Action Needed to Protect Montgomery Pass Wild Horses!
The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:
The Montgomery Pass wild horses, also known as the Mono Lake horses, urgently need your help! These magnificent creatures roam the California/Nevada border and are an essential part of the region’s ecosystems and natural heritage. However, their future is at risk due to a proposed plan by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) to round up all the horses who live outside of the artificially-drawn boundaries of the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory (MPWHT).
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In 1988, the federal government set an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 138 to 230 animals, but the AML has not been revisited for 36 years. A recent census in 2024 estimated the herd at 699 wild horses, many of whom live outside the designated territory.
Now, the BLM and USFS plan to round up and remove all “excess” wild horses outside the territory. This approach ignores critical scientific findings and humane management practices. Take action to ensure a better future for these wild horses!
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Instead of conducting a costly and cruel helicopter roundup, the BLM and USFS must:
- Relocate the horses: According to binding USFS regulations, the agency must consider humanely bait trapping and relocating the removed wild horses. In this case, the USFS should relocate the Montgomery Pass horses within the Territory’s borders and address the ecological conditions that are causing them to leave their designated habitat. If that is not possible, the USFS should evaluate other federal lands where the horses could be relocated.
- Reevaluate the AML: Conduct a thorough reassessment of the AML using new and updated scientific data to ensure it reflects the current ecological reality.
- Develop a management plan that incorporates science: Integrate the findings of the 25-year study on mountain lion predation in the Territory into all future management decisions. This study provides invaluable insights into natural population control mechanisms that should be considered for re-establishing natural predation to manage the herd’s population. Other emerging science regarding the beneficial role these horses play in the environment must be incorporated as well.
- Abandon Helicopter Roundups: Stop rounding up wild horses with helicopters. This method is inhumane and causes undue stress and injury to the animals. If animals must be removed, the BLM and USFS should utilize bait traps and conduct incremental removals of smaller numbers to allow wild horses to be responsibly placed into private care.
- Implement Fertility Control: Utilize humane, scientifically studied, and reversible fertility control initiatives to humanely manage the herd, without resorting to removals.
- Evaluate Livestock Grazing Impacts: Assess and disclose the extent of livestock grazing within and around the Territory and its impact on the area’s land health. Incorporate this understanding into all management decisions.
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Thank you for your advocacy,
Team AWHC