“We were pleased to offer people this unique and special opportunity to watch this first group of wild horses return to the Hardtrigger this morning,” said Boise District Manager Lara Douglas. “We recognize how important it is to manage healthy wild horses on healthy rangelands.”
For more information about the release, please contact Heather Tiel-Nelson, (208) 736-2352.
**link to YouTube video of release: https://youtu.be/-
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.