The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a proposed update to the Pryor Horse Herd Management Plan (HMP) last month. The herd roams 30,000 to 40,000 acres of land between the southeastern portion of Carbon County, Montana, and southern Big Horn County, Wyoming.
The BLM manages the herd to keep both the horses and the land healthy. The proposed update aims to find ways to promote genetic diversity and make the land healthier in the short and long term.
The proposal details four alternatives which range from fertility control methods to round ups.
"Right now, we have a record high number of horses, and the range is really unhealthy," said Amy Waring, the Branch Chief at the BLM. "Reducing stocking of the horses would allow the range to heal."
Healing of the range is necessary for multiple reasons. Waring explained that there are land health standards that the BLM is mandated by the federal government to meet. But also, a healthy range is needed to have a healthy herd.
"We've lost the tall, cool season grasses that are favored forage for the horses, such as blue bunch wheatgrass," said Waring. "They've been replaced with forage that is not as desirable or not as nutritious."
According to Waring, a range specialist said that it would take up to two growing seasons with no grazing to restore the range. The public has also asked the BLM to look for other methods to heal the land, including reseeding or controlled burns to promote habitat restoration.
However, according to Waring, these options would be difficult, if not impossible, because there are no interior fences in the Herd Management Area (HMA).
She does acknowledge that there are other alternatives to clear unwanted vegetation and promote new plant growth, but they would have to be officially analyzed first.
But some are advocating for an expansion of the herd’s HMA.
"We are recommending in our comments that Demijohn Flat be added to the range," said Ginger Kathrens, the founder of the Cloud Foundation. "And that's adjacent to the range now, and it's BLM land."
Kathrens explained that the approximately 7,000 acres could support an additional 20 to 30 horses. She also mentioned a piece of nearby Park Service Land that’s around 2,000 acres and could accommodate 10 to 20 horses.
Expanding the range to support more horses could raise the Appropriate Management Level (AML), or the maximum capacity of horses the range can support. However, without this type of expansion, both Waring and Katherns agree the herd cannot remain at its current size.
"The range is in poor condition," said Kathrens. "Now, I don't argue with that. And there needs to be a removal, but it needs to be a thoughtful, careful removal of younger animals."
These types of specifics around the herd’s management are the main difference in the alternative options of the proposed update.
The current AML is 90 to 120 horses. Alternative Two and Three of the proposed update to the management plan would alter this to 108 to 121. However, Waring explains that if the BLM chose one of these alternatives, this would happen over multiple gathers.
This number was chosen based on how many animals the land can support, but will be done in a way to disrupt the herd as little as possible.
"The public was concerned if we remove too many horses at once that it would really be disruptive to those family dynamics," said Waring. "From that perspective, the horse herd has averaged about 150 horses for the last 50 years, and so that was the reason why we picked that number for our initial gather."
Under Alternative Two, only horses of a certain age and sex would be removed.
"Under Alternative Three, our population targets [are] the same," said Waring. "But we would consider herd lineage when making removal decisions."
Kathrens explained that the Cloud Foundation wants to keep older horses in the herd. She said not only is it important to the herd dynamic, but removing them would be crueler than young horses.
"They know how to survive and teach that to the young," said Kathrens. "You remove those older horses, and you remove that senior wisdom. I think it's cruel to have lived your life for 20 years in freedom, and suddenly you're put in a pen, and who will want you?"
While the AML does not differ between Alternatives Two and Three, there is a disagreement in the wild horse community about where the BLM should set it.
"If you want to retain the genetic viability, and the wonderful range of colors in the herd, then the geneticists are saying you really need a minimum of 150 horses to do that," said Kathrens.
However, Waring said that regardless of the method of removal, reducing the herd would not risk genetic diversity. She added that while the BLM uses the Pyror Horse HMP to promote genetic diversity, this is not driving the need to remove horses now.
Alternatives One and Four are referred to as variations of no action.
In Alternative One, the BLM would stick to the current HMP and gather horses to reduce the herd to 90 to 120 horses. If the agency chose Alternative Four, there would be no gathering or removal of horses, but it would continue to use fertility control methods according to the current plan.
Kathrens explained that PZP (Porcine Zone Pellucida), a vaccine that is administered with a dart gun and makes a mare unable to reproduce for up to two years, is a method that the BLM could use to eliminate population growth without the permanent effects of other fertility control options, like GonaCon, which is also mentioned in the documents.
"The idea is that natural mortality and reproduction are equal," said Kathrens. "That means if you can get it down to five to 10 foals a year, and you have a natural mortality, roughly five to 10 adult animals, then you have zero population growth."
The BLM will use public comments to help decide which Alternative it will use. Public comment on the 88-page proposal is open until April 14.
