BLM Wild Horse and Burro Evaluation, January 29, 1997

Message from Interim BLM Director Sylvia Baca

During the first half of 1996, a severe drought across portions of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona dramatically reduced the forage and water available to wild horse and burro herds under the care of the Bureau of Land Management and strained the Bureau's ability to care for these animals. In August 1996, the Acting BLM Director, Mike Dombeck, convened an Emergency Evaluation Team to assess the health and well-being of the animals, the condition of their habitat, and the management and operation of the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program.

This interdisciplinary team -- representing federal and state governments and advised by wild horse and burro protection groups, rangeland users, and academics -- has completed its task. Its Evaluation Report contains more than 20 recommendations, which not only address issues relating to the emergency drought situation, but also propose guidance for the long-range direction of the Bureau's Wild Horse and Burro Program.

The team's recommendations are extensive. They 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, along with measures such as the reestablishment of a wild horse and burro advisory board; a review of the adoption program; and a greater focus on the long-term health of the land.

I concur with all of the recommendations in the report and have instructed BLM personnel to move immediately to implement these recommendations, under the general direction provided by the Assistant Director for Renewable Resources and Planning.

We have already initiated some actions recommended by the team. For example, responsibility for wild horse andburro operations is being reassigned, effective today, from Nevada BLM to the BLM Headquarters in Washington, D.C. We have published final regulations to allow flexibility in establishing competitive adoption fees. A team has been designated to review the wild horse and burro adoption program and the compliance process. That analysis should be completed this spring.

Implementing the recommendations set forth in the Emergency Evaluation Team's report, and taking the other actions I have detailed, are the first in a series of measures we are taking to improve the operation and management of the Wild Horse and Burro Program. I fully expect that our continuing review will produce additional recommendations that will further strengthen the program.

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. 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.

Finally, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the members of the Emergency Evaluation Team for their energy, expertise and dedication in producing this report.