Leanna Lehman
Bureau of Land Management Assistant Field Manager for the Stillwater Field Office, Jim Mazza, updated Churchill County Commissioners on Dec. 17, including wild horses in Churchill County. Specifically, he discussed BLM plans for a census flight in the Desastoya Mountain range east of Fallon to determine how many horses are in the area and if a wild horse gather is needed.
Presently, there are well over 2,100 horses in Churchill County, however, the BLM has determined the area can only healthily sustain 1,348 of those. This excludes the North Stillwater herd, which is part of the East Pershing herd management area, which at the end of 2024 contained 2,875 horses – roughly six times more horses recommended 345-555.
Wild horses roam across more than 23 million acres of public land in Nevada, more than twice that of any other western state. According to the BLM estimates for 2025, the state’s wild horse and burro population now exceeds 35,000 animals, while the land is estimated to sustainably support about 12,800.
To determine how many horses or burros a herd management area can support, the BLM evaluates land conditions and sets an Appropriate Management Level, or AML. Factors considered include available water and forage, rangeland health, soil stability, wildlife habitat needs, authorized livestock grazing, climate conditions such as drought, and the long-term sustainability of the land.
When wild horse populations exceed appropriate management levels, forage and water supplies can be depleted, leading to declining herd health and damage to rangelands. In Nevada’s high desert, where water sources are scarce and often seasonal, those impacts can escalate quickly, placing wild horses and native wildlife in direct competition for limited water. To address these conditions, the BLM gathers and places as many animals as possible into the wild horse adoption program.
According to the BLM, gathers are conducted to prevent overgrazing and long-term damage to rangelands. “Overgrazing native bunch grasses can lead to the loss of the grasses, depriving wild horses and other grazing animals of the forage that they require to survive,” explains the bureau.
In the past year, the BLM announced plans to gather wild horses from the 9,687-acre Lahontan Herd Management Area, located about 35 miles east of Carson City and directly south of Lahontan Reservoir, which includes portions of Churchill and Lyon counties. Aerial surveys estimated 518 wild horses in 2023, with herd numbers rising annually. The appropriate management level is set at just 7 to 10 animals, according to BLM Stillwater Field Manager Zach Reichold, far above the available resources.
In addition to the planned Lahontan gather, the BLM spring census flights will assess wild horse numbers in the 162,000-acre Desatoya Herd Management Area, located about 70 miles east of Fallon and spanning Churchill and Lander Counties. The AML for the area 127-180 horses.
In 2023, the BLM conducted a roundup in the Desatoya Herd Management Area. The Bureau gathered 59 wild horses, removed 12 excess animals, released 14 stallions back onto the range, and treated 33 mares with GonaCon, a fertility control vaccine.
“We conduct gathers like this to maintain the current population of wild horses within the appropriate management level,” said Kim Dow, Carson City BLM district manager, following the gather. “Consistent applications of fertility control such as GonaCon is one tool used to obtain this goal of a healthy population.”
The management approach is intended to protect habitat for native wildlife species such as sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and elk by balancing wild horse herd size with what the land can support.
The planned BLM roundup for wild horses in the Lahontan Herd Management Area is not currently on the agency’s roundup schedule, and any decision on a Desatoya HMA gather will depend on the results of the upcoming herd count.
With drought expected to impact several herd management areas, more roundups may be in store as the BLM tries to balance the state’s wildlife and delicate desert ecosystem with the livestock grazing needs of ranchers.
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