The federal government is preparing to remove 624 wild horses from the California-Nevada border region—roughly 90 percent of the entire herd.

 

The U.S. Forest Service argues that the land is under severe pressure and says the area can sustainably support no more than 238 horses.

But the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe is challenging the plan in federal court, raising a major question about the population figures being used to justify the roundup.

According to the tribe, the government’s recent population estimates fail to properly account for a significant horse die-off during the brutal winter of 2023. Their argument is simple: officials may be moving quickly to solve an overpopulation crisis that nature has already dramatically reduced.

The dispute also involves federal consultation requirements. The horse territory overlaps ancestral lands connected to the tribe, and federal agencies are required to consult tribes when government actions could affect cultural or sacred sites. The tribe alleges it was effectively left out of that process.

Now, the tribe is seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the roundup.

For the moment, a federal judge stands between hundreds of wild horses and their removal