The Bureau of Land Management is about to gather up to 499 wild horses from the Sheepshead/Heath Creek range in southeast Oregon, and time is running out for them to act. A brutal combination of a dry winter and this season's wildfires has wiped out nearly all the herd's water sources — only 2 remain out of the usual 63 — leaving roughly 1,200 horses fighting for what little food and water is left on land built to support at most 900.

Starting tomorrow, crews will begin moving hundreds of these horses off the range and into off-range holding facilities. BLM says every horse will get a veterinary evaluation, food, and steady access to clean water once they arrive — and some will eventually be offered for adoption through the agency's Online Corral.

"Ongoing drought has left this herd with only two of the usual 63 water sources available," said Cassandra Andrews-Fleckenstein, Deputy District Manager for the Vale District. "We are taking this necessary, humane step to prevent widespread suffering and a further decline in the animals' health," according to Andrews-Fleckenstein.

A gather this large and this fast carries real risk for the horses being moved. We're asking BLM to make good on its own promise: every horse gathered gets prompt veterinary attention, none are left behind on a range that can no longer sustain them, and the agency publicly reports on the herd's condition and care until the crisis passes.

These horses didn't cause the drought or the fires that put them in danger — but they're the ones paying for it. Sign the petition now to demand BLM follow through on humane care for every horse pulled off that range.