The controversial gather of about 2,700 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustangs from the Calico Mountain Complex Herd Management Complex in Nevada will begin as planned today after a federal judge declined to stop the roundup.

On Dec. 23, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled to allow the gather on grounds that the roundup was within the BLM's purview under the law.

Earlier this month, animal advocates asked a federal court judge to forbid the gather on grounds that it violates the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The Act protects mustangs and wild burros from harassment, capture, or death, and places the animals' management under BLM jurisdiction.

BLM Spokesman Tom Gorey said the gather is necessary to reduce the herd to a size range resources can support