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.
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
BLM and Forest Service join forces with the ranchers… MOU on Advancing Grazing: Implications for Wild Horses and Burros
The MOU outlines 14 specific agreements between the BLM and USFS. Several of these points directly threaten the habitat and well-being of wild horses by prioritizing livestock interests and expediting grazing authorizations.
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.
Triple B Complex Roundup (Nov–Dec 2024) after the gates shut
On November 2, 2024, the BLM began a roundup at the Triple B Complex. The roundup lasted 32 days, resulting in 2,196 wild horses removed from the range. Only 39 were released, and 27 horses died during the roundup. I was there. I witnessed it firsthand. (Now, I am seeing many of these same mustangs ending up in kill pensdumped into the very pipeline they were supposed to be protected from).
What was the real death total at this roundup to date? (This would not include a count of any that have been shipped to Mexico only roundup stats).
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
BLM CONTRACTED FACILITIES 2026
BLM long-term off-range pastures (ORPs) are privately owned, large-scale grazing lands in the Midwest and West, contracted to house over 39,000 unadopted or unsold wild horses. These, mostly located in states like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, provide lifelong, free-roaming care for older animals, with 38 active contracts ranging from 450 to 46,000 acre
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.
Ninth Circuit approves Nevada horse corral amid claims of inhumane treatment
Ninth Circuit approves Nevada horse corral amid claims of inhumane treatment
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower-court decision allowing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to continue operating and funding the Winnemucca Off-Range Corral near Winnemucca/Paradise Valley, Nevada,
How training programs within the BLM structure would benifit the adopters, the horses and the taxpayers.
The Northern Nevada Correctional Facility is one of the most successful Wild Horse gentling and adoption programs in the country. The NNCC Wild Horse program will survive through FY2026 with reduced funding and reliance from onetime funding through the state of Nevada. The facility will be maintained but no long term protection despite the proven sucess in reduction of costs for long term hold facilities and saving wild horses lives and improving the chances for those inmates that train the horses a higher sucess rate when leaving the prision system.
The Wild Horse and Burro Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (PIM 2021-002): A Promise Unfulfilled
Until management practices change, until transparency is enforced, and until deaths after roundups are fully counted and addressed, the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program remains a promise unfulfilled.
Wild horses and burros deserve more than policy memos.
They deserve to live free, protected, and respected on the lands that are legally theirs.
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.
Wild Horses Lives Matter
Learn more about Wild Horses Lives Matter
The organization remains committed to transparency, efficiency, and purpose-driven work. Each dollar entrusted to Wild Horses Lives Matter directly contributes to protecting the freedom, dignity, and survival of America’s wild horses
Wild Horse Diets are Adaptable
A sweeping University of Wyoming study of wild horses on federal lands across seven Western states has found that the animals have a high ability to gain nutrition from a variety of plants and, by so doing, maintain good body condition, even in winter.
BLM Winnemucca Wild Horse Holding Facility. (100 Acre w/ 4,000 Horses) FOA returns to court for appeals
In legal filings and court rulings tied to a 2022 environmental challenge, the Ninth Circuit noted that the Winnemucca Off-Range Corrals operate under the same conditions and standards as other BLM holding facilities nationwide.
What Happens to the Wild Horses Wearing USGS Collars if Federal Funding is Cut?
When Americans think of wild horses, we picture untamed freedom — not government-issued GPS collars and data transmitters strapped around their necks. But hundreds of mustangs across the West currently carry those collars, part of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studies designed to track their movements, survival, and range use.
Beyond the Blame: Human Activities Ravaging Nevada's Public Lands While Wild Horses Take the Fall. Does anyone consider noise pollution being part of the blame for the wildlife declining numbers
Nevada leads the nation in mining, with over 180,000 active claims on BLM lands, primarily for gold and lithium. Projects like the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine and others approved in 2024 threaten biodiversity by degrading water sources, fragmenting habitats, and leaving toxic legacies that persist for millennia. Groundwater drawdown from mining can drop levels by hundreds of feet, drying up springs vital for wildlife and horses alike. Abandoned mines pose physical hazards and pollute waterways, harming ecosystems far beyond horse grazing impacts. Yet, while horses are rounded up for "overpopulation," mining expands, encroaching on HMAs and cultural sites.
