Kiger stallion

On April 1, BLM published a revised roundup schedule for fiscal 2025. We are officially halfway through fiscal year 2025 and budget debates continue to swirl. We are still waiting to see the Presidential Budget Request for fiscal 2026 (that begins in October) and debates over spending have seemed to begin without waiting for the Presidential request (traditionally out in Feb or March).

You can see the April 1 schedule by clicking here. 

This summer will see a huge removal up in the Rock Springs Complex (Adobe Town and Salt wells) and at the very well-known Kiger/Riddle HMAs.

Dangerous air quality due to wildfire smoke blowing in from another state

Summer roundups bring with them a serious and valid concerns. Concerns do not only lie in the fact that for the vast majority of herds, BLM has never even disclosed how Appropriate Management Level (AML) was supposedly scientifically determined (and not just via agreements with permittees). Once the helicopter takes to the air we know that preventable suffering and death will take place. 

Burro deaths can be unimaginably high after helicopter drive trapping any time of year. Burro deaths due to any type of capture average around 12% cumulative after the first six-months and can jump to over 20% when a helicopter is used. Disease is currently impacting Canyonlamds burros and close to 30% have died within weeks of capture. Although BLM has switched to only doing bait trapping at Three Rivers, burros need very specific care and feeding. Not only is the AML outdated and based in conjecture for the largest burro stronghold in the U.S. at Three Rivers, we are extremely concerned for health and well-being of any captives. Even if a burro is lucky enough to find a home, BLM does not educate adopters to the special needs of donkeys and a cursory look at why so many burros are never titled after the first year in a private home reveals that are substantial number have died. So if burros are being removed “for their welfare,” why is the lack of concern over welfare post-capture so egregious that within a year, nearly 40% of captive burros will have died?

Any horse owner knows that there are summer-specific issues they must prepare to address just keeping equines in a pasture or precautions when you take a trail ride. Air Quality Index (AQI) and Heat Index are part of any (good) summer training or eventing schedule. Every veterinarian worth their degree will inform their clients when not to train.

When it comes to roundups, where BLM is stampeding an entire herd made up of individuals of every age and health, not just an eventing horse in great shape, BLM ignores basic husbandry practices concerning heat and air quality. For nearly two decades we have monitored roundups. For more than a decade we have have tracked both heat index and air quality issues and have found direct correlation with both long-term and catastrophic deaths. BLM refuses to revise their operating procedures outlined in CAWP (their welfare program).

Below: One of the most well-known catastrophic deaths during a heat index rise was Sunshine Man. We had been begging (literally) BLM to simply postpone for the days of the rise. On the first day of the heat index rise, Sunshine man tried to escape and suffered a catastrophic break. July is both foaling and breeding season. When you throw in a heat index rise, tension mounts at a time judgement (both human and animal) is strained. Catastrophic injuries like broken necks and legs correlate to heat index rises. 21 horses died during this roundup just during heat index rises.

WARNING: Video below is GRAPHIC.

After exhausting every possible channel to address the heat index rises directly with BLM, we did go to court. The case for the Antelope and Triple B Complex wild horses is still active in federal court and we are in active briefing right now. There are so many things wrong with the largest single roundup plan in the country from the lack of any enforcement of existing welfare standards to the sheer lack of any validation for the need for any more removals.

You would think that the one thing that could be agreed to is that we need concise and enforceable welfare rules. But it took numerous lawsuits just to get BLM to create a draft policy. Then BLM spent so much money to simply avoid putting the draft our for public comment, revising the standards and formalizing a real policy (Rulemaking). This should have been the simplest area of the program to reform. Instead, BLM has literally fought us tooth and nail for over 15 years. We are still fighting.

Above: This baby did not need to die. Delays in getting care. Refusals to allow private care. A long holiday weekend. This baby was sick since it was born and died just weeks later. The most abysmal record keeping was done. 

Our team is starting to gear up to bring you the most in-depth daily coverage of roundups you can find. For nearly two-decades many of you have come to rely on WHE as your “go to” for information. 

We do not just work to expose what is wrong, we fight back. When others stay silent or simply post on social media, many of you have also come to rely on WHE to push hard in legislation and litigation. WHE might not be the biggest org., but we take a big bite.

Our team needs your support. We can only stretch as far as available resources will allow. 

We have just been offered a $10,000 match to kick off fundraising for our field and investigative team. From range through holding, boots-on-the ground through detailed tracking through Freedom of Information Act requests and analysis, we must identify all that is wrong so we can fight to fix it. The information we gain creates a foundation for our litigation team. We have until May 1 to meet the challenge. 

You can also help by Speaking Up!

Right now, your lawmakers are send requests to the subcommittees in both the House and Senate for the 2026 Department of Interior budget. The 2026 budget request will outline what money is spent on and what it cannot be spent on (delayed a month this year from the normal schedule). Once the bill is drafted, there is still time for amendments during the Markup hearings. (Learn More about the process)

Even if you feel that you are not versed enough in land management processes to take on issues involving legal terms or deeper processes, you can make a world of difference by making a really simple call. 

Call the Congressional Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representatives. Once connected to your reps office, tell them you want to register your concern with the person in the office addresses public lands. 

Tell them:

• Public lands must be left in the public domain and not given away or sold. 
• Wild horses and burros on the range and in holding must not be killed or sold to slaughter and all funding for such purposes must be prohibited. 
• Request an amendment to the funding bill for the Department of Interior to create a line item for funding to be designated for Rulemaking to formalize an enforceable welfare policy for the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program. Preventing injury and death must be something we can all agree on. 

If you have time, you can request an appointment to speak with the office via Zoom or in person if you live nearby. When you have your appointment you can take time to address all of your concerns.

We also created a fast “click and send” you can use that will go directly to your reps. The letter asks for a halt of all funding pending a science-based review of the program, no removals where BLM has not created a transparent management plan (not a gather plan) and funding for welfare rulemaking. You can send the fast click and send that is specific to the spending bill by clicking HERE.

Below: Video made 13 years ago as WHE began shutting down roundups in court over issues with abuse. As we fought to gain access to witness in court (and to start BLM drafting the first welfare policy for wild horses and burros), we asked “Is It Bad Enough For You?” If it is bad enough for you, please take action.

Your involvement by sending the fast letter, making a call or making an appointment really does help. Congressional offices are inundated with numerous issues. Your involvement helps keep wild horses and burros from dropping out of site and being swept off our rangelands to keep louder voices happy.

Together, we can be a powerful force for our wild ones. 

From range to courtroom, everything is only possible because of supporters like you. Together, we stand strong to protect and preserve our wild ones!

Thank you so much for keeping WHE running for our wild ones!