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.
The NDA and BLM claim this new rural fencing is about public safety. But if the goal is truly to stop vehicle-horse collisions, fencing animals away from their water until they die of thirst is not a solution—it is animal cruelty.
"Bait and Switch: How $500,000 Meant to Protect Virginia Range Horses May Have Funded Their Removal"
The lack of transparency regarding how the NDA spent the initial $500,000 is a significant point of contention. Advocacy groups have noted that state agencies, including the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) and NDA, have not provided a clear public breakdown of these federal funds, requiring formal Public Records Requests to obtain expenditure details
Complicating the issue further, Senator Rosen's office recently published her FY2026 Congressionally Directed Spending requests. This new list includes a request for $1,000,000 for the NDA, titled the "NV Range Feral Horse Safety Program
Contradictions in Public Land Management: The Lahontan Herd Management Area Wild Horse Roundup
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has authorized a massive wild horse roundup in the Lahontan Herd Management Area (HMA) in Nevada, aiming to remove nearly 700 wild horses and reduce the population to a scientifically and genetically unviable Appropriate Management Level (AML) of just 7 to 10 horses . The BLM justifies this extreme action under Section 1333(b) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA), citing the need to "prevent undue or unnecessary degradation of the public lands" and "restore a thriving natural ecological balance" .
However, an examination of current public land use in and around the Lahontan HMA reveals glaring contradictions in the BLM's management priorities. While wild horses are targeted for near-total removal due to alleged environmental degradation, the BLM simultaneously permits massive commercial livestock grazing operations, facilitates military bombing range expansions, and fails to enforce federal law against unauthorized human activities including a 250-mile off-highway vehicle (OHV) race run illegally through the heart of the HMA during peak foaling season, and long-term squatters and illegal encampments that go largely unaddressed
Virginia Range Mustangs Need you to speak up NOW
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) have proposed the Virginia Range Fence Line (VRFL) project (DOI-BLM-NV-C020-2026-0016-CE), which involves constructing approximately 14 to 23 miles of new four-wire fencing along the western boundary of the Virginia Range in Nevada. The stated goal is to enhance public safety by preventing wild horses from entering adjacent housing communities and roadways.
However, an in-depth analysis of the project maps and environmental data reveals a critical concern: the proposed fencing will sever wild horses from vital water sources. Specifically, the "Jumbo West" fence segment bisects mapped Freshwater Emergent Wetlands, Freshwater Ponds, and Riverine features. This effectively fences horses out of their historical water access points.
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.
From Blue Wing to Windwalker Ridge: The Ongoing Battle for Primrose, the "Mystery Mare"
This is the story of Primrose, a small, brave mare who became known as the "Mystery Mare" of the Blue Wing Complex roundup. Her journey from the Nevada desert to the Windwalker Ridge Mustang Sanctuary is a harrowing tale of survival, a damning indictment of the BLM’s lack of accountability, and a testament to the power of advocacy and love.
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
The Silent Crisis: Why Wild Horse Sanctuaries are Struggling While Kill Pens Thrive
The desire to save a life is a powerful and beautiful instinct. When we see a photo of a wild horse standing in a crowded kill pen with a "ship date" looming, the urge to help is immediate and overwhelming. This emotional response has created a massive influx of donations aimed at "bailing out" horses from slaughter. However, this well-intentioned generosity has inadvertently created a devastating imbalance in the equine rescue world. While millions of dollars flow into the hands of kill buyers through bail-out schemes, legitimate wild horse sanctuaries—the very places that provide lifetime care for these animals—are quietly starving for funds.
The reorganization of the US Forest service and its implications for the Wild Horses that fall under their managment. Will it Be up to the State to oversee the Wild Horses Territories?
Implications of the Reorganization for Wild Horses The dismantling of the Forest Service's traditional structure poses several severe threats to the protection and management of wild horses on National Forest lands.
Shift to State-Level Control and Industry Influence replacing regional offices with political "state directors" aligns Forest Service management more closely with state governments. In many western states, local political leadership heavily favors the agricultural and livestock industries, which view wild horses as direct competitors for grazing forage and water resources.
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 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.
Holding the BLM Accountable: The 2023 Advisory Board Admission on Kill Pen "Flipping"
When 15 wild Nevada mustangs are purchased at a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) event and found in a kill pen on the exact same day, the BLM often defaults to the legal defense that "title has transferred" and they have no jurisdiction.
However, official transcripts from the June 28-30, 2023, National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting prove that the BLM is acutely aware of this specific "flipping" loophole, acknowledged that it violates the fundamental intent of the adoption and sales program, and publicly committed to addressing it.
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