BLM Ensures Contractor Payments Amid Government Shutdown

January 18, 2019

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced that payments to contractors caring for thousands of federally protected wild horses and burros will resume, despite the ongoing partial government shutdown. This decision comes as a relief to many ranchers and landowners who have not received payments since the shutdown began last month.

According to a statement emailed to E&E News, BLM acknowledged the payment delays experienced by contracted landowners. The agency is taking steps to ensure payments are made using prior year appropriations funding, which will cover the near-term maintenance of the animals.

However, the statement did not specify the amount of money available or when payments would begin. It also remains unclear how long payments will continue if the shutdown persists, as President Trump has indicated it might unless Congress funds the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Currently, about 35,000 wild horses and burros are housed in off-range corrals and holding pens on private ranches in states like Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, or in private pastures, primarily in Kansas and Oklahoma. BLM contracts with these landowners for the use of their facilities while arranging for the sale or adoption of each animal.

Despite the payment delays, contractors seem to be managing. Some, like a Utah rancher, have prepared for the shutdown by stockpiling feed for the horses under their care.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 mandates BLM to care for over 46,000 animals removed from nearly 27 million acres of federal rangelands. The law requires the removal of excess animals to prevent damage to vegetation, soil, and other resources.

BLM's shutdown contingency plan lists employees involved in managing wild horse and burro holding facilities as "excepted" from furlough. The care and feeding of these animals is considered an essential activity that continues despite the funding lapse.

For more details, visit the E&E News website.