Court Blocks BLM from Rounding Up Wild Horses in Wyoming

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has issued a landmark decision that halts the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) plan to remove wild horses from Wyoming's Checkerboard region. This ruling is a significant victory for wild horse conservationists and sets a legal precedent for future management practices.

The court found that theBLMviolated two federal laws during a 2014 roundup that removed over 1,263 wild horses from the area. This decision also deems the agency's plan to round up 500 more horses beginning on October 18 illegal.

Plaintiffs, including Return to Freedom, American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), The Cloud Foundation, and photographers Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl, along with their attorney Bill Eubanks, are celebrating the decision for its implications onwild horse managementacross the western United States.

The ruling states that theBLMviolated both the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the Federal LandPolicyManagement Act (FLPMA) in executing the 2014 removal of wild horses from the Checkerboard.

The appellate court reversed a 2015 lower court ruling that upheld theBLM's actions during the 2014 Checkerboard roundup. This decision concludes a long-standing legal battle over theBLM's plan to eradicate wild horses from a two-million-acre area of public and private land at the request of the Rock Springs Grazing Association, which views wild horses as competition for livestock grazing.

Last week, the plaintiffs filedanother lawsuitto prevent the agency from proceeding with the next Checkerboard roundup, set to begin on October 18.

This is the third major legal victory for the groups in just over a month. Earlier this week, the10th Circuit dismissed a lawsuit by the State of Wyomingto compel theBLMto remove wild horses from non-checkerboard public lands. The court ruled that theBLMis not required to remove wild horses simply because their populations exceed outdated limits.

On September 9, theBLMcancelled plansto conduct surgical sterilization experiments on wild mares in Oregon, citing a lawsuit filed by The Cloud Foundation and AWHC as the reason.

Originally posted by Horse Canada