The Carrying Capacity Illusion: Exposing the Systemic Underestimation of Wild Horse Forage on Public Lands
The assertion that western public lands can only support one wild horse per thousand acres is not a scientific or ecological reality; it is an administrative fiction. The BLM's own allotment data consistently shows that these lands produce enough forage to support stocking rates of five, ten, or even twenty wild horse equivalents per thousand acres.
2026 Roundup Costs: More Than $3.3 Million Contracted to Remove 6,235 Wild Horses
Nine roundups are included in these figures: five marked complete, two ongoing, and two pending. The prices vary dramatically. Lahontan has the lowest listed unit cost at $371.26 per animal, while Saylor Creek is the highest at $921.70 per animal—nearly 2.5 times as much for each animal targeted.
Genetic Vulnerability of the Jackson Mountains Wild Horse Herd: Sterilization and Inbreeding Concerns
The debate over the Jackson Mountains HMAP highlights a fundamental tension in wild horse management. The BLM relies on the ability to artificially manage genetics through translocations (the metapopulation approach) to justify maintaining small, highly managed herds with sterilized components. Conversely, advocates and conservation geneticists warn that driving effective population sizes well below the minimum viable thresholds especially in a herd with documented historical inbreeding creates an unacceptable risk of genetic collapse, transforming a wild, self-sustaining population into a heavily engineered, artificial herd.
BLM Seeks Initial Input on Analysis of Wild Horse and Burro Management Tools PUBLIC COMMENT OPEN UNTIL JULY 2 2026
the BLM is developing a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) that analyzes a range of wild horse and burro management actions addressing excess animal populations (i.e., gathers, removals, and population growth suppression techniques) and the typical effects of those actions on the human environment. Following the final publication of the BLM’s decision, other BLM offices would utilize the analyses contained within the PEA to incorporate the general findings of the effects analysis into their own site-specific NEPA analyses, allowing for more specified analyses while also providing a base from which general effects common to the large majority of these types of actions are already summarized. It should be noted that this PEA will not authorize any on-the-ground activities. Rather it provides the basis for future analyses that will authorize these activities.
The appropriations rider is the annual safeguard that blocks federal funds from being used to send healthy, unadopted animals down that pathway.
The FY2027 President’s budget proposal reportedly omits the longstanding bipartisan rider that prevents federal funds from being used to kill healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros or sell them into slaughter. This annual protection was included in FY2026 and enacted in Public Law 119-74, but it must be renewed every year. As of May 15, 2026, Congress has not yet publicly confirmed the rider in FY2027 House or Senate Interior-Environment appropriations text. Please urge appropriators to include the full anti-slaughter and no-commercial-sale rider in the FY2027 Interior-Environment appropriations bill.
What Happened to the BLM and compliance checks?
Since the passage of the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 the BLM has struggled to balance the rapid removal of Wild Horses on Public Lands with the rigorous oversight required to prevent their entry into the slaughter pipeline. Over five decades BLM still has not progressed with the program but instead regressed.
The Carrying Capacity Illusion: Exposing the Systemic Underestimation of Wild Horse Forage on Public Lands
The assertion that western public lands can only support one wild horse per thousand acres is not a scientific or ecological reality; it is an administrative fiction. The BLM's own allotment data consistently shows that these lands produce enough forage to support stocking rates of five, ten, or even twenty wild horse equivalents per thousand acres.
Saylor Creek HMA 2026 Roundup: Comprehensive Research Report**PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Jarbidge Field Office in Idaho has initiated a public comment period for a Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) worksheet regarding the planned 2026 wild horse gather at the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area (HMA). The proposed roundup is scheduled to begin on July 10, 2026, with the goal of removing 105 wild horses and treating returned mares with the immunocontraceptive GonaCon-Equine.
The Math of Mismanagement: How Public Lands Policy Fails Wild Horses
Wild horses are an enduring symbol of the American West, yet their survival on public lands is increasingly threatened by policies that prioritize commercial livestock over protected wildlife. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is tasked with managing these herds under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. However, a closer examination of the math behind the BLM's Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) reveals a stark disparity in land and forage allocation, raising serious concerns about the genetic viability of wild horse populations
Scoping begins for the Eagle complex- public comments due- sample letter provided for use.
The comment period closes May 21, 2026, and you can submit it via:
Online (preferred): BLM National NEPA Register — search "Eagle Complex" and use the "Participate Now" option
Mail: BLM Caliente Field Office, Attn: Tyler Reese, 1400 Front Street, Caliente, NV 89008
How did The Number of Wild Horses to be removed from The Lahontan HMA go from removal of 510 horses to 700 on the currant FY2026 roundup schedule? Did anyone notice?
The last verified count was 2024 the roundup is scheduled for July 2026. Removal should be based on the most current data available, With the discrepancies a recount should be done. They are using a mathematical projection not a physical count.
By applying a 19% annual growth rate to come up with growth rate between 2024 and 2026 even though their EA states a 10% growth rate in the EA for this HMA. Using projection instead of a recount compounds the risk of over removal that could lead to zeroing out the whole population.
The Wild Horse and Burro Population: Analyzing the 2025 to 2026 Changes
The 2026 population estimates are a wake-up call. The current system is broken, and the wild horses and burros are paying the price. It is time for a compassionate, science-based approach that keeps wild horses where they belong wild and free on our public lands.
The aimed-at stocking rate across all HMAs is 25,592 animals on 25,572,687 acres, or one animal per thousand acres.
The Missing 1971 Baseline Count
When Congress unanimously passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, it mandated that the BLM and U.S. Forest Service protect these animals as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” The law required that wild horses be managed at their then-current population levels to maintain a “thriving natural ecological balance.”
However, the foundational flaw in the BLM’s entire management system is that the agency never conducted an accurate, scientifically rigorous census of wild horses in 1971.
The East Pershing Complex Roundup: Operational Details
A detailed analysis of the BLM's own internal database, a 193-page record containing individual entries for every horse captured, reveals that the human and animal cost of this operation extends far beyond the 44-day roundup window. As of the database's run date of March 5, 2026, 185 deaths have been recorded among the captured horses, with the most recent death occurring on February 18, 2026, more than two years after the roundup concluded
“Wild Horses Deserve Transparency” The Callaghan Complex Roundup of almost 5000 Wild Horses and Burros
The Callaghan Complex consists of:
Callaghan HMA *AML 134-237 - A designated Herd Management Area
Bald Mountain HMA *AML 129-215 - Adjacent to Callaghan HMA and often shares horse movements with nearby HMAs
South Shoshone HMA *AML 60-100 - Another nearby Herd Management Area that wild horses frequently move between with Callaghan and Bald Mountain.
Hickison HMA (The Hickison Summit Burro Range HMA) ( Northern Portion) * AML 16-45 - The plan includes the northern section of the Hickison HMA within the Callaghan Complex boundaries.
North Shoshone HA - Included in some BLM descriptions as part of the complex. Technically a Herd Area (HA) that may not be actively designated as an HMA but is considered within the planning boundary
Public lands ranching has the most widespread and severe impact on horse and burro habitat and long term sustainability.
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was enacted to protect these animals and their habitat — including provisions to remove unauthorized livestock that compete for forage and water. Yet today, wild horses are routinely rounded up as “excess” while grazing livestock remain, highlighting how BLM management often responds more to ranching pressures than the original intent of the law.
BLM’s Broken Promise: How Decades of Mismanagement Have Failed America’s Wild Mustangs
For decades, concerns about the management of America’s wild horses and burros have grown louder, more urgent, and more heartbreaking. The Bureau of Land Management tasked with protecting these animals under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act has presided over a system that many agencies, lawmakers, and experts have acknowledged is deeply broken.
BLM -1971 TO PRESENT W/ WILD HORSES
President Nixon Signed the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act in 1971. There have been amendments to the act since. Please visit for links to information regarding the ACT.