More than 3,000 mustangs that roam the sagebrush benches of southwest Wyoming are slated to lose their freedom next month. On Thursday the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a sweeping plan to clear every wild horse from three herd-management areas that, together, sprawl across a Delaware-size swath of public and private land known locally as the “checkerboard.”
What the decision says
Kimberlee Foster, manager of the BLM’s Rock Springs Field Office, signed a finding of no significant impact that finalizes the agency’s preferred alternative:
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Salt Wells Creek Herd — 1,960 animals targeted
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Adobe Town Herd — 1,664 animals targeted
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Great Divide Basin Herd — 2026 follow-up operation
Crews will launch the first helicopter gathers on July 15 and expect to work for roughly eight weeks, making this the largest horse-removal operation scheduled anywhere in the West in 2025.
Why the checkerboard stirs so much controversy
The “checkerboard” traces back to 19th-century railroad land grants that gave every other square-mile section to Union Pacific. Today the alternating pattern of public and private parcels creates a logistical nightmare for wildlife managers—and has fueled bitter legal fights between ranchers who lease the private sections and advocates who want the horses left alone.
Fifteen years ago, the Rock Springs Grazing Association revoked permission for mustangs to cross its one-million-acre holdings, arguing that the animals out-compete cattle and sheep for forage and water. A cascade of lawsuits followed, culminating last summer when U.S. District Court Judge Kelly Rankin ruled that BLM’s removal plan met federal law. Opponents immediately appealed; a ruling from the 10th Circuit is expected “any day,” according to Foster.
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Your window to object is short
Because Foster’s decision is classified as a final agency action, the only remaining administrative recourse is an appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals—and it must be mailed (no email allowed) and postmarked by June 28. Anyone who commented on earlier drafts has legal standing, but the board typically requires appellants to show why BLM’s analysis was flawed, not merely unpopular.
Where the horses will go
Captured mustangs will be offered first through the agency’s $125 adoption program or its $1,000 incentive-adoption program. Animals deemed unsuitable for adoption—usually older stallions and mares—will be shipped to long-term pastures in Oklahoma or the Centennial Valley of eastern Wyoming, where they live out their lives at taxpayer expense.
Fun fact: One of those long-term “retirement” ranches doubles as habitat for black-tailed prairie dogs, creating an unexpected synergy between two very different icons of the American West.
Advocates weigh next moves
Wild-horse groups call the plan an “extinction blueprint,” noting that the Adobe Town herd is famous for high genetic diversity and has produced several prize-winning trail horses adopted nationwide. Erik Molvar of Western Watersheds Project said his organization is “keeping powder dry” until the 10th Circuit rules but is prepared to seek an emergency injunction if removals move ahead.
What happens if the roundup is delayed?
BLM says its contractors and holding facilities are booked months in advance. A court-ordered pause could force the agency to reschedule gathers into winter, when snow and ice complicate helicopter work. That domino effect could reduce the number of roundups completed across the West in 2025, leaving other herd areas over their population limits for yet another year.
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A larger debate about public lands
Behind the legal skirmishes lies a philosophical question: What, exactly, should 19th-century railroad land grants look like in the 21st century? Some conservationists argue that Congress should buy back or trade out the private inholdings to create unbroken public landscapes. Ranchers contend the current mosaic keeps local economies afloat. Wild horses—descendants of Spanish and Cavalry mounts—have become the flashpoint for a much broader tug-of-war.
One thing is certain: starting July 15, the high-desert silence will be broken by the thump of helicopter rotors, and the fate of thousands of Wyoming mustangs will hinge on ropes, trucks, and courtrooms hundreds of miles away.
