Fort McDermitt Cooperative Domestic Horse Removal

The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest are working together to conduct a series of operations to remove tribal members’ privately owned horses that are grazing without authorization on the Santa Rosa Ranger District. Due to the number of horses to be removed and the limited capacity of the tribal holding facility, multiple gathers are necessary. These are domestic animals and are not protected under the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

Over the past 30 years, the number of unauthorized tribally-owned horses grazing on public and tribal lands increased to over 2,500 horses. These horses are competing for forage with authorized livestock and native wildlife, overgrazing and harming ecosystems and cultural resources, and damaging fences and stock-watering facilities. The horses are also causing safety concerns for people driving on public and tribal lands and U.S. Route 95.

Environmental analysis of the Fort McDermitt Cooperative Domestic Horse Removal Project was completed and a decision was signed on Nov. 9, 2018. During the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, the public had the opportunity to provide comment. Click here to see All NEPA documents associated with the removal.

Removal operations will take place about 75 miles north of Winnemucca, Nevada, on the northern portion of the Santa Rosa Ranger District and adjacent tribal lands. Safeguards have been built into the removal operations plan to ensure that wild free-roaming horses from the Bureau of Land Management’s Little Owyhee Herd Management Area are not impacted.

Additionally, removal operations will take precautions to minimize effects to wildlife, such as avoiding activities during sage-grouse lekking and nesting periods. Once the horses have been removed from the rangeland, ecosystem recovery may begin. This short-term effort will result in minimal impacts to wildlife. The long-term effects will be beneficial to wildlife habitats and populations.

The Forest Service will retain control of all horses removed until delivered to the tribal holding facility, where the animals will be inspected by a team of Tribal and Nevada State Brand Inspectors and Forest Service Wild Horse Specialists. Forest Service personnel will also be on hand to record the ownership of horses to help with future management.

Once removed from federally-managed public, tribal members will decide whether to sell or keep their horses and will constrain them from further unauthorized grazing. The Tribe is responsible for returning the horses to their owners, arrangement of sale, or transport off tribal lands.