BLM Seeks Severe Reduction in Wild Horse Population, Habitat

In June, AWI filed a protest against the Bureau of Land Management’s plan to eliminate over 2 million acres of designated habitat for wild horses in the Wyoming Checkerboard region. The BLM’s Final Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment, released in May over significant public outcry, come on the heels of the largest roundup of wild horses in US history, in which the agency removed over 3,500 horses from the Checkerboard last winter. 

If finalized, this plan would result in a devastating reduction in population and habitat. The BLM is pursuing this plan following a consent decree it reached with the Rock Springs Grazing Association, a livestock industry group that has sought to have the wild horses removed. In filing the protest, AWI has signaled to the BLM we are weighing all legal options to stop this reckless plan that would set a dangerous precedent for wild horse management across the West.

Program Terms: Equines, Terrestrial Wildlife

AWI Quarterly Terms: Government/Legal, Quick Read