BLM clears way for Calico wild horse roundup

A wild horse roundup will proceed after the Bureau of Land Management's Black Rock Field Office issued the decision record for the final environmental assessment for the Calico Mountains Complex Wild Horse Capture Plan.

The BLM will gather and remove about 2,500 wild horses in the herd management areas north of Gerlach in Washoe and Humboldt counties, the agency said today.

Fertility control will be used to slow population growth among the 600-900 wild horses that remain to reduce the need for future gathers.

"The current wild horse population in these HMAs is more than three times

what the range can handle," said District Manager Gene Seidlitz. "We need

to gather and remove about 2,500 excess wild horses in the five HMAs to

achieve a thriving natural ecological balance on the land and address the

serious damage to the environment caused by this overpopulation. By

keeping the wild horse population within the appropriate management levels,

we can prevent further deterioration of delicate Lahontan cutthroat trout

streams, riparian zones, wildlife habitat, wilderness values and other

important resources in these HMAs."

Since the most recent gather in 2005, forage and water supplies have become

limited due to extreme drought conditions in the complex. The horses'

winter range is limited and inadequate resources exist to support the

current population. Without a gather, the horses' body conditions-which

are already compromised-could further deteriorate, resulting in a situation

later this winter that would require emergency horse removals to prevent

horse fatalities.

The five areas that comprise the Calico Mountains Complex are the Black Rock

Range East, Black Rock Range West, Calico Mountains, Granite Range, and

Warm Springs Canyon. The gather is expected to continue into late February

or early March 2010.

The BLM will use helicopters to capture the wild horses and will transport

the animals by motorized vehicles. The use of helicopters, which is

authorized by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, has proven

to be a safe, effective, and practical means for gathering excess wild

horses from the public lands, and large scale geographic areas such as the

Calico Mountains Complex. Horses removed from the range will be offered

for adoption to qualified individuals. Unadopted horses will be placed in

long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and treated, and

will retain their "wild" status and protection under the 1971 law. The BLM

does not sell or send any horses to slaughter.

The gather and impacts are described and analyzed in the Calico Mountains

Complex Capture Plan Final EA. The EA and other information about the

Calico Mountains Complex gather are posted on the BLM Website at

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo.html. The BLM also will provide updates

and information at the same Web address on a regular basis throughout the

course of the gather.