Wild horse gather planned for east of Tonopah
TONOPAH–The Bureau of Land Management said it will remove about 450 wild horses from the Stone Cabin Herd Management Area (HMA) in an emergency gather that being Thursday, Aug. 19. The HMA covers nearly 408,000 acres east of Tonopah.
The gather will be conducted using temporary bait and water traps and corral panels stocked with water and hay. No helicopters will be used, officials said.
The last wild horse gather in the Stone Cabin Valley was in 2016. Since then, the population of wild horses, including foals, in the HMA has grown to 1,037. Officials made that determination through a helicopter survey completed in July. The HMA appropriate management level is set for 218 to 364 wild horses.
“Due to herd overpopulation and severe drought conditions, in much of the district and particularly in the Stone Cabin area, we monitor, plan and conduct gathers like this to ensure the health of the wild horses as well as health of federal rangelands,” 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 prevent unnecessary death due to starvation.”
The average condition of horses in the herd has been evaluated as thing to very thin, and some are listed as emaciated.
Officials said wild horses removed from the range during the operation will be transported to Sutherland Off Range Corrals in Sutherland, Utah where they’ll be checked by a veterinarian and readied for adoption.
Gather reports and additional information for the “2021 Stone Cabin HMA Emergency Wild Horse Gather” will be posted on the BLM website at https://go.usa.gov/xFvEU.
