Record Wild Horse Gather Enters Final Stage in Wyoming

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has initiated the final phase of its largest wild horse gather to date, focusing on managing populations in Wyoming's herd management areas. This operation highlights the ongoing efforts to balance ecological needs and public interests.

The BLM began the third and final phase of its gather in the White Mountain and Little Colorado herd management areas. Since October 7, the agency has removed 3,121 wild horses from southwest Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin, Adobe Town, and Salt Wells Creek management areas, nearing its goal of capturing 4,300 horses. Of these, 488 horses have been returned to their home range, with 237 treated with fertility control, and approximately 312 more are expected to be returned by the gather’s end.

Brad Purdy, acting deputy state director of communications for BLM Wyoming, noted that mild December weather allowed the agency to complete the second stage in the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek management areas by December 6. Operations resumed a month later, resulting in the removal of 119 horses, including 50 mares, 44 stallions, and 25 foals, with four deaths recorded, bringing the total to 20.

While Thursday marked the largest number of single-day deaths, only one death resulted from injury during gathering operations. The other three horses were euthanized due to preexisting conditions, including a club foot, a sway back, and a broken leg.

Each herd management area has a minimum population range set by BLM resource management plans, in accordance with the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. An estimated 5,105 horses lived in the five management areas before the gather, while the agency is required to maintain a combined population of between 1,550 and 2,145 horses. The gather aims to reach the low end of that range without reducing populations below their legal minimums.

Proposed revisions to existing resource management plans, negotiated in 2013 with the Rock Springs Grazing Association, could lower those population minimums to zero in the Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin herd management areas, nearly halve the Adobe Town minimum, and prevent reproduction in the White Mountain management area.

The White Mountain area is home to Sweetwater County’s Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour, a 24-mile route dedicated to the animals. The agency plans to remove more than half of the region’s 563 horses, potentially making them harder to spot along the trail, according to Grace Kuhn, communications director for the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign).

“After the roundup, the wild horses are going to be more scarce and difficult to find than they already are today,” Kuhn said. “This significantly impacts the experience of recreational users who travel to these public lands for wild horse viewing and photography, as well as the local economy that uses this as an ecotourism resource.”

Lawsuits from both sides of the debate have shaped wild horse management over the last decade. While the Rock Springs Grazing Association pushed for reduced populations near private lands, the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) advocated for policy reform and the use of fertility controls over removal.

“Our public lands belong to all Americans,” Kuhn said. “And every American has a say in how our public lands are being treated and managed.”

Originally posted by Casper Star Tribune