Judge rules FS must consult on horse damage

Dayville ranchers Loren and Piper Stout claimed a victory last week in their federal lawsuit over management of wild horses in the Murderers Creek area. U.S. District Judge Ancer Haggerty ruled that the Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) over management of the wild horses on the Malheur National Forest. At issue is the impact on threatened steelhead in the waterways. Loren Stout said he hopes the ruling will make the federal agencies review their reliance on bank alteration – a standard used to determine whether grazing harms steelhead. Haggerty ordered the Forest Service to consult with NMFS to determine whether its wild horse management plan adequately protects steelhead. The judge disagreed with the Forest Service’s contention that the Stouts shouldn’t be able to address the court on the issue. Elizabeth Howard of the Dunn Carney law firm said that even though the Forest Service is removing excess horses under its plan, the agency may find through consultation that it needs to remove even more of the animals. “This could allow for less pressure on the resource, improved steelhead habitat, and more capacity to allow the Stouts to resume their permitted grazing activities,” she said. The Stouts hold a permit to graze cattle on the federal land, but were blocked from using their assigned territory by a federal injunction in 2008. They obtained relief from the injunction in 2009 after showing that impacts blamed on their cattle were due to wild horses, but faced continuing limits on grazing...more