The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Nevada’s Ely District has concluded the Pancake emergency while horse gather.

The agency removed 297 horses from the Big Sand Spring Valley portion of the Pancake herd management area (HMA), located about 30 miles west of Ely and 80 miles northeast of Tonopah, Nevada. The BLM said it removed the horses due to ongoing drought conditions and that, without emergency action, the horses’ conditions were expected to deteriorate, potentially resulting in some horses’ deaths. Hay and water were used to gather the horses.

A veterinarian was on-call during gather operations, which were conducted by a contractor, the BLM said. Horses removed from the range were transported to the BLM’s Indian Lakes off-range corrals, in Fallon, Nevada, to be prepared for the BLM’s adoption program.

The BLM said the appropriate management level (AML) for the Pancake HMA is 240 to 493 wild horses. The agency estimates the population to be 1,800 wild horses, based on a March 2016 population inventory