Case 1:14-cv-00485-ABJ Document 15-3 Filed 09/19/14 Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

AMERICAN WILD HORSE

PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN, et al.,

Case No. 1:14-cv-485-ABJ

Plaintiffs,
v.
THOMAS VILSACK, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, et al.,

Defendants,
and,
CALIFORNIA CATTLEMENS
ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA FARM
BUREAU FEDERATION, PUBLIC LANDS
COUNCIL, NATIONAL CATTLEMENS
BEEF ASSOCIATION, MODOC COUNTY,
WILLIAM FLOURNOY, CAROLYN AND
JAMES PETER CAREY, and MIKE BYRNE,
Proposed Defendant-Intervenors

DECLARATION OF MIKE BYRNE

IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO INTERVENE
BY PROPOSED DEFENDANT-INTERVENORS,
CALIFORNIA CATTLEMENS ASSOCIATION, ET AL.
I, Mike Byrne, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746, do hereby declare as follows:
1.

I am a rancher, livestock grazing permit holder in the Modoc National Forest, and

a private landowner with private lands near the Modoc forest and the Devils Garden Wild Horse
Territory (WHT) at issue in this case, including private property entirely surrounded by the
Modoc forest and WHT. I am a member of each of the organizations who have joined in this

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motion to intervene, and have served in leadership positions including past Second Vice
President and current Chairman of the Federal Lands Committee for the California Cattlemens
Association, as well as a past regional Chair for Public Lands Council.
2.

I am over eighteen years of age and am competent to testify from my first-hand

knowledge as to the matters set forth in this Declaration.

3.

I currently reside in Tulelake, California and can be reached at 8340 County Road

114, Tulelake, CA 96134. I have been engaged in cattle ranching for over 50 years in the area on
both public and private lands. My family has been grazing cattle here for five generations, since
arriving as some of the areas first emigrants in the 1860s. I currently have a grazing permit that
entitles me to graze cattle on several thousand acres of pastures on the Carr Allotment in the
Devils Garden WHT. As voluntary stewards of the land, it is in our interest to ensure the longterm productivity and health of the public rangelands on which we depend. In addition to relying
on the natural resources of the public lands in the area to make a living, I regularly recreate in the
Modoc National Forest and take enjoyment from watching the wildlife (including bird-watching)
and plant life on these public lands.
4.

The impacts caused by an increasing wild horse population in the Devils Garden

WHT have had significant effects on my ability to use the animal unit months (AUMs) I have
been permitted for livestock grazing. Two out of the last four years, I have not been able to turn
out any cattle on one of my fourteen pastures due to the high density of horses causing
deteriorated conditions in the Carr Allotment. Such impacts include overutilization of vegetation
and significant soil erosionwhich allows for invasive species to proliferateas well as the
destruction and depletion of water holes, ephemeral springs, and seeps that livestock depend on.

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5.

The failure to appropriately manage wild horse populations on the adjacent WHT

has also detrimentally impacted my ability to graze cattle on my private lands. Three private
properties, totaling over 2,000 acres, are currently impacted by the presence of wild horses.
These are the Steele Swamp, PotHole Spring, and Pothole properties, which are each located
within the outer boundaries of the Carr Allotment. The wild horse impacts are primarily
concentrated on those areas where water is available. At any given time, the number of wild
horses on my private lands and the Carr Allotment average between 35-50 horses.
6.

One way to measure the lost value due to these impacts is to look at the AUMs

foregone and the cost (i.e., rental value) for obtaining replacement pasture. Taking the 35-50
horses on my private and the public lands, over 12 months, those horses use between 420 AUMs
(35 x 12 = 420) and 600 AUMs (50 x 12 = 600) in a single year. With the rental value for
grazing pasture at about $35/AUM, wild horses can be estimated to account for between $14,700
and $21,000 in added costs per year.
7.

Much of the WHT, including the Carr Allotment, also provides habitat for a wide

variety of wildlife and fish. As already noted, wild horse overpopulation has resulted in
overutilization of forage and proliferation of inedible invasive species; these effects deprive
wildlife of their habitat as well.
8.

As I understand it, the Forest Service will not fulfill its duty to remove wild

horses from the range until the Territory Management Plan (TMP) is upheld and it receives
funding to conduct a horse gather. Removing the excess horses from the Carr Allotment and the
rest of the range will allow me to make use of my grazing rights, which date back to the 1930s,
and which are protected by federal law. Removal will also ensure that I and others who depend
on the long-term productivity of range resources and maintenance of valuable wildlife habitat

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will not be put out of business. Broadening and slightly reducing the appropriate management
level (AML) will help the Forest Service meet those goals, in conjunction with the other changes
proposed in the TMP.
9.

The TMP proposals have been rigorously evaluated with participation by a wide

variety of stakeholders. For many years I have been involved in this process, having recently
provided oral testimony at a meeting in Sacramento with the Bureau of Land Managements
Horse Advisory Committee. I will continue to be involved as the TMP changes are
implemented, as further delay in reducing wild horse population numbers to their AML will be to
my detriment.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on
September 4, 2014.

/s/ Mike Byrne

Mike Byrne