A Storm is Coming to the North Lander Wild Horse Herd

These 3 foals will be about 3 months old when the helicopter stampede begins on July 1st.
Photo by Jim Brown, https://www.highplainsreflections.gallery/

Helicopters will take to the air on or around July 1 to stampede, capture, and remove almost 3000 wild horses in the North Lander Wild Horse Complex in WY. This will be the largest roundup this year - following other large roundups like that in the East Pershing HMA (Dec. 28, 23 - Feb. 9, 2024 -- 2,663 removed).

This massive operation plans to remove 2715 horses leaving only 320-536 horses in the 337,161-acre complex (nearly half the size of Rhode Island). Few if any North Lander bands will go unscathed this summer. 

The 2022 record of decision pulls no punches as it approves the unprecedented implementation of population growth suppression methods including gelding or vasectomizing stallions; reducing the reproducing population through adjusted sex ratios; using flexible intrauterine devices (IUDs) on mares; and using the fertility control vaccine GonaCon-Equine.
2022 Decision Record 
2022 Environmental Assessment  

The Cloud Foundation will attend this roundup and share information and photos on our website and social media pages. You may also check the BLM daily report here: 2024 North Lander Complex Wild Horse Gather | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov) If you wish to attend and observe this roundup, contact Sarah Beckwith at sbeckwith@blm.gov. 

~ The Cloud Team

TCF was on the ground at the North Lander Roundup. CONANT CREEK was the first part of the complex to be rounded up. On the first day (July 1, 2024), 383 wild horses were rounded up — far more than BLM was set up to process in one day. A quick hustle had to take place setting up and expanding holding pens to accommodate the large number of horses.

Total rounded up by helicopter from the Conant Creek HMA portion of the North Lander Complex: 598.

The North Lander Complex is made up of the Conant Creek, Dishpan Butte, Muskrat Basin and Rock Creek Mountain herd management areas comprising 337,161 acres (approx. 90% of that is BLM/public land). According to BLM, the Complex’s allowable management level (AML) is 320-536 horses. BLM estimates that there are approximately 3,035 wild horses within the four HMAs