2022 Sinbad Herd Management Area Wild Burro Gather

Wild burros have occupied the San Rafael Swell area since the beginning of the Old Spanish Trail in the early 1800s. Early travelers would lose animals or have them run off by early native American tribes or transient livestock rustlers. Many of these animals were headed for California to be traded or sold and were of good sound stock lineage. The herd was also augmented through the release of domestic burros from local ranches, and burros released after their use in local uranium mines were no longer necessary.  

The dominant colors of the burros within the Herd Management Area are black and grey. The burros on this Herd Management Area are average in size ranging from 400 to 500 pounds.

Location

The Sinbad Herd Management Area is located 30 miles west of Green River. It extends up to 18 miles on both sides of l-70 from the San Rafael Reef to Eagle Canyon.  

Size

The Herd Management Area contains 89,465 acres of BLM lands and 9,776 acres of Federal, State, and privately owned land for a total of 99,241 acres. 

Topography/Vegetation

The topography of the Herd Management Area is typical of the San Rafael Swell area, varying from extremely rough to level terrain on limestone benches. The steep sided mesas and deeply incised drainages in the northern and southeastern portions on the Herd Management Area create difficulties when gathering and removing excess burros. The wild burros primarily use the open benches and parks but do use wooded areas occasionally during inclement weather. 

The Herd Management Area ranges from 4,400 to 7,000 feet in elevation and supports vegetation types ranging from pinyon and juniper woodland to desert shrub. The Pinion/Juniper vegetation type dominates the Herd Management Area and can be dense with minimal under story forage. Open grass parks have an understory of needle-and-thread grass and Indian ricegrass as the primary forage species. 

The Herd Management Area has several undeveloped springs and seeps that are used as water sources by the wild burros, as well as 7 reservoirs, and many natural rock tanks across the area that catch and hold water. The San Rafael River, itself, is accessible in some locations.

Annual precipitation is approximately 8.5 inches, with an average 5 inches coming during the summer (May through September). Temperatures in the nearest town of Emery, Utah range from an average monthly high of 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to 10 degrees in the winter.

Wildlife

Antelope, bighorn sheep, kit fox and many other wildlife species can be found within the Herd Management Area as well.