BLM sets wild horse roundup

Federal officials are planning a massive roundup of nearly 1,000 wild horse later this year in an effort to reduce populations on Wyoming rangelands, according to Bureau of Land Management officials. The agency's Rawlins and Lander field offices are proposing to gather approximately 948 horses from five different herd management areas that are collectively known as the Red Desert Complex, BLM wild horse and burro specialist Melanie Gilbert said in a scoping notice. The complex includes the Antelope Hills, Crooks Mountain, Green Mountain, Stewart Creek and Lost Creek herd management areas. Officials said the gathering operations will include helicopter drive trapping, which utilizes a helicopter and on-the-ground wranglers to herd wild horses into a temporary trap. Gathering is scheduled to start on or about Oct. 1, according to plans. The project may also utilize a fertility control vaccine...StarTribune