Photojournalist Asks Court for Access to Wild Horse Operations

A Nevada journalist is asking federal courts to remove Bureau of Land Management restrictions she says makes it nearly impossible for her to cover BLM wild horse roundups and warehouse facilities.

Laura Leigh, a wild horse journalist, photojournalist and correspondent for Horseback Magazine, is petitioning the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She wants the San Francisco appeals court to redress the inaction of a federal district court in Nevada on her request that restrictions on her access to the roundups and warehouses be lifted.

Leigh claims that the BLM denied her access because her coverage was unfavorable to BLM. Leigh is unable to cover the roundups because they are conducted by helicopter and on private land. The case may be moot, since the roundup Leigh wanted to cover has already taken place.

• "Photojournalist Seeks Court Assistance in Reporting Access," News Media Update, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Feb. 18, 2011, by Rachel Costello.