FYI …
BLM Press Release: WHB Advisory Board Workshop & Meeting
Bureau of Land Management Contact: Tom Gorey
For release: Thursday, May 13, 2010 (202-912-7420)
National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Will Conduct Public Workshop and Hold Meeting in June in Denver
The Bureau of Land Management announced today that the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will conduct a public workshop and hold a regular meeting in June at a two-day event in Denver. The workshop on Monday, June 14, will provide the public with a unique opportunity to express their views, comments, and suggestions regarding Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s wild horse initiative, which he and BLM Director Bob Abbey announced last October. The Board will hold a regular meeting on wild horse management issues on Tuesday, June 15.
The public workshop and the Board meeting will take place in Denver, Colorado, at the Magnolia Hotel, 818 17th St., Denver, CO 80202. The hours of the Monday workshop are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time; the Tuesday Board meeting is set for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time. The hotel’s phone number for reservations is 303-607-9000. The business agendas for the public workshop and Board meeting can be found on page 26990 of the Thursday, May 13, Federal Register(http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=762416245134+2+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve).
On Monday, June 14, the public will be able to provide feedback and input concerning Secretary Salazar’s initiative, the details of which can be accessed at the BLM’s website (www.blm.gov); the specific Web address is http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/national/initiative.html.
On Tuesday, June 15, the public may address the Advisory Board at an appropriate point in the agenda, which is expected to be about 3 p.m., local time. Individuals who want to make a statement should register with the BLM by noon on the day of the meeting at the meeting site. Depending on the number of speakers, the Board may limit the length of presentations, set at three minutes for previous meetings. Speakers, who should address the specific wild horse and burro-related topics listed on the agenda, must submit a written statement of their comments, which may be sent electronically to the BLM by accessing the following Web address: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/wh_b_contact_us/enhanced_feedback_form.html. Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the National Wild Horse and Burro Program, WO-260, Attention: Ramona DeLorme, 1340 Financial Blvd., Reno, NV 89502-7147. Written comments pertaining to the Advisory Board meeting should be submitted no later than close of business June 7.
For additional information about the meeting, please contact Ramona DeLorme, Wild Horse and Burro Administrative Assistant, at 775-861-6583. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may reach Ms. DeLorme at any time by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
The National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board provides input and advice to the BLM as it carries out its responsibilities under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. This law mandates the protection, management, and control of these free-roaming animals in a manner that ensures healthy herds at levels consistent with the land’s capacity to support them. The BLM manages about 37,000 wild horses and burros that roam BLM-managed rangelands in 10 Western states; the agency also feeds and cares for more than 35,000 horses and burros that are maintained in short-term corrals and long-term Midwestern pastures.
The Advisory Board meets at least twice a year and the BLM Director may call additional meetings when necessary. Members serve without salary, but are reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses according to government travel regulations.
The BLM manages more land – 253 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
To whom it may concern: My comments are as follows: 1. A moratorium should be placed on all roundups/gathers until an accurate and independent assessment of all population numbers and range conditions are made available to the public in all HMAs. Long term solutions need to be made. Thoughtful and comprehensive assessment of the ROAM act should be taken into consideration.
2. Continued or begin the use of PZP which has been used and tested since the 1970s. Since the BLM has had knowledge of this drug for many years, we wonder why it has not been put ino greater use. 3. The millions of acres of public lands –HMAs–that have been taken away/zeroed out from the rightful owners, the wild horses and burros should be returned to them and water wells and or water holding facilities should be added to these areas for better dispersement of all animals in the HMAs, thus better management of the rangelands. 4. Wild horse and burro rangelands should be primarily for the use of the wild horses and burros and free of the livestock that have been put on the HMAs. 5. Federal grazing permits should be bought back and returned to the wild horse and burro HMAs. The American taxpayers should not have to subsidize the livestock industry for grazing permits on public lands. 6. Independent assessments should be held to reanalyze the appropriate management levels (AML) for each HMA. A comprehensive, scientific, and independent public review (open to the public) of how to determine how many horses/burros can inhabit rangeland should be studied. The biological, ecological, behavioral and genetic factors should be considered and enforced. 7. The moving of wild horses/burros onto government controlled facilities in the mid-west is not the answer. They are not wild horses/burros any longer. They have been uprooted from their family units; the stallions from their mares, the mares from their foals and bachelor stallions no longer can vie for a harem of mares and foals. These animals that adapted temselves to the hard life of the western landscape is gone. The grasses and rangeland of the mid-west is not what they have been making a living on for hundreds of years. We would like to see them kept wild and free. 8. I believe the BLM has many unanswered questions in their wild horse and burro program. They either do not know the answers or are unwilling to give the informaion to the public. Our taxpayer dollars could be put to better use than that of the BLMs horse management program. Perhaps the BLM should be removed from this management and a separate division should be established. Thank you for accepting comments. Bettye Dominick
Bettye, I hope you submit these excellent comments to BLM via the avenues listed above. Thanks you for also sharing them here!