BLM Addresses 2014 Wyoming Wild Horse Roundup Shortcomings
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has completed an environmental assessment to address shortcomings identified by a judge regarding its 2014 roundup of nearly 1,300 wild horses from Wyoming’s Checkerboard lands. This assessment is part of the BLM's efforts to comply with legal and environmental standards.
The BLM has published a 41-page environmental assessment, along with a finding of No Significant Impact, and is currently seeking public feedback during a 30-day comment period that began last Friday.
The documents were released following a successful court challenge by horse advocates, which led to a ruling in March that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in its preparations for the Checkerboard roundup.
A total of 1,263 wild horses were permanently removed from public and private lands in the Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek, and Great Divide Basin Herd Management Areas (HMAs) during the operation. These three HMAs cover about 2,427,220 acres, with 1,242,176 acres within the Checkerboard region, named for its alternating public and private land parcels.
US District Court of Wyoming Chief Judge Nancy Freudenthal ruled that the BLM violated the environmental act during the operation in the state's southwest. The violation was remanded back to the BLM to address the deficiencies.
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation), The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom, and photographers Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl argued that the BLM violated federal law by conducting the roundup without environmental analysis and public participation, and by reducing the populations in the three HMAs below established appropriate management levels.
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