Stone Cabin/Saulsbury, 23

Wild Horse Education (WHE) has begun the process of entering into the legal action filed by the Colvin & Son, LLC and Stone Cabin Ranch, LLC to force BLM to remove wild horses in the Stone Cabin and Saulsbury Herd Management Areas (HMA). You can read the ranchers filing HERE. 

In 2017, these particular ranchers even tried to file to get BLM to remove more wild horses by filing in the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) when there was no new decision to appeal; the court denying their motions. You can read it HERE. 

“While BLM has now finalized another roundup plan, they have failed miserably in any planning and follow-through to actually manage the wild ones at Stone Cabin. We cannot allow another herd to be driven out by livestock (and expanding oil and gas and hard rock mining).” Laura Leigh, founder of WHE stated, “These permittees already hold so much power over BLM in the area. We cannot let BLM simply rollover in another backdoor settlement that causes removals for decades to come. We have to take a stand.”

Stone Cabin, 23

In April of 2023, BLM released a 206-page roundup and mashup of multiple fertility control methods plan. (You can read it HERE) At the same time, BLM released a plan to expand livestock use. 

In May, WHE filed an appeal in the land use courts that has not been adjudicated. It seems, when you read the ranchers lawsuit, they filed when Stone Cabin was not placed on the new roundup schedule without any regard for other stakeholders that may have an active appeal. 

We fear we will be run over, again, in a system built to comply with the deepest pockets.

Back in 2012, WHE began trying to work with BLM to correct the flaws as they claimed to be updating the oldest Land Use Plan (LUP) in Nevada for the Battle Mountain district: lack of monitoring, planning, following through on existing plans (like water improvement for wild horses). BLM abandoned the update, claiming “no funding” as they created amendments for things like mining and livestock. We began working on the Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) to provide wild horses in Stone Cabin with some semblance of equal process. We had made some strides and BLM said they would follow through on the old management plan and do an update that we were actively working on. By 2017, our efforts were “run over.”

“We have no choice but to jump into the fray to protect this historic herd.” stated Leigh, “In the ‘world of wild horses’ it is easy to see how the horse is removed for big business; it is harder to see how the advocate is also removed. This type of suit (that often comes with a backdoor settlement) and then removals for decades without the use of updated science, data, planning, is seen all over the West. We can’t let it happen again.”

“Since. the 1980s, BLM has been making promises to the horses of Stone Cabin/Saulsbury that they have never kept. In that time they have done multiple improvements for livestock, built roads and allowed expanding mining and energy development causing usable habitat for wild horses to be damaged, fragmented and, on some areas, obliterated. Then, they blame the horses and do more removals. This cycle has to stop.” 

We have begun the process of moving into federal court to stop the ranchers from exerting more pressure on BLM to remove wild horses to suit industry profits. On the day the ranchers filed claim, we sent the information to our attorneys. Today, we held our conference and briefs are being crafted and will file soon. We cannot let this move through the system without advocacy having a voice and presenting the real record of failure in the responsibility to protect and preserve this important historic herd. 

We need your help to carry this through. Right now WHE is involved in 4 federal district court filings and over a dozen appeals.

We cannot allow this debacle of justice at Stone Cabin to move forward without taking a stand. We know this area will bring with it a particularly unpleasant backlash, just because we want BLM to MANAGE wild horses humanely and fairly and STOP the historic game of shortchanging wild horses under pressure (and threats). What is happening is not management, it is politics, big money games and, often, intimidation. 

We have a matching donor that will cover the initial costs, but we will need your help to carry the costs of the case as it moves through the courts. All contributions up to $10,000. will be matched dollar-for-dollar from now through November. 

The HMAs/WHTs

The Stone Cabin HMA is located approximately 30 miles east of Tonopah in Nye County directly off Highway 6, both north and south. Saulsbury is just to the West, a couple of miles off the highway both north and south. The Monitor USFS WHT is located between the Saulsbury and Stone Cabin HMAs (and it is worth noting that no studies have been done to show which populations spend more time on BLM or USFS land denoting jurisdiction for removal or population growth suppression tools).

The total approved target area represents 542,724 acres within the Stone Cabin Complex HMAs, and 343,457 acres outside of designated HMAs, in areas primarily adjacent to HMAs where wild horses have moved or may move to during gather activities. (If you note the observation about the Monitor WHT, this language also means wild horses that call USFS Monitor “Home Range” and may flee back home).

The Monitor WHT is 380,000 acres (and we known USFS has not done much monitoring out there for 50 years, instead relying on BLM to remove Monitor horses each time a Stone Cabin roundup takes place.) BLM notes that any gather inside Monitor would require a decision from USFS… but we know from documenting roundups at Stone Cabin for over a decade, that this is not “how the chopper flies.”

You can learn more about Stone Cabin in a back issue of WHE Magazine: Back issue of WHE Magazine: Stone Cabin. https://viewer.joomag.com/stone-cabin-anniversary-issue/0392798001524161006