BLM Finalizes Plan to Remove Wild Horses from Wyoming’s Checkerboard Region Starting in July

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized its decision to remove over 3,000 wild horses from a large area in southwest Wyoming, known as the checkerboard region, WyoFile reports.

The plan, which follows the completion of an environmental assessment and public comment period, will begin implementation on July 15, unless delayed by litigation or an injunction.

The operation involves removing wild horses from the Salt Wells Creek and Adobe Town herd areas in 2025, with the Great Divide Basin herd scheduled for removal in 2026. Combined, the areas span approximately 2.1 million acres. According to BLM officials, the 2025 gather will take about two months and is one of the largest scheduled wild horse removal operations in the western US this year.

BLM Rock Springs Field Office Manager Kimberlee Foster stated that the agency considered more than 2,100 public comments before issuing the final decision.

“I have carefully considered all public comments received on the EA and wish to thank all commenters for their interest in wild horse management in the project area,” she wrote.

The checkerboard region, a 40-mile-wide stretch where public and private lands are interspersed in alternating square-mile sections, has been at the center of longstanding legal and land-use debates. The Rock Springs Grazing Association, a major landholder in the area, revoked its consent for wild horses to roam its lands over a decade ago, citing conflicts with livestock operations. Since then, the BLM has faced lawsuits from both grazing interests and wild horse advocacy groups over how it manages the herds.

Federal courts have generally sided with the BLM. In 2023, US District Judge Kelly Rankin ruled in favor of the agency in two related cases. A coalition of wild horse advocates has since appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, with a decision expected soon. Should the court ruling affect the planned roundups, BLM says it will notify the public.

Meanwhile, the BLM’s decision triggers a 30-day administrative appeal period for individuals and organizations that participated in earlier stages of the review process. Appeals must be submitted via mail and sent to multiple addresses, including the BLM’s Rock Springs Field Office and the Interior Board of Land Appeals.

Once the appeal window closes on June 28, the BLM may move forward with the scheduled operations. Horses removed from the checkerboard will be made available through the BLM’s adoption and sales programs. Those not adopted may be placed in long-term pastures on private lands in areas such as Oklahoma or Wyoming’s Centennial Valley.