The Bureau of Land Management saw a record-breaking number of wild horse and burro adoptions this year, the agency announced last week, but it is not enough to manage the animals’ population growth in the West.
Although the agency saw over 7,100 adoptions – a 54% increase from last year – acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley said Wednesday in a conference call it would take 15 years and $5 billion to control the population on federal lands.
Pendley, who is awaiting Senate confirmation, said the adoptions are just one needed step to decrease the wild horse population from 88,000 to 27,000 horses, a size rangeland scientists estimate lands can sustain without harm to the ecosystems or wildlife.
In March, the agency created an Adoption Incentive Program, which offered adopters up to $1,000. Pendley also said the demographics of adoptees have expanded from “cowboys wanting working horses” to “suburban families and moms wanting a horse.”
Although Nevada has the highest population of wild horses and burros, according to BLM records, the animals’ overpopulation is a problem throughout the West.
In New Mexico, the BLM manages two herds, Bordo Atravesado and Carracas Mesa, on 29,000 acres with a total of 83 animals. The Carracas Mesa herd is about 35 miles northeast of Bloomfield, and Bordo Atravesado roams south of Albuquerque. No horses from the New Mexico herds have been adopted in the past two years, according to Allison Sandoval, spokeswoman for BLM’s office in New Mexico. Consequently, horse gathers and removals are the primary population controls used in the state.
“Wild horses are a large grazing animal, and impacts are most pronounced on grasses and palatable shrubs,” Sandoval said. Overgrazing by wild horses can harm native wildlife species and the sustainability of native plants, according to Sandoval.
Colorado federal lands are home to a significantly larger population of wild horses and burros. The BLM overseas four herds on 400,000 acres with an estimated 812 animals. This past year, 254 horses were adopted and 18 sold in Colorado.
The issue of wild horses and burros is not solely contained to federal lands. In 2017, the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimated 40,000 wild horses roamed the Navajo Nation, across 27,000 miles. Like the wild horses on BLM land, herds in the Navajo Nation compete with sheep, cattle and other wildlife for limited water and vegetation.
Despite the growing numbers of wild horses, Pendley said he is optimistic the BLM could get the job done, especially following increased collaboration between ranchers and animal welfare advocates. In addition to increasing adoption rates, the acting director said the agency is continuing to explore fertility control options and increased animal roundups.
“There’s a sense of sincerity on the Hill about this issue,” Pendley said. “They get it.”
lweber@durangoherald.com
