BLM Rounds Up Wild Horses in Southern Nevada

Hundreds of wild horses in Southern Nevada are being rounded up by federal agents in Cold Creek Canyon. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has long sought to round up these horses, and the ongoing drought has provided the agency with the justification to act swiftly, giving only 24-hours notice.

As Cold Creek's water supply dwindles and the severe drought in the area kills vegetation, the last wild horse herd in Southern Nevada is on the verge of extinction.

"If these horses make it to winter, they probably won't make it through winter," Karla Norris of the BLM said.

The Bureau of Land Management plans to save the horses by removing nearly half of them, with 200 wild horses to be corralled and taken to Oliver Ranch near Red Rock for rehabilitation.

Cold Creek resident Carmen Rhoda loves the horses and wants them to stay in her community. However, she realizes that it's time something is done.

"It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking which is why I'm not totally adverse to the BLM coming in and taking the horses or some of them," Rhoda said. "The ones in bad need of help."

The method of corralling was questioned by 8 News NOW. The BLM will spend the next one-to-three weeks luring the horses with hay instead of using a helicopter to quickly wrangle the horses.

"Typically it will frighten the horses which will trot or run," Norris added. "With a healthy horse that's not too bad, but these guys are in such bad shape that we don't want them trotting or running."

In the animals' weakened state, some horses would not survive running in the open desert.

The BLM says 427 horses roam the Cold Creek area, with the agency wanting to take 200 of them.

8 News NOW will be following these horses as they get rehabilitated.

BLM officials say the horses will eventually be adopted out or taken to a federal facility in the Midwest United States.

Originally Posted By Las Vegas Now