BLM Initiates Actions to Sustain Long-Term Health of the Fifteenmile Wild Horse Herd

WORLAND, Wyo. - The Bureau of Land Management began work today in the Wyoming Bighorn Basin's Fifteenmile Herd Management Area to strengthen the long-term health of the wild horse herd and the rangelands they rely on. This effort supports a more sustainable balance on the landscape, which has been heavily strained by long-term overpopulation and severe drought conditions.

The Fifteenmile Herd Management Area includes nearly 81,000 acres of mostly public lands managed by the BLM, intermingled with some private lands. Recent infrared aerial surveys show wild horse numbers far above the appropriate management level of 100 to 230 horses. The herd currently has an estimated population of 386. Wild horse herds can grow as much as 15% to 20% each year, meaning a population can double in just four to five years. Because wild horses have no natural predators, herd sizes increase faster than the land can replenish food and water.

With too many horses competing for diminishing forage and water, the landscape is no longer able to meet the basic needs of the herd. Continued pressure on this fragile ecosystem could lead to permanent loss of vegetation and reduced access to survival-critical resources. Our legal mandate and management actions are undertaken specifically to prevent those outcomes, keep horses healthy and ensure the land can continue to support them.

BLM crews will carefully roundup and remove about 286 horses to help stabilize conditions. Carefully adjusting herd size will relieve competition for limited forage and water, support recovery of stressed plant communities, and improve long-term habitat conditions - ultimately creating a healthier, more resilient landscape for the wild horses that call Fifteenmile home. The removed horses will be placed into the BLM's Adoption and Sales Program.

Throughout operations, BLM staff and contractors follow the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program, which uses proven, science-based practices to ensure humane care. Crews maintain a slow, controlled approach that keeps horses moving comfortably, pausing whenever any animal shows signs of stress. For more information, including updates and opportunities to observe operations, please visit the project webpage.

The BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program is grounded in science, law, and humane-care standards and adheres completely to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which strictly prohibits the sale of horses to slaughter. The BLM does not send wild horses or burros to slaughter, and no loophole exists that would legally allow people who adopt or buy wild horses to ever sell animals directly or to middlemen for slaughter. Additional information, including the Decision Record, is available at the BLM National NEPA Register

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