TONOPAH — The Battle Mountain District, Tonopah Field Office (TFO) has issued the Decision Record for the 2014 Reveille Horse Gather.
BLM plans to gather about 120 horses from within the Reveille Allotment and Herd Management Area (HMA) located approximately 50 miles east of Tonopah, NV. As many as 70 horses will be removed from the area, 60 horses will be sent to holding facilities in Ridgecrest, Calif. and about 10 horses will be offered for adoption after the gather in Tonopah. The remaining horses will be released back into the HMA.
Mares, selected to maintain herd characteristics, released back to the HMA will be treated with the fertility control agent Porcine Zona Pellucidae (PZP-22) to slow herd growth rates and extend the time until another gather is needed. The gather will be conducted through a BLM helicopter trapping contract and will begin after September 15, 2014.
A post gather adoption event will be held in Tonopah where 10-15 weanlings and yearlings will be offered for adoption to qualified applicants. Information for this adoption will be posted on the website listed below, with dates announced once the actual start date of the gather is known.
This gather is needed to remove excess wild horses in order to maintain a thriving ecological balance. The management of wild horses in the Reveille Allotment is subject to a 1987 District Court Order, and two orders issued by the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) in 2001 and 2002. These orders require BLM to conduct an annual inventory of the horses in the Reveille Allotment and initiate a gather to remove excess horses from the Allotment when the inventory shows that population numbers exceeds the Appropriate Management Level (AML) set in the 2001 Final Multiple Use Decision of 138 horses. The current estimated population, based on previous inventory flights is 168 horses. The TFO has determined that AML has been surpassed and a gather is necessary.
Public viewing opportunities will be identified as the start of the gather nears.
