BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Federal land managers plan a summer roundup of wild horses from Montana’s Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range to curb the size of its herd.
The Bureau of Land Management said the majority of the 170 horses on the range near the Wyoming border would be captured.
BLM workers would herd the animals and set bait to capture them. A helicopter would not be used.
The agency’s goal is to remove 30 animals between the ages of 1 and 3 from the population.
During past roundups, captured animals have been put up for public auction.
The Pryor herd is believed to be descended from horses used by Spanish Conquistadors. Federal officials want to keep the herd size between 90 and 120 animals, not counting foals, to make sure that they don’t damage the range, such as by overgrazing.
The BLM is taking comments on its roundup proposal until April 24.
Roundups to cull the herd take place periodically, with 700 horses removed since 1971. The last took place in 2012, when 38 horses and six foals were removed.
The BLM last month approved the continued use of fertility control on mares from the Pryor herd as part of an effort to avoid the need for future gathers. The fertility program began in 2011 and involves shooting mares with a fertility drug-laced dart.
The horse range established in 1968 includes 38,000 acres of Forest Service, National Park Service and BLM land near Bighorn Canyon. Most of the horses live high in the Pryor Mountains.
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