The BLM Washington office has informed BLM Utah State Director Juan Palma that they don’t want to be an adversary to a bunch of folks in Utah who are planning an illegal roundup of wild horses (Why not? The BLM doesn’t mind being adversarial with wild horse advocates). The BLM is jumping through hoops (and possibly legal loopholes…oh wait, can it be another emergency roundup based on drought to avoid having to prepare an Environmental Assessment?) to” work with” this bunch who are continuing to threaten illegal roundups.
David Miller, the Iron County Commissioner who seems to be at the forefront of inciting this illegal act is quoted as saying “We are pleased with Juan and his leadership. We feel like we are all of the same spirit to do the right thing for everybody, including the horses,” Miller said. “But we aren’t going to wait around.”
(Uh oh. Another publicized threat of illegal activity.)
BLM’s Juan Palma said if a roundup takes place, horses would be held on property volunteered by a rancher, and then adds ”We will provide accountability throughout the process with strong oversight and responsibility.”
Really?
Let’s all write to Juan Palma (jpalma@blm.gov) and Joan Guilfoyle, BLM’s Division Chief of the Wild Horse & Burro Program (jguilfoy@blm.gov) to ask if the public will be able to attend the roundups in Iron County, Utah, and if the public will have access to the temporary holding corrals, too, so that we can have oversight and accountability. I’m sure the BLM will fall all over themselves to work with us on this.
Maybe we should also threaten to sue the BLM if they don’t reduce livestock grazing in the area, and threaten to go in and roundup the cattle ourselves (you know, because of the drought), and keep them on private property somewhere, with a promise to the owners that we’ll be nice to the cattle and we’ll provide strong oversight over ourselves. Let’s see if the BLM will work with us. If the BLM doesn’t treat us just like they’re treating these Iron County commissioners, would it be discrimination?
SOURCE: The Salt Lake Tribune
Iron County, BLM working on wild horse deal
BLM is looking for a compromise with Iron County, but if the feds don’t act soon, locals may do the roundup.
Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Wild horses are rounded up near the Swasey Mountains in Utah on Feb. 14, 2013. Of the 257 horses gathered, nearly 100 — many of them mares treated with a contraceptive — were returned to the range. Others were adopted or held in captivity. The federal Bureau of Land Management is charged with managing the estimated 36,000 wild horses roaming 10 Western states.
Negotiations are on in the brewing battle over wild horses in southwestern Utah, but so is the threat of a drought-inspired emergency roundup.
Iron County leaders reported Friday that the Bureau of Land Management has responded to their ultimatum to reduce the overpopulation of wild horses in the area, but they are still considering corralling the animals themselves.
“The state BLM director said he received communications from the Washington office that, based on the direction Iron County is taking, that rather than be an adversary that they should work with us,” County Commissioner Chairman David Miller said Friday morning. “They are working to get us a formalized statement that will help us get the population to the appropriate levels. But we are not calling off the cavalry. We are still putting together our own plan.”
The commission presented the BLM with a letter earlier this week warning the federal land agency to reduce the number of wild horses on the western edge of the county or it would. The deadline of high noon Friday came and went without any signs of roundups from either the county or the BLM.
County officials complain the horses are wreaking havoc on range shared by native wildlife and cattle on BLM-permitted land. The Utah office of the BLM has estimated 1,200 horses are spread over several management units. The agency’s own plans call for 300.
“In concept, we are all working toward the same goal: a shared responsibility for this wonderful icon of the West,” said Juan Palma, BLM’s Utah director, who mentioned Beaver County officials have also been involved in the discussions. “We have an agreement in concept, but it is not yet completely defined.”
Palma said the BLM has some legal processes to work out. He explained that if a roundup takes place, horses would be held on property volunteered by a rancher, and the federal agency would provide supervision and feed for the animals until they could be adopted or moved to other facilities.
“We can provide our experience of doing roundups for years,” he said. “Our biggest concern with the public aspect of it is the possibility of someone getting hurt. We don’t want that to happen.”
Palma emphasized that the agency has “concerns for the horses as well.”
“We will provide accountability throughout the process with strong oversight and responsibility. We know there are people out there concerned for the wild horses, and we will treat them well.”
He worries, for instance, that the mares are giving birth this time of year, so extra care would need to be taken in any roundup.
Palma plans to send a more formal proposal to Miller and suggests the county provide three people and the BLM three people to attend a meeting early next week to determine the logistics of any roundups.
“We are pleased with Juan and his leadership. We feel like we are all of the same spirit to do the right thing for everybody, including the horses,” Miller said. “But we aren’t going to wait around.”
County commissioners and ranchers are not the only ones concerned about the high numbers of wild horses in the West Desert.
Utah wildlife officials worry about their impact on other species. Wild horses and burros are not recognized as wildlife in Utah because the Wild Horse and Burro Act made them a federally regulated species, said Bill Bates, chief of wildlife for the Division of Wildlife Resources.
Even so, biologists are aware of their presence.
“Anybody in land management recognizes wild horses do have a significant impact in some locations,” Bates said. “In arid areas, where water is limited, they tend to camp out on springs and other sources.”
Wild horses and burros also tend to bully other animals.
“It has been well documented,” Bates said, “that bighorn sheep and other animals are less likely to go into springs or other water sources if there are horses there.”
Bates said Utah biologists consider wild horses and burros when they work on management plans for other species and discuss the animals when they huddle with the feds.
“We are supportive of the BLM,” he said, “but we would really encourage them to follow their management plans.”
It seems the threat by Iron County to do its own roundup and the drought have prompted the BLM to step up their efforts.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
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