Federal Agencies Aim to Reduce Oregon Wild Horse Herd Size
(August 13, 2019) The U.S. Forest Service has announced a scoping comment period for proposed actions to establish a plan for Oregon’s Murderers Creek Wild Horse Joint Management Area (JMA) and to amend the Malheur Forest Plan. This proposal has sparked concerns about the future of the wild horse population in the area, particularly regarding genetic diversity and the impact of livestock grazing.
The Murderers Creek JMA, comprising state, private, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, spans 142,740 acres. As of 2018, the estimated population of federally-protected wild horses within the JMA was 339, equating to approximately 420 acres per horse. However, the proposed plan suggests establishing a new Appropriate Management Level (AML) of just 50-140 horses. The BLM’s wild horse and burro handbook recommends a minimum population size of 50 effective breeding animals, or a total population size of about 150-200 animals, to maintain genetic diversity. The Forest Service’s 2017 AML determination document also noted that the high AML of 140 horses might not be sufficient to prevent inbreeding.
Not surprisingly, ten livestock grazing allotments administered by the BLM and five grazing allotments administered by the Forest Service overlap the wild horses’ habitat, all of which permit or lease livestock grazing.
The Process of Public Comments
Phase I of the review process is currently underway with this scoping period. The Phase I analysis aims to amend the Malheur Forest Plan to include the updated AML and set herd management plan objectives. These objectives are broad and do not specify actions the agencies will take to manage the herd within the JMA.
Phase II will commence after the final Environmental Assessment from Phase I is released. The Phase II analysis is expected to consider management actions consistent with the AML and the Herd Management Area Plan established in Phase I. The NEPA process in Phase II will focus on specific actions to achieve AML within the JMA.
The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) will review and comment on each stage of the NEPA process. We will keep you updated as the Forest Service develops management documents affecting this herd.
What You Can Do
Submit a Comment Letter
Please note: comments are due Friday, August 16, 2019.
The preferred method to submit comments is electronically here.
Alternatively, written comments concerning the project may be submitted using the following methods:
Postal mail: Bob Foxworth, District Ranger, Blue Mountain Ranger District, Malheur National Forest, 431 Patterson Bridge Road, PO Box 909, John Day, Oregon 97845
Send via facsimile: 541-575-3319
Points to note:
Increase the proposed Appropriate Management Level (AML) and maintain a genetically viable herd of 150-200 individuals.
Provide complete livestock use information in the draft EA and consider reducing or eliminating livestock use as an objective of the herd management area plan.
Avoid any consideration of sex-ratio skewing, which lacks scientific basis and can harm wild horses’ natural behaviors, create aggression among males, and fail to manage population growth effectively.
Include direction for implementing a PZP, Catch Treat and Release Program within the JMA to replace mass roundup and removal operations.
Continue implementing range improvements, including restoring drainage ponds and water catchments, protecting water sources within the JMA, and installing additional solar wells, especially in underutilized areas by the horses.