Wild Horses Could Keep Wildfire At Bay

Wild horse advocate Bill Simpson explains how wild horses are reducing fire hazard on the Oregon-California border.

 

NOTE: this article / episode was originally published to NPR.orgon June 14, 2022. This episode was hotsed by Stephanie O’Neill, produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Gisele Grayson and fact-checked by Rachel Carlson. Natasha Branch was the audio engineer.

Stephanie O’Neill reports that’s the hope behind the Wild Horse Fire Brigade, a non-profit program piloted by William Simpson.

Under a 1971 Congressional Act, the Bureau of Land Management has the right to round up wild horses on public lands. Oftentimes, those horses are shipped to holding facilities, where they are kept in captivity and separated from their families.

William Simpson wants to change that.

He wants to deploy the wild horses across public lands, to live and graze — and ultimately, prevent the worst wildfires.