Tension Grows Between Ranchers and Mustang Advocates
In the American West, tensions are escalating between ranchers and wild horse advocates over land use and mustang roundups. This conflict, which has been simmering for decades, involves the iconic wild horses of the region and the limited forage available on the arid lands stretching from Nevada to Wyoming.
Wild-horse protection advocates argue that the government is conducting excessive roundups of mustangs while allowing livestock to graze at taxpayer expense on rangelands that scientists claim are overgrazed. Conversely, ranchers contend that the government is not gathering enough horses, leading to herds that double in size every five years, while also threatening to confiscate cattle on lands where their families have operated for over a century.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is caught in the middle, struggling with budget constraints, overflowing holding pens, and the politically sensitive issue of either ending costly roundups or resorting to slaughtering excess horses. The situation is rapidly moving towards confrontation.
In southwest Utah, county commissioners have threatened to take matters into their own hands to round up horses if the BLM does not act. Meanwhile, in southern Nevada, a rancher has vowed to do "whatever it takes" to resist federal agents who are preparing to seize his cattle, which the government claims have been trespassing on U.S. land without the necessary grazing permits for 25 years.
Cliven Bundy, a rancher whose family has operated in the area since the 1870s, stated, "The BLM is figuring on taking my cattle by force, I guess." He estimates that as many as 300 federal agents and personnel have gathered near his ranch, located southwest of Mesquite, close to the Utah border. Bundy has been resisting federal actions for 20 years, attempting to resolve the issue legally and politically.
This battle has roots in the 1980s Sagebrush Rebellion, which challenged federal ownership of Nevada rangeland. The family of the late Wayne Hage is still in court over water and grazing rights north of Tonopah. In recent years, horse advocates have been more aggressive, filing numerous motions and lawsuits to block roundups they claim violate the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971. However, ranchers have recently renewed their efforts to push back.
The Nevada Farm Bureau Federation and Nevada Association of Counties filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Reno, seeking to compel the BLM to increase roundups and, if necessary, sell excess mustangs for slaughter, a measure they argue is permitted by law but resisted by the federal agency. A federal magistrate judge in Reno recently allowed horse advocates to join the case, acknowledging their argument that no other party, including the BLM, has the horses' best interests at heart.
In Utah, the Iron County Commission is threatening to gather hundreds of mustangs, claiming the horses endanger livestock and wildlife on drought-damaged rangelands. Commissioner David Miller stated, "We will take whatever action we have to take to reduce those numbers immediately." Horse advocates are considering various responses to the county's plans.
Paula Todd King of the Colorado-based Cloud Foundation warned, "If these ranchers round up wild horses on federal land, they are breaking the law." A federal judge in Las Vegas first ordered Bundy to remove his trespassing cattle in 1998, with similar orders issued last July and October. However, Bundy does not recognize federal authority over land he insists belongs to Nevada.
BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon stated that the agency would not discuss details of its plans or personnel involved in the dispute, which has persisted for over two decades. The BLM considers Bundy's trespassing "unfair to the thousands of other ranchers who graze livestock in compliance with federal laws and regulations throughout the West," and views the impoundment as "a last resort."
Bundy, who values his approximately 500 cattle at $1,000 or more each, expressed concerns about potential violence, noting, "It's violent right now if you have 300 well-armed officers on the ground."
Originally Posted By Associated Press