Helicopters set to reign over CAlifornia’s Iconic wild horse herd

The Forest Service has announced it will proceed with the helicopter and bait-trapping roundup of the Devil’s Garden Plateau wild horses in the Modoc National Forest.

The operation begins October 28th and is estimated to last for 30 days. The agency has awarded CD Warner Livestock, LLC up to $749,000 to capture and remove 500 wild horses roaming free on federally-managed land. 

CD Warner Livestock, LLC is the same group of wranglers responsible for running a mare till she collapsed on the ground earlier this summer during the Blue Wing roundup in Nevada. The wranglers proceeded to kick the mare while she was on the ground, too exhausted to stand. By the time the Blue Wing roundup concluded, 44 wild horses had been killed.

The wild horses in Devil’s Garden are federally protected by law, but questionably so in practice. In Modoc National Forest, like other public lands where privately-owned livestock graze the same acreage as wild horses, the government agency in charge of land management simultaneously and systematically removes wild horses on the claim that the animals are overpopulated while bolstering livestock grazing at a cost to taxpayers and the environment.

“Within Devil’s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory (DGPWHT), [privately-owned] livestock are permitted 26,800 AUMs; this includes portions of the Middle Section. Wild horses are allocated 5,789 AUMs. At a combined total of 32,589 AUMs, permitted livestock grazing is 82.2 percent and allocated wild horse grazing is 17 percent of the total.” - 2024 Draft Environmental Assessment Devil’s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory Management Plan

Across the entirety of Modoc National Forest which exceeds the designated boundaries of DGPWHT, wild horses are allotted just 5% of forage. Livestock get 95% of the food available.

And, according to the 2024 Environmental Assessment, in several allotments, cattle are permitted to graze despite a 2021 biological assessment that repeatedly acknowledges that livestock grazing negatively impact aquatic ecosystems, affecting water quality, riparian vegetation, and streambank stability, which in turn influences habitat for endangered fish species in Modoc National Forst like the Lost River Sucker and Shortnosed sucker. 

While this particular biological assessment declares livestock grazing in the area “is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of slender Orcutt grass, Lost River sucker, and shortnose sucker…”, a letter to Modoc National Forest staff from Fish and Wildlife Services that’s attached to the assessment also states, “The Service does anticipate incidental take of Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker as well as adverse effects to their designated critical habitat as a result of implementation of the Project.”

The Project was an initiative to authorize livestock grazing on 11 allotments across Devil’s Garden. The Forest Service was required to request a biological assessment because, as stated in the letter, the agency has already determined that authorizing livestock grazing in the area was likely to adversely affect the threatened and endangered species and their habitat.

This is a developing story. Wild Narrative Project will be on the ground in Modoc National Forest to observe the roundup. Stay connected for updates.