Jack,

After 14 years of legal battles, we’ve achieved an important milestone: The U.S. Court of Appeals just ruled that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan to eradicate wild horses from more than 2 million acres of public lands in Wyoming was arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful.

This would be the largest attempted wild horse eradication in U.S. history — and thanks to our litigation, it’s been reined in. 

But this isn’t a slam dunk. While the court decision is a powerful check on the BLM’s overreach, the appellate court sent the case back to the lower court, and the agency could try to remedy the legal violations and attempt to remove all the Checkerboard horses again. 

This means the fight isn’t over. The wild horses of the Salt Wells Creek, Adobe Town and Great Divide Basin Herd Management areas need us to be ready to continue advocating for them. 

Photo by Kimerlee Curyl

We must hold the government accountable — in every place it’s putting our wild herds at risk. That means continuing to invest in expert legal work, strategic advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

Your support is what makes this possible. If you are able to today, please make a donation to fuel the ongoing legal fight for Wyoming’s wild horses and wild horses and burros across the West.

This court ruling affirms what we’ve long said: the BLM is breaking the law. Now it’s on us to make sure they stop. Join us, and together, we can make a difference for our wild herds.

For the wild ones,

Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of AWHC