Horse Advocates Urge Obama to Appoint Grijalva as Interior Secretary

Advocates Push for Grijalva as Interior SecretaryAdvocates Push for Grijalva as Interior Secretary

Wild horse advocates have launched a campaign urging President Obama to nominate Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as the new Interior Secretary, succeeding Ken Salazar, who plans to retire by the end of March. The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) believes Grijalva is the ideal candidate to reform the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) costly wild horse and burro program.

The group has set up a website, www.AppointRaul.com, where supporters can sign a petition to the president.

"The President has a critical decision to make for the future of our public lands and natural resources, including our wild horses and burros," said AWHC Director Suzanne Roy. "After the failed tenure of Secretary Salazar, which included an expansion of the out-of-control and inhumane wild horse and burro program, the president can appoint someone who will stand up to the special interests and truly guard America's unique public lands legacy."

Although Grijalva was on Obama's short list for secretary in 2008, his nomination is considered a long shot this year against other nominees who might be easier to confirm in the Senate. Grijalva has also stated he is not seeking the nomination.

Other potential candidates include several former Western Democratic governors, Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes, and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, a former high-ranking Interior official. The White House has not indicated when it will choose a nominee.

AWHC joins a large contingent of liberal environmental groups supporting Grijalva for secretary, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and Alliance for the Wild Rockies.

In 2009, Grijalva co-sponsored a bill to ban horse euthanasia, expand fertility control, and provide up to 19 million acres of additional lands for wild horse herds in the West. The bill passed the House but did not advance in the Senate.

Grijalva has also written letters to Salazar urging the BLM to temporarily halt plans to round up herds and spay or geld wild horses, gaining support from wild horse advocates.

These positions conflict with most Western Republican lawmakers, whose ranching constituents argue that wild horses can overgraze the range and damage soils and watersheds if left unchecked.

The BLM, tasked with both protecting and containing wild horses in the West, has struggled to manage the cost of its wild horse program as adoptions fail to keep pace with rapid reproduction. The agency has increased its use of fertility drugs but has been forced to place tens of thousands of horses in holding facilities, frustrating both horse and taxpayer advocates.

Originally Posted By Greenwire

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