Wild horse program funding crisis.

Long article on the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program cash crunch.

U.S. may slaughter thousands of horses [link]
Ginger D. Richardson | Aug. 15, 2008

Budget woes threaten West's wild herds

Last weekend in Show Low, 19 mud-splattered wild horses and burros found a new home. Theirs was a journey that started weeks ago on the open ranges of Nevada, California and Arizona, and ended Sunday in private trailers bound for places like Dilkon, Springerville and Snowflake. These wild animals, the ones that were adopted, are the lucky ones. Many others are facing a far more uncertain future.

The Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency charged with managing the herds of wild horses and burros that roam the western United States, announced recently that it is considering euthanizing thousands of the animals in its care.

It would mark the first time the agency has taken such action. And the proposal, which will be discussed again late next month, has ignited an emotional firestorm that has drawn in conservationists, ranchers, celebrities and politicians.

The crux of the issue: whether slaughtering healthy horses is an appropriate solution to a looming budget crisis. The cash-strapped BLM manages an estimated 33,000 wild horses and burros on public rangelands and cares for an additional 30,000 in short-term and long-term holding facilities around the country. It says it is facing problems on several fronts, including:

• A lack of space at its corrals and pastures.
• Skyrocketing hay and grain prices that have made it more expensive to feed the animals.
• An economic downturn that has prompted a sharp drop in the number of adoptions.

But one of its proposed solutions, cutting the herds by about 6,000 horses, isn't sitting well with conservationists and agency critics, who say the federal government has mismanaged the Wild Horse and Burro Program so badly that it actually created the crisis.

"They have been rounding up horses by the thousands, when they know there isn't enough of an adoption market to support it," said Virginie Parant, director of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. "They manufactured this (emergency), and they knew full well that they didn't have a long-term solution to this problem."

Rising costs

The BLM administers more than 264 million acres of public land, mostly in the 12 most Western of the states. It is responsible for everything from fire protection to wildlife management and has an aggregate annual budget of roughly $1 billion.

The agency has been in the business of protecting wild horses since 1971, when Congress passed a law declaring them the "living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West." Its current budget for the Wild Horse and Burro Program is $37 million. The agency uses that money to conduct regular roundups of the wild herds, to find suitable homes for as many of the animals as possible, and on feed and veterinary care.

The recent adoption in Show Low is one of dozens the agency will hold throughout the country this year. At each, as many as 30 or 40 animals will be auctioned for a starting bid of $125. Successful bidders can choose to take home a second "buddy" horse for $25. They generally range in age from 1 to 5 years. All have been given vaccinations, and most are social enough to come right to the edge of their pens for a pet or a treat.

Trainers volunteer their time at the weekend events, placing saddles on the animals, or showing off those previously adopted, all in an effort to persuade those who stop by to take one home. The volunteers don't like to talk much about the euthanasia proposal. To them, it's an unpleasant prospect they hope doesn't become reality.

"All I can say is that maybe if a lot of people get upset about it, then a lot of people will get on board to do something about it," said KJ Koch, a Queen Creek resident and trainer who donates his time to the agency. "We do a lot for people outside this country, so how about doing something here for something that is near and dear to our hearts?" But it's not clear what, if anything, can be done.

The BLM estimates it will have to spend more than $26 million on holding costs this fiscal year. That's more than three-fourths of the Wild Horse and Burro Program's annual budget.

Program pinch

The cost of caring for the animals has escalated to the point that there isn't enough leftover money to do all the other things essential to the program, including conducting future roundups, said Tom Gorey, a BLM spokesman in Washington, D.C.

The roundups are essential, Gorey said, because herd sizes can double every four years. If the animal population gets too large, it can lead to overgrazing, soil erosion and other long-term damage to public lands. Other methods of population management, such as birth control, are not feasible on a widespread basis, he said.

"This is the only way we can control the population," Gorey said. "And if we let the herd explode, they'd finish up foraging and then go outside that area. It would lead to an ecological disaster."

The lack of cash is causing strain in other areas too, said Roger Oyler, a specialist who works with the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program in Arizona. He says the agency would like to do follow-up "compliance" checks on everyone who adopts animals from the agency. And although the BLM still investigates any time there is a complaint about a specific adopter, routine checks have fallen off sharply to about 30 percent. "There just isn't money because we're spending too much on feed," Oyler said. Federal officials estimate that rising energy and feed prices have increased by as much as $4 million in the past year alone.

Ranchers and horse enthusiasts are feeling the pinch, too, the BLM believes, and that's likely the reason that adoptions have fallen by almost 18 percent in just two years. "Ideally, we'd like to adopt out as many as we are taking in," Gorey said. "But it's just a soft market right now."

Poor management?

BLM critics, however, say the economy and a drop in adoptions aren't the real problem. Instead, they say the government has grossly mismanaged the program and put competing interests, like cattle ranchers, ahead of the horses.

"To say that there is an overpopulation of horses on the land is wildly debatable," said Parant, who added that there are about 33,000 wild horses grazing on public lands, compared with millions of head of cattle. Parant and others believe the BLM has erred by conducting so many roundups in recent years. They say that public lands could be better managed and that the agency should be working to bring water troughs and other resources to the animals on the range, rather than putting them into holding pens.

'Short end of the stick'

"The horses really get the short end of the stick because they don't make any money for anybody," Parant said. "The problem for the BLM is that people really want the horses to be out there."

Some members of Congress, including Arizona Democrat Raul Grijalva, have expressed concern about the BLM's management of the program, as well. Grijalva, chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, co-authored a letter in July to the agency's deputy director of operations, asking that it hold off on any decision on the euthanasia proposal. "You may be aware that the BLM's inability to administer the budget of the Wild Horses and Burros Program with any trace of fiscal accountability is a long-standing concern and must not be used as a death sentence upon these celebrated symbols of the American West," the letter stated. It also asks the BLM to answer 15 questions about the program, including how much it would cost to euthanize the animals and why the agency continued to round up horses, given the softening adoption market.

Upcoming audit

The BLM says the agency has done its best to manage the program in an appropriate manner, given its budget and other federal mandates. It says it must balance the wild horses and burros with additional public-land uses, including cattle grazing, oil and gas development and recreation.

"We strongly disagree with that (mismanagement) characterization," Gorey said. "We've been diligent in exercising our responsibilities."

Gorey did say that the agency is committed to not moving forward with euthanasia or other long-term changes until after the Government Accountability Office completes an audit of the program. That report is due Sept. 22. But something needs to be done soon, Gorey said, because maintaining the status quo isn't possible without more funding. The agency doesn't have plans to ask Congress for money but has said its budget would need to increase from the current $37 million to $77 million by 2012 to keep the program as is. "Some decisions need to be made in the near future." Gorey said.

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