Tens of thousands of wild horses still inhabit the western states. The Bureau of Land Management is caught between two camps: ranchers who want them contained and advocates who want them to roam free.
James McWilliams covers a rural land use drama: how to handle thousands of free-ranging wild horses. Currently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contains many of the animals and attempts to control their movements. "The primary reason they're confined is the nearly 18,000 ranchers grazing an estimated 747,963 'animal units'—a bureaucratic term that can represent either a horse, a cow/calf pair, or five sheep—on 155 million acres of land."
Ranchers must compete with the horses for forage opportunities, a difficult task during drought. "They view the remaining 58,150 mustangs and burros roaming wild across 10 western states as invasive pests who gorge on precious forage and trample the landscape into hardpan."
Since the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the BLM has been charged with protection and management of wild herds on federal land. "Because the BLM also issues grazing allotments to private ranchers [...] the agency is entrusted to balance wild horse and cattle populations on land where these animals overlap."
Many ranchers argue for drastic measures to contain the horses. But advocates say they're exaggerating the problem. "Of all the public grazing land the BLM manages (155 million acres), wild horses are technically allowed to graze on only 17 percent of it."
FULL STORY: Western Cattlemen Square Off Against 60,000 Mustangs
Grand Teton Foundation Races to Fundraise — or Lose Key Wildlife Corridor
Wyoming could sell a currently protected parcel of land, key to elk and other hoofed mammal migration paths, to private developers.
Utah and Wyoming Sue BLM Over Conservation Rule
The states allege the agency overstepped federal regulations in its attempt to boost conservation efforts on public lands.
BLM Grazing Lands Largely Fail Health Assessment
Grazing lands under the agency’s management are not meeting its own criteria for ecosystem conservation and sustainable use.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
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Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research