The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to remove 40 horses from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range this fall, part of the agency's 10-year herd management plan for one of Montana's most closely watched wild horse populations. BLM field manager Nate Arave said the horses in the range are running out of resources, citing the need to keep the herd in balance with the land's carrying capacity.
Along with the removals, the BLM plans to treat 43 mares with fertility control and return them to the range — a management approach that has become more common as the agency tries to stabilize herd sizes without large-scale gathers. The Pryor Mountain range, which straddles the Montana-Wyoming border near Lovell, Wyoming, is home to a herd with a distinctive genetic lineage that some researchers link to Spanish colonial horses.
The announcement has drawn concern from wild horse advocates and herd experts who argue that the BLM's management approach risks overmanaging a population that has survived on the Pryors for generations. Critics of fertility control programs contend that aggressive use of the treatments can disrupt herd social structures and reduce genetic diversity over time.
The fall removal would reduce the herd's numbers as the range heads into winter. The BLM has not announced specific dates for the gather, but fall operations typically run from September through November depending on weather and logistics.