Murderer’s Creek Wild Horse Final Decision
Contact: Amy Franklin, 541-620-3365
JOHN DAY, Ore., (May 9, 2025) The Murderer’s Creek Wild Horse Project’s final decision notice was signed on May 9, 2025. This decision authorizes a modified alternative 4, which will establish a herd size of 100 to 140 horses and will implement a herd management area plan with a management strategy to gather and remove excess animals on Federal and State lands using a combination of bait, water, or horseback drive trapping (but not helicopter gathering). Following gathers, fertility control vaccines are authorized and a sex ratio (of approximately 50 percent males and 50 percent female) for wild horses released back into the joint management area.
The horses that were removed from the Murderer’s Creek Wild Horse Joint Management Area as a result of the 2024 Rail Ridge Fire, have recovered nicely under the care of the Forest Service at Double Devil’s Garden Corrals. They are all in great condition and available for adoption to good homes.
This decision is applicable to wild horse management on the Malheur National Forest and Federal actions on State lands in the Phillip W. Schnider Wildlife area. As a cooperating agency, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will determine whether their agency will formally adopt the final Environmental Assessment (EA) after the Forest Service has issued the Final Decision Notice. If they adopt the final EA, the BLM will issue a Finding of No Significant Impact and a Decision Record pertinent to BLM-managed lands in the joint management area at that time.
The final decision notice, final environmental assessment, and supporting docs are available on the Malheur National Forest website at: /r06/malheur/projects/44570.