Defending Wild Horses in the Courtroom on July 16
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
As the nation’s leading wild horse and burro conservation organization, some of the most important work we do for our wild herds is in the courtroom — and, as a matter of fact, we’re currently engaged in two significant court cases near where you live!
| POWER OUR LEGAL FUND |
In the southwest region of Wyoming known as the “Wyoming Checkerboard,” our decade-long struggle continues against the demands of the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) to remove wild horses from over 1 million acres of public land.
Twelve years of our legal intervention will come to a head on Tuesday, July 16 when we present oral arguments on BOTH cases in the U.S. District Court of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Here are the details:
When:
Tuesday, July 16 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Where:
U.S. District Court
2120 Capitol Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001
Courtroom No. 3 / Room No. 2104
What:
If you come to the arguments, please be quiet, courteous, and respectful at all times. ANY noise or disrespectful behavior will result in removal from the courtroom and could have negative consequences for our case.
10:00 a.m. Argument | Striking Back Against Unprecedented Eradication Measures
In 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted amendments to a Resource Management Plan (RMP) that would authorize the federal government to eliminate more than 1 million acres of habitat across federal public lands in Wyoming and fully or partially eradicate multiple wild herds. Under these amendments, the wild horses of Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin would face total elimination. These unconscionable amendments are detrimental to the Checkerboard’s natural ecosystem. Moreover, they represent the first time in the 53-year history of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act that the BLM has eliminated entire wild horse herds where sufficient habitat characteristics (i.e., forage, water, space, and cover) exist on public lands.
Photo: Wild Horses of Salt Creek Wells by Kimerlee Curyl Photography
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2:00 p.m. Argument | Protecting Public Lands from Private Interests
Last March, the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) filed a suit compelling the BLM to remove wild horses not only from private lands used by RSGA members to graze livestock but also from federal public lands (also used by RSGA members’ livestock) throughout the Wyoming Checkerboard. AWHC immediately intervened against this preposterous lawsuit. Clearly, we’re up against very powerful interests who view wild horses as competitors to their private livestock on our public lands. A huge legal principle is at stake: Will private interests be allowed to dictate the use of public lands and decide whether our federally protected wild horses and burros can live on them?
| POWER OUR LEGAL FUND |
We’re at a pivotal moment, and your support has never been more important.
Thank you,
The American Wild Horse Conservation