Judge to rule on wild horse roundup

RENO -- A federal judge said he intends to decide today whether to grant an emergency injunction blocking a government roundup of 1,700 wild horses in eastern Nevada, a move that also could affect other roundups on public rangeland across the West.

"I'm very concerned about the wild horses," U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben said Thursday as he questioned lawyers for both sides about their interpretations of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

Opponents of the roundup say it violates the act because the Bureau of Land Management has failed to prove the herds are overpopulated and causing ecological harm to public rangeland.

Such a finding is necessary before any of the horses can be removed from federally designated "horse management areas," they say.

"This statute was put in place for a reason -- to protect these horses from man, and that includes BLM," said Rachel Fazio, a lawyer for the Colorado-based Cloud Foundation suing to block the roundup BLM intends to start Saturday.

The 1,700 horses targeted for roundup are among about 2,200 that roam a series of horse management areas covering a total of 1.7 million acres southeast of Elko and northwest of Ely in northeast Nevada.

BLM maintains that area can support only between 500 and 900 horses. Agency officials say they already are trucking in water because of typical water shortages in some areas and that while forage might be adequate now, there will be less come winter.