Greens sue BLM over OR horse gathers

A pair of horse advocacy groups and a conservation group are suing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over what the groups call a case of scapegoating horses for livestock grazing. The suit challenges the agency’s plans to gather excess horses from two herds in southeast Oregon for population control, alleging livestock are the ones degrading the environment.

“Wild horses make for convenient scapegoats for the Bureau to divert attention away from the true ecological catastrophe on the sage-steppe, the domestic cow,” said Grace Kuhn with Western Watersheds Project, one of the suit plaintiffs.

The lawsuit calls for the court to halt BLM’s proposed gathers and require the agency to consider alternative management strategies, such as reducing livestock grazing in herd management areas (HMAs).

Plan background

BLM released a decision record for the Kiger and Riddle Mountain Herd Management Areas (HMA) Population Management Plan in July.

The Kiger HMA covers about 30,000 acres and has an appropriate management level (AML) of 51-82 horses. As of the 2023 Wild Horse and Burro Population Estimates report, the HMA was supporting 183 horses, or 223% of the AML. The Riddle Mountain HMA covers about 33,000 acres and has an AML of 33-58 horses. The 2023 population estimate was 165 horses, or nearly 300% of the AML.

The decision outlines a plan over a 10-year time frame to gather excess horses to keep populations at AMLs and restore ecological balance. The first gather was set to begin this fall, with gathers occurring over the next decade as needed.

The proposed action removes excess horses for adoption and applies fertility treatments to maintain the feral horse population within the AML. BLM’s ultimate plan is for the Kiger HMA to have a population of 25 fertile studs and 26 mares treated with a fertility control vaccine, and for the Riddle Mountain HMA to have a population of 16 fertile studs and 17 treated mares. When that point is reached, BLM will decide how often to give treatments.

The greens’ lawsuit argues the BLM violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the Federal Land Policy Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act in its decision record. The groups said the plan fails to properly assess the ecological impact of reducing horse populations, and “neglects its obligation to manage public lands in a way that ensures a thriving natural ecological balance.”

“If the BLM wants to get serious about managing public lands and maintaining ecological balance, they need to start properly attributing the cause of land health degradation,” Kuhn said, alluding to livestock grazing.

Research shows effects on wildlife

A study conducted by the University of Wyoming and published in The Journal of Wildlife Management suggests that sage grouse have been negatively affected by feral horses roaming in sagebrush-steppe habitat.

“Very clearly, our results suggest that if we don’t go over (horse population goals), then sage grouse nesting, brood-rearing and juvenile survival is going to perform much higher,” Jeff Beck, an ecologist who led the research, told media outlet News From The States.

The research monitored about 1,000 sage grouse equipped with GPS devices in southern and central Wyoming. The researchers evaluated how the birds fared in areas with no horses, along with nest success and survival rates in areas with horses.

Results suggest a correlation between increased horse numbers and a decline in sage grouse nests and numbers. Nest survival decreased 4% for birds that lived with horse populations set at the AML, while survival rates declined another 8% when horse numbers were three times the AML.

Chick and juvenile survival rates decreased by 18% in areas where horse numbers were three times the AML. Adult birds were the outlier, according to the research, with no evidence that increased horse numbers influenced survival rates.

Horses are likely influencing sage grouse populations by causing indirect effects by modifying sage grouse habitat, the researchers said. “They break up sagebrush, they increase bare ground, they have a lot of impact on riparian areas,” Beck said.

Beck shared skepticism that domestic livestock have the same effects on sage grouse habitat as horses, because “if there’s a problem with livestock, they take them off the range. Horses are staying there year round, until the next gather.”

However, Beck noted, “We’re not saying, ‘Get rid of all the horses.’ Our message is to manage it. If you manage it not to exceed that (goal), then sage grouse that share habitat with horses can continue to do well.” — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor