Help Needed: Adopted Devil’s Garden Mustangs from 2018-2021

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) is conducting an investigation into the U.S. Forest Service's compliance checks before transferring ownership of Devil’s Garden Mustangs adopted from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals on the Modoc National Forest. We are reaching out to adopters from 2018 to 2021 to gather crucial information.

The Forest Service claims to find “Happy Homes” for the Devil’s Garden wild horses rounded up and held at the Double Devil for placement. However, when AWHC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records on compliance checks, we were informed that none existed.

To follow up, AWHC inquired about how the Forest Service determines if adopters are eligible to receive title after one year without completing any compliance checks. The response indicated that titles are issued automatically, but the Forest Service is working on developing guidelines and forms for compliance checks.

While many Devil’s Garden horses have been adopted into good homes, we are concerned that the Forest Service is not adhering to its regulations regarding compliance checks to confirm that the horses receive proper care before transferring title from the Forest Service to adopters.

To document this situation, we seek information on mustangs adopted from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals between 2018 and now. If you’ve adopted one or more of these horses, please consider sending the following information to Mary Koncel at [email protected]:

• A copy of the title for each of your mustangs adopted from the Double Devil corrals;
• A statement verifying that a compliance check was not completed by the Forest Service;
• Any communications from the Forest Service mentioning a compliance check;
• Any other paperwork regarding the finalization of the adoption;
• Any other information about your mustang(s) and your experience adopting them that you feel comfortable sharing.

AWHC guarantees that all personal identifying information will be kept confidential, meaning we will not reveal your name, home address, contact info, or anything about your horses and/or burros. We are simply seeking adoption records for these horses. If you prefer, feel free to redact your records before sending them to AWHC.

We are grateful to everyone who has stepped up and adopted one of these amazing wild horses from Devil’s Garden. However, we are committed to holding the Forest Service accountable for following its regulations to help ensure these horses end up in the best possible homes. We know that others share our concern about the placement of Devil’s Garden horses, and we need your help.

If you have any questions, please email Mary Koncel at [email protected].

Thank you!