Updated Roundup Schedule (Fiscal 2022 Capture Numbers Increase)

By Laura Leigh on April 27, 2022

Centennial, phase 1 (you can see burro near the chopper)

The BLM has update the fiscal 2022 roundup schedule and increased the total targeted for capture (for the fiscal year) to 22,995. This number represents the largest number on the schedule in any single year.

The agency is going after burros particularly hard this year. BLM claims we can only manage less than 3000 nationwide. The Centennial roundup is currently underway targeting 584. Black Mountain begins May 1 targeting 1080. The Blue Wing Complex (targeting 800) and Twin Peaks (targeting 339) begin in July.

Today BLM announced the start of the Sinbad roundup on April 30th targeting 300 burros in the HMA.

All of these burro roundups will be conducted via helicopter drive trapping. BLM claims there is no “foaling season” for burros which allows them to utilize helicopters from March-July 1, when they are prohibited from using them to trap wild horses.

Centennial, phase 1

These removals are happening as BLM is rapidly approving mining and livestock expansion.

BLM is running these accelerated removals under the “2020 Plan.” The 2020 plan is a 33 page, upside down, acceleration of the broken program. The agency is packing holding facilities with wild horses without addressing compliance on prohibitions to sales to slaughter and addressing facilities under the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Policy (CAWP). This is creating a fiscally irresponsible situation. The “2020 Plan” is driven by the Path Forward lobby document to satisfy corporate interests.

BLM is ignoring foundational planning and accelerating removal, not management.

Click HERE to see the new schedule.

Actions you can take today to help wild horses and burros:

Appropriations (spending bill) HERE

HR 6635 to STOP the helicopters HERE

Help gain a review by the NAS before the taxpayer is obligating to increase funding for the broken program. HERE

Centennial burros at Ridgecrest facility

Below: BLM press release for Sinbad burros.

BLM to begin Sinbad Herd Management Area wild burro gather

PRICE, Utah — On April 30, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office will begin gather operations to remove wild burros from within and outside of the Sinbad Herd Management Area in Emery County to help balance the number of burros to what the rangeland can sustainably support, known as the appropriate management level. The appropriate management level for this herd management area is 50-70 animals and the current population is estimated at 328 wild burros, which is a threat to the long term health of the land and the burros themselves. The gather is expected to last approximately 15 days.

The BLM will gather approximately 300 wild burros from BLM-administered lands using the helicopter drive-trapping method. Population growth suppression will be implemented to help stabilize the annual increase of animals being born on the Sinbad Herd Management Area. Burros removed from the range will be transported to the Axtell Wild Burro Contract Off-Range Corral/Pasture in Axtell, Utah, where they will await adoption.

Opportunities are available for the public to observe daily gather operations through BLM-escorted tours, so long as conditions remain safe for both the burros and participants and gather operations are not disrupted. Observers must provide their own transportation, water and food. No public restrooms will be available. The BLM recommends weather-appropriate footwear and neutral-colored clothing. Binoculars and four-wheel drive or other high-clearance vehicles are also strongly recommended (possible snowy and muddy conditions). Details on the BLM-escorted tours will be updated each evening during the gather and announced daily on the BLM gather hotline at 801-539-4050.

Gather operations will begin on Saturday, April 30. Individuals, who wish to view the gather should meet at the Gas-n-Go convenience store, 970 West Main St., Green River, Utah, where tours will depart at 5:30 a.m. MDT.

Public lands will remain open, unless closures are deemed necessary to protect public safety. Outdoor recreationists and visitors to the gather area should be aware that there will be low-flying helicopters. During the gather, no recreational use of drones is allowed in the Sinbad Herd Management Area and surrounding lands within and near Mexican Mountain, Temple Mountain and the I-70 corridor from mile marker 124 to 149 or areas where wild burros may be found. Brief road closures may also be needed to allow movement of burros during gather operations.

Gather updates and information will be posted on the BLM’s website at: https://go.usa.gov/xunvc. The BLM (@BLMUtah) will also post updates on Twitter using the hashtag #SinbadGather. To learn more about how to adopt or purchase a wild horse or burro, visit the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro website at www.blm.gov/whb or call 866- 468-7826. For additional information, please contact Lisa Reid at 435-743-3128.

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