BLM schedules tour of off-range horse corral

The Bureau of Land Management has announced it is offering a public tour of the Indian Lakes Off-Range Corral northeast of Fallon on Saturday.

According to the BLM, this is one of three facilities in Nevada that provides care to wild horses and burros removed from the range, including horses recently gathered from the Fish Creek Herd Management Area in Eastern Nevada.

The public tour is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and lasts about two hours. The tour will accommodate up to 20 people, and spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The public can sign up to attend and get driving directions to the facility by calling the BLM at 775-475-2222.

The Indian Lakes Off-Range Corral is located at 5676 Indian Lakes Road and is privately owned and operated. Tour attendees will be taken around the facility as a group on a wagon to learn about the facility, the animals and the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. Participants will also have the opportunity to observe 102 mares associated with the recent gather of wild horses at the Fish Creek HMA. The mares have been treated with a fertility-control vaccine Porcine Zona Pellucida and are slated to be released back into the Fish Creek HMA. They are being temporarily held at the facility pending resolution of an appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals seeking prevention of the mares’ release back into the Fish Creek HMA.

The Indian Lakes Off-Range Corral can provide care for up to 3,200 wild horses or burros. The facility encompasses 320 acres containing 43 large holding pens. Each pen measures 70,000 square feet and will safely hold approximately 100 horses. The horses receive an abundance of feed tailored to their needs each day, along with a constant supply of fresh water through automatic watering troughs. Free choice mineral block supplements are also provided to the animals in each pen. A veterinarian routinely inspects the horses and provides necessary medical care as needed.

The BLM said it strives to place horses removed from the range into good, private homes. Horses at the Indian Lakes Off-Range Corral are made available to the public for adoption or sale throughout the year at off-site adoption events. For information on BLM’s adoption or sales program, visit http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/adoption_program/schedule.html.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.