U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben said the Bureau of Land Management could continue to round up animals in the drought-stricken southern end of the HMA, where a lack of forage and water has led to deterioration in the health of wild horses.
Wild horse advocate Laura Leigh of Minden sought the temporary restraining order to stop the BLM's emergency action. Using a helicopter to gather wild horses during foaling season puts the animals in danger by running pregnant mares and young foals, she said.
BLM spokeswoman JoLynn Worley said the judge agreed that conditions in the southern portion of the HMA warranted emergency action. But he didn't see an emergency situation in the northern portion and ordered the BLM to hold off on using a helicopter.
Worley said Thursday that the wild horse roundup will continue in the southern end of the HMA. The gather is now entering its third week on public land about 58 miles west of Winnemucca. The BLM has set a target of removing 630 animals from the range, and as of Wednesday had captured 368 horses.
Leigh said she isn't contesting the BLM's right to remove horses from public land but is concerned about how the agency and its contractor are going about it.
The BLM's own rules on wild horse and burro roundups state that using a helicopter is prohibited during foaling season, which is typically from March through June, she said.
Leigh said she observed the Jackson Mountains horse gather during the first week and saw what she said were safety hazards at the trap site. There were cattle around that caused the wild horses to avoid the trap and had to be chased again by the contractor. Newborn foals were being herded for miles in 86-degree temperatures, she said.
She said the safety issues she raised with BLM officials at the gather site were not addressed.
"I wasn't being talked to. I was being talked at," she said Monday.
Citing drought conditions on the range and a lack of forage and water, the BLM issued a full force and effect decision to take emergency action June 8. The roundup had initially been scheduled to take place in July, after the foaling season is completed.
BLM officials said they closely monitored the wild horses before issuing the decision to take action. They saw horses in the southern end of the HMA that were thin or very thin. The BLM two months ago began to truck in water for the animals.
Leigh acknowledged that range conditions are not good in the southern part of the management area, and there's evidence of overgrazing. But wild horses in other parts of the Jackson Mountains management area are in better shape and emergency action to round them up during foaling season is not justified.
She said the horse bands in other parts of the HMA are distinctly different from those in the southern part of the range.
Leigh, who runs the Wild Horse Education website, said the BLM should capture the wild horses using bait and water traps instead of herding them with a helicopter.
The BLM puts the appropriate management level of wild horses at the Jackson Mountains HMA at between 130 to 217 animals. With this year's foals, there are an estimated 930 wild horses.
The BLM has what it says are 24 points to ensure the humane handling of wild horses during the gather operations. Agency officials also said the Utah contractor was given a list of expectations.
BLM officials, aware that the emergency gather was starting during foaling season, put in place some additional measures, such as attempting to make sure mares and foals that get separated are reunited and providing additional pen space for weaker animals to receive additional care.
Gene Seidlitz, manager of the BLM's Winnemucca district, said the humane treatment of wild horses during the gather was the agency's number one priority.
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