TONOPAH, Nev.—The Bureau of Land Management, Battle Mountain District, Tonopah Field Office is scheduled to begin a drought related wild horse gather in the Little Fish Lake Herd Management Area on or about February 8. BLM plans to gather about 150 wild horses threatened by lack of forage from within the HMA. Fifty horses will be released back into the HMA, with all mares being treated with the fertility control drug Porcine Zona Pellucidae (PZP-22). About 100 horses will be transported to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse & Burro Corrals in Ridgecrest, California, where they will be will be prepared for adoption by the public. About 100 horses will remain in the HMA after the gather.
Wild horse gathers due to drought conditions were analyzed in the Battle Mountain District Drought Management Environmental Assessment dated June 22, 2012. A Determination of NEPA Adequacy, and Finding of No Significant Impact were completed for this gather. The documents are available at http://on.doi.gov/1AxtUQk. The gather will be conducted by a contractor using a helicopter to locate and guide wild horses toward a set of corrals. The use of helicopters, authorized in the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, has been proven to be a safe, effective and practical means to gather wild horses.
Drought conditions have persisted throughout Nevada since 2012, leading to pending emergency conditions in Nye County that seriously threaten the health and well-being of these wild horses. BLM has been monitoring drought and forage conditions within the HMA. The U.S. Drought monitor shows the HMA is in severe drought which, coupled with overutilization by wild horses, has left the HMA with limited available forage for the winter. Lack of vegetation and range impacts from overpopulation by wild horses is also affecting important habitat used by Greater Sage-grouse.
BLM will offer public viewing opportunities during the gather operations and will be updating the gather hotline, 775-861-6700, with more information. Photos, daily updates and other information is available on the Little Fish Lake Gather web site at http://on.doi.gov/1xUVAfA. The Little Fish Lake HMA is located about 70 miles northeast of Tonopah and encompasses approximately 28,000 acres of primarily BLM land.
