A judge has dismissed a lawsuit asking that the National Park Service remove malnourished feral horses from Cumberland Island National Seashore/Wild Cumberland

A federal judge, though sympathetic to the plight of feral horses at Cumberland Island National Seashore, has dismissed a lawsuit asking her to order the National Park Service to remove them to a more suitable home.

In her 53-page ruling (attached below), however, Judge Sarah E. Geraghty acknowledged the dire conditions the horses were confronted with and expressed her hopes that the Park Service, or another agency, might take action to benefit the horses as well as the seashore's environment and endangered species.

While the plaintiffs' goals were "laudable: to eliminate the horses suffering, and to protect fragile ecosystems and native species from harm," wrote Geraghty, "[F]ederal courts, however, are courts of limited jurisdiction. That is no less true when the goals pressed by litigants are worthy ones. After careful study and for the following reasons, the Court concludes that it is not empowered to provide the relief that Plaintiffs seek."

At the same time, the judge continued, "[N]o one wishes to see animals suffer, and Plaintiffs have plausibly argued that the NPS should take steps to protect and manage Cumberland Island’s feral horse population, not only for the well-being of the horses, but also to preserve the island’s ecosystem and its endangered species. While this case must be dismissed, the Court hopes that the important issues Plaintiffs have raised here might spur the NPS or other agencies to act."

Hal Wright, the attorney who represented the plaintiffs — Georgia Equine Rescue League Ltd., the Georgia Horse Council Inc., Center for Biological Diversity Southeast Director Will Harlan, Cumberland Island resident Carol Ruckdeschel, and even the horses themselves — said Tuesday that the judge's ruling was unusual because "she basically determined that there was a case, that all the facts were in place, and that the Park Service was derelict in protecting both the horses and the park."

"They're obligated to protect the park's resources," he continued. "The fact that they're not in itself, that's the issue. And they're not following the law, they're not doing their duty."

At Wild Cumberland, a nonprofit organization that advocates for protecting the wilderness, native species, and the ecology of Cumberland Island, Executive Director Jessica Howell-Edwards called the ruling "a shame — we have a moral obligation to these animals and ecosystems that extends beyond any legal culpability. Other park units embrace management tools for the safety of animals, ecosystems, and visitors alike."  

The National Park Service encounters a conumdrum when trying to manage horses in the National Park System.

At the heart of the case, which dates to April 2023, was whether the National Park Service was ignoring claims that the 140-170 feral horses not only were damaging the seashore's environment and two federally protected species but were not being humanely managed and should be removed from the seashore.

Since the lawsuit was filed, the Justice Department has tried to have it dismissed, arguing at one point that it doesn't see itself liable for the horses trampling on the nests of endangered species, such as piping plovers and loggerhead sea turtles. 

Read the National Park Service's report on impacts caused by the horses.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit in part because though the plaintiffs argued that the Park Service had violated the Administrative Procedures Act, they did not point "to any ... act that the NPS has taken which requires formal consultation under the [Endangered Species Act], or any agency action that could have harmed an endangered species. In fact, according to Plaintiffs’ own allegations, the NPS has simply taken no action with respect to the feral horses at all—its policy has been one of non-intervention."

Geraghty also rejected plaintiffs' arguments that the Park Service was in violation of the National Park Service Organic Act, the legislation that created Cumberland Island National Seashore, and the Wilderness Act, holding that those three legislative acts don't provide a "discrete legal duty" for the Park Service to follow, but rather give the agency "a great deal of discretion in deciding how to achieve" the goals laid out in those measures.

"They certainly do not 'mandate, with the clarity necessary to support judicial action ...' that the NPS remove the feral horse population from Cumberland Island, or otherwise manage the horses in any particular manner," wrote the judge.

She also said the Park Service's action, or lack of action, in the case of the horses did not violate the agency's Management Policies. While those policies direct the Park Service to manage nonnative species, they do not "state a discrete legal duty to remove feral horses from Cumberland Island because they expressly reserve discretion on the management of invasive species; that is, exotic species will be managed only where the agency believes such 'control is prudent and feasible[.]'"