NACo Passes Horse Resolution: Will It Convince Congress to Act?

In a significant move, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has unanimously passed a resolution advocating for state management of wild horses. This development could potentially influence Congress to take action on the Wild Horse Oversight Act of 2014, introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart.

In an effort to gather support for recent legislation introduced by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT Iron County), Iron County Commissioner Dave Miller pushed a resolution through last week at the National Association of Counties that sends a resounding message back to Congress — let the states manage their own wild horses.

The resolution, which was also carried by County Commissioner Mark Whitney, Garfield County Commissioner Leland Pollock, and Piute County Commissioner Darin Bushman, was unanimously passed by all 3,069 county members of NACo.

"It went through with very little to no debate," Bushman said. "It was amazing."

Stewart recently introduced the Wild Horse Oversight Act of 2014, H.R. 5058, that if passed would take jurisdiction from the Bureau of Land Management and give it to the states and Indian Tribes to implement their own management plans for the wild horses and burros according to their specific needs.

In an interview with The Spectrum and Daily News Monday, Stewart said NACo's resolution will go far to help him in getting H.R. 5058 through Congress.

"It clearly helps us. This resolution was passed unanimously," Stewart said. "We're not talking about all conservative Republican counties here that passed it either but many political philosophies, and they all agreed that the states have the right to manage their own wild horses. Some of these counties are controlled by independents and Democrats, so this will help us to build a broad coalition of supporters. I'm very grateful for that."

The resolution lends support for Stewart's legislation, calling for the federal government to "give individual states exclusive authority to appropriate herd management levels and dispose of animals that exceed AMLs at state's discretion, just like States do now for other wildlife species."

Stewart said while it's still early in the process, he hasn't run into any issues with the Congressional delegation. He feels he may even have the support of Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, long a Democratic stalwart.

"I can't speak for Sen. Harry Reid but the reality is his state has a much bigger problem with the wild horses and even he has expressed frustration with the BLM's management of the wild horses," Stewart said.

While at the NACo conference in New Orleans, Miller said he spent time with a few congressional leaders including Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu — who he believes will support efforts to turn the management of the wild horses over to the states.

Still, wild horse advocates argue the bill was introduced on behalf of "extremists" and believe they have the numbers to stop the legislation.

"This bill advances the agenda of an extremist minority and represents an end run around Congress and the American people. It aims to overturn the Congressional prohibition on the slaughter of America's cherished wild horses and burros," said Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation).

In a press release distributed last week, the American Wild Horse Conservation reports that various polls show 72 percent of Americans support protecting and preserving wild horses on public land and 80 percent oppose horse slaughter, while just 29 percent of Americans want public lands used for livestock grazing.

Originally Posted By The Spectrum