The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Vale District, in Oregon, has announced plans to conduct a helicopter gather of wild horses within the Cold Springs and Hog Creek Herd Management Areas (HMA) beginning in January or February 2018.

The Cold Springs HMA is located approximately 45 miles southwest of Vale, Oregon; 25 miles southwest of Harper, Oregon; and 45 miles southeast of Juntura, Oregon, in Malheur County. The appropriate management level (AML)—the number of horses the range can sustainably support in conjunction with other animals and resource uses, set by the BLM—is 75 to 150 horses for this area. The current population is more than 175.

The Hog Creek HMA is located approximately 20 miles west of Vale and 5 miles west of Harper, in Malheur County. The AML for this area is 30 to 50 horses and the current population is more than 60.

Heavy to severe grazing jeopardizes the health of rangelands, wetlands, wildlife habitats, and ultimately animal health and condition. Both gathers are designed to reduce the wild horse population to levels within AML and immediately reduce resource impacts