The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
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Bureau of Land Management Interim Director Sylvia Baca today announced that BLM has adopted all of the recommendations made by an emergency evaluation team to improve its wild horse and burro program, including moving the program management responsibility to Washington, D.C.
The review was undertaken by the BLM in the wake of severe drought conditions during the first half of 1996. The interdisciplinary team that produced the report -- representing federal and state governments and advised by wild horse and burro protection groups, rangeland users, and academics -- made more than 20 recommendations relating to the emergency drought situation and the long-range direction of the program.
The recommendations include changes in the oversight and management of the program and updating of the 1992 Strategic Plan for Management of Wild Horses and Burros on Public Lands. The team also recommends reestablishing the national wild horse and burro advisory board, reviewing the adoption program, and focusing more on the long-term health of the land, Baca said.
"Implementing these recommendations and other actions constitutes only the first in a series of measures I am taking to improve the program'" said Baca. "I fully expect our continuing review will produce additional recommendations that will further strengthen the wild horse and burro program."
Baca has already taken several actions. For example, effective today, responsibility for wild horse and burro operations is being reassigned from Nevada BLM to the BLM headquarters in Washington, D.C. In addition, the BLM published final rules last week that allow flexibility in establishing competitive adoption fees and a team has been designated to review the wild horse and burro adoption program and the compliance process.
"In the meantime, I want to assure all those who care about this program and are
concerned about the preservation of these magnificent creatures that I am determined to
see the BLM's mission carried out effectively and responsibly," Baca said. "We
remain committed to managing the wild horse and burro population in a manner that ensures
that the animals under our protection are cared for properly and treated humanely and that
the habitat they share with other species is preserved."
Copies of the full report are available from BLM Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston Blvd.,
Springfield, Va. 22153 (phone: 703-440-1713).
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