New Lawsuit Filed to Halt BLM Wild Horse Roundup in Wyoming Checkerboard

Action Comes As Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Considers Legality of BLM Decision to Eradicate Wild Horses from Public Lands in the Area

Cheyenne, WY (October 4, 2016) – The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) (AWHC), Return to Freedom, The Cloud Foundation, and photographers Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl filed suit yesterday in U.S. District in Wyoming against the BLM, challenging the agency’s decision to conduct another wild horse roundup in the Wyoming Checkerboard in the southern part of the state. The wild horse advocates are represented by Bill Eubanks of the public interest environmental law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP.

The lawsuit is the latest chapter in an ongoing legal battle against the BLM’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 (RSGA). The RSGA owns or leases the private land blocks in the Checkerboard and views wild horses as competition for taxpayer-subsidized livestock grazing on the public lands in the area.

On September 19, 2016, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the plaintiffs’ appeal of a lawsuit challenging the 2014 BLM Checkerboard roundup in which 1,260 wild horses were rounded up by helicopters and removed from the range. At issue in both cases is the legality of the BLM’s reliance on a request from private landowners to remove wild horses from private lands as an excuse to eradicate them from the public lands in the area as well.

“The BLM is turning over control of more than one million acres of public land to private grazing interests that want wild horses eradicated from the range. This sets a terrible precedent that jeopardizes the safety and future of wild horses across the West,” said Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of AWHC.

“The BLM’s concession to wipe out wild horses in Wyoming is not only illegal, but a blatant slap in the face to the majority of Americans who want to enjoy wild horses on our public lands,” said Neda DeMayo, CEO of Return to Freedom. “We’re committed to upholding the law and protecting our wild horses and public lands from special interests who monopolize the resources there.”

"It doesn't speak well of BLM, when the agency jumps the gun while the jury is, literally, still out on this issue," states Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. "Until the Checkerboard lands are consolidated into large blocks of private and public lands, this controversy will continue."

"The BLM once again shows blatant disregard for both legal statutes and the wild horses in its care. We should not have to fight to protect our wild horses from the BLM," said Carol Walker, who has extensively observed and photographed the wild horses in the Wyoming Checkerboard.

"The vastness of the Great Divide Basin is overwhelmingly beautiful. I find it an absolute shame that our government places no value on the species who inhabit these amazing public lands. Our wildness matters, and our public lands matter. I'm pleased to join this action and take a stand against the atrocities perpetrated by special interests on our wild horses and our wild lands," added photographer Kimerlee Curyl.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) is a national wild horse advocacy organization whose grassroots mission is endorsed by a coalition of more than 60 horse advocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations. AWHC is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.

Return to Freedom (RTF), is a national non-profit dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education, and conservation, and also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lompoc, CA.

The Cloud Foundation (TCF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains of Montana. Cloud is the subject of Foundation founder Ginger Kathrens’ groundbreaking PBS/Nature documentaries.

Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl are renowned wild horse photographers who regularly photograph the wild horses of the Adobe Town, Great Divide Basin, and Salt Wells Creek HMAs.