A federal court in Denver, Colorado, has dismissed an appeal from the state of Wyoming seeking the removal of wild horses from the state’s Checkerboard area, where private, federal, and state lands intermingle and several herd management areas (HMAs) are located.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act federally protects wild horses and burros residing in Western states and places them in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) jurisdiction. In 2014, the BLM began removing wild horses from the Checkerboard area to comply with a consent decree between the BLM and the owners of livestock that graze BLM lands. Prior to the removal, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead said the state would sue the Department of the Interior and the BLM over its wild horse and burro management relative to range use. Wyoming subsequently filed suit against the alleging that the gather was illegal and asked the courts to order the BLM to manage the state’s wild horses according to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act.

“It is my belief, and the belief of other Western governors, that the BLM does not have the resources to manage wild horses effectively,” Mead said in a written statement. “By filing suit it sends a message that wild horse management is a priority and the BLM must be provided the funding necessary to manage them.”

That initial lawsuit was dismissed, and Wyoming appealed the decision