Sand Wash wild horse gather continues
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CRAIG, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management’s efforts to keep the wild horses and their habitat in northwestern Colorado’s Sand Wash Herd Management Area healthy using a technique called bait trapping is progressing well.
This fall the BLM hopes to gather and remove up to 50 wild horses while giving an additional 75 mares a treatment that delays fertility to help reduce the growth of the herd.
To date a total of 26 wild horses have been gathered. Twelve have been released back to the range, with five mares receiving the fertility treatment. Ten horses have been removed and will be made available for adoption.
“We are working closely with our partner group the Sand Wash Advocacy Team to select which wild horses to remove,” said Little Snake Field Manager Bruce Sillitoe. “We hope to get as many of the horses we remove as possible into the Great Escape Mustang Sanctuary training and adoption program.”
Personnel will continue working through the Thanksgiving weekend, and visitors to the area are asked to keep their distance from activity and temporary fencing related to the bait-trapping effort.
A video describing the bait-trapping effort is available at: https://youtu.be/zZqslC4hgrM.
A video providing details about the Great Escape Mustang Sanctuary is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
The BLM manages the Sand Wash Basin for up to 362 wild horses, but the current population exceeds 600, a number that poses a serious risk to the area’s ecological balance. Treating mares and removing some young horses should help check the growth of the Sand Wash Herd.
“The BLM is committed to maintaining a healthy wild horse population in Sand Wash over the long-term,” said Sillitoe. “This small gather and fertility treatment will help keep wild horses and their habitat healthy.”
The BLM works closely with its partner groups GEMS and SWAT to manage the Sand Wash Herd Management Area in northwestern Colorado.
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.