2009 Mustang Round-ups: What is the Real  BLM Strategy?

Katy M. Moran

March 24, 2010

During the Calico round-up in Nevada, as one band of horses was chased by helicopter into the holding pens, another one was being funneled right in behind them.  Seven mustangs

lost their lives during the initial muster, while an additional 70  died and 39 mares miscarried when they reached the processing compound at Fallon . A total of 1,317 horses were brought to the facility to be freeze branded and vaccinated.  Most of these animals will end up in some form of captivity, even if they are running loose in a sanctuary, and they will never be returned to their home ranges  in Nevada. 

 It is projected that the BLM intends to remove an additional 8,000 Mustangs from Nevada this year alone.

 

Observers who have monitored the BLM wild horse management practices think the government is determined to remove as many of the mustangs as possible, if not the entire population. 

Many other populations use these federal lands, including ranchers, miners, and hunters.  Wild horse advocates feel that the BLM is promoting these groups' commercial interests over the well-being of the federally protected wild horses.  Wild horse supporters have filed a lawsuit to stop additional round-ups this year.

In 1971 Congress passed the 'Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act' which designated some 50 million acres in 10 western states for use by the herds.  At that time, the BLM
estimated that there were 17,000 animals. Subsequent research showed that the numbers were more like 42,000 horses and that the initial estimated was wildly low. 
Unfortunately, the 17,000 figure, however flawed, has remained as the official baseline and target which the BLM uses to make decisions on viable land use to support the populations. 

In the meantime, the designated 50 million acres have been reduced by 30 to 40%.  A BLM spokesperson attributed this loss to both the wrongful inclusion of state and privately owned lands in the original territory, and the necessity to keep the range land healthy.  In contrast, wild
horse advocates point out that much of this land has been removed from mustang use because the system of cattle-grazing permits  brings in money to the government.  Cattle ranchers maintain that the horses overgraze the land, while their cattle are only put on the range for a few months at a time. 

This is obviously a complex issue, with vocal advocates on both sides – however, several reports by government entities have questioned the BLM's assumptions on which they base their management decisions.  In 1982, reports by the National Academy of Sciences and the General Accounting Office pointed out flaws in the BLM rationale for reducing herd sizes including: horses reproduce at lower rates than BLM assumptions; horses graze at much lower population densities than the permitted cattle; that the initial population targets set in 1971 were faulty; and that advisory groups influencing BLM policy were made up of grazing land permit-holders. 

Currently, there are some 33,000 to 37,000 wild horses living on the range.  The BlM goal is to reduce those numbers to 26,600 animals.  Meanwhile, there are approximately 32,000 horses and burros living in holding pens which is costing the government a significant amount of money each year to maintain.  At the same time, at least two million cattle are permitted on the range. 

There are BLM plans for using birth control methods on the remaining wild horses, and funds have apparently been set aside to purchase pasture land in the midwest where some of the herds will be resettled in areas where the public can view them.  Wild horse advocates point out that birth control methods tried in the past have been ineffective and that fenced-in animals do not fulfill the intent of the 1971 Act. 

The lawsuit to stop the round-ups will be in court next month.  The only thing we can be sure of is that some groups will be unhappy about the outcome whatever it may be.

SOURCES:  FXMullen/RGJ.com, Wildhorsepreservation.com