Salt River Wild Horses Safe For Now
Salt River Wild Horses Safe For Now
The Salt River wild horses, a cherished herd in Arizona's Tonto National Forest, faced a significant threat of eradication due to a U.S. Forest Service plan. The plan aimed to round up these horses, labeling them as "estray livestock." However, due to overwhelming public and political support, the Forest Service has withdrawn its notice and is now working on a management plan to protect these iconic animals.
Forest Service Calls Off Plan to Round Up Famed Arizona Herd
UPDATE: On Friday, December 11, 2015, the Forest Service withdrew its notice to impound the Salt River wild horses, nearly five months after first publishing it. The move came in the face of intense public and political pressure to protect the horses in their historic habitat in the Tonto National Forest. The Forest Service now says that it will work with stakeholders on a management plan to protect the horses.
Last week, the famed and beloved Salt River wild horses in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa, Arizona were in immediate threat of total eradication thanks to a U.S. Forest Service plan to begin rounding them up as early as Friday, August 7. These special horses have been present on the lands in and around the Salt River for over a century, but the Forest Service claimed that they are "estray livestock" and intended to "impound" all "unauthorized" horses in just a few short days.
This is a precarious situation because the Salt River horses lack federal protection due to the Forest Service’s failure to designate a protected Wild Horse Territory for them after the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed in 1971. At the same time, the Forest Service admits that the horses have been present in the National Forest since the 1930’s, and historic articles document their presence on those lands since the late 1800’s. The legal upshot of the Forest Service’s failure to protect the Salt River horses is that they can be rounded up and sold at auction, where kill buyers could purchase them for slaughter.
Thanks to the tremendous outpouring of support from the local Arizona community and from advocates all around the world, the U.S. Forest Service has abandoned this controversial plan to remove dozens of horses from their Salt River home and is currently searching for alternative plans to manage them.
The community in Arizona rallied around the Salt River wild horses.
More than 100 people showed up at the Town Hall meeting to voice their concerns and offer solutions.
LETTERS/STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT FOR THE SALT RIVER WILD HORSES
- Arizona Congressional Delegation
- U.S. Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain
- U.S. Representatives Matt Salmon, David Schweikert and Krysten Sinema
- U.S. Representatives Martha McSally, Ann Kirkpatrick, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Krysten Sinema
- Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community
MEDIA COVERAGE:
- Forest Service to leave wild horses at Salt River
- Forest Service to leave wild horses at Salt River
- Feds to axe plan to impound and sell Arizona's Salt River horses
- Wild Horses Will be Allowed to Stay at Salt River
- Salt River Wild Horse Roundup Notice Will Be Withdrawn, Advocates Say
- Salt River horses update: Forest Service to withdraw notice to impound horses
- Forest Service drops plans to remove Salt River horses
- Wild horses will be allowed to stay at Salt River
- Salt River Horse Advocates Applaud Arizona Congressional Delegation’s Support for Salt River Wild Horses
- Arizona delegation wants progress on Salt River horse plan
- Lawmakers want progress over plan for Arizona’s Salt River horses
Forest Service Decision
- Threat to Arizona’s Salt River Horses Spurs New Battle Over Western Lands
- Salt River Wild Horse Management Lays Out Plan
- Tonto National Forest supervisor postpones action on horses
- Salt River wild horses given reprieve until mid-December
- Tonto National Forest Public Notice of Intent to Impound Salt River Wild Horses
- Feds say wild horses on the Salt River are not wild
- Possible deal to manage wild horses near the Salt River
- US Parks Service: Hold Your Horses On Roundup In Tonto National Forest
- Sides dig in over wild horses
Town Hall Meeting Coverage
- Town hall meeting addresses plight of Salt River wild horses
- Salt River Wild Horse Town Hall Filled with Song, Tears, and Politics
Legal Action Coverage
- Management Group: Lawsuit Tied to Salt River Wild Horse Roundup Dismissed
- Federal judge rejects emergency request to block Salt River wild horse roundup
- Horse roundup plans placed on temporary hold
- Conservationists file legal action to block Arizona wild horse round-up
- Arizona Governor Doug Ducey says 'feds should leave our free roaming & wild horses alone'
Editorials
- A second thought about those Salt River horses
- Forest Services aims at horses, shoots self in foot
- Cecil the lion mattered, do the Salt River wild horses?
- Tribal sanctuary available to Salt River wild horses
Roundup Coverage
- Uproar: Feds to round up famous 'wild' horse herd
- Wild Horses near Salt River to be removed by Forest Service
- Salt River Roundup to Take Place in Tonto National Forest
- Salt River wild horses to be rounded up, could face death
- Wild horses to be removed from Salt River; conservationists furious
More Information
- FAQ on Salt River Wild Horses - NEW!
- Salt River Wild Horse Management Group