A wild horse roundup is scheduled for early September northeast of Grand Junction. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees wild horses in the American West, says 202 mustangs roam the 36,000-acre Little Book Cliffs Range (LBC), based on a census earlier this year, and the range can’t handle that many.
But advocates, lawmakers and Governor Jared Polis question if the agency will work with them for more humane treatment of the horses.
The agency captures and removes wild horses to maintain the carrying capacity of the range or appropriate management level (AML), set at between 90 and 150 horses for the LBC. BLM plans to remove enough animals in September to leave between 105 and 120 horses.
The 2021 helicopter roundup at Sand Wash Basin in northwest Colorado and the 2022 roundup of the Piceance-East Douglas herd, west of Meeker, brought federal management of Colorado’s wild horses into sharp focus. Controversies included the amount of mustangs removed, inconsistencies in BLM data, livestock grazing within the herd management areas (HMA) and the dangers for horses from helicopter roundups. Both events drew attention from the public, Governor Jared Polis and other lawmakers.
In an Aug. 30, 2021 letter to the BLM, reported the Aspen Daily News, Polis called for a six-month moratorium on wild horse roundups in the state. In response to the 2022 roundup, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-02) introduced an amendment to the federal 2023 Appropriations Bill to prohibit funding for helicopter roundups. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act to ban the use of helicopters to capture wild horses.
The 2022 roundup was cut short, but not before 861 mustangs were captured. In a statement, Polis said, “The outpouring we heard shows how much people care for the well-being of these iconic Colorado animals, and our administration can play a key role in engaging people who can work together to ensure the health and well-being of Colorado’s wild horses for generations to come.”
Enter Senate Bill 23-275, the Colorado Wild Horse Project, passed in May 2023. The legislation, backed by Sen. Perry Will (R-New Castle) among others, authorized the state Department of Agriculture to create the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group (WHWG), comprised of stakeholders, including the BLM.
The WHWG’s mandate is basically to come up with better solutions for Colorado’s captured wild horses than federal holding pens, and make recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly.
During a public WHWG presentation this month, Wayne East, wildlife programs manager for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, emphasized that the WHWG’s recommendations are for wild horses after they are removed from the range.
“When horses have been taken off-range, how can we do better with partnerships with other state agencies?” he explained. “How can we train these horses to make them more adoptable and look at the creation of new preserves or partner with other preserves, those kinds of things.” The group, which has been meeting since October 2023, also makes long-term fertility control recommendations.
The WHWG does not make recommendations on some of the more contentious management issues such as livestock grazing on herd management areas, the creation or elimination of HMAs, appropriate management levels and the use of helicopters for roundups.
To the consternation of state officials and others, the BLM announced the LBC roundup on May 15, 2024, without consulting the WHWG, and just after the state Department of Agriculture signed a contract with USDA Wildlife Services for on-the-ground fertility control assistance in the LBC.
“The BLM is a member of [WHWG] and is contributing to the conversations,” said Scott Wilson, Colorado spokesperson for American Wild Horse Conservation, a national advocacy group. “But, not giving the wildlife darting team a chance to actually implement some of the state resources to reduce the number of horses in Little Book Cliffs through humane-in-the-wild conservation is a great missed opportunity as far as we’re concerned.”
The BLM released the final roundup decision on July 26, prompting letters from Governor Polis and state lawmakers. Polis wrote that if BLM removes 100 horses as planned, it will be the largest roundup in the LBC’s 50-year history. He called for a delay pending further analysis and implementation of fertility control measures.
Fertility control, however, is not new to the LBC herd. Judy Cady is president of Friends of the Mustangs (FOM), a Grand Junction-based partner group that helps the BLM with the LBC horses and the range. She’s been part of FOM for 38 of the group’s 42 years. She told The Sopris Sun that their successful fertility control program began in 2002 with a 10-year study supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. They’ve been darting wild mares ever since, albeit with little funding until now.
It takes a lot of work, training, and time on the ground searching for wild mares. “We’re not equipped to hire people,” she said. Money made available by SB23-275 will pay a stipend to darters, among other things. “They’re working on a state darting team, so that in spring of 2025, we can really dart a lot of horses.”
In his letter, Polis encouraged BLM to fund range improvements and fertility control rather than costly helicopter roundups. He also made a few requests should the BLM proceed with the roundup, preferring bait-and-trap methods instead of helicopters. He requested that wranglers refrain from roping mustangs, that foals and mares stay together and that the state veterinarian remain on-site the whole time.
The Grand Junction BLM field office, in charge of the LBC roundup, told The Sopris Sun via email that BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack will allow the state veterinarian on-site, and that BLM is committed to work with the state and WHWG “to reduce the need for larger-scale gathers.” But, Vilsack in his response to Polis still holds out for helicopters. “Fertility control darting efforts alone will not result in a sustainable population, and rangelands and wildlife will continue to be impacted if herd size is not reduced.”
Wilson said there is science-based evidence that fertility control is effective at reducing wild horse populations on a large scale. His organization has its own successful program on Nevada’s Virginia Range. But, he added, “the BLM holds on to this myth that fertility control is ineffective at scale and therefore will only implement fertility control as a fringe effort once the AML has been achieved through a helicopter roundup.”