Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Nomination Deadline Approaches

The deadline to apply for three open positions on the Bureau of Land Management’s national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board is approaching. To be considered for selection, nominations must be submitted via email or fax by Monday, September 28, 2015, or postmarked by the same date.

The BLM announced its formal request for nominations on Friday, August 14, 2015, in the Federal Register.

Suzanne Roy, writing for American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign), described the most recent Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting held in early September, in Oklahoma City, as “ominous.” Roy writes, “Emboldened by years of BLM’s crisis-creating, the pro-slaughter majority on this board is now openly endorsing slaughter as a solution to the BLM’s budget woes. These members, who overwhelmingly represent livestock interests, are also aiming to reduce wild horse numbers below the already ridiculously low allowable population levels.”

Appointments are for a term of three years and nominees are needed to represent the following categories of interest: humane advocacy groups, wildlife management organizations, and livestock management organizations.

The Board advises the BLM, an agency of the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, on protection and management of wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands administered by those agencies. The Board generally meets twice a year and the BLM Director may call additional meetings when necessary. Members serve without salary, but are reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses according to government travel regulations.

The Advisory Board comprises nine members who represent a balance of interests. Each member has knowledge or special expertise that qualifies him or her to provide advice in one of the following categories: wild horse and burro advocacy; wild horse and burro research; veterinary medicine; natural resources management; humane advocacy; wildlife management; livestock management; public interest (with special knowledge of equine behavior); and public interest (with special knowledge of protection of wild horses and burros, management of wildlife, animal husbandry, or natural resource management).

Originally Posted By Arizona Daily Independent