An Imminent Roundup of California’s Montgomery Pass Wild Horses
The BLM and USFS are moving forward with a roundup to permanently remove up to 500 wild horses in and nearby the California Mono Basin.
The wild horses have migrated from their designated Herd Management Area (HMA) called Montgomery Pass on the border of California and Nevada. Despite thousands of comments from the public expressing concern for issues with the planning process, perceived pitfalls of the Environmental Assessment process, and the future of the wild horses during and after their removal, the agencies declared “No Significant Impact” and plans to launch helicopters this summer.
Wild horses roaming in the Mono Basin | Image Credit: Monica Ross
What you should know about the situation unfolding for the wild horses now roaming in the Mono Basin
The most recent 2024 simultaneous double-observer aerial surveys of MPWHT and surrounding areas counted approximately 683 adult wild horses. The gather plan authorizes approximately 300-500 horses to be removed.
The stated reasons for removal are many: ecosystem resilience, impact on bi-state greater sage grouse habitat, soil resources, destruction of tufa reserves at Mono Lake, and danger to motorists passing through Inyo National Forest.
Since the fall of 2023, the Wild Narrative Project has made two separate trips to the area, during which time we observed clear tufa reserve damage at Mono Lake. However, upon following up with the Mono Lake Committee about their daily observations, the Committee shared that the majority of the damage caused by wild horses took place over the harsh winter of 2022-2023, and the wild horses were not as consistently in the area over the winter of 2023- 2024 or in the spring of 2024.
The issue of danger to motorists is also apparent. We twice noted wild horses meandering alongside a rural highway before crossing it in single file. Roadway signage was an option the agencies did not integrate into their final plan.
Despite engaging in consultation with tribal nations, the BLM and USFS ultimately decided against incorporating tribal recommendations into their final decision-making process. Although tribes expressed clear opposition, particularly around the use of helicopters and the permanent removal of wild horses, the agencies concluded that alternative approaches proposed by tribes would not align with their project objectives.
Livestock grazing occurs in areas where agencies express concern about landscape health and the impact on species—particularly the bi-state greater sage grouse. At least two of the grazing allotments on the same acreage where wild horses are present are actively operating by taking advantage of a NEPA loophole that permits grazing even when the land has not been formally assessed for landscape health.
Cattoor Livestock Roundup Inc. has received a contract worth $400,000 from the Forest Service, funded through the USDA budget, to carry out the removal via helicopter and bait trapping.
This herd has not experienced a government-led roundup in over three decades. The last documented removals occurred in 1983 and 1984, when 19 and 35 horses were captured, respectively. Since then, the wild horse population has been naturally regulated, primarily due to mountain lion predation, which has maintained the herd's size without human intervention. This natural balance has obviated the need for roundups, allowing the herd to roam freely for over 30 years. Read more about the herd’s recent population growth and migration here.
There remains a final opportunity to intervene: an open appeal process allows groups and individuals who previously submitted comments during the environmental assessment to challenge the agencies' decision before helicopters descend on the herd this summer.
Sources:
https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/8449c6ee-a162-3bde-cb6f-78a63c7e9bc1-C/latest
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2026934/510
https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-and-usfs-approve-plan-remove-wild-horses-near-mono-lake
