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.
Now, that program — along with much of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wild horse monitoring budget — could be on the chopping block under potential Trump administration budget cuts.
What would happen to those collared horses if the program is scrapped?
Since 2016, USGS scientists have used satellite-linked collars to study wild horse and burro behavior in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. These devices transmit movement data to help agencies understand herd migration, habitat use, and the effects of roundups and contraception programs.
One national USGS dataset records 105 horses and 60 burros fitted with collars between 2016 and 2020 — while additional projects at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Utah’s Conger Herd Management Area added dozens more. Some herds are still actively monitored through 2025.
If federal funding disappears, the collars don’t simply fall off.
Each collar must be remotely triggered to release or manually removed by researchers. That requires field crews, vehicles, and oversight — all paid for by federal dollars.
Without maintenance, collars can malfunction or remain attached indefinitely. Previous studies show that while most collars drop safely, some cause rubbing or chafing if not removed on schedule.
Research shows attempts to remove the collars remotely resulted in either a failed attempt, where the collar failed to release after the drop command was sent, or a successful drop where the collar came off the animal.
The Trump budget proposal reportedly includes deep cuts to Interior Department research and data programs, as well as a 25% reduction in the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro budget. In past proposals, similar cuts opened the door to “sale authority” or lethal removal options.
**Demand that all collars be safely removed or transferred before any funding cut takes effect.
every horse wearing a collar deserves to remain a living part of our public lands — not a forgotten data point of a defunded study.
wild horses released with USGS Collars