A herd of wild horses on the Bible Spring Herd Management Area with trees and vegetation.

2022 Blawn Wash Herd Management Area and Bible Spring Complex Wild Horse Gather

The Bureau of Land Management’s Cedar City Field Office has concluded the wild horse gather on Aug. 20, 2022.

Purpose of Gather:

The gather decision supports the BLM’s continuing efforts to remove excess wild horses within the Blawn Wash Herd Management Area and Bible Spring Complex and need to restore a thriving natural ecological balance. The current population of wild horses is in excess of the established Appropriate Management Level that is authorized within the Herd Management Area.

Details of Gather:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to gather approximately 450 wild horses from BLM-administered and other lands within and near the Blawn Wash Herd Management Area (HMA) and Bible Spring Complex HMA using the helicopter drive-trapping method. This gather began on Aug. 7, 2022.

Public Observation:

Opportunities are available for the public to observe daily operations through BLM-escorted tours so long as conditions remain safe for both the horses and participants and ensuring that gather operations are not disrupted. Observers must provide their own transportation, water and food. No public restrooms will be available. The BLM recommends weather-appropriate footwear and neutral-colored clothing. Binoculars and four-wheel drive or other high-clearance vehicles are also strongly recommended (possible muddy conditions). Details about the BLM-escorted tours will be updated each evening during the gather and announced daily on the BLM gather hotline at 801-539-4050.

Gather operations will begin on Sunday, Aug. 7, and individuals should meet at the Maverik Adventure’s First Stop located at 220 North Airport Road, Cedar City, Utah where tours will depart at 5:30 a.m. MT.

Adoption Information:

All excess wild horses identified for removal will be transported to the Axtell Off-Range Contract Wild Horse Facility in Axtell, Utah, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sale Program. Those that are not placed into a new home will be cared for in off-range pastures, where they live off the rest of their lives on grass pastures.

For information on how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit the Wild Horse and Burro Program page.

Background:

The Herd Management Area supports multiple vegetation types including grasslands, sagebrush, sagebrush/grasslands, Pinyon-juniper, mountain fir, and mountain fir/mountain shrub. The Pinyon-juniper woodland type dominates the Herd Management Area and is very dense with minimal understory forage. Open areas outside the Pinyon-juniper canopy are dominated by big sagebrush with Indian ricegrass, wheatgrass, bluegrass, and squirreltail grass as the primary forage species. Low elevations are around 5,500 feet, with higher elevations around 8,500 feet. Average annual precipitation in the Herd Management Area is 12.5 inches a year, depending on elevation. Available water within the Herd Management Area is the limiting factor regarding the wild horse populations. Water is limited to isolated springs and human-made developments that supply water to permitted livestock, wildlife and wild horses. The Herd Management Area is prone to drought every few years, which impacts the rangeland health within the area.

Location

The herd is located in Iron and Beaver counties; approximately 45 miles West of Cedar City, Utah, and accessible via the Lund Highway.

Size

The Herd Management Area contains 56,588 acres of BLM lands and 5,274 acres of Federal, State, and privately-owned land for a total of 61,862 acres.

Topography/Vegetation

The Herd Management Area supports multiple vegetation types including grasslands, sagebrush, sagebrush/grasslands, Pinyon-juniper, mountain fir, and mountain fir/mountain shrub. The Pinyon-juniper woodland type dominates the Herd Management Area and is very dense with minimal understory forage. Open areas outside the Pinyon-juniper canopy are dominated by big sagebrush with Indian ricegrass, wheatgrass, bluegrass, and squirreltail grass as the primary forage species. Low elevations are around 5,500 feet, with higher elevations around 8,500 feet. Average annual precipitation in the Herd Management Area is 12.5 inches a year, depending on elevation. Available water within the Herd Management Area is the limiting factor regarding the wild horse populations. Water is limited to isolated springs and man-made developments that supply water to permitted livestock, wildlife and wild horses. The Herd Management Area is prone to drought every few years, which impacts the rangeland health within the area.

Wildlife

Big game species that occur in the Herd Management Area are mule deer, elk, and pronghorn antelope. All three species are year-long residents. During spring, summer and early fall, deer feed primarily on a variety of forbs and grasses with light use on big sagebrush, black sagebrush and bitterbrush. In fall and winter, deer shift their diet to shrubs including big sagebrush, black sagebrush, bitterbrush, Gambel oak and curlleaf mountain mahogany. Antelope’s primary forage plants include a variety of grasses and forbs in late spring, summer and early fall, and big sagebrush, black sagebrush, winterfat and bud sage in late fall, winter and early spring. Elk rely primarily on grasses year-long for forage, but will use some forbs in spring and summer and shrubs in winter.

A variety of migratory birds inhabit the Herd Management Area during the spring, summer and fall months. Sensitive Species that have been identified as occurring in the area are Black rosy finch, Black-throated gray warbler, Brewer’s sparrow, Broad-tailed hummingbird, Gray vireo, Lewis’s woodpecker, loggerhead shrike, prairie falcon, sage sparrow and Virginia’s warbler. Additionally, golden eagles may occur on the wild horse Herd Management Area year-round.

Daily Gather Reports

This gather concluded on August 7, 2022.

Saturday, Aug. 20

Animals Gathered: 0
0 Horses (0 Studs, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)

Animals Shipped: 27
27 Horses (7 Studs, 20 Mares, and 0 Foals)