Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) gathered about 195 wild horses from the Fish Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) near Eureka, Nevada. The round-up was conducted to keep the 250,000-acre HMA within an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 107 to 180 wild horse. The last helicopter survey in December 2019 tallied roughly 240 horses or “approximately 140% of the high end of the established AML,” according to the Pahrump Valley Times.

“Gathers like this are only part of the actions we take to meet our obligations to ensure the health of rangelands within the HMA, to maintain a thriving ecological balance across public lands and to promote the well-being of wild horse populations,” said Doug Furtado, Battle Mountain district manager. “As always, we are committed to conducting safe and humane gather operations as we work to protect animal health and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance while protecting it from the deterioration associated with overuse.”

Wild horses were gathered using helicopter methods. Out of the 195 collected, BLM plans on relocating 135 of them to the BLM off-range corrals in Bruneau, Idaho and treating about 30 mares with PZP-22, which is a “population suppression fertility control vaccine.” Treated mares will be released along with 30 studs, resulting in approximately 105 wild horses once the round-up is complete, the Pahrump Valley Times reports.

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