BLM to remove approximately 1,000 horses from Piceance, West Douglas HMAs
Special to the HT
RBC | The Bureau of Land Management is preparing for a gathering of wild horses in the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area in August as part of a plan to reduce herd numbers.
Located near Meeker and Rangely in northwest Colorado, Piceance-East Douglas is the largest herd management area in the state at just over 190,000 acres.
The BLM estimates that 814 wild horses are currently living within the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area. The agency estimates an additional 58 horses in the neighboring North Piceance Herd Area and 101 in the West Douglas Herd Area, bringing the estimated population across the three areas to 973.
The BLM-established appropriate management level for the Piceance-East Douglas HMA is 135 to 235 horses.
The agency plans to reduce the population in the Piceance-East Douglas HMA and remove all horses currently in the West Douglas Herd Area. West Douglas is not designated for long-term wild horse management because of what the BLM describes as rugged terrain and limited water and forage.
According to the BLM, the purpose of the gather is to prevent rangeland damage caused by overpopulation, protect the health of wild horses when water and forage are limited, restore ecological balance and support multiple uses of public lands. The gather is being conducted under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
The agency plans to gather 925 horses from the Piceance-East Douglas HMA and North Piceance Herd Area. Of those, 911 are expected to be removed and 14 returned to the range. The BLM also plans to gather and remove approximately 100 horses from the West Douglas Herd Area.
Mares selected for release will be treated with the GonaCon fertility vaccine in an effort to slow reproduction.
GonaCon is a multiyear immunocontraceptive developed by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for use in wildlife and feral animal populations.
Colorado Northwest District Wild Horse Specialist Tyrell Turner, who monitors the HMA, said the BLM plans to release fewer mares than stallions in an additional effort to slow population growth.
The gather will use a drive-trap method, with aerial support from contracted livestock helicopter pilots to assist the bureau in moving horses toward temporary corrals.
The use of helicopters during wild horse gathers has drawn criticism from some advocates concerned about stress and injury. During the 2022 gather, however, the BLM and Piceance Mustangs, a local nonprofit mustang advocacy organization that partners with the agency, reported no fatalities or serious injuries related to the use of helicopters.
For the 2022 gather, the BLM contracted with Cattoor Livestock Roundup Co. Cattoor describes its approach to moving horses as “pressure and release,” similar to moving cattle.
Pilots use the helicopter’s position, sound and air movement, along with natural landscape features such as draws, to guide the horses toward temporary alleys and corrals. Wranglers assist separated mares and foals, as well as sick or injured horses. If necessary, animals are moved more slowly to pickup locations to minimize stress and protect their health before transportation.
Kathy DeGonia of Piceance Mustangs said pilots and ground crews operate under the BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program, or CAWP.
The program establishes standards for the handling and care of wild horses during gathers, on-range management, transportation, short- and long-term holding, adoption and sales events and follow-up with adopters.
Turner said examples of CAWP standards include not pushing horses to exhaustion during the gather and creating visual barriers along alleys and gates with jute wings to provide a calmer transition into temporary corrals.
All BLM wild horse personnel, partners and contractors involved in the Wild Horse and Burro Program are required to follow these standards and attend CAWP training. According to the agency, noncompliance or acts of abuse will result in immediate corrective action.
The gather is one of several efforts involving the BLM, Piceance Mustangs and other partners to manage the East Douglas range and its wild horse population.
The official schedule for the gather, including public viewing information, will be released closer to the beginning of August. Portable corrals will be set up near the gather area for temporary holding and to allow the horses to rest.
Horses not returned to the HMA will be transported to the Wheatland Off-Range Corral.
By JOSIE TUTHILL
A wild horse roams the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area near Meeker. The Bureau of Land Management plans to gather wild horses from the Piceance-East Douglas, North Piceance and West Douglas herd areas beginning in August as part of its population management program. JOSIE TUTHILL PHOTO