The Icon Meets the Ecosystem

Wild horses and burros evoke the untamed spirit of the West, yet their unchecked populations now strain the very landscapes that sustain them. On 177 Herd-Management Areas, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) counted 73,130 animals as of March 1, 2025—more than 2.8 times the congressionally defined Appropriate Management Level (AML) of 25,556. (Bureau of Land Management)

A Budget Spiral No One Likes

Because gathers can’t keep pace, another ≈62,000 horses and burros live in government holding facilities, a situation that costs taxpayers about $153 million every year — over 70 percent of the program’s budget. Money that could rebuild watersheds, restore native grasses, or improve recreational access is instead spent warehousing animals that the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act intended to keep on healthy rangelands.

How a 2005 “Fix” Became a 2025 Crisis

Since 2005, each Interior & Environment appropriations bill has carried language that blocks BLM from selling excess animals without restriction or humanely euthanizing un-adoptable horses over ten years old. The draft FY 26 bill repeats the prohibition, forbidding use of funds “for the destruction of any healthy, unadopted … wild horse or burro” or for sales that could lead to processing. (House Documents) Those 34 words paralyze every other management tool written into the 1971 Act.

What “Following the Law as Written” Really Means

1. Remove the rider so BLM can again use all of Section 1333—gathers, direct sales of animals ≥ 10 years old, and, only as a last resort, humane euthanasia.

2. Fund an aggressive but finite gather plan (≈20,000 removals per year) to reach AML within five to seven years.

3. Pivot to fertility control once herds are at sustainable levels, locking in success at a fraction of today’s cost.

Independent projections show that dropping the holding burden would save taxpayers up to $40 million annually while restoring forage and water for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and sage-grouse. Healthy riparian zones also buffer drought and wildfire—benefits that reach far beyond the backcountry.

A Call to Action for Every Public-Land Owner

Whether you hunt, hike, ranch, or simply value wild places, you have a stake in hitting the reset button. Ask the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees to:

• Strike the wild-horse rider in FY 26.

• Fully fund the gather plan that gets herds to AML and lets fertility control succeed.

• Honor the 1971 Act exactly as Congress wrote it.

America’s rangelands can be both iconic and healthy—but only if we give managers the tools the law already provides.

Ready to speak up? Visit this action page to send your personalized email today and help restore balance on the range.