Utah Ranchers Sue BLM Over Wild Horse Management
Thirteen ranchers in southwestern and central Utah are asking a federal judge to order the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to control the burgeoning number of wild horses that share the range with their cattle and sheep. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, names Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, BLM Director Neil Kornze, and BLM Utah Director Juan Palma as defendants.
The ranchers, frustrated by BLM requests to significantly reduce their herds, formed the Western Rangeland Conservation Association to pool resources for the lawsuit. The Utah Farm Bureau Federation, along with Iron and Beaver counties, have also pledged financial support.
The lawsuit alleges that the BLM has failed to comply with the Wild Horses and Burros Act of 1971 by not controlling the number of wild horses on BLM rangeland, as well as on private and state lands. The ranges are deteriorating as wildlife, horses, and livestock compete for scarce resources, the ranchers claim.
Horses have reportedly damaged range improvements made by ranchers, such as fences and water developments, forcing ranchers to haul extra water and feed to their animals while cutting back on grazing. "Many plaintiffs have maintained their livelihoods via ranching operations for multiple generations. Due to economic limitations and the fact that the wild horses are federally protected, plaintiffs can do nothing to prevent damages to their private and the public rangelands," the lawsuit states.
Mark Wintch, a rancher in the Wah Wah Valley and president of the rancher association, stated, "We’re simply asking that they stay within their own management plan and quit abusing us." The BLM acknowledges there are 14,000 more wild horses in the West than the ecosystems can maintain but cites financial constraints as a barrier to addressing the issue.
The agency announced last year that it would not conduct roundups due to a lack of funds, particularly for long-term pasturing of wild horses. By congressional decree, the horses cannot be euthanized. The BLM’s target number for wild horses in the West is 26,000, but there are currently nearly 40,000, according to the agency's website.
Despite the lack of plans for roundups, state BLM directors, under pressure from ranchers and local leaders, are asking to remove more than 6,000 horses. Utah’s Palma seeks over $500,000 to remove more than 1,000 horses from BLM, private, and School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration lands in Iron and Beaver counties this summer.
Two of the lawsuit plaintiffs graze their livestock in Emery County, where wild horses in the Muddy Creek herd management area exceed BLM limits. In Beaver and Iron counties, where most plaintiffs reside, the BLM’s prescribed limit on horses is just over 600, yet ranchers report thousands of horses. Internal and environmental assessment documents suggest the BLM acknowledges at least 1,800 horses in the region.
The lawsuit highlights the Wild Horse Act’s requirement for the BLM to inventory, set limits, and "immediately remove excess animals from the range to achieve appropriate management levels." Karen Budd-Falen, a Cheyenne, Wyo., attorney representing the ranchers, indicated that similar lawsuits are being prepared for Wyoming and New Mexico ranchers. "The BLM has got a statutory duty to move," she said.
Kiersty Loughmiller, of Salt Lake City, is the Utah attorney for the ranchers. Judge Paul Warner has been assigned to the case.
At a glance: Horse advocates fax Utah’s governor. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s office couldn’t confirm that it had received 7,000 faxes since Wednesday from wild horse advocates, as claimed by the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation). The coalition challenges the governor’s recent statement that state government should manage wild horses. The governor’s office has a single fax machine, and it ran out of toner after 62 faxes were received, a spokesman said. Read more about the issue and the campaign’s position in “Under pressure, Utah BLM fast-tracks plea to round up wild horses.”