BLM to host hearing for use of motorized vehicles, aircraft in horse, burro managment

Deseret News Salt Lake City

Wild horses Dec 10, 2008 in the Cedar Mountains in Tooele County.

Jeffrey D Allred, Deseret News

Summary

The Utah Bureau of Land Management will host its annual statewide public hearing at the Fillmore Field Office to discuss the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in the management of wild horses and burros on Utah’s public lands.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Bureau of Land Management will host its annual statewide public hearing at the Fillmore Field Office to discuss the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in the management of wild horses and burros on Utah’s public lands.    

The hearing will be held Friday, July 20, at 6 p.m. at the Fillmore Field Office, 95 E. 500 South, Fillmore.

Utah’s current wild horse and burro population is about 3,300 head. Increased wild horse number may cause limited forage and water availability, which reduces the number of animals that can be supported on the land. Utah BLM gathers an average of 300 horses annually from public lands to help control horse populations, which can increase 15 percent to 25 percent annually.   

Utah BLM and its contractors plan to gather excess wild horses from Herd Management Areas located in Millard, Beaver and Iron Counties.

For more information, visit www.blm.gov/ut, contact the Fillmore Field Office at 435-743-3100 or the BLM Utah State Office at 801-539-4057.