The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District has announced that it plans to gather approximately 1,500 horses associated with the Beaty Butte herd management area (HMA), in Oregon, in early October 2015.

Exact dates will be set based on the herd’s location closer to the gather period. The Beaty Butte HMA is located east of Adel, Oregon, in southeast Lake County.

Of the gathered animals, about 1,400 horses will be permanently removed from the Beaty Butte HMA and 100 horses (60 stallions and 40 mares) will be returned to the range. This is consistent with the appropriate management level of 100 to 250 horses established for the HMA.

“The herd population is currently six times the appropriate management level, which is damaging habitat and forage for wildlife, particularly sage grouse habitat,” said BLM Oregon/Washington Director Jerome Perez. “Our goal is to manage the resources and the horses to the best of our ability