Wyo4News Staff,
[email protected]
ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING (September 17, 2020) — The Bureau of Land Management (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 Mountain, 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.
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According to information on the BLM web site, the gather will begin on or after October 6, 2020, and will continue for four to eight weeks. The BLM plans to remove approximately 2,400 horses to return wild horse populations to within the appropriate management levels and ensure the long-term viability of sage-grouse populations in the area. The appropriate management level for the complex is 480-724 horses, and its current estimated population is approximately 3,000 horses.
The BLM will transport all wild horses removed from the range to holding facilities here in Rock Springs, Canon City, Colorado, and other locations to be determined. 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.
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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.
Opportunities are available for the public to observe 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 [email protected].
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