A federal appeals court has upheld a decision dismissing a lawsuit brought by the Nevada Association of Counties (NACO) and the Nevada Farm Bureau Federation (NFBF) asking the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to remove wild horses from public and private rangelands to protect the ranges’ ecologic balance.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 federally protects wild horses and burros residing on Western rangelands and places them under BLM jurisdiction. The BLM website estimates that more than 20,000 wild horses and burros resided in Nevada during fiscal 2014; Nevada’s maximum management level is about 12,700 animals, the agency said.

In 2014, NACO and NFBF filed a complaint on behalf of Nevada ranchers who graze their livestock on the same ranges. The complaint alleged that the BLM violated the act because the agency failed to remove “excess” horses from the rangelands which resulted in damage to the ranges’ ecological integrity and threatened the ranchers’ livelihoods.

Later, the court granted a request by the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC), author Terri Farley, and wild horse photographer Mark Terrell to intervene in the case; they subsequently filed a motion asking the court dismiss the case on grounds that the lawsuit lacked merit