Southern Nevada
| Contacts: | Hillerie C. Patton | , 702-515-5046 | , hpatton@blm.gov |
BLM to Gather Nuisance Burros from Red Rock Area
Las Vegas – The Bureau of Land Management today will begin gathering about 30 nuisance burros from the baseball diamond within the Blue Diamond community near the Red Rock National Conservation Area (NCA). The temporary bait trap will consist of a series of corral panels and hay and will be removed every evening so the community will be able to utilize the park without the panels being in the way. The nuisance burros are being gathered because they pose a safety hazard along State Route 159 and cause property damage in Blue Diamond. The gather is expected to last about five days.
Since October 2010, at least 13 burros were killed or had to be euthanized due to vehicle collisions. Although the roadway is completely fenced, the wild burros still manage to get in the road looking for food from the tourists and locals who feed them. This encourages the wild burros to stand on, and along, the roadways begging for food. Feeding the animals has caused approximately 30-40 burros to lose their wild characteristics and normal fear of humans and vehicles.
“These particular burros have gotten so used to being fed along the road, they now are looking to people for food all the time,” said Krystal Johnson, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist. “They are no longer foraging and moving through the Red Rock Herd Management Area like they would with their normal wild characteristics.”
After gather operations have ended, the burros will be made available for adoption in the near future in the Las Vegas area, and further information about when they will be offered for adoption will be announced. The timing of this collection is important, as burro-vehicle accidents usually increase during September and October as the weather begins cooling off and more visitation and traffic increases through the Red Rock NCA.
The public is reminded that feeding wild horses and burros is dangerous as wild animals can be unpredictable. It is illegal to feed, pet or otherwise harass a wild horse or burro. Individuals will be cited for those activities and the citations carry a minimum fine of $500.00.
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. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.