BLM scheduled to remove 420 wild horses from three Utah counties for overpopulation

Wild horses roam free on state and some private land, outside federal disengaged horse management areas on May 31, 2017 outside Milford, Utah. The BLM, state officials and ranchers all over the Western United States are struggling with what to do about and how to control the burgeoning horse population in the west. Photo: George Frey/Getty Images

The public can see the operation that starts on Tuesday

By: Alixel Cabrera, Utah News Dispatch

The number of wild horses in three Utah counties is more than double what the Bureau of Land Management deems appropriate. Starting Tuesday, the agency is slated to herd hundreds of them out of the range and into a facility in Axtell, a central Utah community.

The bureau’s estimates there are 606 wild horses within and outside the Sulphur Herd Management area in Beaver, Iron and Millard counties. The appropriate management level for the zone is 165 to 250 animals, according to a news release from the BLM.

The goal is to gather approximately 420 wild horses using a helicopter to herd them out of the BLM-administered lands.

“Population growth suppression will be administered to selected mares to help stabilize the annual increase of animals being born on the (Herd Management Area),” the release reads. “Horses removed from the range will be transported to the Axtell Off-Range Contract Wild Horse Facility in Axtell, Utah.”

The Axtell facility is privately owned and has been under contract with the BLM since 2015, according to a 2022 news release. It encompasses 32 acres and has more than 40 holding pens, which can provide care for up to 2,250 wild horses. Back in 2022, there were about 1,000 horses in the space. While there, the animals receive veterinary care, food and water through automatic watering troughs.

The BLM conducted a similar gather operation in February 2022 at the Sulphur Herd Management Area when the population of horses reached 600, according to a news release. The goal then was to gather 376 horses and implement growth suppression “to help stabilize the annual increase of animals being born on the HMA.”

Then, the excess wild horses were transported to the Axtell facility and prepared for a BLM adoption and sale program, according to the release “Those that are not placed into a new home will be cared for in off-range pastures, where they live off the rest of their lives on grass pastures.”

Nationwide, the overpopulation of wild horses and burros on public lands has declined since 2020, according to a study by the BLM. As of March, the agency estimated there were about 73,520 wild horses and burros on its lands, 9,362 fewer than in 2023.

“By addressing overpopulation, we are not only ensuring the long-term well-being of wild horses and burros but also safeguarding the delicate balance of our ecosystems for the benefit of all wildlife and the health of our public lands,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a news release.

The public will be able to watch the gather operation on BLM-escorted tours whenever it is safe for both the horses and the participants. Details on those tours will be updated each evening during the operation and announced daily on a BLM hotline at 801-539-4050.

On Tuesday night, the gather operation will begin near the Utah-Nevada border. The tour will depart at 4:30 a.m.