The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho’s Owyhee Field Office plans to conduct a bait/water trap gather of the remaining wild horses within the Sands Basin herd management area (HMA), located about 13 miles southwest of Homedale.

Approximately 31 Sands Basin wild horses eluded capture during the emergency helicopter gather that commenced shortly after the Soda Fire that burned nearly all of the Sands Basin and Hardtrigger HMAs and about a third of the Black Mountain HMA. A bait/water trap gather is a passive method to capture wild horses, and it requires minimal activity in the area so the horses will not be spooked away from the feed and water that will be set in temporary corrals with trigger closure gates.

It is important that BLM capture these horses for two reasons:

• There is not enough forage to sustain them long-term; and
• To protect the ongoing reseeding efforts to rehabilitate the burned areas.

If at all possible, the BLM asks that members of the public avoid riding or recreating in this area to relieve any additional stress or pressure to these horses