The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board (Advisory Board) met in Salt Lake City, UT, Oct. 9-11 and crafted 13 recommendations, which still left gray areas regarding how to actually manage the overpopulation of wild horses on the range and in captivity.
Ethan Lane, chairman of the National Horse and Burro Rangeland Management Coalition (NHBRMC) and executive director of the Public Lands Council, told WLJ the long list of recommendations was sort of a mishmash with “something for everyone.” He called the group’s conclusions disappointing because the members had heard evidence during the meeting that would have allowed them to make stronger decisions.
“I think the expectation was that that board could, based on all of the data and testimony, provide some clear, concise recommendations. Instead, what we got was kind of a head-pat for everybody in the room,” Lane told WLJ. “Yet, on the whole I am pleased that the board continues to make clear that you can’t solve this problem without using every option on the table. You can’t solve this problem by avoiding sale without limitation. I think it is good to see that they are continuing to get across that message.”
The Advisory Board meeting came soon after the NHBRMC submitted public testimony to the BLM on the current state of the nation’s rangelands. The coalition noted that the overpopulation of horses and burros continues to threaten the health of rangelands and negatively affects the multiple uses of these public lands.
NHBRMC represents more than 10 million Americans and 18 national organizations, and includes sportsmen, livestock growers, state and local governments, resource management specialists, professional land managers and others concerned with the management of horses and burros in a commonsense and ecologically sound way.
At the previous two Advisory Board meetings, members recommended that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service take difficult, but necessary, steps to reduce the number of animals held in off-range holding facilities and to therefore be able to better manage the on-range situation. These recommendations included phasing out long-term holding over the next three years and applying that budget to: on -range management and adoptions; creating funding mechanisms to maximize adoptions and sales; and encouraging BLM to immediately follow the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and remove excess animals from the range to achieve appropriate management levels.
In the testimony, Lane and Lia Biondo, NHBRMC vice chair, reiterated that in September 2016, the Advisory Board recommended that BLM should “offer all suitable animals in long- and short-term holding deemed unadoptable for sale without limitation or humane euthanasia. Those animals deemed unsuitable for sale should then be destroyed in the most humane manner possible.”
The duo then stated, “We understand that the recent recommendations were not easy ones to make but are critical and were undertaken only after careful review of the dire situation facing the wild horse and burro herds, native wildlife and our public rangelands. Because it reflects original congressional intent and will help resolve the current wild horse and burro overpopulation crisis, our coalition supports the Advisory Board’s recommendations.”
Lane said the testimony and recommendations were part of the discussion in the recent meeting. He said there were “robust discussions” as the Advisory Board heard presentations from a wide range of people, many sharing the same concerns as had been expressed in the past. Much discussion centered on the continued growth in feral horse populations. Lane noted that when the board last met the horse numbers were estimated at 67,000; at the time of this meeting the population is in the mid-80,000 range. Lane said the current trend of a 20 percent per year growth is expected to continue if more robust management methods are not implemented.
Some of those management tools are non-lethal options including adoption and fertility control but those come with large financial costs.
As noted, in the end the board came up with a laundry list of recommendations. However, as of press time it had not been officially released.
Among the items on the list was to make use of sale without limitation including humane euthanasia, but another item calls for the group to “prioritize nonlethal management where possible.”
Lane said the definition of “when possible” was debated for at least 15 minutes. “The conversation in the room—and it is important that people understand this—it wasn’t just as easy as the board saying, “Yes, nonlethal is our preferred method.” The real debate was that the vast majority of the board—other than the activists—were very clear about not wanting to send a message that they are taking lethal management off the table or in any way diminishing the need for that. The activist side kept sort of pushing the idea that “Can’t we at least agree that we prefer to not kill them if we can avoid it?”
Lane continued, “I think that some said they could agree to it but only if it is said in a way that makes clear that it is great if possible but if not, the options need to be available.”
Now what?
Following the meeting, the Advisory Board can make recommendations to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and to the BLM. Lane noted, “Then the BLM can ignore them as they have in the past. They could take it under advisement—they don’t have to do anything, and in the past have done exactly that and have basically ignored them.”
Lane also said that part of the conversation that came up in the room were questions from the board to the BLM about what Congress has done so far with the report that Congress requested regarding wild horses. “That has been a frustrating part of this. Congress put the rider in the appropriations bills the last 10 years, preventing the BLM from managing the horses properly,” explained Lane. “Then Congress—the same exact people who have prevented the BLM from managing the horses—then demand that the Department of Interior provide them with a plan for how they are going to manage the horses.
“It’s kind of like Congress saying, ‘We’ve created this problem. Now provide us a plan of how you are going to get out of the problem we created.’”
Lane concluded, “It sort of highlights the absurdity of this situation in that there is no way to avoid the fact that this is a product of Congress having zero political courage to deal with this problem—zero.” — Rae Price,WLJeditor
