In early December, horse advocates testified before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) from removing feral horses from a central Oregon forest.
The Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition contends the agency’s herd management plan to remove 78 of the estimated 135 horses from a territory in the Ochoco National Forest violates the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and National Environmental Policy Act.
The USFS said it is necessary to maintain adequate winter forage for the horses.
In a hearing on Dec. 2 set before the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco, CA, USFS said in addition to maintaining adequate forage, one of the primary goals with removing horses was to restore riparian management areas.
“There are a lot of riparian areas in this territory that are unsatisfactory and in poor condition,” said Robert Stockman on behalf of the government.
When determining a new herd management plan for horses in the Big Summit Territory, USFS found that forage availability in the forest during above-average winters was the most limiting factor for horses. Because of high snowfall covering much of the available forage, the small area that is still accessible can be overused. Therefore, USFS set an appropriate management level (AML) at a max of 57 horses.
The Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition said the agency failed to reasonably consider all available data when making its decision.
“By committing itself to recalculating this AML, the agency is committing itself to following the law,” said Sasha Petrova, the horse advocates’ attorney.
The horse advocacy group argued that the agency only considered winters with above-average snowfall, and also estimated only 19% of the 5,000-acre territory in question was available as winter range.
The plaintiffs said USFS failed to consider their data that showed a map of areas where horses were seen over three winters. USFS said the data was unusable because it didn’t specify which sightings were during winters with less snowfall. Additionally, the data was not originally submitted during the comment period; the plaintiffs’ comments noted that they had the data, and for the agency to “let them know” if they needed it.
Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. disagreed with Petrova that it was the agency’s duty to “follow up” with the group to make sure they were using the most accurate data.
“If the statute says they’re supposed to consider all available information, which they did—they didn’t consider the information you had because you never gave it to them—so they technically are consistent with the statute,” Mendoza said.
The Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition filed suit last summer and appealed a lower court’s ruling in 2023, which found USFS did not violate any laws by planning to reduce the horse population to less than half.
The 9th Circuit Court did not indicate when it would rule on the case.
Background
The Ochoco Herd lives on about 25,000 acres of the Big Summit Wild Horse Territory within the Ochoco National Forest and is the only feral horse population in the Pacific Northwest managed entirely by USFS, according to the agency. USFS is unaware of the herd’s origins, although there are early accounts in the 1920s of ranchers turning horses loose to ensure a supply of quality horses.
The Ochoco National Forest approved a new herd management plan for the horses in 2021, which prescribed a range of 47-57 horses as an AML. The plan approved gathers and the use of fertility control to manage excess levels.
The horse advocacy group and two individuals filed suit after USFS released its environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact, claiming the agency failed to take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of the updated plan. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
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