2018 Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Gather

The Bureau of Land Management’s Rawlins and Lander field offices has begun the wild horse and burro gather on August 6, 2018.

Purpose of Gather:

The BLM Wyoming Rawlins and Lander field offices will remove wild horses from the Red Desert Wild Horse Complex. The complex includes the Antelope Hills, Crooks Gap, Green Mountain, Lost Creek and Stewart Creek herd management areas, spanning 703,500 acres of public land and 49,500 acres of private land in south-central Wyoming. The BLM plans to remove up to 2,670 horses to return wild horse populations closer to the appropriate management levels and ensure long-term viability of sage-grouse populations in the area. The appropriate management level for the complex is 481-725 horses, and its current estimated population is 3,500 adult horses.

Following the gather, the BLM will return a small number of mares and stallions to the complex to ensure genetic variability and preserve the New World Iberian genotype present in the complex. All mares returned will be treated with fertility control.

Details of Gather:

The gather will begin on August 6, 2018, and will continue for about six to eight weeks.

The BLM uses a federal contractor to gather wild horses from HMAs where the BLM has determined excess animals exist. The contractor uses a helicopter to locate and herd horses toward a set of corrals. The helicopter is assisted by a ground crew and a domesticated horse to lead the gathered horses into the corrals. If needed, the ground crew may assist the helicopter by roping the horses from horseback.

The BLM takes very seriously the humane treatment of wild horses and burros during gather operations. Helicopters have been shown to be the most humane method to gather horses.

Public Observation:

Members of the public are welcome to view the daily gather operations, provided that doing so does not jeopardize the safety of the animals, staff and observers, or disrupt gather operations. The BLM will escort the public to gather observation sites located on public lands. If you are interested in watching the gather, you must contact Sarah Beckwith at sbeckwith@blm.gov.

Observers must provide their own transportation, water and food. The BLM recommends footwear and clothing suitable for harsh field conditions and a four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle. Public restrooms will not be available onsite.

Follow the Red Desert Complex Gather on @BLMWyoming and @BLMWHB Twitter.

Adoption Information:

The BLM will transport all wild horses removed from the range to holding facilities in Rock Springs, Wyoming; Canon City, Colorado; and Axtell, Utah; where the horses will be freeze branded, vaccinated, dewormed and given a Coggins test. The corrals receiving the horses from the gathers will not be taking requests from the public to hold specific horses.

Some of the horses will be taken to the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton or the Mantle Adoption and Training Facility in Wheatland for gentling before being made available for adoption.

Gathered wild horses will be available for adoption through the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program. If you are interested in taking home a wild horse from this gather, please get pre-approved and get ready for the first events in the New Year!

Background:

Of the up to 2,670 wild horses to be removed, up to approximately 1,170 would be removed from the Green Mountain HMA, 608 from the Stewart Creek HMA, 495 from the Crooks Mountain HMA, 368 from the Lost Creek HMA and 29 from the Antelope Hills HMA.

Daily Gather Reports