The Bureau of Land Management is conducting a wild horse bait-and-trap gather in the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area with the goal of reducing herd size through a targeted, non-helicopter operation, according to a statement released by the agency on Monday.

According to the BLM statement, the effort, which is a continuation of a September 2024 roundup using the same methods, is designed to maintain the wild horse population within an appropriate management level of 163 to 362 animals. The agency’s latest estimates show the herd has grown to 487 horses both inside and outside the designated area. 

The current gather, which began Monday, July 7, uses bait and water traps — corrals stocked with water and hay — to attract and capture the wild horses. The method is intended to be less stressful for the animals than helicopter roundups and is conducted with minimal personnel present to avoid spooking the horses, according to the BLM statement.

The agency stressed that no helicopters would be used during this operation and public observation is not permitted at the trap sites due to the sensitive nature of the process.

BLM officials wrote that up to 60 wild horses may be gathered while conditions allow, though the immediate expectation is to remove around 40. On the first day, nine horses — three stallions, five mares and one foal. None of the animals were treated with fertility control, released, or lost to injury or death, according to the agency.

The captured horses will be transported to the Canon City Off-Range Corral in Colorado, where they will receive veterinary care and be prepared for BLM’s adoption and sale program. Adoption opportunities are announced on the BLM’s website and social media channels.

While the federal agency emphasized the gather operation’s role in maintaining ecological balance and avoiding a large-scale roundup, the effort has drawn criticism from wild horse advocates. 

The American Wild Horse Conservation group called for “a shift toward more humane, science-based management practices” in a statement on the current Sand Wash gather released on Monday. The group argued that even small bait-and-trap roundups can have a lasting impact on herd structure and animal wellbeing.

“AWHC stresses that while this operation is limited in scope compared to large-scale helicopter roundups, the impact on the tightly bonded herd structure, potential physical or emotional injury, and the broader wild ecosystem, remains significant,” wrote the conservation group. “AWHC also urges the BLM to work collaboratively with local organizations to place the captured horses in forever homes rather than languishing in government holdings.”

The group also highlighted recent state legislative efforts, such as House Bill 25-1283 and the Colorado Wild Horse Project (Senate Bill 23-275), which support fertility control as a humane alternative to removals. 

Colorado House Majority Leader Monica Duran, who sponsored both bills, voiced support in the horse advocacy group’s statement, calling for a compassionate, fertility-based approach that prioritizes keeping wild horses on the range. 

“When wild horses are torn from their families and placed in government holding pens, too many never make it out, their freedom gone, and their fate uncertain,” Duran wrote. “We owe it to these animals, and to future generations, to find a more humane, sustainable way. Fertility control gives us that option that’s rooted in science, guided by compassion, and driven by our values.”

American Wild Horse Conservation also warned that proposed federal budget cuts could further strain humane management efforts. The executive administration’s fiscal 2026 budget calls for a 25% reduction to the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, which could leave little funding for on-range management and increase the risk of negative outcomes for horses removed from the wild.