(Billings, Mont.) – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Billings Field Office is preparing to move forward with a gather of 15-20 horses on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.
In June, the BLM completed an environmental review and decided to go ahead with non-helicopter bait and water trap gather that would remove 15-20 adoptable excess wild horses between the ages of 1-3 this year.
The Friends of Animals challenged the decision in U.S. District Court. Thursday, Judge Susan P. Watters denied their motion for a preliminary injunction to halt this summer’s horse gather.
“BLM Montana/Dakotas is pleased with the ruling,” said Jim Sparks, the manager of the BLM’s Billings Field Office. “We look forward to continuing to work with the public and partners to ensure that a healthy herd exists on healthy range lands on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.”
A previously scheduled public hearing will take place Friday afternoon at the BLM offices in Billings regarding the use of motor vehicles in support of the planned horse gather.
The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is located in the Pryor Mountains south of Billings, along the Montana-Wyoming border and encompasses approximately 38,000 acres of BLM, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service managed land.
Additional information about the range and the upcoming bait and water trap gather is available online at http://blm.gov/08jd.
Source: Bureau of Land Management Billings Field Office
image provided by Bureau of Land Management Billings Field Office
