Carter Reservoir Mustangs Inc. (CRMI) and Wild Horse Education (WHE) have now filed a motion for a Preliminary Injunction in the federal case challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for the Carter Reservoir, Buckhorn, and Coppersmith Herd Management Areas (HMAs).
The motion asks the court to stop BLM from going forward with a September 2026 helicopter roundup and permanent removal of wild horses from these HMAs until the court can fully review whether the agency followed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.[1]
What the motion is about
In its own planning documents, BLM has announced that it intends to gather and permanently remove 455 horses from the Carter Reservoir HMA, even though it estimates that only 394 Carter Reservoir Spanish‑Iberian mustangs live there today. This would effectively wipe out this distinct herd in just one operation, where only 15 wild horses would be returned to the range treated with fertility control impacting them from repopulating the herd, leading to functional extinction over time. This number of horses could represent the number in any boarding barn, not a sustainable herd of wild horses. All of this part of extensive planning that prioritizes one user of public lands, livestock, removing over 230,000 acres from wild horse use and setting a boundary line where there is not even a stable year-round water source for the herd.
The same plan would also remove hundreds more wild horses from the Buckhorn and Coppersmith HMAs, located far away at the top of the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA), leaving all three herds at very low numbers that raise serious concerns about long‑term self‑sustaining populations. The motion argues that these actions rest on outdated, unlawfully low “Appropriate Management Level” (AML) decisions and on a gather plan that did not honestly address land health, livestock pressure, or legally required alternatives. BLM skipped any actual analysis by failing to update the decades old management plans.
Why a Preliminary Injunction is needed
The motion explains that once these wild horses are removed, injured, or permanently sterilized in holding facilities, the damage cannot be undone; there is no way to “put back” a genetically distinct herd that has been driven to the brink. The plaintiffs also show that the horse populations in these HMAs have not exploded in recent years and that the scheduled roundup is not an emergency response to drought, fire, or an imminent animal welfare crisis.
Because the gather is scheduled to begin on September 1, 2026, the court must act before then if the law is to mean anything on the ground. The motion argues that pausing the gather while the court reviews the full record is a reasonable, temporary step that protects the public’s interest in healthy public lands, lawful decision‑making, and the survival of the Carter Reservoir, Buckhorn, and Coppersmith wild horses.
What happens next – key dates
The court has set a briefing and hearing schedule on the motion for Preliminary Injunction:
- May 22, 2026 – Deadline for the federal defendants to file their Opposition to the motion for Preliminary Injunction.
- June 1, 2026 – Deadline for Carter Reservoir Mustangs Inc. and Wild Horse Education to file their Reply in support of the motion.
- July 6, 2026 – In‑person court hearing on the motion for Preliminary Injunction.
At that hearing, the judge will consider written arguments and any evidence submitted with the briefs and will decide whether to grant an order temporarily blocking BLM from carrying out the September 1, 2026 roundup and removals while the overall case continues.
How the public can stay engaged
This case is about more than one gather; it goes to whether BLM can use outdated AMLs and narrow environmental reviews to effectively erase a historic wild horse population while prioritizing heavy livestock use in place on the same public lands without any science to back up that choice. Public attention, and on‑the‑ground documentation all help ensure that these issues are taken seriously and that the story of the Carter Reservoir, Buckhorn, and Coppersmith mustangs is visible to the court and to decision‑makers.
The issues represented in this case are systemic in the BLM Wild Horse and Burro program. Taking action by contacting your lawmakers regarding the ongoing sending bill debate can help create a better future for all of our wild horses and burros.
CRMI and WHE are represented by Greenfire Law, PC of Berkeley.
The underlying complaint also has continued briefing and conferences. There is a lot of misinformation on social media. Lawsuits have a lot of steps and a lot of work. Just because you may not hear something, it does not mean nothing is being done. To get updates follow CRMI or WHE on social media or follow our websites.
We need your support to keep our teams engaging lawmakers, our team fighting in the court, our team ready to run the roundup schedule. Every mile we travel to cover roundups or assess a herd, every court case we bring, every win, every action we take is only possible because of your support.