BLM Is Taking Public Comments on the North Complex Wild Horse Gather Plan: Our Horses Need Us to Speak Now
BLM proposes to gather and remove horses from inside and outside the HMAs, reduce each herd to the low end of its Appropriate Management Level, and apply fertility control only within the Flanigan HMA. In the Preliminary EA, BLM states that the North Complex has an AML range of 101 to 157 horses and estimates the spring 2026 adult population at 369 horses, not including 2026 foals. BLM therefore identifies approximately 268 or more adult horses above the low end of AML.
This means the proposal is not merely a “management” action. It is a plan to remove most of the horses now living in the North Complex landscape, potentially returning again for follow-up gathers if the agency cannot reach low AML in one operation. The EA says the primary gather methods would include helicopter drive, bait trapping, and water trapping, and BLM acknowledges that gather efficiency rarely exceeds 80–85 percent in larger complexes.