Comments Due November 16, 2012.
Known as "Timber Horses," the wild mustangs in the Murderers Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) and Wild Horse Territory live deep amongst the conifers and ponderosa pines in the Malhuer National Forest in eastern Oregon. Descendants of Native American horses, New World Iberian breeds and horses that helped early settlers develop the West, these mustangs are genetically distinct from other Oregon wild herds thanks to their isolated geography.
Despite the uniqueness and small size of this herd (an estimated 213 adult horses on 223 square miles!), the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to remove 113 of these horses in 2012 and 100-150 additional horses over the next two to three years from their homes on the range in the Murderers Creek HMA.
The agency is seeking comments on a Preliminary Environmental Assessment for its plan to remove 338 horses from Murderers Creek over the next 10 years through a combination of helicopter stampedes and bait trapping. The BLM hopes to reduce the Murderers Creek wild horse population down to just 50 horses, while authorizing over 5 times that number of cattle to graze this designated wild horse area.
Please take action below to oppose this costly and cruel plan. Remember that by delivering thousands of comments opposing each and every BLM wild horse roundup, we are creating a powerful record of public support and demand for change!