Pancake Herd Management Area Emergency Wild Horse Gather

BLM Website

Pancake Herd Management Area Emergency Wild Horse Gather

---

The emergency gather is expected to start September 12.

Start of Gather The BLM Ely District, Egan Field Office is scheduled to initiate the Pancake Herd Management Area (HMA) Emergency Wild Horse Gather on or about September 12, 2012. Goal of Gather The goal of the Pancake HMA Emergency Wild Horse Gather is to gather and remove 100-125 wild horses from the southern end of the Pancake Herd Management Area (HMA) in south-central Nevada, about 30 miles west of Ely and 80 miles northeast of Tonopah, Nevada, that are at-risk of death if they remain on the range.  The emergency helicopter gather is necessary to prevent a further decline in animal condition caused by minimal forage growth and reduced water availability due to severe drought conditions.                                                Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Pancake HMA is 240-493 wild horses. The current population is 1,200-plus wild horses.  BLM has been monitoring the condition of the wild horses due to the on-going drought conditions and animals in the southern portion of the HMA are currently in moderately thin to very thin body condition with further declines beyond the point of recovery anticipated if actions are not taken. The affected part of the HMA is within the South Sand Springs and Ike Spring/Ike Bench Use Areas which are part of the Duckwater grazing allotment. The South Sand Springs Use Area has been closed to cattle grazing since 2000 and the Ike Spring/Ike Bench has been grazed only once in 14 years. The BLM has determined that the potential impacts of the actions that would be taken in this emergency gather have been analyzed in the Pancake Complex Environmental Assessment signed on November 28, 2011. The BLM will therefore prepare a Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) which will be posted on the National NEPA Registrar web page along with the Decision Record for the emergency gather at https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_register.do on or about Sept. 7, 2012. Details of the Gather More information will be posted as it becomes available. Adoption Wild horses removed from the HMA will be made available for adoption. Animals for which there is no adoption demand will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM does not sell or send any horses to slaughter. Background The BLM Ely District Office administers the Pancake HMA. For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program, call 866-468-7826 or email wildhorse@blm.gov.