The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing the permanent removal of 120 historic Colorado wild horses from the 36,000-acre Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range, near Grand Junction, starting September 11, 2024.
Home to an estimated 211 wild horses, Little Book Cliffs is the only dedicated wild horse range in Colorado, distinct from a multiple-use herd management area (HMA), meaning the habitat is managed primarily for wild horses and there is no competition from livestock grazing.
The proposed federal plan allows for an initial helicopter roundup of 140 wild horses, permanently removing 120 and returning 20 to the range. It also calls for further roundups over a multi-year period to achieve and maintain a target population range (AML) of just 90-150 wild horses.
Proposed actions include adjusting the sex ratio to 50:50; returning 20 captured mares and stallions back to the range; relocating wild horses to other parts of the range to maintain herd genetic viability; and applying a range of population control methods to animals captured during roundups. Methods allowed by the plan include flexible intrauterine devices [IUDs], or humane fertility control, such as PZP.
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Local volunteer group, Friends Of The Mustangs, has implemented a PZP humane fertility control program for over 20 years, the last six without roundups, until this current proposal was introduced.
Building on the Friends of the Mustangs foundation, Little Book Cliffs provides an opportunity to support and expand the on-range fertility control model, consistent with the intent of The Colorado Wild Horse Project (SB23-275), which was signed into law by Governor Polis, at Little Book Cliffs, a year ago this month.
The state-sponsored project oversees a $1.5m budget for on and off-range management projects, including the expansion of humane fertility control efforts in Colorado.
Instead of expending federal tax dollars to round up the Little Book Cliffs wild horses by helicopter and funnel them into the BLM's holding system, where 64,000 animals are currently stockpiled, the agency should:
- Collaborate with the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group on a modified wild horse management plan to expand the existing humane fertility control program in Little Book Cliffs and reduce the proposed helicopter roundup operation and its associated cost and public concern
- Revaluate the AML to allow for a genetically viable herd using up-to-date science and range data to guide management decisions
- Expand fertility control using only the humane and reversible PZP vaccine.
- Abandon IUDs within the suite of population control methods
- Ensure any roundup and on-range handling (such as roping) is carried out in strict compliance with the BLM's Comprehensive Animal Welfare Guidelines
- Work with local organizations, like Friends of the Mustangs, to find good adoptive homes for any removed mare before they ship to BLM holding facilities.
The Colorado Wild Horse Working Group and the $1.5m funds allocated by the state to improve wild horse conservation are a model opportunity to supplement and build on local efforts, not see them swept aside by a blunt and unaffordable federal helicopter removal tool.
Please take action before the June 15th deadline and sign on to AWHC's comments below!