Ranchers Move Against Wild Horses in Utah

February 8, 2017

AWHC Contributor

In early 2014, a significant conflict arose in Utah as ranchers and county commissioners demanded the removal of wild horses from public lands. This dispute highlighted the ongoing tension between agricultural interests and wildlife conservation efforts.

Early in April of 2014, Iron County Utah commissioners and ranchers gave the BLM an ultimatum: Come up with an immediate plan to remove wild horses from the area or residents will do it themselves. As drought damages rangelands in the west, ranchers are scapegoating federally protected wild horses for the damage of the range when in reality millions of cattle are permitted to graze on our public lands.

Read our strongly worded letter to the Iron County, Utah Board of Commissioners and the Utah BLM

On April 30, 2014, these ranchers filed suit against the BLM, seeking removal of hundreds of horses from public lands in the area. Herd Management Areas targeted include: Bible Springs, Four Mile, Frisco, Muddy Creek, Swasey, Sulphur, Choke Cherry, Blawn Wash.

Between July 28, 2014 and August 5, 2014, the BLM conducted a roundup in the Bible Springs Complex, removing 143 wild horses from the Blawn Wash HMA and 36 wild horses from outside the Sulphur Spring HMA.

On September 5, 2014, the U.S. District Court - District of Utah granted AWHC, The Cloud Foundation, Return to Freedom, wild horse adopter and advocate Lisa Friday and photographer John Steele the right to intervene in the lawsuit.

In April 2016, the BLM settled this case with the plaintiffs by agreeing to conduct reviews under the Wild Horse Act and NEPA but maintaining its full authority and discretion to make determinations regarding whether excess horses are present on the HMAs in question, whether the horses should be removed and when they should be removed.