The agency plans to remove about 149 wild horses and administer fertility control to horses returning to the range. | Photo: iStock

Due to declining rangeland health, overpopulation and continued drought conditions, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah’s Price Field Office will conduct a wild horse gather at the Muddy Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) beginning in August.

The agency plans to gather about 149 wild horses. Once gathers have been completed and upon reaching appropriate management level, fertility control would be administered to horses to help maintain a stable population in the HMA.

The Muddy Creek HMA is located in Emery County, approximately 20 miles south of Ferron, in the San Rafael Swell. It consists of approximately 283,400 acres of public and state lands