McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Criteria Inadequate for BLM Wild Horses

Analysis of a proposed project to remove over 1,200 horses from tribal and federal land is currently underway. The project area centers on the McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone reservation and extends outward onto US Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Nevada and Oregon.

Citing an increase in unauthorized use of federal lands and increasing tensions with the tribe, the project is being contemplated as a “cooperative.” Documents were sent by USFS to the public for comment on February 19. These documents outline an ongoing effort to remove horses that will begin in August of 2015 and likely consist of “3-4” of these removals that will last approximately 4-5 days each. The documents do not outline a strategy for addressing the repeat pattern of the trespass.

In 2013, a removal of tribal horses in this same project area sent 470 horses to an auction house in Fallon, Nevada. The sale is a known “kill buyer” sale. USFS dropped out of the formal “cooperative” prior to operations beginning under intense litigation. Even announcing that the operation was cancelled. The operation continued simply without the official “cooperative.”

In 2014, a new “cooperative” was formed.

Read Wild Horse Education's report here.