BLM NEWS RELEASE
WINNEMUCCA — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Winnemucca District will resume gather operations for the Tri-State Calico Complex Wild Horse and Burro Gather on Jan. 3, on the eastern side of the Complex, south of Denio Junction. The gather is expected to be completed by mid-January.
The BLM and contractor have finished gathering the western half of the Complex and have moved their equipment to the eastern side of the Complex. Portions of the Black Rock West and Black Rock East Herd Management Areas (HMAs) will be gathered for wild horses and the McGee Mountain HMA will be gathered for wild burros.
The gather started on Nov. 19 and thus far, 1,048 wild horses and 10 burros have been gathered. Of those gathered, 186 mares and stallions have been returned to the range, with fertility control applied to all the mares before their release.
The gathered animals have been transported to the Palomino Valley Center near Reno, Nev., where they will be prepared for the BLM adoption program. Un-adopted horses will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanly cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM does not sell or send any horses to slaughter.
The Complex consists of approximately 584,000 acres (public and private) but the gather area consists of approximately 1,041,000 acres to encompass wild horses and burros residing outside of the HMAs. The Complex includes the following HMAs: Black Rock Range East, Black Rock Range West, Calico Mountains, Granite Range, Warm Springs Canyon, and McGee Mountain.
The public is welcome to attend the gather, and is encouraged to attend on Saturdays, when there will be additional interpretive opportunities to interact with staff. Viewing opportunities can be affected by weather and gather operation, and the public is encouraged to check the gather hotline nightly at 775-623-1728 for changes in the schedule. The BLM will also regularly post gather information on its Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo.html.
Removing the excess wild horses and burros will help to achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship as required under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as well as help to achieve and maintain healthy wild horse and burro populations.
For more information, contact Lisa Ross, BLM Winnemucca District public affairs specialist, at 775-623-1541 or [email protected].
