The Salt River horses are feral equids that roam the Tonto National Forest’s Salt River area. | Photo: iStock

The organization established to protect Arizona’s Salt River horses has received the contract to manage the herd.

Herds of free-roaming wild horses and burros have been federally protected and under Bureau of Land Management (BLM) protection since 1971, but feral horses (such as the Salt River herd) derived from domestic horses that were turned out or escaped their owners are not covered by the federal law. The Salt River herd was protected under Arizona law and in U.S. Forest Service care. Subsequently, the nonprofit Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) was established to protect and preserve the horses.

Earlier this year the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) issued a request for proposals to contractually hire one or more parties to undertake the herd’s day-to-day management. The department officially contracted the SRWHMG to manage the herd on May 28