The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Army and wild horse advocates will meet in Nevada to discuss ways to manage 104 mustangs residing south of Walker Lake on the Hawthorne Army Depot.

BLM spokesman Mark Struble said the so-called Walker Lake Mustang Band, which is part of the Pilot Mountain herd, has resided at the depot for years. The mustangs were scheduled for removal from the site during this month's scheduled gather of animals from the Pilot Mountain herd management area for safety reasons.

"In winter the horses move away from the lake toward U.S. Highway 95, and we've had five or six incidents where they drifted onto the highway, collided with trucks, and gotten killed," Struble said.

But the agency suspended the Walker Lake potion of the gather this week after advocates from the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) and Respect for Horses presented a proposal to construct and help finance a fence to deny the horses access to the highway. The proposal also includes long term band management options, said ARM President and founder Richard Cuoto