Federal Court to Hear Motion to Dismiss Utah Rancher Anti-Mustang Lawsuit

Court to Decide on Utah Rancher Lawsuit Against Wild HorsesCourt to Decide on Utah Rancher Lawsuit Against Wild Horses

Today, the U.S. District Court in Utah will hear arguments on a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Utah ranchers against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The lawsuit seeks to compel the removal of hundreds of wild horses from public and private lands in the state. The motion to dismiss was filed by the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom, Utah photographer John Steele, and wild horse advocate and adopter Lisa Friday, who were granted the right to intervene in the case last October.

Details of the Court Hearing

  • WHAT: U.S. District Court hearing on “Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings” in Western Rangeland Conservation Association v. DOI.
  • WHEN: Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 2 p.m.
  • WHERE: U.S. District Court, 351 South West Temple, Room 8.300, Salt Lake City.
  • PRESIDING: Judge Dee Benson

Caitlin Zittkowski, an attorney from Meyer, Glitzenstein and Crystal, a Washington-DC based public interest law firm, will argue the case for the intervenors.

Earlier this month, the court granted AWHC’s motion to dismiss a similar rancher lawsuit against the BLM in Nevada. The advocates are also intervenors in the state of Wyoming’s rancher-driven lawsuit against the BLM.

Background on the Utah Case

The Utah case was filed by the Western Rangelands Conservation Association on behalf of ranchers who graze livestock on public lands in southwestern Utah. It seeks the removal of hundreds of wild horses from the Frisco, Four Mile, Bible Springs, Sulphur, Muddy Creek, and North Hills Herd Management Areas (HMAs) and the Blawn Wash Herd Area (HA). In response, the government has informed the court that wild horses are not damaging rangelands in this area and that it has made no determination that “excess” wild horses exist in the HMAs and HA in question.

Ranchers’ claims that wild horses are overpopulating the state are not supported by facts. In reality, wild horses reside on just 2.1 million acres of BLM land in the state while livestock graze on 22 million acres. There are fewer than 4,000 wild horses on BLM land in Utah, compared to hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep.

About the Organizations Involved

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

The Cloud Foundation 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.

Return to Freedom 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. It is also AWHC’s founding organization.

John Steele is a noted wildlife and nature photographer who frequently photographs Utah’s wild horse herds.

Lisa Friday is a Virginia resident, wild horse adopter, and board member for The Cloud Foundation.

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