BLM to Congress: Wild Horses and Climate Change Impact

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has requested an additional $35 million from Congress for wild horse and burro management. This request is part of the Biden administration's broader efforts to mitigate climate change impacts and address the increasing threat of wildfires. The budget justification document outlines the administration's priorities for public lands management, including a significant increase in funding for the Wild Horse and Burro Program.

The budget proposal seeks to raise the program's budget to $152.5 million, up from the current $115.7 million. A portion of this increase is intended to convert the program's vehicles to zero-emission models. BLM justifies this funding by linking excess wild horses and burros to climate change and wildfires, arguing that these animals degrade rangelands, making them more susceptible to fires.

Wild horse advocates, including Holly Gann Bice from the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign), have criticized this approach. They argue that wild horses are being unfairly blamed for climate change while the impact of commercial livestock grazing is overlooked. The proposed funding would allow BLM to remove thousands of animals and implement fertility control measures.

BLM's strategy includes removing an estimated 20,000 animals and performing 3,100 fertility control treatments in 2022. This plan has drawn criticism for its potential to increase off-range holding costs and the need for additional staff. The bureau aims to place 6,500 excess animals in private care, a plan under scrutiny due to concerns about the fate of adopted animals.

Despite these controversies, the budget justification does not address allegations against the adoption incentive program or provide a current population count of wild horses and burros. The last estimate in March 2020 recorded 95,114 animals, far exceeding sustainable levels. The BLM's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will discuss these numbers in an upcoming online hearing.

Other Highlights

• The budget document does not mention relocating BLM's headquarters from Grand Junction, Colorado, back to Washington, D.C.
• It proposes $200,000 to review Trump-era boundary changes to national monuments in Utah, potentially restoring them to original sizes.
• A $1.4 million request is made to establish a Civilian Climate Corps, aimed at conservation and resource protection.
• Calls for $800,000 to support a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility initiative within the Department of the Interior.

For more details, visit the original article by E&E News.