Burnt grass leads to horse roundup

GLENNS FERRY, Idaho – Federal officials have rounded up about 200 wild horses in southern Idaho after a wildfire burned too much grass to support the herd.

Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said that last week’s Long Butte wildfire burned most of the Saylor Creek herd’s management area. Altogether, the Long Butte fire burned more than 480 square miles across a flat, desert landscape covered with sagebrush and cheatgrass.

“There are patches of unburned islands, but for the most part there is just not enough forage to support 180 to 200 horses,” said Heather Tiel-Nelson, spokeswoman for the BLM.

The horses will be shipped to Boise until federal land managers can declare it viable for their return.