50th Anniversary of Wild Horse Act Marks Largest Assault on America’s Wild Horses Since the 1971 Act Was Unanimously Passed by Congress
The Cloud Foundation Calls on U.S. Government to Protect Wild Horses and Burros Before It’s Too Late
WASHINGTON DC (December 15, 2021) – The Cloud Foundation, a national organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild horses and burros on public lands, is issuing the following statement to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. (PUBLIC LAW 92-195):
Unprecedented massive roundups, sterilization that destroys natural wild behaviors and the elimination of 15-million acres of Congressionally designated wild horse and burro habitat -- this is the plight facing America’s wild horses and burros.
When he signed the Act into law on December 15,1971, President Nixon noted that only about 20,500 wild horses and burros remained on public lands. He stated, “…competition for forage used by domestic livestock, construction of new roads and urban areas, and expansion of agricultural areas have reduced their numbers and sharply decreased the areas where they are free to roam.”
Today, the same commercial interests referenced by President Nixon continue to plague America’s wild horses and burros.
Commercial Livestock Versus Wild Horses
Counter to the intent of the Act, the federal government has set a national population level of just 16,300 – 26,770 for wild horses and burros, called the “appropriate management level.” This is a lower number of animals than existed in 1971 when Congress declared them “fast disappearing from the American scene.”
In a two-year review of the U.S. Wild Horse and Burro Program, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) stated that it could “not identify a science-based rationale” for the government’s seemingly arbitrary “appropriate management level.” The NAS called for “equity in allocating forage” for wild horses and burros compared to livestock. On average, the government allocates 80% of forage in wild horse/burro habitat to commercial livestock. This directly contradicts the 1971 Act which calls for wild horse and burro habitat to be “...devoted principally but not necessarily exclusively to their [wild horses and burros] welfare…” (PUBLIC LAW 92-195)
Killing the “Wild” in Wild Horses
Massive roundups aren’t the only threat to wild horses and burros. The government also jeopardizes natural wild behaviors and the integrity of wild horse society by using fertility control methods known to destroy hormone production. Wild and domestic horses are the same species. Their natural wild behaviors are the only thing differentiating from their domestic cousins. These behaviors have allowed them to adapt and survive in the harshest climates and terrain, yet the government refuses to acknowledge their importance or protect them in their management actions. The NAS has repeatedly stated the importance of further studies on the “behavioral effects” of various fertility control methods on maintenance of “social organization, band integrity, and expression of a natural behavioral repertoire.”
America’s wild horses and burros face a more perilous future than ever before, despite having been designated as federally protected species 50 years ago. The push by commercial interests to rid our public lands of these iconic animals continues today. Congress has been tragically misled by those who seek to exploit our public lands for private gain.
The Act was intended to change that, but not much has changed in the past 50 years. The federal government still allows the very same commercial competition that threatened the existence of America’s wild horses and burros in 1971.
The Cloud Foundation is calling on the Biden Administration and Congress to honor the original intent of the 1971 Act – to have all wild horse and burro habitat “devoted principally” to the welfare of these beloved animals and to ensure that wild behaviors are protected in all management actions.
The Cloud Foundation (TCF), a 501(c)3 non-profit, has been at the forefront of wild horse advocacy since its inception in 2005. TCF was founded by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens, creator of three acclaimed PBS Nature series documentaries that followed the wild stallion Cloud throughout his life. Dedicated to the protection and preservation of wild horses and burros on our public lands, The Cloud Foundation advocates for protecting natural wild equid behaviors, repatriation of wild horses to zeroed-out Herd Areas, and for equal allocation of forage within Congressionally-designated Herd Areas.
ADDENDUM
BLM “AML” SYSTEM IS BASELESS AND UNSCIENTIFIC
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) bases its claims of wild horse overpopulation on agency “Appropriate” Management Levels (AMLs), claiming that the AMLs represent the number of wild horses or burros the land can sustain.
The BLM-created AMLs are:
· Not based on science. After a two-year review, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) “could not identify a science-based rationale” behind the BLM’s AMLs, stating “how Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) are established, monitored, and adjusted is not transparent to stakeholders, supported by scientific information, or amenable to adaptation with new information and environmental and social change.”
· Below the “fast disappearing” population levels in 1970’s. BLM created the AML system to allow only 16,300 – 26,770 (low and high AML). This low number represents just 20% of the forage on Congressionally-designated wild horse/burro habitat driving wild horse/burro populations down to the number (20,500) that existed when the 1971 Act was passed (or below 42,000 in 1974 BLM’s first census), when Congress determined these iconic animals were “fast disappearing.”
In addition,Wild Horse/Burro Habitat has been reduced by more than one-third since 1971.The BLM has reduced habitat for wild horses/burros by 15.4 million acres or 36%.Meanwhile, commercial livestock is allowed to graze on 155 million acres of BLM-managed public lands.
Wild horses/burros represent a small fraction of grazing animals on public lands. Today, wild horses/burros are allowed on only 10-12% of all federal public lands. On average, 80% of forage within wild horse/burro HMAs are given to commercial livestock.
NAS findings regarding AML (from “Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward” NAS, 2013)
· “The committee could not identify a science-based rationale used by BLM to allocate forage and habitat resources to various uses within the constraints of protecting rangeland health and listed species and given the multiple-use mandate.” p 303
· “How Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) are established, monitored, and adjusted is not transparent to stakeholders, supported by scientific information, or amenable to adaptation with new information and environmental and social change. Standards for transparency, quality and equity are needed in establishing these levels, monitoring them and adjusting them.” p 12
· “Environmental variability and change, changes in social values, and the discovery of new information require that AMLs be adaptable.” p 12, 253
· “AMLs are a focal point of controversy between BLM and the public. It is therefore necessary to develop and maintain standards for transparency, quality, and equity in AML establishment, adjustment, and monitoring.” p 12