A Nevada bill that would have stripped Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horses and burros of their wildlife status, possibly threatening the animals’ access to water resources in that state, has died in committee.

The bill, AB 329, would have amended current law pertaining to the appropriation, use, and regulation of water resources in Nevada to specifically exclude wild horses and burros from the state’s definition of wildlife. Currently state law mandates the provision of water resources to recognized wildlife. The bill would have defined wildlife "to mean all wild mammals, wild birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, or other crustaceans other than wild horses and burros."

BLM Spokesperson Heather Emmons Jasinski said the agency does not typically apply for water rights for wild horses and burros in Nevada because, under the state’s current definition of wildlife, the animals are covered under state law pertaining to the adjudication of vested water rights and the allocation of public waters. That law requires all permit holders for springs or seeps to allow access to wildlife that customarily use it.

The agency only applies for a water right if it wants to put in a trough or well, or when a water right is necessary to protect a water source or riparian habitat due to development, she said