175 WiILD HORSES TO BE SOLD WITHOUT LIMITATION / NEVADA

Subject: BLM to impound domestic estray horses in Pilot Valley
By The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Elko District Office, in close coordination with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), Simplot Land and Livestock and local residents, will impound a herd of approximately 175 abandoned domestic estray horses located within Pilot Valley north of West Wendover, Nevada.The impoundment is scheduled to begin Friday, June 25 and is expected to take approximately three to four days. The removal will be conducted by an experienced BLM gather contractor.The horses are believed to be released or stray and descendants of horses of local property owners. Over the years the herd has grown in size and is causing considerable impacts to BLM-managed public land resources.The contractor will set up holding corrals on nearby private land owned by Simplot Land and Livestock. Once gathered the horses will be transported to the temporary holding corrals and immediately be placed under the jurisdiction of the State of Nevada.Under Nevada estray laws, the State will try to establish legal ownership and offer the horses back to the lawful owner. Owners of the animals would have to own a registered brand in Nevada or provide legal bill of sale or other descriptive documents. The Nevada Department of Agriculture will accept responsibility of all unclaimed horses pursuant to the State’s estray laws.The BLM Nevada State Office and Elko District Office managers and staff initiated and have had ongoing discussions with the State since November 2009 and with private landowners since December 2009 to work towards gathering this herd of estray horses.For more information or questions regarding these horses, please call Ed Foster, Nevada Department of Agriculture, at: 775-353-3711.