§ 11-30-115 — Unlawful killing of wild horses and burros; federal management and invoicing; enforcement by writ of mandamus; state management with other agencies and tribes

Wyoming § 11-30-115

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 11: Agriculture, Livestock and Other Animals
• Ch. 30: OFFENSES CONCERNING LIVESTOCK AND OTHER ANIMALS

Text

(a) For purposes of this section:
(i) "Affected nonfederal lands" means state,
municipal or county lands upon which the landowner has proof
that wild horses have regularly grazed;
(ii) "Appropriate management level" or "AML" means
the number of wild horses that the United States bureau of land
management or United States forest service determines can exist
in balance with other public land resources and uses. The AML is
a range of low to maximum levels at which wild horse herd
populations are consistent with the land's capacity to support
them;
(iii) "Herd management area" means lands under the
supervision of the United States bureau of land management or
United States forest service upon which populations of wild
horses are managed according to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming
Horses and Burros Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. § 1331 et seq.;
(iv) "Wild horse" means any unbranded and unclaimed
horse or burro on public lands.
(b) Any person, without legal justification, who willfully
and maliciously kills a wild horse is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty
dollars ($750.00), imprisonment for not more than six (6),
months or both.
(c) Upon the failure or refusal, as determined by the
governor, of the United States bureau of land management or
United States forest service to remove any wild horses claimed
by the United States bureau of land management or United States
forest service as belonging to a herd management area, which
regularly stray from federal lands, the office of state lands
and investments shall provide the United States secretary of the
interior or United States secretary of agriculture, as
applicable, with annual notice identifying the grazing cost for
those wild horses and a request for reimbursement of those
costs. To facilitate calculation of costs under this subsection
the office of state lands and investments shall:
(i) Determine the total area of the herd management
area plus adjacent affected nonfederal lands, and determine the
percentage of the total area consisting of affected nonfederal
lands;
(ii) Using annual wild horse data from the bureau of
land management or forest service, as applicable, calculate the
annual animal unit month amount of forage consumed by the wild
horses in the applicable area;
(iii) Multiply the forage consumed as calculated
under paragraph (ii) of this subsection by the percentage of
affected nonfederal lands determined under paragraph (i) of this
subsection and apply the rate for services rendered for each
acre of affected nonfederal lands:
(A) For wild horse numbers up to the high
appropriate management levels, an amount equal to the land lease
rate per animal unit month for Wyoming trust land grazing
leases;
(B) For wild horse numbers in excess of the high
appropriate management levels, an amount equal to three (3)
times the land lease rate per animal unit month for Wyoming
trust land grazing leases.
(d) Any reimbursement monies received from a federal land
management agency in response to a notice of costs of wild horse
grazing on affected nonfederal lands and request for
reimbursement sent pursuant to subsection (c) of this section
shall be deposited with the state treasurer and shall first be
credited to the municipality or county in the proportionate
share applicable in the notice of costs to municipal or county
lands included in the total area of affected nonfederal lands
pursuant to paragraph (c)(i) of this section and then the
balance shall be deposited in the applicable permanent land
income fund. A notice of costs sent pursuant to subsection (c)
of this section shall not be construed to impose any collections
responsibility or liability on the part of the state to a
municipality or county.
(e) The attorney general may seek a writ of mandamus or
take other appropriate action to compel the United States bureau
of land management or United States forest service, as
applicable, to take action to remove excess wild horses as
required under federal law from nonfederal lands. Recognizing
that wild horses roam without regard to political boundaries,
the nonfederal lands for which a writ of mandamus is sought
under this subsection may include private land.
(f) To manage wild horses in the state, including on the
Wind River Indian Reservation, the governor is authorized to
enter into cooperative agreements among state and local agencies
and with the United States bureau of land management, the United
States forest service, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the Northern
Arapaho Tribe, an official cooperative tribal governing body,
adjacent states, nongovernmental organizations or other private
entities. A cooperative agreement under this subsection may
provide for any cooperative undertaking to manage wild horses,
including population reduction tactics, permanent and temporary
fertility control techniques, expanding or increasing the number
of wild horse training and adoption programs and other removal
activities. Cooperative agreements shall address the long term
management of wild horse populations that are in excess of high
appropriate management levels. Any revenue generated as a result
of general fund expenditures shall be remitted to the state as
allowed by law. As used in this subsection:
(i) "Cooperative undertaking" includes an existing
program, or a program created pursuant to this subsection,
administered by a state agency or any party to the cooperative
agreement;
(ii) "Wild horse training and adoption programs"
includes programs with any state correctional facility under
W.S. 25-13-104.