Judge Rules BLM Violated Law in Idaho Wild Horse Sterilization Plan

In a significant legal decision, a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated environmental law in its plan to sterilize a herd of wild horses in southwestern Idaho. This ruling mandates theBLMto reconsider its decision, highlighting the need for a more thorough analysis of the plan's impacts.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management violated environmental law in its plan to sterilize a herd of wild horses in southwestern Idaho, according to a recent ruling from a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge ruled Friday theBLMfailed to analyze consequences of the action and ordered the agency to reconsider its decision.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) and two other groups who filed the lawsuit had also argued theBLMadopted a plan that failed to protect wild horses.

However, Lodge said he wouldn't rule on whether or not theBLMviolated the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Instead, he instructed theBLMto better articulate its reasoning for using sterilization.

"TheBLM... failed to discuss the obvious contradictions between its decision to maintain a non-reproducing herd and the self-sustaining requirement that includes the herd's ability to produce 'viable offspring' or 'healthy fouls," wrote Lodge.

ABLMspokesman was not immediately available for comment.

TheBLMin September released its 72-page Resource Management Plan for the Jarbidge Field Office that includes the 150-square-mile Saylor Creek Herd Management Area. It's a 2,200-square-mile area that contains desert canyons and remote rangelands.

Under the plan, the herd of wild horses in the management area would be sterilized either chemically or physically and kept to between 50 and 200 horses. Officials said when they released the plan that process is likely years away, though, as details had yet to be worked out.

The non-breeding herd would be replenished with wild horses from Idaho and sometimes other states. Wild horses are sometimes rounded up and offered for adoption when their numbers exceed the amount of food available to support them. But not all the horses get adopted and theBLMhas some 47,000 wild horses and burros that are being held and fed in corrals and pastures.

The Range Management Plan guides management not only for wild horses, but also cattle grazing, recreation, and sage-grouse habitat restoration throughout the Jarbidge Field Office.

Originally posted by Statesman Journal