Wild horses raise concerns

Failure to manage wild horses on public lands is causing an issue for ranchers, and a lawsuit is not out of the question for the Bureau of Land Management, said Iron County Commissioner Dave Miller. Miller said the wild horses have been allowed to multiply and overgraze to a point where the ground is barren of feed for livestock. “They (BLM officials) come to the ranchers and ask them to cut their grazing allotments in half,” Miller said. “That’s literally a taking. Those grazing permits are like property.” Miller’s comments came after a meeting Monday when Mike Worthen, Iron County Natural Resource Specialist, said Nevada recently filed a lawsuit against the BLM for not protecting the rights of those who hold grazing permits, in respect to wild horses on public lands. While the commissioners are not actively pushing for a lawsuit, they did send a letter to the BLM in recent weeks expressing concern about the management of the wild horse program and giving their position on the issue. “The BLM expects others to follow policies they aren’t following,” Miller said. “They’re not taking care of their wild horses and they want the ranchers to pay the price. It’s not their fault.”...more