BLM launches roundup of problem wild burros north of Pahrump

If you’re looking for a last minute gift for that special someone on your list, the Bureau of Land Management will soon have some fresh-caught wild burros available for adoption.

The BLM launched a roundup Tuesday of burros causing problems at the northern edge of Pahrump, about 70 miles west of Las Vegas.

Over the course of several weeks, the agency hopes to capture and remove about 75 burros from the area by luring the animals into corrals set up on private land and baited with food and water.

According to the BLM, burros from the Johnnie herd management area north of Pahrump have been roaming into town, damaging fences, water lines and vegetation on private property and causing a safety hazard on state Route 160.

Several of the animals have been struck by vehicles along the highway, said John Asselin, spokesman for the BLM in Southern Nevada.

Bureau officials estimate that the Johnnie herd area can sustainably support 108 burros. “The current estimated population is 311 burros, nearly three times the level that the available water and forage on the range can support along with other uses of the land, making this operation especially important,” the BLM said in a written statement.

This marks the first burro roundup in the Johnnie herd area since December 2014.

To ensure the success of the roundup, only people directly involved in the operation will be allowed at the trap site, the bureau said. Wild burros might be reluctant to approach the corrals when there is too much activity.

Using a contract livestock company out of Meadow, Utah, the BLM plans to transport the burros that are caught to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corrals in Ridgecrest, Calif., where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the agency’s wild horse and burro adoption program.

Asselin said it typically takes one to three months to prepare wild burros to be adopted.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.