Andy is finally back to civilization and has the ability to send a few photographs of his time with the wild horses in Wyoming. On December 8th, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its updated Fiscal Year 2024 tentative "gather" schedule. The plan calls for the roundup of nearly 21,000 wild horses and burros and permanent removal of more than 19,000 from the wild by September 30th, 2024. It has sparked concerns and criticism across conservation circles and raises questions about the future of America's iconic wild equines. Andy joined two other professional photographers in an effort to bring attention to the planned round up in July 2024, in an effort to try to stop it.
Federal helicopters will fly in Nevada for an astonishing 12 capture operations, and bait traps will be set there three times, making it the state with the most roundups. The BLM plans to capture over 11,600 of Nevada's wild equines and permanently remove just over 11,000 of them.
A staggering blow awaits the North Lander complex in Wyoming, with a jaw-dropping 2,766 wild horses marked for removal. (This is the location of Andy’s photographs) Worse, the Decision Record for this roundup authorizes the gelding (castration) of up to 95% of captured stallions designated for return to the range. Also targeted for a large-scale roundup is the White Mountain wild horse population near Rock Springs.
The BLM plans to remove horses in five additional states– California, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The majority of these will be conducted by helicopters. In California, BLM helicopters will return to Twin Peaks in August, just two years after a summer roundup in sweltering temperatures took a devastating toll on newly born foals, some of whom died from exhaustion and shock, while others literally had their hooves run off in the chase.
Adding 19,000 more wild horses to the 60,000 already confined to holding facilities will bring the population in holding to nearly 80,000 animals. As a result, 2024 looms as the year when the population in confinement could equal or exceed the number of wild horses who remain in the wild.
I hope you enjoy the photographs of these beautiful creatures …. I am praying for a miracle.
Alisa