BILLINGS, Mont. After 10 years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is hosting a wild horse and burro adoption in Magic City on Saturday.
The Wild Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971, giving BLM the responsibility to manage a healthy wild horse and burro population on range lands.
However, Amy Waring, the Branch Chief of Biological Resources and Science with BLM, said that the current population of wild horses on public lands is beyond what’s considered healthy.
“Montana has one wild horse range, it’s called the Pryor Mountain. Wild horse range population is currently just under 200 animals which is above what BLM considers appropriate management level. What we have seen in the Pryor Mountain has been a change in the plant composition, a lot of pincushion plants that are just not as palatable to animals, and it’s highly departed from what is considered healthy. So, if you start looking at the range you will see it is degraded,” added Waring.
Due to their overpopulation, BLM hosts adoption events for wild horses and burros across the country.
Patrick Merrill, a Wild Horse and Burro Coordinator, said that wild horses at these adoption events are extremely adaptable.
BLM is hosting the Wild Horse and Burro Auction on Saturday at 11 am.
On Sunday, a First Touch Gentling Clinic will be hosted from 10 am to noon and from 1 pm to 3 pm by Mustang Matt who specializes in training wild horses.
