The comment period for Scoping for the Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) closes June 23rd. This is a scoping for a draft plan. A draft plan has not be written yet. Scoping is the place where an agency takes public comments to identify issues necessary for evaluation and analysis and of public concern or contention.

An HMAP Scoping is NOT scoping on a potential management action like a gather. An HMAP-Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a management planning document. A Gather-EA is a document addressing a specific proposed management action. BLM wants you to keep thinking they are the same thing so they can just keep doing the same thing without a fight.

Right now there is confusion because, after two court wins last year that showed BLM has illegally delayed creating HMAPs (by 40 years) and the court ordering BLM to do these foundational management plans, BLM is simply attempting to continuing creating ten year (or longer) gather plans and pass them off as HMAPs (and we are already in the courts on this issue at Pancake and other cases).

Rival band stallions and their mares were left in a small sorting alley for 5 hours, Silver King, 2010

So as you craft your comments, please remember: BLM said they did not have to do management plans (HMAPs) for wild horses and burros and were proven wrong in a courtroom. So when you hear people call scoping for this HMAP as an “approved gather plan,” they are simply falling in line with what BLM wants you to do… treat HMAPs as if they are just roundup plans. For decades BLM has relied on keeping planning muddy and never explaining anything to the public. They have relied on being able to manipulate the lack of available information to simply keep rounding up horses and burros without ever allowing input on things like critical habitat protection or even the numbers of horses allowed. Don’t help them continue to confuse the public so they can maintain the status quo.

At the bottom of the article at the link, you will find sample comments and where to submit them, click HERE.

The sample comments give you a place to start crafting your own comments. Only individually submitted comments will be counted by BLM and petitions or sign-on letters simply “noted” as existing. That is why we do not have a “click and send” and instead provide you with the email address to submit your written comments. 

Silver King, the stand-off (Leigh, 2010)

Many of you remember Silver King as the area our lawsuit to address the lack of access to wild horse and burros roundups was filed. back in the day, there was not daily access to view capture and it was a very long road, that went up and down the court system twice to gain the daily access policy we have today. “The Silver King Case” is the case that gained advocacy the decision on February 14, 2012, that broke both the barrier to viewing and what BLM called the “mootness doctrine” (in other words, if a roundup ended any lawsuit had to be dismissed because the roundup was over). The Silver King case demonstrated inappropriate actions spanned numerous roundups.

The ruling at Silver King had implications for press freedoms far beyond wild horses and burros. “An open government has been a hallmark of our democracy since our nation’s founding,” U.S. District Judge Michael Simon wrote Thursday, citing precedent from the Ninth Circuit case Leigh v. Salazar. “When wrongdoing is underway, officials have great incentive to blindfold the watchful eyes of the fourth estate. The free press is the guardian of the public’s interests and the independent judiciary is the guardian of the free press.” Those words were written by a judge as he allowed to press to cover riots in Portland. This case has been cited dozens of times outside our “wild horse country.” The only place it gets rolled back on is when it comes to access to assess the condition of captive wild horses and burros today (and we are in the courts now addressing this issue again).

Silver King Roundup, dawn at temporary holding

In the section above you can see a few of the layers of engagement: Commenting to a federal agency on proposed management or proposed action plans. Taking an issue that cannot be resolved through other channels into the Judicial system. Commenting through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process that guides all comment periods is also a first step to addressing flaws in the planning process and things like data-deficits. If valid issues submitted through comment are not addressed in final plans, the next step is land use courts and federal civil court.

People are writing to us asking questions like “Who reads comments?” and “Does Congress see my comment on Silver King?” So there is a very clear indication that things are simply not “clear” in how government is structured.

Federal Agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sit under the powers of the Secretary of Interior of the Department of Interior (DOI) that sits on the Presidential Cabinet.

The chat below from Simple Legal Guides is color coded and easy for you to see what encompasses each branch that has a distinct function.

In a nutshell:

When writing or calling Congress (House and Senate) you are asking for them to support a specific bill (like the SAFE Act) or to fund or defund something in the Appropriations bill language. The Spending (Appropriations) bill call could be as simple as making sure the prohibition against sales without limits (slaughter) or killing healthy wild horses and burros is maintained.

When BLM creates a proposed action, they are creating it under “the authority of the Secretary of Interior” that sits on the Presidential Cabinet and is under the direction of the President. BLM is not a law making body. The Secretary of Interior sends directives and priorities that are then interpreted at the field level where planning documents are written. When you make a comment on those documents the field office reads and responds (or does not respond) when they craft a final plan utilizing the “authority of the Secretary and the BLM Director.” (The BLM has no Director or Primary Assistant Director at this time.)

When there is an issue with an approved plan (or other issue) and someone appeals to a land use court and/or federal civil court, the Department of Justice becomes involved. There are two functions: defend the BLM through Department of Justice attorneys that work at the BLM solicitors office (under the Department of Interior) and to decide matters of law through the United States Court System (or the Judicial Branch; noted in the chart)

Triple B

Engaging to advocate for our wild ones involves distinct actions in each branch of government. Each branch has avenues and specific parameters for that engagement. 

Contact your lawmakers is where you are a voter, a constituent.

You are supposed to be able to address issues with federal agencies and how laws are crafted with the staff of your representatives. This is one of the places the “click and send” letters are appropriate as staff keep track of the numbers they receive to determine important issues to the voters in a district. You can call your representatives in Congress. The number for the switchboard is: (202) 224-3121. Ask to be connected to your representative. The operator will ask where you live and connect you. Or you can find their websites and write them or make an appointment to speak with staff.

Right now we are urging you to focus on the FY 2026 budget debate. You can find an action item here to help maintain prohibitions against killing healthy wild horses and burros or sales without limits (slaughter). 

Engaging BLM directly on proposed planning.

We did a long article last week that includes open comment periods where the deadlines are coming up fast. Here, you must engage as an individual for your comment to count. WHE is engaged.

Right now you can comment in Scoping for a management plan for Silver King before a roundup plan is written. WHE has active litigation in this area addressing grazing (due June 23rd). See more here and learn how to comment, click text. 

BLM has drafted a new roundup plan for Triple B Complex and the Antelope Complex (where WHE has active litigation). BLM is trying to claim this roundup plan is a management plan and it simply is not (Due June 29). See more here and learn how to comment, click text. 

We hope this article helps you to understand more about how to engage in your own advocacy journey.

Our team is working hard from the ground level and all the way up through lawmakers and the courts.

Our team is also preparing to continue our in-depth team coverage from roundups so you can stay informed.

None of our work is possible without your support. Together, we will take a strong stand to defend our precious wild ones.