Soon after federal officials announced the imminent capture of 100 or so horses within the boundaries of a national forest near here — to be sold at auction, “condemned and destroyed, or otherwise disposed of” — a resourceful cadre of self-appointed guardians issued a desperate call for action.
“Salt River Wild Horses To Be Eliminated,” they wrote on a Facebook page created for the horses, which has more than 200 pictures and 220,000 likes. “EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD — PLEASE HELP.” The response was broad and fast, stunning the guardians, as well as officials at Tonto National Forest, to whom the horses are a nuisance and a risk.
Since then, Arizona officials have joined in the chorus of protests, outlining the boundaries of a dispute that, at its essence, encompasses an old political battle between state and federal governments over the stewardship of public lands in the West.
The fight over the horses is only partly about horses: It is also about who and what can use these lands — and who should have the right to make such decisions. Relying on the state’s outlaw image and independent streak, Arizona’s lawmakers, in atypical bipartisan concert, asked the federal government to find another resolution or else stay out of their equine affairs.
With pressure mounting, the Forest Service hit pause. Last month, Neil Bosworth, the Tonto National Forest supervisor, suspended any planned roundups for four months.
Divided into five ranger districts, the Kisatchie National Forest spans 600,000 acres across northern Louisiana. As a home to all kinds of animals, lately the focus has been on the hundreds of wild horses that roam the land. For years these horses have roamed through Kisatchie National Forest, but now they’re starting to encroach on army training grounds.
The area is free of trees and offers the perfect feast for horses….Nice green grass. In the last few years, army officials say they’ve seen an increase in horses coming onto the training ground which puts their soldiers at risk.
Col. David G. Athey said these men and women only have a 14 day period to train before they are deployed. Adding, millions of dollars are spent during this two week period. So every minute counts if the soldiers have to stop to let a herd of horses pass that’s money wasted.
“We understand this is an emotional issue for some people and we appreciate that but for us our bottom line is the safety of the soldiers and the safety of the mission,” Col. Athey said. Col. Athey says they are pushing to have the horses removed from the property.
Others say, “There has to be a way to handle this appropriately. And for the herds that are truly wild that have been living there self-sustained for 75 years to remain. We see there are problems and we want to assist the army in handling it the best way possible for the safety of the solider, community, and horses.”
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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