Wild horse roundups and removals continue to face controversy, with Gov. Jared Polis even calling for a pause of the roundups Thursday, following a weeks-long equine flu outbreak at a holding facility in Cañon City killing more than 140 horses.
The Sand Wash Basin in northwestern Colorado is one of just a few designated wild horse herd areas in the state, where wild horses roam free. In 2021, nearly 700 horses were rounded up and removed from that land, and sent to holding facilities to live the remainder of their lives in captivity.But just two months later, more than 2,000 domestic sheep were grazing on that same land.
“Livestock graze 50 to 65% of the annual forage production… and that leaves less than half leftover for wild horses, for elk, for mule deer to have cover for sage grouse, for grasshoppers for jackrabbits,” Molvar said.
CBS4 Investigates also found the 10 ranchers holding those permits in these three wild horse areas pay the BLM $1.35 per animal unit a month. That’s a little more than $57,463.55 total a month total to graze their livestock there, which means if the ranchers use their permits for their full allotted six months out of the year, they will pay the BLM a total of only $344,781.90 a year.
CBS4 Investigates’ public records analysis found the ranchers receive a decent deal. The $1.35 per cow a month charge from the BLM is the same as it was in the 1980s, with no adjustment for inflation, and it costs a rancher up to $2.80 a day to feed a cow with hay. “That means you have no hard look at the environmental impacts, you have no public participation,” Molvar said. “We found that nearly 70% of the livestock grazing permits across the west that are inside a wild horse herd management area are being reauthorized under this right.”“It’s not a livestock grazing versus wild horse and burro issue out there,” said John Neill with the BLM.
She says her ranch has been recognized for regenerative agriculture techniques, which are more climate-friendly in the face of persistent drought and warmer temperatures, saying it’s important for her to help manage and protect the land, so it can be used for years down the road.
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