Drought prompts wild horse roundup

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 | 8:47 a.m.

Nevada's wild horses are feeling the heat. And for creatures that depend on vegetation for their survival, this summer's drought could mean disaster.

For that reason, the Bureau of Land Management announced an emergency plan Monday to gather and remove about 300 threatened horses and burros from areas where drought conditions have diminished the vegetation the animals need for survival.

In many cases, the decision to gather the animals is a life-saving one, said BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon.

"If the conditions are so dire that they're going to die, the humane thing to do is round them up," Cannon said.

The conditions have become so bad that a widely used scoring system rates the health of horses in the Muddy Mountains, Johnnie, Crystal, Red Rock and Cold Creek areas a 2 on a scale in which 7 represents a healthy well-fed animal and 1 represents an animal near death.

The BLM estimates that the population of wild horses doubles about every four years, heightening the competition for resources already diminished by the drought.

"If they weren't round up, the animals would be left to die," said David Tatum, field member of the National Wild Horse Association. "Their numbers need to be reduced."

Normally, the animals are gathered starting in July, but due to dire conditions, helicopter crews will begin rounding up the animals from the Oliver Ranch near Pahrump Thursday. Once they're gathered, the horses and burros are then transported to the National Wild Horse and Burro Center in Ridgecrest, Calif., where they will receive veterinary care and inoculations.

From there, individuals with sufficient land and facilities from throughout the country will be invited to adopt the animals. Older animals with health problems -- those deemed "unadoptable" -- are sent to a long-term care facility in Oklahoma.

Potential adopters must apply through the BLM. The animals remain the property of the BLM for one year, when the title is transferred to their new owners, provided the animals have received proper and humane care.

The decision to gather the animals this way stems from the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which allowed the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to use helicopters to gather wild horses and burros on public land.

The BLM estimates it will take about two months for these animals to be ready for adoption. For information call BLM at (800) 417-9647 or go to www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.