BLM Launches Emergency Rescue of Wild Horses Facing Water Shortage in Southeast Oregon
The BLM is launching an emergency operation to remove as many as 499 wild horses from a southeast Oregon range where drought, wildfires and dwindling water supplies threaten the animals’ survival.
VALE, Ore. - The Bureau of Land Management is launching an emergency operation to remove hundreds of wild horses from a southeast Oregon range where severe shortages of water and forage threaten the animals’ survival.
The emergency gather begins Thursday, Sept. 3, in the Sheepshead/Heath Creek Herd Management Area. The BLM plans to gather as many as 499 horses and transport them to off-range holding facilities.
Approximately 1,200 wild horses currently occupy the herd management area, according to the agency. The range is estimated to sustainably support between 500 and 900 horses.
BLM officials said an unusually dry winter reduced available water and forage, while recent wildfires placed additional pressure on the range. Only two of the area’s usual 63 water sources remain available.
“Ongoing drought has left this herd with only two of the usual 63 water sources available,” Vale District Deputy District Manager Cassandra Andrews-Fleckenstein said. “We are taking this necessary, humane step to prevent widespread suffering and a further decline in the animals’ health.”
After being removed from the range, the horses will receive veterinary evaluations, feed, fresh water and other care at BLM facilities. Some may later become available for adoption once they have been evaluated and determined to be ready.
The agency said the gather will also reduce pressure on the landscape and allow areas affected by wildfire to begin recovering. Drive-trap operations will be conducted under the BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program, which establishes standards for handling and caring for wild horses during gathers.
Updates about the emergency operation will be posted on the Bureau of Land Management website.
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