BLM Hosts Adoption Event for Sand Wash Basin Horses

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is hosting a wild horse and burro adoption event, featuring horses rounded up from the Sand Wash Basin. This event highlights the ongoing debate overwild horse managementand the unique traits of these animals.

DENVER — The Bureau of Land Management is holding a wild horse and burro adoption event this week, which will includehorses rounded up from the Sand Wash Basinin the late summer last year.

Theoutdoor eventwill take place March 4-5 at Pathfinder Regional Park in Florence. Public viewings will happen on Friday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. A silent auction and adoption will follow from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Bidders must be present during the silent auction to place a bid, andBLMstaff will approve applications onsite.

Seventy-eight wild horses from the Sand Wash Basin that were part of the roundup will be available for adoption. Stephanie Connolly, Colorado’s acting state director, said the horses from the Sand Wash Basin are “highly popular” with adopters.

“They are known for their unique colors ranging from pintos and red roans to sorrels with flaxen-manes and tails, their large stature and gentle dispositions,” Connolly said. “We appreciate those who adopt and welcome these horses into their families.”

BLMconducted the wild horse roundup in the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area from Sept. 1-8, 2021. There were an estimated 896 wild horses in the Sand Wash Basin, which is more than double the high end of theAppropriate Management Levelof what the land can sustain, according toBLM. In total, 684 wild horses were gathered in the roundup.

Forty-nine wild horses were released into theSand Wash Basin HMAafter the mares were treated forfertility control, and three ma

Chris Maestas, a public affairs specialist forBLM, said a post-gather population census estimated 290 wild horses remain on the range.

The roundup wascriticized by wildlife advocateswho were concerned about the use of helicopters to round up the wild horses. Gov. Jared Polis also wrote to Interior SecretaryDeb Haalandjust before the roundupasking for a delay. He suggested the state could “work more collaboratively with theBLMto effectuate more scientific and humane outcomes to herd management.”

However, Little Snake Field Manager Bruce Sillitoe said theroundupswere necessary to maintain a healthy population of wild horses due to concerns that there was an emergency situation with the food and the rangeland resources that could have led to “many” horses dying. Sillitoe also said the bureau is “very careful” when using helicopters to round up wild horses.

Scott Wilson, a Colorado photographer and American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) board member, called the American mustangs a "national treasure" that he hopes are adopted into safe homes or sanctuaries, though he said adoption isn't a sustainable solution forwild horse management.

"We need to provide greater protections for wild horses on the public lands where they belong, curtail livestock grazing in wild horse habitat and manage numbers humanely when necessary. The wild horses being offered for adoption this weekend were captured in traumatic helicopter stampedes. The National Academy of Sciences has deemed theBLM’s management of these animals by roundup and removal 'expensive and unproductive' with the current roundup plan estimated to cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion over the next 5 years," Wilson said. “Worse still, a number of the wild horses being offered for adoption are ultimately at risk of slaughter thanks to a federal program that pays $1,000 to adopt an untamed wild horse or burro.”

This week’s adoption event includes the first 78 of the 632 horses that have been prepared for adoption — which includes receiving shots, gelding and freeze tagging.

Additional adoptioneventswill be held in the future. There are plans to holdeventsin Hayden in late May, as well as feature some of the horses in the Meeker Mustang Makeover this summer. Information on future adoptioneventswill be released once details are finalized.

A full timeline ofeventscan be found below:

• Friday, March 4Public viewing from 12 to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, March 5Public viewing from 7 to 9 a.m.Silent auction and adoption from 10 to 11 a.m.First-come, first-serve from 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.Loadout from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

BLM’sAdoption Incentive Programhas helped place 8,637 animals into private care in 2021, the most the bureau has done since 1997.

Originally posted by The Denver Channel