National Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board, Oct. 9

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet October 9-11, 2018, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to discuss the pressing challenges of wild horse and burro management.  This includes the backlog of unadopted and unsold animals in BLM facilities and the adverse effects overpopulation is having on public lands.  The meeting will be live-streamed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Wednesday and Thursday, at http://www.blm.gov/live.  The BLM will also host a field trip for the Advisory Board to one of the local wild horse herd management areas on Tuesday, October 9. “The Advisory Board is comprised of stakeholders who bring diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise to the table as they take on some of the difficult issues facing the program,” said BLM Deputy Director Brian Steed.  “I look forward to hearing their ideas and recommendations for finding a path to long-term sustainable populations on the range through humane management practices.” As of May 22, 2018, the BLM estimated public rangelands were home to nearly 82,000 wild horses and burros in 10 Western states – the largest population estimate since the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed – and more than three times the number the habitat can sustainably support in conjunction with other authorized land uses.  At the same time, the BLM continues to care for approximately 45,000 unadopted and unsold excess animals in its off-range corrals and pastures, costing taxpayers $50 million annually – nearly two-thirds of the Wild Horse and Burro Program annual budget.