Wild Horses in Peril: BLM’s Delayed Emergency Operations Begin on Riddle Mountain

BURNS, Ore. —The Bureau of Land Management plans to begin an emergency operation tomorrow, Oct. 20, to rescue up to 140 wild horses from the Riddle Mountain Herd Management Area in southeast Oregon. BLM originally intended to gather a larger number of horses due to the Bald Mountain Wildfire, which burned almost half of the area, severely depleting forage for the winter and threatening the herd’s health and survival. “Our priority is to protect as many of these horses as we’re allowed,” said Don Rotell, Burns District Manager . “We need to act before late fall rain limits access.” The original plan to rescue horses was delayed last month by a temporary restraining order. The United States District Court for the District of Oregon issued a preliminary injunction last week preventing the BLM from conducting the full gather as planned. However, the court is allowing the BLM to rescue approximately one-third of the horses, leaving 278 on the landscape, as specified in the injunction. The Bald Mountain Fire burned across the Riddle Mountain Herd Management Area, and the BLM estimates that about half of the herd management area lost forage due to the fire. These losses compounded already

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