Barrasso Questions Secretary Burgum on Wild Horse Overpopulation, Colorado River Basin, and Permitting Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) questioned U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on addressing wild horse overpopulation, managing water resources in the Colorado River Basin, including Wyoming's Flaming Gorge Reservoir, and permitting reform efforts.

Senator Barrasso also thanked Secretary Burgum for the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) efforts to amend the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP) to free up millions of acres of land in southwest Wyoming for multiple-use.

Secretary Burgum testified at today's Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine President Trump's budget request for DOI for Fiscal Year 2027.

On the Rock Springs RMP:

"Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. I'm grateful for you to be here. I just want to thank you for all you're doing.

"I want to briefly thank you and your team for offering efforts to amend the Rock Springs RMP.

"I want to thank you, Mr. Secretary, for continuing to work with stakeholders in Wyoming toward a plan that considers the state's priorities. So, thanks for all of that."

On Managing Wild Horse Overpopulation:

"I did want to talk about the overpopulation of wild horses. There are about 7,000 wild horses in excess in southwest Wyoming.

"This overpopulation has a terrible impact on the health of the landscape.

"The Biden administration cancelled and delayed horse gathering for two years. This mismanagement greatly set Wyoming back in the Bureau's mission to responsibly manage the wild herds in the West.

"In 2025, the Bureau of Land Management announced a plan to remove over 3,000 wild horses in this area of Wyoming - Congress has already provided funding to do it.

"On Friday, April 24 - last Friday - the BLM field office announced that they won't be able to start these gatherings until August of 2027 due to pending litigation.

"Can you just describe what's going on and bring us up to date?"

Follow Up:

"Would the Bureau be willing to start rounding up horses based off what is called the 'appropriate management level' while the Rock Springs RMP is being amended, as a possibility?"

On the Colorado River Basin and Flaming Gorge Reservoir:

"I wanted to move to the Colorado River Basin. It's something that is a great concern to all of us on the committee. Specifically, seven states of the Upper Basin that include Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

"And currently, the Upper and Lower Basins have still not come to a consensus agreement through negotiations to determine the operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

"We need short-term as well as long-term solutions that provide westerners the water certainty we need.

"On April 17 of this year, the Bureau of Reclamation published its 24-month study showing that Lake Powell will reach critical elevations as early as this summer.

"The Bureau is planning on releasing an additional 660,000 to 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge, which is of great interest to me.

"Does the Bureau have any plans in the works to restore the water being released in Flaming Gorge?"

Follow Up:

"You look at the history of this - and we're about 103 or 104 years into this compact. It was based on a misunderstanding of how much rain they would expect - what kind of moisture they were expecting when they came up with it.

"They used wet years, which was a mistake in their calculations over 100 years ago. And then they never saw, first off, 40 million people drawing from this. Whether its Las Vegas - whether its Phoenix.

"So, they made some early mistakes that we're now in this situation having to deal with.

"I understand that the Lower Basin met with the Bureau just last week.

"Is the Department still committed to a Seven-State Basin solution? And would the agency be willing to meet with the Upper Basin as well?"

On Permitting Reform:

"In terms of permitting, Congress is currently, as you know, engaged in serious conversations about permitting reform.

"What do you view as a top priority in permitting reform?"

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