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BLM outlines fertility, darting and gather plans for Muddy Creek wild horses and nearby burros
Summary
At the Emery County Public Lands Council meeting, Bureau of Land Management assistant field manager Mike Tortell briefed the council on fertility-control methods, capture and darting operations, herd counts and constraints including a NEPA pause on some treatments.
Mike Tortell, assistant field manager for the Bureau of Land Management’s range, wildlife and wild horse program, told the Emery County Public Lands Council that the BLM is using both PZP and the longer‑lasting product GonaCon to reduce reproduction in wild mare populations, and described operational limits and recent results.
Tortell said PZP (porcine zona pellucida) requires annual boosters and is administered by dart or by injection in corrals, while GonaCon is a premixed adjuvant that can be delivered in darts and can suppress fertility for multiple years. “Since then, any mares that have been released on the ground, if they have not received a previous dose, they will get a dose. They'll be held for 30 days. They'll get a second dose before they go out. That should hold them for 5 years,” Tortell said.
Tortell walked council members through the program’s record‑keeping requirements: treated animals must be identifiable by photos or freeze brands so staff can track who has been dosed and when. He described field challenges for darting…
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