2018 Pancake Emergency Wild Horse Gather
The Bureau of Land Management Ely District, Bristlecone Field Office on or about Monday, July 9 will begin gathering and removing approximately 250 excess wild horses from Big Sand Spring Valley in the Pancake Herd Management Area as there is not enough water to support the number of horses in the area.
The purpose of the gather is to help as many horses as possible while protecting the habitat for other wildlife, including water sources and vegetation. Without emergency action, the condition of the wild horses in the Big Sand Spring Valley is expected to deteriorate, potentially resulting in the death of some of the horses within a few weeks. In addition, the overpopulation of wild horses on the limited water supply is reducing the spring’s flow due to trampling and depriving other wildlife of water. Limited water is available in the foothills. Heavy to severe wild horse use in the valley bottoms and at spring sources and heavy trailing is affecting vegetative resources, degrading habitat necessary for wildlife, including that of the Greater Sage-grouse.
The gather will be conducted by BLM employees (not contractors) using the bait and water trap method; no helicopters will be used. Corrals will be placed within the Pancake Herd Management Area (HMA) about 30 miles west of Ely and 80 miles northeast of Tonopah, Nev.
The BLM will conduct this operation by using temporary water and bait traps consisting of a series of corral panels stocked with water and hay; no helicopters will be used. Because of the nature of the bait and water trap method, wild horses are reluctant to approach the trap site when there is too much activity; therefore, only essential gather operation personnel will be allowed at the trap site during operations.
The horses identified for removal will be transported to the Indian Lakes Off-Range Wild Horse and Burro Corrals in Fallon, Nev., where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro adoption program. For information on how to adopt a wild horse or burro, visit www.blm.gov/whb.
The Pancake HMA encompasses 855,000 acres. Wild horses overpopulate nearly 120,000 acres of this area, which has an Appropriate Management Level of 240-493 wild horses. With a current population of approximately 2,160 wild horses, valuable resources have been depleted, affecting the health of those animals. The central portion of Big Sand Spring Valley is extremely dry with few perennial waters and the area has been closed to cattle grazing since 2000.
Gather Reports
Aug. 31, 2018
Summary: Conditions were mostly sunny, low 46 degrees, high 86 degrees
Animals gathered: 1 (0 Studs, 1 Mare, 0 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 3 (1 Stud, 2 Mares, 0 Foals)
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
Aug. 30, 2018
Summary: Conditions were mostly sunny, low 45 degrees, high 85 degrees
Animals gathered: 3 (2 Studs, 1 Mare, 0 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 0 (0 Studs, 0 Mares, 0 Foals)
Total Deaths Today: 1
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 1 - 12 yr. old Sorrel Stallion (BCS 1.5) with a club foot (right rear), euthanized in accordance with IM 2015-070 due to a hopeless prognosis for recovery
Aug. 16, 2018
Summary: Conditions were mostly sunny, low 60 degrees, high 100+/- degrees
Animals gathered: 0 (0 Studs, 0 Mares, 0 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 12 (4 Studs, 6 Mares, 2 Foals)
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
Aug. 15, 2018
Summary: Conditions were mostly sunny, low 60+/- degrees, high 100 degrees
Animals gathered: 12 (4 Studs, 6 Mares, 2 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 0
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
Aug. 9, 2018
Summary: Conditions were cloudy, low 60 degrees, high 100 degrees
Animals gathered: 21 (11 Studs, 7 Mares, 3 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 51 (20 Studs, 21 Mares, 10 Foals)
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
Aug. 8, 2018
Summary: Conditions were Sunny, light wind, with temperatures as high as 98 degrees and lows in the mid 60 degree range
Animals gathered: 8 (3 Studs, 2 Mares, 3 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 0
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
Aug. 7, 2018
Summary: Conditions were Sunny, light wind, with temperatures as high as 98 degrees and lows in the mid 60 degree range
Animals gathered: 6 (2 Studs, 4 Mares, 0 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 0
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 1 - 4-yr-old bay mare, water toxicity. Horse was humanely euthanized in accordance with IM 2015-070 due to a hopeless prognosis for recovery
Aug. 6, 2018
Summary: Conditions were Sunny, light wind, with temperatures as high as 98 degrees and lows in the mid 60 degree range
Animals gathered: 17 (4 Studs, 9 Mares, 4 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 0
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
July 11, 2018
Summary: No horses were gathered today; gather is currently on hold until area dries out from heavy rain storms that occurred on July 10
Animals gathered: 0 (0 Studs, 0 Mares, 0 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 20 (7 Studs, 11 Mares, 2 Foals)
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
July 10, 2018
Summary: Conditions were Sunny, light wind, with temperatures as high as 98 degrees and lows in the mid 60 degree range
Animals gathered: 0 (0 Studs, 0 Mares, 0 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 20 (7 Studs, 11 Mares, 2 Foals)
Total Deaths Today: 0
Acute: 0
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
July 9, 2018
Summary: Conditions were Sunny, light wind, with temperatures as high as 98 degrees and lows in the mid 60 degree range
Animals gathered: 21 (7 Studs, 11 Mares, 3 Foals)
Mares treated with fertility control: 0
Animals shipped: 0
Total Deaths Today:
Acute: 1 - foal, bay filly was humanely euthanized in accordance with IM 2015-070 due to a hopeless prognosis for recovery due to a broken leg that occurred when kick by a horse in the trap area.
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0