BLM Initiates Actions to Sustain Long-Term Health of the Red Desert Wild Horse Herd

LANDER, Wyo. – The Bureau of Land Management will begin work in the Wyoming Red Desert Complex Herd Management Area to strengthen the long-term health of the wild horse herd and the rangelands they rely on. This effort supports a more sustainable balance on the landscape, which has been heavily strained by long-term overpopulation and severe drought conditions. 

The Red Desert Herd Management Area includes nearly 752,694 acres of mostly public lands managed by the BLM, intermingled with some private lands, within the Wind River Big Horn Basin and High Desert Districts. Recent infrared aerial surveys show wild horse numbers far above the herd size of 480 to 720 horses that the land can sustainably support. The herd currently has an estimated population of 2,278. Without active management, wild horse herds can grow as much as 15% to 20% each year, meaning a population can double in just four to five years. Because wild horses have few natural predators, herd sizes increase faster than the land can replenish food and water. 

With too many horses competing for diminishing forage and water, the landscape is no longer able to meet the basic needs of the herd. Continued pressure on this fragile ecosystem could lead to permanent loss of vegetation and reduced access to critical resources for the horses and other wildlife that depend on the landscape. Our legal mandate and management actions are undertaken specifically to prevent those outcomes, keep horses healthy and ensure the land can continue to support them. 

BLM crews will humanely gather and remove about 1,035 horses to help stabilize conditions. Carefully adjusting herd size will relieve competition for limited forage and water, support recovery of stressed plant communities, and improve long-term habitat conditions. Gathered horses will be transported to a BLM holding facility, where they will receive feed, water, veterinary evaluation and care. Animals suitable for placement will be prepared for the BLM’s Adoption and Sales Program, giving qualified adopters the opportunity to bring these animals into responsible private care.   

All gather operations are conducted under the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program, which outlines humane handling requirements. Helicopter pilots and ground crews will maintain a controlled, deliberate pace to keep horses together, avoid overexertion, and take special care with foals, older animals, and animals showing signs of stress.  

The BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program is grounded in science, law, and humane care standards and adheres completely to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act and other federal laws. The BLM does not send wild horses or burros to slaughter, and no loophole exists that would legally allow people who adopt or buy wild horses to ever sell animals directly or to middlemen for slaughter. 

Additional information, including the Decision Record, is available at the BLM National NEPA Register and Red Desert Complex Herd Management Area Wild Horse Gather.  

For media inquiries, please contact BLM_WY_News@blm.gov.