On Monday, the Bureau of Land Management began removing about 1,000 wild ground-breasted ruffins near Kingman, Arizona, over a scheduled eight-week period.

According to one story According to a report by Alex Weiner published Jan. 1 on KTAR.com, the BLM estimates the burrow population at 1,925 in the Black Mountain Herd Management Area west of Kingman, and biologists have They report more than three times as many individuals as they claim are suitable.

a BLM press release The Dec. 20 report cited several factors as issues that necessitated the removal process, including impacts on wildlife habitat and road safety, as well as the health of herds and pastures. There is.

According to a press release, Burros will be transported to the BLM Wildhorse and Burros facilities in Florence, Arizona or Ridgecrest, California for adoption or sale.

Similar considerations apply to the herds of horses roaming wild near the Lower Salt River in the Tonto National Forest east of Mesa, Arizona.

Salt River horses are much larger than burros and have no natural enemies, so they coexist with natural wildlife and vegetation, and are sometimes visited by humans in recreational areas along waterways.

As well as their den near Kingman, Salt River horses occupy an area called the Salt River Horse Management Area.

The U.S. Forest Service describes the property as approximately 19,665 acres within the “Goldfield and Bulldog Zone on both sides of the Lower Salt River,” known as the Mesa Ranger District.

by Tonto National Forest Land Management Planrevised and signed on December 8, 2023, requiring the Arizona Department of Agriculture to manage the herd by the Forest Service.

The plan states that “no other uses will be adversely affected by the Salt River Horse Herd” and that “occupant conflicts or public health and safety issues are rare.”

We also address habitat issues such as healthy, diverse plants and wildlife and acceptable soil conditions that can be affected by horse grazing and movement.

by Arizona Department of Agriculture Salt River Horse Management Plan, the current herd size is approximately 450 animals, but AZDA recommends reducing the number of animals to a total of 100-200 animals. The plan calls for using contraception and natural attrition to reduce herd size over a 10-year period, rather than rounding up and removing animals like the BLM does in the Black Mountain Herd Management Area. .

According to the website of Salt River Wild Horse Management GroupAn immunocontraceptive called porcine zona pellucida (PZP), a non-governmental organization working with AZDA to manage the herd, is used for contraceptive purposes.

The details behind the decision to reduce the herd and the effectiveness of AZDA'a's efforts are unclear, as neither the U.S. Forest Service nor AZDA representatives responded to Northeast Valley News' requests for an interview at the time of publication. Currently unknown.