The Onaqui Herd near Dugway, Utah. Photo from Bureau of Land Management

A new bill allows tribes and states to take over management of wild horses and burros from the Bureau of Land Management.

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) introduced H.R.5058, the Wild Horse Oversight Act, last week. He said tribes and states can do a better job than BLM at managing the herds.

“States and tribes already successfully manage large quantities of wildlife within their borders,” Stewart said in a press release. “If horses and burros were under that same jurisdiction, I’m confident that new ideas and opportunities would be developed to manage the herds more successfully than the federal government.”

Several tribes have complained about large wild horse populations on lands within reservation borders. The bill could help address some of their concerns.

The bill was referred to the House Natural Resources Committee. A hearing hasn't been scheduled.

Get the Story:
Rep. Stewart hopeful wild-horse bill can get to Senate floor (The St. George Spectrum 7/15)
Rep. Chris Stewart's bill seeks to allow states to manage wild horses (AP 7/13)