30 US reps seek reforms for BLM's horse budget
Source: Associated Press
30 US reps seek reforms for BLM's horse budget
By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press
POSTED: 06/20/2013 01:00:45 PM MDT
UPDATED: 06/20/2013 03:44:39 PM MDT
RENO, Nev.—Thirty U.S. representatives urged new U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Thursday to make a priority out of reforming the government's wild horse management program and its spiraling budget that they say has created an "untenable situation" for both the mustangs and taxpayers.
Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources subcommittee on public lands and environmental regulation, wrote the letter appealing to Jewell "as a conservationist and outdoor enthusiast" to help bring "long overdue" changes at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management charged with protecting the horses.
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Grijalva said they're asking for renewed attention to the program after an independent scientific review of horse roundups. The review, which was released last month, recommended that the government invest in widespread fertility control of the mustangs and let nature cull any excess herds instead of spending millions to house them in overflowing holding pens.
The 14-member panel assembled by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council and Management concluded BLM's removal of nearly 100,000 horses from the Western range over the past decade is probably having the opposite effect of its intention to ease ecological damage and reduce overpopulated herds.
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Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23503034/30-us-reps-want-reign-blms-horse-budget
