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a wild stallion protects his harem from an intruder Photo by carrol abel
In a bid to get Congress on board with his newly announced plan for managing the nations wild horses and burros, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee. Secretary Salazar's letter makes several points that beg a check on the facts and on the spin factor. Statements in the letter are as follows:
As wild horses have no natural predators, the herds have grown substantially."
Part FACT part FICTION: Herds have grown in numbers. Mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes are all considered natural predators of t wild horses and burros.
In four decades under BLM's protection, wild horse populations that were 'fast disappearing from the American scene' have returned to rapid growth... The total wild horse and burro population is now approximately 69,000... By contrast, in 1971 the total population was approximately 25,000."
PART FACT / PART SPIN: Though this statement is correct as much as can be determined, one only has to do the math in order to see the spin. The management plan calls for sterilizing 25,000 wild horses. An additional 7,000 will be placed in sanctuary with the probability of sterilization. The BLM plans to remove 11,500 horses and burros from the wild this fiscal year alone. Take these numbers from 69,000 and we are left with 500 more than the 1971 population. Add the fact that this remaining population is to include herds of gelded males, an aggressive program to birth control 1,500 mares , and selective removal to lessen the numbers of mares in the wild, we are left with wild horse and burro numbers " fast disappearing from the American scene."
...arid western lands and watersheds cannot support a population this large without significant damage to the environment."
SPIN: This statement may be true in the strictest sense. However it infers that the equine populations is causing the problem. A 1990 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that, "Wild horse removals have not demonstrably improved range conditions for several reasons. First wild horses are vastly outnumbered on federal rangelands by domestic livestock...behavior patterns make the horses somewhat less damaging than cattle...in many areas where wild horse removals have taken place, BLM authorized livestock grazing levels have either not been reduced or have been increased..."
The BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program performance is measured by the cumulative percent of herd management areas achieving appropriate management levels. It is possible that pressure to "perform" has led the program in a direction opposite to Congressional intent.
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Comments
The numbers analysis and overpopulation claim are COMPLETE spin: Mr. Salazar assures us that wild horses, who were deemed to be "fast disappearing from the American scene" when the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed, "have returned to rapid growth," with a free-roaming population estimated at 33,000 head, from a supposed 25,000 in 1971. In fact, BLM's first census, conducted in 1974, found 42,000 horses. In a later study, the National Academy of Sciences found BLM's population estimate to have been ?undoubtedly low to an unknown, but perhaps substantial, degree.
Counting the horses that are in government holding as part of the wild population is preposterous: federal protection was granted to ensure viable numbers of wild FREE-ROAMING horses "as components of the public lands."
By BLM's own dubious estimates, only 33,000 horses remain in the wild. And I don't see how a 25% net population loss over 30 years amounts to "rapid growth."
Good point VIP! By Congressional therefore legal definition, those horses now in long and short term holding are no longer to be considered as "wild". Population analysis, both now and in 1971, is faulty at best. I believe the NAS study to which you refer quoted a population of 17,000.
Look for future posts on managing our nations wild horses and burros- what the public doesn't know.
Thanks for your comment.
C.A.
Wonderful information from the previous posters. I thank you for being brave and caring enough to confront the lies of Mr. Salazar. If you want to see the difference in removing cattle from an area for a year go to the Oregon National Desert Association and under legal cases look up ONDA v Kimbel et al. Half way down the page is a photo that shows the water areas after one year sans cattle. Of course this is the type of damage that is blamed on horses hmmmm.
MorganG. - Thanks for the info. The difference couldn't be more obvious!
In a 2002 publication titled "Land Held Hostage", Thomas L. Fleischner, Ph.D. states " The Environmental Protection Agency concluded that riparian conditions throughout the west are now the worst in American history - livestock grazing is a primary reason."
Thanks for your comment
To Carrol Abel: the 17,000 number in '71 came from BLM, based on....well, whatever number everybody (including cattle ranchers) was comfortable with at the time. In other words, they pulled the number out of their you-know-what (starting a long tradition for BLM). The National Academy of Sciences report found the estimate to have been "undoubtedly low to an unknown, but perhaps substantial, degree," given subsequent census results and taking into account the horses' growth rate and the number of horses since removed. Based on statements by people who were involved at the time the 71 Act was passed, the number is likely to have been closer to 50,000.
Good job Carrol and the rest. All good points. BLM is never going to get its problems resolved if its strategies depend on spin rather than correcting some fundamental flaws in its wild horse program. More details can be found in the AOWHA "Wild Horse War Room" (accessible via a Google search.)
The only way we will ever get this problem solved is by keeping the discussion real. Facts are facts.
Think about this - Salazoo wants to spend yet more millions and millions of tax dollars on this wacky scheme. The stallions are gelded, mares sterilized with PZP and on top of that, they will be separated into male and female only herds. These will be NON-REPRODUCING herds. Duh. Herds that can't reproduce aren't gonna be around very long. Before you can turn around he'll have "sanctuaries" full of nothing. Not gonna attract many tourists that way.
Not that gelded/sterilized separated geldings and mares are going to be much of a draw for those who want to see "wild horses" anyway. Geez! I have a gelding and a mare. Maybe I'll start charging admission to watch them. At least they are in the SAME pasture!
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