Published in the High Desert Advocate February 5th, 2021 Edition, with Editing results from the gathering of Sunday-Monday, on February 9th, 2021.
Members of the public (foreground) watch as the helicopter pilot (background) shepherds wild horses toward the trapsite in the 2018 Silver King HMA gather.
(photo credit BLM/Ely Office)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District, Caliente Field Office on Sunday, February 7, 2021 began gathering and continued Monday February 8, 2021, excess wild horses from in and around the Silver King Herd Management Area (HMA) located near Pioche, Nev. The BLM gathered and removed 106 excess wild horses (50 Studs, 56 Mares, and 0 Foals). The BLM treated up to 25 mares with the fertility control vaccine GonaCon-Equine and release them back into the HMA.
Total Animals Gathered: 106
106 (50 Studs, 56 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animal Deaths: 0
Pre-existing: 0
Acute: 0
Total Animals Shipped: 39
39 (14 Studs, 25 Mares, and 0 Foals)
1st Day: Sunday, February 7
Summary: Gather operations began Sunday with temperatures between 60 and 25.
Animals Gathered: 41 (16 Studs, 25 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 0 (0 Studs, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Deaths: 0
-Sudden / Acute: 0
-Pre-existing / Chronic: 0
2 day: Monday, February 8, 2021 : Summary: Gather operations continued with temperatures between 60 and 25.
Animals Gathered: 65 (34 Studs, 31 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 39 (14 Studs, 25 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Deaths: 0
Before the gather, the current population estimate for the Silver King HMA was 343 wild horses, including the 2020 foal crop. Appropriate Management Level (AML) is 60-128 wild horses. The purpose of the gather is to prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands associated with excess wild horses, and to restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on public lands, consistent with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Removing excess animals would also enable significant progress toward achieving the Standards for Rangeland Health identified by the Mojave-Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council.
The BLM conducted gather operations using the helicopter-assisted method. The gather also probably took place in areas outside the HMA where wild horses have moved in search of food and water.
The Silver King Herd seen here during a past Gather. (photo credit BLM/Ely Office)
The BLM’s priority is to conduct a safe, efficient, and successful wild horse gather operation while ensuring humane care and treatment of all animals gathered. The BLM and its contractors will use the best available science and handling practices for wild horses while meeting overall gather goals and objectives in accordance with the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy.
All horses identified for removal were transported to the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center in Reno, Nev., where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro Adoption and Sale Program.
Members of the public are welcome to view the gather operations, provided that doing so does not jeopardize the safety of the animals, staff and observers, or disrupt gather operations. The BLM will escort the public to gather observation sites located on public lands. The BLM anticipates that viewing opportunities will begin on or about February 6, 2021, weather and logistics permitting. Once gather operations have begun, those wanting to view gather operations must call the gather hotline nightly at (775) 861-6700 to receive specific instructions on each days’ meeting location and time.
The BLM is conducting the gather under the DOI-BLM-NV-L000-2017-0005-EA Silver King HMA Gather Plan Environmental Assessment decision signed on November 8, 2017. Access the Decision Record and determination of National Environmental Policy Act adequacy at https://go.usa.gov/x7GgW.
Once the gather is underway, the BLM will post gather reports and additional information on its website at https://go.usa.gov/xAtAF. For technical information, contact Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Tyler Reese at (775) 726-8137 or treese@blm.gov.
For information on how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit www.blm.gov/whb. The Silver King HMA is located in northern Lincoln County, Nevada approximately 60 air miles south of Ely, and 20 miles northwest of Caliente.
The area consists of 574,962 acres of BLM land and 498 acres of a mix of private and other public lands for a total of 575,460 acres.
Size: The area consists of 574,962 acres of BLM land and 498 acres of a mix of private and other public lands for a total of 575,460 acres.
Topography/Vegetation: The area is within the Great Basin physiographic regions, characterized by a high, rolling plateau underlain by basalt flows covered with a thin loess and alluvial mantle. On many of the low hills and ridges that are scattered throughout the area, the soils are underlain by bedrock. Elevations within the Silver King HMA range from approximately 5,000 feet to 9,500 feet. Annual precipitation ranges from approximately 7 inches on some of the valley bottoms to 20 inches on the mountain peaks. Most of this precipitation comes during the winter and spring months in the form of snow, supplemented by localized thunderstorms during the summer months. Temperatures range from greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer months to minus 20 degrees in the winter.
Vegetation within the Silver King HMA varies with elevation, soil type, and precipitation. The vegetation is diverse with desert shrub/sagebrush/grass plant communities dominating the lower elevations while sagebrush/mountain shrub/grass/pinyon-juniper/mountain mahogany plant communities dominate the benches and higher elevation sites.
The plant species dominating the lower elevations include Wyoming big sagebrush, black sagebrush, winterfat, shadscale, budsage, sickle saltbush, black greasewood, rabbitbrush, Indian ricegrass, Sandburg bluegrass, bottlebrush squirreltail, needlegrass, and assorted forb species.
The plant species dominating the higher elevations include Wyoming big sagebrush, mountain sagebrush, black sagebrush, low sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, Utah serviceberry, snowberry, golden and squaw currant, pinyon pine, Utah juniper, curlleaf mountain-mahogany, limber pine, white fir, bluebunch wheatgrass, needlegrass, and assorted forb species.
