2024 Murderer’s Creek Wild Horse Gather
*NOTE - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is conducting a deer gather via helicopter in the immediate vicinity of the Murderer's Creek Joint Management Area December 2 - 6, 2024. This helicopter operation is not part of the Murderer's Creek emergency wild horse gather.
Purpose of Gather:
The Rail Ridge Fire, which started September 2, 2024, and was fully contained on November 2, 2024, burned almost 44,000 acres of Federally managed land in the Murderer’s Creek Joint Management Area (approximately 40% of the Federally managed land within the JMA boundary).
The BLM and Forest Service have determined that an immediate emergency wild horse gather is necessary to 1) protect the health and welfare of the wild horses, 2) allow recovery of native vegetation and protect planned burned area rehabilitation investments such as seeding and herbicide treatment, 3) protect the current remaining vegetated areas, which are mainly the riparian areas that are designated critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act for Mid-Columbia River Steelhead and 4) respond to nuisance gather requests from private landowners per Section 4 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
Details of Gather:
Bait-trapping operations are tentatively scheduled to begin the week of November 25, 2024. Approximately 350-400 horses are targeted for gather immediately within and adjacent to the JMA across all ownerships. The agencies will continue to monitor forage conditions and the health of the horses throughout the 2024-2025 winter. If additional horses are found to be in distress or poor condition, or if requests come in from private landowners, additional animals (above the initial estimate of 400 horses) will be gathered as necessary during this period to ensure the health and welfare of the horses.
Trapping will generally occur between November 25, 2024, and the end of December 2024. If weather conditions allow for trapping later in the season, trapping could continue up to the end of February 2025. Per the existing EA, trapping will not occur after March 1, 2025, due to conflicts with the horse foaling system.
No decisions are being made at this time regarding the long-term disposition of horses gathered as part of this emergency action.
Public Observation:
Due to the nature of the bait and water trap method, wild horses are reluctant to approach a capture site when there is too much activity; therefore, only essential gather operations personnel are permitted at the site during gather operations.
Adoption Information:
Gathered horses will be held at a BLM or Forest Service corral facility while range conditions recover from the Rail Ridge Fire and/or while the agencies continue the administrative process for setting an Appropriate Management Level, approving a Herd Management Area Plan and population management actions for the JMA. No decision is being made at this time regarding the long-term disposition of horses gathered as part of this emergency gather.
Background:
The Murderer’s Creek Joint Management Area is located approximately 6 miles south of Dayville, Oregon, and managed jointly by the Malheur National Forest and the Prineville District BLM. The area includes 73,609 acres of Forest Service land, 34,879 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, 23,773 acres of private land, and 10,479 of state land. The topography inhabited by these “timber horses” is mountainous terrain. They often stay at high elevations year-round ranging from 4,500 to 6,500 feet. They live in heavily timbered areas of ponderosa pine and mixed conifer.
The timber horses tend to be quite small and relatively uniform in color and conformation. These horses range from 13.5 to 15 hands in size. In respect to color, they tend to be black, brown, and bay. Horses on the western portion of the territory tend to be gray, dun, or sorrel. The proposed appropriate management level for the Murderer’s Creek herd is between 50-140.
- Gather Reports
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December 3, 2024
Animals gathered: 9 (3 stallions, 6 mares, 0 foals)
Animals shipped: 26 (12 stallions, 8 mares, 6 foals)
Animal deaths: 0
As of December 2, 2024
11/29/2024: 4 stallions, 7 mares, 7 foals gathered (18 total); 0 shipped; 0 animal deaths
11/30/2024: 6 stallions, 5 mares, 4 stallions (15 total); 0 shipped; 2 animal deaths*
*17 year old sorrel stallion, euthanized due to pre-existing condition: poor body condition, unable to maintain or improve
*2 year old sorrel mare, euthanized due to unexpected and sudden leg fracture12/1/2024: 12 stallions, 5 mares, 6 foals gathered (23 total); 30 animals shipped*; 0 animal deaths
*8 stallions, 11 mares, 11 foals shipped
12/2/2024: 0 stallions, 3 mares, 0 foals gathered (3 total); 0 animals shipped; 0 animal deaths
News
Gather Status
This gather began on November 25, 2024.
Animals Gathered: 68 (25 stallions, 26 mares, 17 foals)
Animals Shipped: 56 (20 stallions, 19 mares, 17 foals)
Animals Released: 0
Deaths: 2 (see notes for November 30 in "Gather Reports")
Scroll to the bottom of this gather page for detailed “Gather Reports"