For Immediate Release: July 3, 2007      
Contact: Sarah Ferguson BLM 202-785-6560
Tom Gorey   BLM 202-452-5137
Denise Adamic BLM 303-239-3671 

BLM Sets Meeting of National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board; Bureau also Announces Re-appointments to Board      

The Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet later this month in Boise, Idaho, to discuss matters relating to the management, protection, and control of wild horses and burros on Western public rangelands.  The BLM also announced today the re-appointment of three members of the Advisory Board, which will meet on July 30, 2007, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., local time, at the Grove Hotel in Boise. 

The 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.  The 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 29,000 wild horses and burros that roam BLM-managed rangelands in 10 Western states.

The public may address the Advisory Board at the July 30 meeting 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 (The Grove Hotel, 245 South Capitol Blvd., Boise, Idaho, 83702; 208-333-8000).  Depending on the number of speakers, the Board may limit the length of presentations, set at three minutes for previous meetings.

Speakers must submit a written copy of their statement to the BLM at the meeting; those who would like to comment but are unable to attend may submit a written statement by July 25, 2007, to: Bureau of Land Management, National Wild Horse and Burro Program, WO-260, Attention: Ramona DeLorme, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, Nevada, 89502-7147.  Comments may also be e-mailed to: Ramona_DeLorme@blm.gov.  Those submitting comments electronically should include the identifier “WH&B” in the subject of their message and their name and address in the body of the message.
For additional information regarding 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 three newly re-appointed members of the nine-member Advisory Board, which reflects a diverse representation of interests, are Dr. Vernon D. Dooley of Powell, Wyoming (who represents wild horse and burro research); Dr. J. Wayne Burkhardt of Indian Valley, Idaho (natural resource management); and Renee C. Taylor of Evansville, Wyoming (livestock management).  The Advisory Board meets at least two times a year and the BLM Director may call additional meetings when necessary.  Members serve a three-year term on a staggered-term basis and do so without salary, but are reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses according to government travel regulations.

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land – 258 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency.  Most of this public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska.  The Bureau carries out a multiple-use mission, one that is aimed at sustaining the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

–BLM–