A herd of wild horses in the Virginia Mountains of northern Nevada. (Photo courtesy of American Mustang Sports)

The Bureau of Land Management will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the "Wild Free Roaming Horses and Donkeys Act" on December 15th as it is conducting "the largest taxpayer-funded wild horse roundup in its history, and has received a year-long public relations campaign." The help to promote the round-up is beneficial to wild horses, wildlife, public land and public interests,” said the non-profit environmental organization West Watershed Project.  

The organization argued that the BLM plan would reduce the herd "from an estimated 86,000 to 27,000-roughly the same number that existed when Congress established the Mustang Management Area (HMA) 50 years ago for its primary purpose and protection." ."

According to the federal government, there are an estimated 42,994 wild horses and 4,087 donkeys in Nevada.  

"Congress has discovered and declared that the free-roaming wild horses and donkeys are vivid symbols of Western history and pioneering spirit; they have contributed to the diversity of life forms in the country and have enriched the lives of the American people; and these horses and donkeys are rapidly Disappeared from the American scene," the 1971 Act said. 

Today, wild horses and donkeys are accused, and some people mistakenly believe that they have destroyed the pastures that generate revenue for the federal government.  

"The bureau will spend US$59 million to round up wild horses and donkeys, plus US$43 million per year to care for them, so the agency can collect an additional US$955,800 from cattle and sheep ranchers each year," for public land grazing fees, press release Speaking from the Western Basin Project, this project is one of many organizations claiming that BLM misled the public in the treatment of wild horses. 

The organization stated that the BLM press release "misstates the review'saves taxpayers' money' and'protects pastures from deterioration' and makes other claims that are not supported by the government's own data."

"The Ranch Health Report shows that the widespread destruction on public land was caused by livestock rather than wild horses, but wild horses were blamed and removed when the livestock were left behind," the press release said. 

According to BLM data obtained by the Public Employees Environmental Responsibility Department through a public information request, The Current reported in October that the damage caused by livestock in Nevada is largely unknown because the BLM has reviewed the state’s allocation to ranchers. To half of the land.   

According to a PEER report based on data from the BLM field office, BLM has allocated 782 public pastures, covering 43.2 million acres, to ranchers in Nevada. Among them, it has failed to assess more than half of it in the course of many years-481 pieces of land, totaling 24.7 million acres. 

According to the organization, PEER's database shows satellite images overlaid on BLM allocations, revealing the condition of the land. Of the more than 18 million acres of assessed land, only 3.5 million acres of soil conditions, vegetation and water bodies meet the BLM standards.

"By its own standards, BLM is a terrible steward of our federal ranch," PEER Advocacy director Kristen Stade said in an October press release, adding that the government’s $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) grazing fee is A small portion of private land at comparable costs. "These ultra-low fees seem to be subsidizing land abuse."

AUM is the amount of forage consumed by a 1,000-pound cow and its unweaned calf in a month.

BLM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Written by: Dana Gentry, Nevada December 3, 2021

The Bureau of Land Management will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the "Wild Free Roaming Horses and Donkeys Act" on December 15th as it is conducting "the largest taxpayer-funded wild horse roundup in its history, and has received a year-long public relations campaign." The help to promote the round-up is beneficial to wild horses, wildlife, public land and public interests,” said the non-profit environmental organization West Watershed Project.  

The organization argued that the BLM plan would reduce the herd "from an estimated 86,000 to 27,000-roughly the same number that existed when Congress established the Mustang Management Area (HMA) 50 years ago for its primary purpose and protection." ."

According to the federal government, there are an estimated 42,994 wild horses and 4,087 donkeys in Nevada.  

"Congress has discovered and declared that the free-roaming wild horses and donkeys are vivid symbols of Western history and pioneering spirit; they have contributed to the diversity of life forms in the country and have enriched the lives of the American people; and these horses and donkeys are rapidly Disappeared from the American scene," the 1971 Act said. 

Today, wild horses and donkeys are accused, and some people mistakenly believe that they have destroyed the pastures that generate revenue for the federal government.  

"The bureau will spend US$59 million to round up wild horses and donkeys, plus US$43 million per year to care for them, so the agency can collect an additional US$955,800 from cattle and sheep ranchers each year," for public land grazing fees, press release Speaking from the Western Basin Project, this project is one of many organizations claiming that BLM misled the public in the treatment of wild horses. 

The organization stated that the BLM press release "misstates the review'saves taxpayers' money' and'protects pastures from deterioration' and makes other claims that are not supported by the government's own data."

"The Ranch Health Report shows that the widespread destruction on public land was caused by livestock rather than wild horses, but wild horses were blamed and removed when the livestock were left behind," the press release said. 

According to BLM data obtained by the Public Employees Environmental Responsibility Department through a public information request, The Current reported in October that the damage caused by livestock in Nevada is largely unknown because the BLM has reviewed the state’s allocation to ranchers. To half of the land.   

According to a PEER report based on data from the BLM field office, BLM has allocated 782 public pastures, covering 43.2 million acres, to ranchers in Nevada. Among them, it has failed to assess more than half of it in the course of many years-481 pieces of land, totaling 24.7 million acres. 

According to the organization, PEER's database shows satellite images overlaid on BLM allocations, revealing the condition of the land. Of the more than 18 million acres of assessed land, only 3.5 million acres of soil conditions, vegetation and water bodies meet the BLM standards.

"By its own standards, BLM is a terrible steward of our federal ranch," PEER Advocacy director Kristen Stade said in an October press release, adding that the government’s $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) grazing fee is A small portion of private land at comparable costs. "These ultra-low fees seem to be subsidizing land abuse."

AUM is the amount of forage consumed by a 1,000-pound cow and its unweaned calf in a month.

BLM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nevada Current is part of the States Newsroom, a network of news organizations supported by the Alliance of Grants and Donors, and is a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. If you have any questions, please contact the editor Hugh Jackson: info@nevadacurrent.com. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and Twitter.

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Dana Gentry is a local Las Vegas vegetarian and award-winning investigative journalist. She graduated from Bishop Gorman High School and holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Gentry started her broadcasting career with an internship on Channel 8 KLAS-TV. She later became a Channel 8 reporter, working with Las Vegas TV news legend Bob Stoddall and the late Ned Day. Gentry left her reporting job in 1985 to focus on motherhood. She returned to television journalism in 2001 and launched "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" and the weekly business show In Business Las Vegas and Vegas Inc. She co-hosted with Jeff Gillan These shows. Dana has four adult children, two grandchildren, three dogs, three cats and a parrot named Casper.

Nevada Current is a non-profit online source of political and policy news and commentary. We try to prove how policies, institutions, and systems make the lives of Nevadas more difficult than necessary; document how things develop, and; explore what it might take to fix them.

Our story may be republished online or in print under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask you to edit or shorten the style only, provide an appropriate attribution and a link to our website.