Roundup Report: Four Mile Wild Horses, September 2021

The Four Mile Herd Management Area (HMA) spans nearly 19,000 acres in Idaho, home to an estimated 210 wild horses. However, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sets the Appropriate Management Level (AML) at just 37-60 horses, a figure many argue is unscientifically low. This discrepancy raises concerns about the BLM's management practices, especially as hundreds of cows are authorized to graze in the same area.

It is time for the BLM to manage wild horse habitat for the wild horses.

This roundup will cost taxpayers at least $85,050 to capture 189 federally protected wild horses from the HMA. Only eight mares and eight studs are planned for return, leaving the remaining 173 horses to be housed in government holding corrals at a lifetime cost of approximately $8,650,000. The contractor for this roundup is Shayne Sampson.

Additionally, taxpayers subsidize livestock grazing on public lands, with federal grazing fees at a historic low of $1.35 per animal per month. This program, supported by taxpayer subsidies, could cost up to $500 million annually.

Helicopters are scheduled to fly starting on September 14, 2021. We will update this report as the operation progresses.

Roundup Report

September 15, 2021: 27 wild horses were captured on the final day of this operation. There were no deaths.

September 14, 2021: 188 wild horses lost their freedom today, and one stallion lost his life. The BLM notes his death as "sudden/acute" but provides no further information.