LAS VEGAS -- An emergency gather to remove 1,100 wild horses from the Nevada Wild Horse Range will begin today, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Las Vegas Field Office announced this week.

The range is about 210 miles northwest of Las Vegas, within the U.S. Air Force Nevada Test and Training Range.

Immediate removal of excess animals is necessary because water and forage is extremely limited, the BLM stated in a written release.

The number of horses will be brought down to Appropriate Management Level (AML), an agency term used to describe the number of animals the landscape can sustain with adequate forage and water.

The AML for the Nevada Wild Horse Range at Nellis AFB is around 300. Current estimates put the number of horses at 1,400 to 1,500. The gather is expected to last approximately 15 to 20 days and should end around July 20, the BLM states.

The horses will be captured mainly through water trapping.

Approximately 300 animals will be shipped to the BLM's corral facility in Ridgecrest, Calif., with the remainder shipped to the Palomino Valley Center, near Reno, the BLM said.

The horses will be fed and watered, receive inoculations to protect them from disease and receive freeze marks with a unique number once they arrive at the facility.

Many of the animals will be available for adoption or sale to interested members of the public approximately 45 days after they arrive at the two facilities, about mid to late August.