Bureau of Land Management begins wild horse gathers in Sand Wash Basin

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has commenced wild horse gather operations in the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area near Craig, Colorado. Using helicopter drive-traps, the agency aims to gather 300 horses over approximately 11 days, with plans to return 55 of them to the range.

Operations were delayed from their original September 10 start date due to scheduling conflicts and weather-related issues, including flooding and impassable roads. As of September 20, 11 horses—including five stallions, three mares, and three foals—had been gathered with no reported deaths.

The program is designed to prevent wild horse populations from exceeding the land's carrying capacity. In Colorado, the BLM estimates the appropriate combined capacity for all herd management areas to be 812 animals. This operation follows a recent gather in the Piceance-East Douglas/West Douglas area, where 894 horses were collected.