Federal Wild Horse Corral Contract Met Environmental Requirement

The Bureau of Land Management’s plan to corral 4,000 wild horses in a private holding facility in Nevada met environmental law requirements, a federal appeals panel ruled Wednesday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit deferred to the agency’s determination of the scope of its environmental review, finding the study the BLM conducted before entering a contract with a livestock company met National Environmental Policy Act requirements and the agency didn’t need to consider alternative actions.

The opinion upholds a lower court’s ruling that the agency reasonably concluded the contract with JS Livestock ensures humane treatment of the ...