Today a U.S. District Judge granted a preliminary injunction barring federal agencies from classifying the horses as unauthorized livestock and preventing them from capturing and removing them according to a report by Courthouse News Service.
The order applies to all horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests not just the Heber WHT.
Another project has been created in ePlanning and two documents have been uploaded.
The Decision Record says the agency is closing public lands within five miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities to all public entry for the duration of the incident.
Only operations personnel and any public observers who are escorted by BLM staff will be allowed in the closure area.
A map on the last page shows the project area but does not indicate trap locations.
Burros that have migrated into the Complex will also be taken into custody.
A helicopter will push the animals into the traps.
Operations will be open to public observation on a limited basis, which contradicts a closure notice issued today.
Animals not put down at the temporary holding pens will be taken to the off-range corrals at Palomino Valley and the privately owned facility known as Indian Lakes.
There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.
The doctrine of multiple use will apply to allotments in areas identified for wild horses and burros, as it does now.
Livestock will be authorized in those areas and will be entitled to most of the resources.
The doctrine will not apply to allotments outside those areas.
Owning or leasing base properties and petitioning the government for changes in livestock types and seasons of use, will no longer be recognized as a method for establishing wild animal preserves on public lands.
The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation brought the case earlier this week according to a story by Native News Online.
The complaint alleges that the defendants, which include the BLM and Forest Service, did not complete the legally required government-to-government consultation, identifying sacred sites and cultural resources within the operation’s footprint, or assessing the impact of helicopter operations on Benton Paiute land.
The plaintiffs asked the court to vacate and set aside the 2025 Decision Record and halt the removal of wild horses from the project area, among other things.
A new project was opened in ePlanning yesterday and two documents were uploaded.
There were no opportunities for public comment.
The agency will close public lands within a two-mile radius of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities to all public entry for the duration of the roundup.
Observers escorted by BLM staff are exempt.
Attachment 1 in the Decision Record shows the location of the trap sites.
The gather area is easily five times larger than the HMA and contains numerous grazing allotments, not shown in the map.
The incident has not been announced but is on the schedule with a start date of September 10.
Only essential gather personnel and permitted personnel will be allowed at trap and holding sites during operations according to the Inyo news release.
Permitted personnel may correspond to observers escorted by the Forest Service.
The closure areas contain numerous grazing allotments, not shown on the maps.
A new project in ePlanning authorizes the closure of public lands within a two-mile radius of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities at the Piceance–East Douglas Herd Management Area, North Piceance Herd Area and West Douglas Herd Area to all public entry for the duration of the incidents.
The news release said the changes would give ranchers more flexibility, improve the health of rangelands and support rural communities across the West.
What they’re really trying to do is limit the use of allotments to animals approved by the ranching industry, not the preference holders, thwarting the creation of wild horse and burro refuges on public lands.
A special interest will control the way allotments are used, not the owners or lessors of the base properties attached to them.
You can comment against the proposal at the Federal Register.
An in-depth report by Carson Now identifies two problems complicating the situation: Most of the land is private, subject to purchase and development, and NDA considers the horses to be estray livestock, even though they’re unclaimed and unbranded.
Western Horse Watchers disputes claims that development at the higher elevations, which is minor compared to growth in south Reno, is driving them out of the mountains and into foothills.
Why didn’t the writer question the mass sterilization program authorized by NDA and carried out by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses?
Although the fat lady has yet to sing, you can be sure there are many players working to eradicate the herd, including those who claim to be its defenders.
Western Horse Watchers Association 