Fast start out of gate for BLM horse roundup
It was expected to take at least a week, but the emergency roundup of wild horses in the mountains outside Las Vegas is already two thirds of the way to its goal of 200 animals after the first three days.
The Bureau of Land Management had collected 132 horses as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Karla Norris, assistant manager for the BLM's Southern Nevada district.
"It's going faster than we thought," said Norris, who predicted the operation would likely wrap up before the end of the week.
The BLM began gathering horses Saturday near the small community of Cold Creek, in the Spring Mountains about 50 miles northwest of Las Vegas, after officials said drought and overpopulation had left some animals at risk of starvation.
Norris said they hoped to collect the most emaciated horses by setting up a corral and baiting it with hay and water, and that's exactly what has happened so far.
"It was like putting up a 'free buffet' sign. They just came right into the corral," she said.
Only a few foals have been gathered so far because not very many of them have survived the harsh conditions on the range this year, Norris said.
About 30 horses have since been moved to the BLM-owned Oliver Ranch along state Route 159 in Red Rock Canyon for further examination and feeding.
All of the captives eventually will be moved to a private ranch in Utah for four to five months of being fattened up and cared for, then trucked to a BLM facility to be offered for sale or adoption. Those that do not find homes will live out their lives at off-range holding pastures in the Midwest that are now home to about 40,000 once-wild horses.
In May, the BLM counted about 470 adult horses in the 102,000 acres surrounding Cold Creek. According to the agency's own "appropriate management level," the area shouldn't have more than 66 horses.
The BLM's last roundup there came in 2007, when 101 animals were removed.
Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow him: @RefriedBrean
