Wild Horse Roundup Sparks Renewed Anger

Many factors contribute to the health of Wyoming’s open rangeland. From climate and drought to soil conditions, human recreation to energy development, land managers agree that the northern plains habitat is a fragile ecosystem.

Of all the variables, many believe that the single most significant threat comes from the competition for food by animals that graze upon the land. At the center of the controversy is the competition for food between Wyoming’s wild horse population andlivestock.

Wild horseadvocacygroups such as The Cloud Foundation and American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) maintain that fewer than 2,500 wild horses remain in Wyoming and graze on 2 percent of the land grazed bylivestock. Wild horses, advocates say, are restricted to 3.2 million acres of public rangelands in Wyoming whilelivestockgraze on 18 million acres.

The Bureau of Land Management’s recent announcement of its plans to remove all wild horses from checkerboard lands within and outside of the Great Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek, and Adobe TownHerd Management Areas(HMAs) this fall has wild horse advocates crying foul.

According to theBLM, wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes can double about every four years. As a result, the agency removes thousands of animals annually to control herd sizes as part of its management of public rangeland.

According to 2015BLMpopulation surveys, there are approximately 232 wild horses on checkerboard lands within the Great Divide Basin HMA, 242 wild horses on the Salt Wells Creek HMA, and 26 wild horses within theAdobe Town HMA.

The checkerboard wild horse removal is not a population management action related to maintaining appropriate management levels. The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act requires that theBLMremove wild horses from private land, if requested by the landowner.

The removal, in conjunction withBLM’s Rock Springs Field Office, is also required under the provisions of a court-approved 2013 Consent Decree between theBLMand the Rock Springs Grazing Association, which provided a schedule for the removal of wild horses from checkerboard lands within the three HMAs.

“It’s really just disgusting and the epitome of everything people say they hate about government.”

Dealing with the west’s wild horse population is a costly endeavor. Congress appropriated more than $77.2 million to the Wild Horse and Burro Program in fiscal year 2015. Of the total $75.1 million spent, holding costs accounted for $49 million. Roundups and removals cost $1.8 million. Adoption events cost $6.3 million.

TheBLMestimates there are slightly more than 58,000 wild horses and burros on 42 million acres of federally managed rangeland in 10 western states. Wyoming’s population is estimated at 3,760.

As of February, theBLM’s short-term holding facilities at Rock Springs, Wheatland, and Riverton housed nearly 570 wild horses and burros, with 16,330 inBLMholding facilities throughout the U.S. A total of 30,614 wild horses and burros are in long-term holding pastures and 534 in eco-sanctuaries.

Originally posted by Wyoming Business Report