The news release says the Challis Field Office is conducting a wild horse gather in the Challis HMA, as if the operation is already in progress.
The gather page shows no activity.
The capture goal is 70 and the removal goal is 39.
Horses will be drawn into the traps with bait and the incident will not be open to public observation.
The HMA covers 168,720 acres in central Idaho, according to Section 1.1 of the 2019 Final EA for resource enforcement actions therein, and has an AML of 253.
The stocking rate allowed by plan is 1.5 wild horses per thousand acres.
The current population is thought to be 224 animals, putting the herd at 0.9X AML, so what’s the hurry?
The HMA intersects six grazing allotments. Section 3.8 in the EA says seven but lists six. Table 2 in Appendix G shows the available AUMs and the percentages inside the HMA. The EA was posted with other project documents.
The Western Watersheds map shows the allotment boundaries. Zoom in to see the arrangement.
Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Challis.
Mares returned to the range will be treated with fertility control of unspecified type.
The incident appears on the latest schedule and was marked as a nuisance removal.
A roundup occurred in the area two years ago.
Western Horse Watchers Association 