A group of conservationists has sued the U.S. Forest Service to protect a region of the Tonto National Forest from “hundreds of unowned horses” they say threaten endangered species in the area.
In 2017, federal and state agencies committed to reducing the population of the Salt River herd to only 100 horses to minimize impacts and protect other species.
However, the Forest Service recently approved to plan to reduce the population to 100 to 200 horses over the next 10 years through birth control and natural attrition.
But the Center for Biological Diversity said in the lawsuit that it would take closer to 35 years to get the herd down from an estimated 500 horses to just 200.
Conservationists say the Forest Service is “failing to do their job” as the horses threaten endangered animals and drive out other native wildlife that competes for food, like bighorn sheep and mule deer.