The Tonto National Forest is planning to round up horses on its land. The Forest Service has given a week notice for owners to come claim their horses that may be roaming around the forest.
These horses are considered unauthorized livestock. The issue for Tonto National Forest dates back to 1971, when the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed. Tonto National Forest Service Spokeswoman Carrie Templin said, at the time, the forest was surveyed for wild horses and burros.
“The only horses that were identified in the forest at the time were claimed as livestock from the neighboring Fort McDowell and Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Reservations,” Templin said.
Because of that, she said, “These horses [present in the forest now] have been moving onto national forest in an area where the Forest Service has no authority to manage them.”
The Bureau of Land Management is the part of the federal government that manages wild horse and burro populations. According to the BLM, wild horses don’t have natural predators and their populations double nearly every five years.
The Tonto National Forest is also concerned about public safety. It claims the horses have caused car accidents and are getting into highly populated recreation areas like Saguaro Lake.
Simone Netherlands with the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group doesn’t think the safety concerns are real. The group monitors and studies the animals.
She said she’s never heard of the horses hurting people.
“The forest service has pretty much sprung this public notice on us and has given the public absolutely no opportunity to voice how they feel," she said.
Netherlands said the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group plans to seek an injunction to stop the forest service from moving forward with the round up. The forest service hasn’t yet set a date to round up the horses.
