ELY, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management concluded the FY2024 Moriah Herd Area wild horse gather near Ely, Nev., on October 23, 2023. The BLM gathered and removed 441 excess wild horses from public and private lands.
The purpose of the gather was to remove all excess wild horses from areas not designated for or suitable to their long-term management and prevent further degradation of public lands. In the 2008 Ely Resource Management Plan, the BLM decided to manage this area for zero wild horses as it no longer met the criteria for maintaining a thriving ecological balance with multiple uses as authorized under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. The gather was necessary to improve watershed health, protect wild horse health, and make significant progress towards achieving Northeastern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council Standards for Rangeland Health.
The BLM gathered and removed 441 excess wild horses from within and outside the Moriah Herd Area.
“The gather was critical to ensuring public land health within the Herd Area, as well as the wild horses, both of which are at risk due to herd overpopulation,” said Robbie McAboy, Ely District Manager.
The BLM transported the animals removed from the range to the Sutherland Off-Range Corrals in Sutherland, Utah, to be readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sales Program. Wild horses not adopted or sold will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
Additional gather information is available on the BLM website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/nevada-ely-do/2024-moriah-herd.
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