In this case, wild horses drag them together

In this case, wild horses drag them together

(Shutterstock)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A lawsuit against the federal government alleging mismanagement of wild horse and burro populations on school trust lands in Utah was dismissed after the parties reached a cooperative agreement this month.

The agreement between the Utah Schools and Institutional Trust Lands Administration and the Bureau of Land Management in Utah calls for identification of priority removal areas, population surveys and enhanced monitoring of rangeland conditions.

Lack of funding, political pressure over roundups, lack of other horse management options as well as drought have all combined to lead to a significant wild horse and burro overpopulation problem in Utah and elsewhere in the West, where in some case ideal levels are surpassed by as much as three or four times.

The agreement, which covers more than a half million Utah acres of school trust land sections impacted by wild horse and burro populations, was struck after a series of meetings between the two entities that were prompted by a lawsuit filed last year.

In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Utah, school trust land officials alleged that years of failing to remove wild horse and burro populations had degraded the condition of the rangelands, interfering with SITLA's ability to maximize revenue potential off its parcels.

The school trust lands administration is mandated by Congress to manage its scattered sections of land to produce revenue for its beneficiaries — mainly public schoolchildren.

The lawsuit was part of pushback by the Beaver and Iron County officials, as well as a coalition of ranchers and other landowners who said the BLM's action may force them to remove the horses on their own. Several rural county leaders traveled to Washington, D.C., to plead with top Department of Interior officials for relief.

Under this new agreement, the federal agency will place management priority on south central and southwest areas of the state where drought has been particularly problematic and the politics of the issue have proved prickly.

Specific provisions of the agreement — subject to congressional appropriations, call for the BLM to remove wild horses from school trust lands within the Blawn Wash herd management area every two years and make "reasonable" efforts to manage wild horse and burros that have strayed onto the Muddy Creek school trust land acreage.

It also calls for the removal of 50 horses on an annual basis from school trust lands identified by SITLA as a priority.

Last year, Utah lawmakers signed off on a resolution urging that Congress hand over management of wild horses and burros to the states.

Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, has also introduced legislation mandating state management of the animals.

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahPolitics
Amy Joi O'Donoghue

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast