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OWYHEE COUNTY, Idaho (AP) — In a story Aug. 29 about the U.S. Bureau of Land Management gathering wild horses, The Associated Press erroneously reported the number of horses killed by the Soda Fire and the way the surviving horses were transported to corrals. The fire killed 36 horses, including seven that were euthanized because of their injuries. The surviving horses were transported to a Boise corrals by trailer, not helicopter.
A corrected version of the story is below:
BLM rounds up wild horses after wildfire ravages habitat
BLM rounds up wild horse after wildfires ravages habitat in southwestern Idaho
OWYHEE COUNTY, Idaho (AP) — U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials are in the process of moving nearly 300 wild horses after a 442-square-mile fire ravaged almost all viable forage.
The fire along the Oregon-Idaho border killed 29 horses and injured seven badly enough that they were euthanized. The flames also destroyed critical habitat in three regions used to manage several wild horse herds.
"These horses have been through a lot. The Soda Fire that came through here really stressed the horses. The lack of forage, the fire suppression activity also can play a role in stressing out the horses," Jason Lutterman, spokesman for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, told KTVB-TV (http://bit.ly/1KkY0fQ).
A veterinarian will check each horse before moving them to corrals.
The BLM will move the horses from Owyhee County to the Boise Wild Horse Corrals or to larger corrals in Nevada. Some will return to their herds, although roughly 100 of the horses will be made available for adoption while waiting for their home to grow back from the blackened earth.
The BLM uses helicopters to herd the horses into traps. The animals are later taken by trailer to a Boise corral.
"The wings of the trap are sort of set up like a funnel, so when they come into the wings of the trap they go into the corral. We then sort them and they are transported to the Boise Wild Horse Corrals," said Heather Tiel-Nelson, spokeswoman for the BLM.
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