Public Lands Official to Congress: Federal Wild Horse Management System “Crippled to Point of Catastrophic Failure”

The current system of managing wild horses and burros on public lands “has been crippled to the point of catastrophic failure” and Congress needs to step in to improve the system “to the benefit of all wildlife, rangelands, and the multiple uses of those rangelands.” That was the direct message on Capitol Hill July 16, 2019, from Ethan Lane of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC). In his testimony, Lane pointed out the dire situation now playing out on the West’s public lands: while the rangeland can appropriately support approximately 26,000 wild horses and burros, more than 88,000 currently roam across 10 Western states as of March 2019, according to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM.) Even more concerning is that on-range populations are doubling every four to five years, with a population of approximately 366,000 on-range horses and burros likely by 2028. “Excessive populations deplete scarce food and water resources on the arid rangelands, leading to starvation and dehydration of the horses and burros,” Lane testified. “Maintaining the status quo places our public lands – and all animals and multiple-use activities that rely on those rangelands – at risk.” In addition to laying out a variety of specific ways that wild horse and burro populations could be brought under control, Lane also endorsed and submitted for the record a compromise proposal that has been agreed to by stakeholders across the political spectrum – from ranchers to municipalities to national humane advocacy groups...MORE