The following article is from www.theHORSE.com:
Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Pryor Mustang Herd Case
by: Pat Raia
A federal court judge sided with wild horse advocates earlier this month when he declined to dismiss their lawsuit opposing a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) plan to construct a fence at the Custer National Forest, which spans from South Dakota to Montana. The fence would border the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, located near Lovell, Wyo.
The suit, filed in July by The Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue, and photographer and author Carol Walker, alleges that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) new Herd Area Management Plan and the USFS Plan to construct the two-mile-long fence violates the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 because it denies mustangs access to traditional grazing areas.
The agencies had sought a dismissal of the case, which represents an amended version of a September 2009 complaint seeking a court-ordered halt to a BLM gather of 190 mustangs from the Pryor range. The advocates amended their complaint after U.S. District Court Judge Edmund G. Sullivan denied the restraining order and allowed the gather to take place.
On Dec. 15, District of Columbia District Court Judge James S. Gwin declined to dismiss the suit and granted the advocates 30 days to file a second amended complaint in connection with the case.
Cloud Foundation Executive Director Ginger Kathrens who produced a series of documentary films about the Pryor Herd, said she was pleased that the case will continue.
“We hope that both the BLM and USFS are made to answer for the 40-plus years of mismanagement of this precious and celebrated wild horse herd,” Kathrens said.
BLM Spokesman Tom Gorey declined comment on the ongoing litigation.
