BLM plans ‘helicopter gather,’ removal of 760 horses in South Steens area of SE Oregon; critic disputes justifications

(Update: Adding comments from critic of wild horse roundups)

HINES, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Bureau of Land Management announced tentative plans Tuesday to gather with use of a helicopter 760 "excess" wild horses within and immediately adjacent to the Souths Steens Herd Management Area in southeast Oregon.

"The helicopter gather would begin around August 15, and BLM officials propose to remove approximately 760 excess wild horses," the announcement said.

These roundups often draw criticism, such as views shared with NewsChannel 21 Wednesday by wild horse advocate and educator Scott Beckstead of Sutherlin.

 He said many people question the BLM's real motives behind the roundups and the statements it makes to justify the operation, citing "the views of American citizens who strongly oppose the inhumane helicopter roundups and who support wild horses on our western public lands."

 Beckstead noted "the livestock grazing in this area and the fact that they vastly outnumber the wild horses, and that livestock producers, who graze their stock on our public lands at taxpayer expense, are the only ones benefiting from this inhumane and costly helicopter roundup operation."

"In the past three years, the BLM has engaged in an aggressive campaign to round up and remove tens of thousands of federally protected wild horses and burros from their designated habitat under the pretext that the animals are 'overpopulated' and pose an imagined threat to the rangeland," Beckstead told NewsChannel 21.

"The BLM never mentions how many livestock graze on the wild horse Herd Management Areas (the livestock outnumber horses by upwards of 35 to 1), while its own grazing data clearly shows that livestock, not wild horses, are the primary cause of degradation of western ranges."

The BLM announcement continues in full below.

The Wild-Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 gives BLM the direction for protecting and overseeing wild horses and burros on public lands. In managing these animals, the BLM works to maintain a thriving ecological balance that supports healthy horses on healthy rangelands.

The South Steens HMA can sustainably support 159 to 304 horses, the agency said, while allowing for other animals and resource uses. The current population estimate is 781 adults and 165 foals. 

“This gather would be a critical part of our effort to promote animal welfare on the range,” said Don Rotell, BLM Andrews/Steens Field Office Manager.

The gather would also reduce degradation of public lands by the over-sized herd, BLM said.

Animals gathered from the range would be transported to Oregon’s Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. At the corral, about 70 horses would be selected for return to the range, up to 35 of which would be mares treated with PZP or PZP-22 contraceptive. The remaining horses would be prepared for adoption or sale into private care.

The South Steens HMA is about 70 miles southwest of Burns and 10 miles south of Frenchglen, along Highway 205 and the Steens Mountain south loop road. 

Supporting National Environmental Policy Act documents for this gather are available at https://tinyurl.com/3zz48hd4. A Determination of NEPA Adequacy is currently in progress and will determine gather execution. The public is welcome to observe the gather. Details on viewing opportunities are available at the same location. 

The gather would last approximately 10 days, though exact start and end dates will be determined by the contractor’s availability. For more information, contact Tara Thissell at tthissell@blm.gov or (541) 573-4519.

-BLM-

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.