Oregon/Washington Herd Management Areas

BLM manages 17 Herd Management Areas (HMA) in southeast Oregon and co-manages one Wild Horse Territory (Murders Creek - 75 percent Forest Service and 25 percent BLM) with the Malheur National Forest. Oregon herd numbers increase annually by twenty percent on the average. Decisions to gather excess animals are based on rangeland monitoring studies, availability of forage and water, and census of wild horse numbers. Normally, three to five of Oregon's herds are gathered annually to remove excess animals and balance population numbers with the capability of the range to sustain them.