U.S. Wrong to Round Up Wild Horses from Wyoming Region - 10th Circuit

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding a 2014 roundup of over 1,200 wild horses in Wyoming's Checkerboard region. This decision marks a significant victory for conservation groups advocating for the protection of wild horses on public lands.

A federal appeals court has determined that the 2014 BLM roundup of wild horses from a Wyoming region with intermingled public and private lands violated land management and horse protection laws. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with conservation groups, overturning a previous ruling by a federal district court judge in March 2015 that had granted BLM the authority to conduct the roundup.

For decades, ranchers and conservation groups have clashed over the presence of wild horse herds in the region, which also supports livestock. The Rock Springs Grazing Association, which manages Checkerboard lands, supports the BLM roundups, arguing that wild horse populations negatively impact range resources and wildlife.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), Cloud Foundation, and Return to Freedom contended that BLM failed to fulfill its responsibilities by authorizing the roundup on both public and private lands. The court's written opinion, released on Monday, expanded on an earlier ruling from October 14, finding the roundup violated the U.S. Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

BLM defended its actions by claiming it exercised reasonable discretion in treating the entire Checkerboard as private land during the 2014 roundup. The agency argued that the Wild Horse Act does not specify how to manage areas where public and private lands are so intertwined that separate management of wild horse populations is impossible.

Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, writing for the panel, acknowledged the challenges BLM faces in managing horses in areas where public and private lands alternate in small, unfenced parcels. However, she emphasized that these practical realities do not grant BLM the authority to interpret the act contrary to its clear terms.

The panel clarified that the Wild Horse Act distinctly defines public and private lands, directing BLM to manage horses on each separately. BLM is tasked with assessing and deciding whether to remove horses from public lands based on herd populations, while horses on private lands are to be removed at the property owner's request.

Judge Briscoe noted that BLM admitted the geographic and ownership characteristics of the Checkerboard make roundup activities somewhat ineffective. BLM is currently reviewing the court's decision to determine its next steps and has canceled a planned 2016 roundup in the area, according to Kimberlee Foster, a field manager for BLM Wyoming.

The agency is working on a long-term resource management plan revision to address Checkerboard issues, viewing the 2014 and 2016 roundups as interim measures. A draft of the revision is expected to be released in summer 2017.

William Eubanks, representing the conservation groups, stated that the decision clearly indicates that "BLM may never treat public land as private land under the federal laws that apply to public lands and federally protected wild horses found on those lands." The unanimous panel included Judge Scott Matheson and Judge Monroe McKay.

The case is American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign) v. Sally Jewell, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-8033.

For the petitioners-appellants: William Eubanks and Katherine Meyer of Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks.

For the respondents-appellees: Thekla Hansen-Young, Andrew Mergen, Mark Haag, Coby Howell, and Jason Hill of the U.S. Justice Department's Environment & Natural Resources Division.

For intervenor respondent appellees: Constance Brooks of C. E. Brooks & Associates for the Rock Springs Grazing Association; and Erik Petersen of the Wyoming Attorney General's Office.