BLM Roundups Target Thousands of Wild Horses, Burros Across Nevada

The Bureau of Land Management launched coordinated roundups across Nevada targeting an estimated 2,500 wild horses and burros, with operations stretching from Nye County's Bullfrog Herd Management Area near Beatty to the Spring Mountains Complex west of Las Vegas and herd areas in Elko, White Pine, and Lincoln counties.

The Nye County gather centers on a burro population that has exploded well beyond what the land is designated to support. An April 2024 aerial survey combined with population growth calculations put the number of burros in the Bullfrog HMA area at approximately 1,197, against an appropriate management level of just 58 to 91 animals. Roughly 250 burros are anticipated to be gathered and relocated. Unlike some of the simultaneous operations elsewhere in the state, the Beatty gather will not use helicopters. BLM said it will bait and trap the burros using temporary corrals stocked with water and hay, with captured animals transported to the Axtell Off-Range corral in Axtell, Utah, for veterinary checks before entering the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Adoption and Sale Program.

In a release tied to the October 2025 gather announcement, BLM stated its priority is "to conduct a safe and efficient emergency wild burro gather exercising humane care and treatment for each animal."

The Spring Mountains Complex operation, run out of BLM's Pahrump Field Office, targets a population the agency estimates at 749 wild horses and more than 1,000 burros, not counting this year's foals. BLM plans to remove approximately 425 horses and burros from that complex, with horses headed to the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center near Sparks for veterinary care and entry into the adoption program, where the public can purchase animals for as low as $25 each. Highway safety has been cited as a secondary concern there, as tourists regularly feed horses along highways in the area, habituating them to people.

In White Pine County, a separate drive-trapping operation focused on areas outside the Antelope Herd Management Area and Moriah Herd Area targeted roughly 300 horses. BLM cited severe drought and diminished forage as the driving force: "The gather is being conducted in response to severe drought conditions and limited available forage in areas where wild horses are not managed, creating concerns for animal health and rangeland resources." The two White Pine herd areas together hold an estimated 1,874 wild horses according to 2025 figures.

Across all sites, the roundups represent the first coordinated effort to control herd numbers since last fall's government shutdown disrupted operations. Affected herd management areas include the Triple B and Antelope Complexes in Elko and White Pine Counties, the Caliente Complex in Lincoln County, the Pancake Complex spanning White Pine and Nye Counties, and the Spring Mountains Complex in Clark County.

The no-helicopter approach at Beatty stands in contrast to practices at other gather locations and has become a focal point in ongoing debates about roundup methods. Animal advocates have long argued that helicopter-driven gathers cause injuries and deaths among wild animals. Congresswoman Dina Titus has introduced legislation multiple times to phase out helicopter use in wild horse roundups, though no such ban has passed.

Advocacy groups including the American Wild Horse Conservation have pushed BLM to replace roundups with fertility control programs, arguing that sterilization via vaccination offers a more humane long-term solution. They also contend that conditions at BLM holding facilities fall short, contributing to illness and death among captured animals, and that insufficient background checks on adopters have created pathways to slaughterhouses.

Nevada holds more wild horses and burros than any other state. The Pancake Complex straddles White Pine and Nye Counties, and a 394,000-acre range in the northeast corner of Nye County, the Nevada Wild Horse Range, is cooperatively managed by BLM, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Air Force, the Nevada Division of Wildlife, and the Department of Defense.