Finally, Moving Forward With Management Action
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
Those who care about responsible management of federally-managed rangelands got good news in the announcement of this Bureau of Lands Management news release that the court had ruled that the gathering of Wild Horses, overpopulating portions of Elko County, could move forward. Hopefully, this project will now go forward without further delays.
As the BLM news release highlights, the estimated population for these herd areas is over 450 percent above the appropriate management levels and getting the herds back into the population range which fits the carrying capacity of the resources means gathering roughly 1,726 head of horses. Unfortunately, this is the only planned gather for Nevada this year, leaving the rest of the state’s federally-managed lands teeming with populations that continue to grow beyond the numbers which sustainably match a healthy range environment.
In addition to the delay tactics employed by those who oppose responsible management of the out-of-control horse numbers, financial realities of the agency in charge of administering the Wild Horse and Burro program (BLM) result in the melt-down situation we’re fast approaching. Solutions to work through these circumstances are as difficult to find as fiscal sanity in Washington, D.C.
While we can appreciate the ability to finally move forward with this small segment of Nevada’s overwhelming Wild Horse mess, figuring out ways of dealing with the overall inability of the BLM to meet its Wild Horse management obligations needs much more extensive attention.
Those who care about responsible management of federally-managed rangelands got good news in the announcement of this Bureau of Lands Management news release that the court had ruled that the gathering of Wild Horses, overpopulating portions of Elko County, could move forward. Hopefully, this project will now go forward without further delays.
As the BLM news release highlights, the estimated population for these herd areas is over 450 percent above the appropriate management levels and getting the herds back into the population range which fits the carrying capacity of the resources means gathering roughly 1,726 head of horses. Unfortunately, this is the only planned gather for Nevada this year, leaving the rest of the state’s federally-managed lands teeming with populations that continue to grow beyond the numbers which sustainably match a healthy range environment.
In addition to the delay tactics employed by those who oppose responsible management of the out-of-control horse numbers, financial realities of the agency in charge of administering the Wild Horse and Burro program (BLM) result in the melt-down situation we’re fast approaching. Solutions to work through these circumstances are as difficult to find as fiscal sanity in Washington, D.C.
While we can appreciate the ability to finally move forward with this small segment of Nevada’s overwhelming Wild Horse mess, figuring out ways of dealing with the overall inability of the BLM to meet its Wild Horse management obligations needs much more extensive attention.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 7/20/2011 12:00 PM 
Categories: Natural Resources
Tags: Wild Horse Roundups Wild Horses BLM
Categories: Natural Resources
Tags: Wild Horse Roundups Wild Horses BLM
Comments