a. Members of the Board shall be selected from persons who are not employees of Federal or state government. As appropriate, certain members may be appointed as Special Government Employees.

 

b. From among nominations submitted by individuals, national organizations, and associations involved with problems relating to protection, management, and control of wild horses and burros on the public lands, and after consultation with the Chief of the Forest Service, the Director of the BLM will submit to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture a list of individuals recommended for membership on the Board. The Secretaries may appoint members of the Board from this list or, at their discretion, other sources.

 

c. Vacancies due to resignation, death, or Secretarial removal will be filled for the balance of the vacatingmember’sterm in the same manner as the original appointment.

 

d. The Secretaries may, after written notice, terminate the service of a member if in the judgment of the Secretaries or the Designated Federal Official (DFO), removal is in the public interest. Members may also be terminated if they no longer meet their appointment requirements, fail or are unable to participate regularly in Board work, or have violated Federal law or the regulations of the Secretaries.

 

e. Board members are appointed to serve 3-year terms, on a staggered term basis, subject to renewal of the Board’s charter, with one-third of the Board subject to appointment each year. At the end of a member’s term, he or she may continue to serve at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior and The Secretary of Agriculture for an interim period in order to ensure continuity on the Board until a new appointment has been made.  At the Secretaries’ discretion, the Board members from past National WH&B Advisory Boards may be appointed or reappointed for additional terms.

 

 

a. The DFO required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act will be the Director of the BLM or a designee, who will call and attend all meetings and committees of the Board. All meetings will be open to the general public and news media. Any organization, association, or individual may attend such meetings, file a statement with the Board, or appear before the Board regarding topics on a meeting agenda, except that the Board Chair may require prior notification by those who desire to be heard, set per‑person presentation time limits, and require presentations be reduced to writing and copies filed with the Board.

 

b. Absent urgent circumstances, the BLM will publish a notice of each meeting of the Board in the Federal Register and distribute to the news media 30 days in advance of the meeting. If urgent circumstances prevent a 30-day notice, not less than a 15-day notice will suffice. The notice sets forth the purpose, time and place of the meeting. 

 

c. Agendas must be formally approved in advance by the Director of the BLM or his or her designee.

 

SECTION 3. BOARD RECORDS: Minutes of each Board meeting will be kept and will contain a record of the persons present; a complete and accurate description of matters discussed and conclusions reached; and copies of all documents received, issued, or approved by the Board. The accuracy of all minutes will be certified by the Board Chair. Copies of the approved minutes will be maintained in the Office of the Assistant Director for Renewable Resources and Planning, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240, and will be available for public viewing on the BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro website at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.