As many of you know from my post earlier this week there currently is a proposed action of roundup and removal for the Fifteenmile HMA in Wyoming.
I have spent the last week reviewing the recently released Determination of NEPA Adequacy [DNA] notice, along with the 2019 Environmental Assessment [EA], and also spoke with the Wild Horse Specialist for this HMA.
There is, as always, a lot to sort through and I could go on for days about what is in the EA and DNA, but I am going to try and keep this fairly short with information and suggestions that I personally feel are most important for this proposed action, I encourage each of you to read through the documents and decide what you feel is important when submitting your comments to BLM.
This proposed action is a part of the 10yr plan in the 2019 EA, when a roundup and removal was completed with 607 wild horses gathered, 95 returned to the HMA (12 horses were not trapped so a total of 107 wild horses remained on the HMA) using the skewed sex ratio of more stallions than mares, and 512 wild horses were permanently removed from this HMA.
In the 2019 EA the AML for this HMA was increased, as the Wild Horse Specialist had completed the necessary study and documentation to show that the range could sustain a larger herd, previous AML was 70-160 mature horses, the current AML is now 100-230 wild horses, which was a significant and positive change for these horses!
We are now six years after that roundup and an infrared aerial count completed in January 2025 found 258 wild horses in the HMA - this is 28 wild horses over the current allowed high AML.
There are also 12 horses off of HMA that BLM will gather and permanently remove from the range, the DNA states that these 12 horses have caused conflicts with domestic horses, which indicates they are a significant distance from the HMA, I am not familiar with where these horses are so cannot really have an opinion about the situation and whether or not they are truly wild horses or abandoned domestic horses.
Because this DNA is related to the 10yr plan in the 2019 EA there is not too much we can do to stop the roundup, however, there are things that need to be addressed and alternative actions that could better manage this herd for fewer roundup and removals - something that should always be the goal of advocates and BLM, as that is what is best for the health of the horses and the land.
1) Counting foals as part of AML
BLM states that with an expected growth rate of 20% there will be around 310 wild horses in Fifteenmile this fall, with most foals being of weaning age at time of the roundup and removal.
When I spoke with the Wild Horse Specialist he states that he won't count the foals that are too young to wean at the time of the roundup, but that the foals of weaning age would be counted as part of the AML.
There seems to be some confusion that the lawsuit won by AWHC regarding the counting of foals, born in the year of a roundup, was related only to the Rock Springs area HMAs... this is incorrect.
It is actual BLM agency policy:
“AML applies to the number of adult wild horses or burros to be managed within the population and does not include current year’s foals. All WH&B one year of age and older are considered adults (a foal is considered one year of age on January 1 of the year following its birth).”
So per the BLM handbook for WH&B management, foals born in the same year cannot be counted in the numbers for AML in the HMA.
This applies to ALL wild horse HMAs.
2) Currently the only attempt at fertility control in Fifteenmile is by skewing the sex ratio with more stallions than mares released back onto the range.
This is only a very temporary fertility control.
By skewing the sex ratio there are fewer mares to have foals, but there is not any actual slowing of the population growth rate, as each mare that is of breeding age may continue to have a foal every year, assuming a successful pregnancy.
There needs to be an actual fertility control program implemented for the wild horses of Fifteenmile, a program that would allow for a more controlled population growth in the herd, that would allow for a healthier herd that will see fewer roundup and removals, and less human caused disruption of their lives on the range.
In the 2019 EA it is noted that "fertility controls may be used as directed through the most recent direction of the Wild Horse & Burro program. The use of any fertility controls will use the most current best management practices and humane procedures available for the implementation of the controls"
I personally advocate for, and scientific studies support, the use of PZP (native PZP) as a fertility treatment, it is a treatment that has been in use for decades across multiple species with successful results of slowing population growth when needed, and also allowing mares to return to foaling when not treated with the control vaccine.
You will also see in the 2019 EA the argument that Fifteenmile is not a good HMA for a darting program as the terrain is difficult and the horses are very wild and would not easily be gotten to in order to dart.
Both of those things are true... and yet - it is not entirely true.
The terrain is tough, no doubt, it will take an ATV and a lot of hiking to reach the horses at times.... but there are certain things like water sources that also make it easier to know where the horses are and where they are ranging that takes the guesswork out of where to find them.
And yes they are wild, crazy wild! And I love that about them... it is the first thing I will tell anyone who wants to visit them, they are wild and they often will not let you get close enough to get any kind of good photograph or video.
But.... I also know, from personal experience, that if someone is dedicated to spending considerable time in the HMA, letting the horses become familiar with them and their behavior, and if that person or people do not march intrusively into the horses space, darting them could be done.
Make no mistake, I will mourn the loss of their complete and absolute wildness that is in them now.... but if it means roundup and removals occur less often, and if there are ten or twenty horses removed rather than hundreds taken and family bands destroyed - then I am going to support the option of a fertility control darting program.
So there it is.... those are the two points I feel are most important, the reality is it is highly unlikely at this time a fertility control program will be implemented, but I want to start this conversation with BLM now, because we are only a few years away from the next EA, and maybe if we start asking for it now we will see a new plan for the horses in the next EA.
And we need to ensure that foals born this year are not counted in the AML during the removal.... for the sake of this herd and for other wild horses, it has already been won in a lawsuit, but if it happens here unchallenged it will then be done in another HMA roundup and then another, until the lawsuit is forgotten and a new precedent is set.
Remember, this is a long game of chess, and we need to make sure we are paying attention to all of the plays, including for the smaller or lesser known HMAs, because somewhere down the road it will affect all other HMAs.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to read through this, I hope it helps, if you have other questions please let me know!
You can also contact the BLM Wild Horse Specialist, he is one of the few that I respect, I have seen him with these horses during a roundup, he hates these roundups just as much as me, so please remember that when you talk to him - he is caught in the middle here too - between doing the job as mandated by people playing politics and trying to do what is best for these wild horses that he is responsible for and truly loves.
We have through June 13 2025 to submit our comments, and as I write this, 10 days after the press release announcing this roundup, there are zero comments submitted.
So please..... no matter how frustrating and exhausting it may seem, submit a comment, it does not have to be lengthy or have multiple points, mine will be both of those things, but we do need to show BLM that these horses, despite their remote land and limited visitors, are known and are important.
Below are links to all related documents for those that want to read through them.
BLM Document & Comment Links:
Press release: https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/2038150/200651903/20133976/251033956/Press%20Release%20-%2014%20May%202025%20-final.pdf
Comment Submission (click on green 'Participate Now' button): https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2038150/570
And for the data geeks.... here is a link to the yearly population estimates from BLM:
https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/about-the-program/program-data
Wild Horses of Fifteen Mile in Wyoming