I hope he has the gumption to do what needs to be done with the feral horse issues. The BLM is authorized to euthanize excess horses and he can still get it done before HR 1018 Kicks in.Harry Reid has been shown the cost of these horses and damage to the public lands that can occur if the HR 1018 is passed and he is starting to get the message that you can't save everything to the excess that a few groups want.

We should make room for the horses by getting rid of a bunch of cows, which outnumber wild horses by the millions.

Mike has his numbers wrong but most persons without the facts do. One of my suggestions to the BLM was to allow public land ranchers to care for these horses on the lands they have leased and lower the number of cattle they have on the ranch. but the caveat is they can't do it for free and if they would be paid the same amount per head per day that the BLM is paying to put these horses in sanctuaires everybody would be happy. Lets figure 500 horses times 2.00 per head per day would be a thousand bucks per day. Not bad I say. Mike would be happy to see the horses and the rancher would be happy to see his bank account finally be on the black side. drjohnr

Dr. R:

My question would be, why don't we charge $5.00/hd/day cattle, sheep and better use fees for logging, mining and multiple use formulas. While Nevada has some of the largest "wild"...not feral (albeit, some are recently abandoned...which begs the slaughter argument that domesticated equidae CAN'T survive on the ranges[which is doublely ignorant because we wouldn't have any horses, would we?] and I believe there were pockets that survived in N.A.) numbers, they also have some of the most questionable removal number policies, et al. How about this? How about that 18th century to early 20th century meat livestock grazing science and production methods are always a loss driven proposition? Especially if one considers corporate scale "ranching". Talk about subsidizing! It is also one of the most inefficient practices on the planet. Funny how the equidae are the linch-pin in the equation for the public lands. Disproportionate to my sensibilities. And no, Mike doesn't seem to have the numbers wrong. Last count, 37K equidae (33K in holding) and 6-7.5 million cattle/sheep. Please reference numbers reports and/or GAO study that supports your position that Mike (although he did not state specific numbers)is incorrect that there are more cattle/sheep on the public/HMA areas than equines. Just amazing to me how 37K (and I think that is an inflated number, btw) are causing such angst and destruction. Let's see...2 million estimated roaming the plains/western ranges at the turn of the 20th century and we are down to 37K??? Seems odd to me that THEY are the problem.

Personally I would like to return bison, which are the true native, not feral horses, or domestic livestock. Interestingly, in Wyoming there is dual classification for bison, so they could be run as an "alternative livestock" on grazing leases. The ecosystem would not be able to tell the difference. I hope that Abbey will support the Bison Initiative proposed by outgoing Interior Department Secretary Kempthorpe last fall.

cows, sheep and especially HORSES need to go to places where they can be properly cared for or disposed of as the livestock that they are. Wildlands are for native wildlife--- not for feral horses, cows, etc. or any other livestock running amok. Ranchers have been "adding" to the fantasy purebred bloodlines of these "wild" herds for decades...they're nothing more than habitat wreckers.

If you recall bison were free roaming animals. In other words they followed the green. Unfortunatly their time has passed and although the land is pretty well fenced the biggest cause of the destruction and elimination of wildlife habitat is the 20-40 acre subdivision plot where any city dweller can now have place of his own. To the person about the public lands being for wildlife that is okay by me, but remember that at the moment most of the water in the west is on private land, however there is a movement in congress that will make the fed the owner of all water. Generally speaking, cows and sheep are managed, but the feral horses are running amok.I know of no rancher that has ever considered these horse to be a pure strain. Only college professors.I wonder what the real estate is in Slovenia.

Michele, I like the way you think. Unfortunately much of the ecological value in bison was how frequently they moved, and I'm not sure today's ranchers can afford to mimic that.

Wild horses can be beautiful animals, but they are feral and destructive on our public lands. There are some unique (although I'm sure not "pure") bloodlines that can be traced back to the original Spanish horses, and I would like to see these bloodlines continue - domestically. Dr. John, you're right, we have to get over being sentimental and dispose of excess horses humanely. Unfortuanely, we're going to have a helluva time convincing anyone who saw "Spirit, Wild Stallion of the Cimarron" that euthanising mustangs is acceptable.

Woah woah, Denise. There were no horses in North America for thousands of years before Columbus showed up. Horses escaped from the Spanish, and then were traded throughout North America. Now clearly some of those horses can survive in the wild. However, they are not good for the ecology of the land.

Sweetwater County, located in Wyoming's southwest corner, is the largest county in the lower 48. 90% of it is owned by all Americans in the form of federal lands. Most of this is still unfenced, thanks to the checkerboard ownership shared with the Rock Springs Grazing Association. While the Association is not interested in switching from sheep and cattle to bison "at this time," the oil and gas lesees are extrremely interested in using bison as environmental mitigation. I do not mean to imply that restoration of free roaming bison here would be easy, but the hurdles can be overcome if people sit down with a "can do" attitude.
We have started the non profit Wild Bison Restoration Foundation to pursue this very goal. Outgoing Secretary of Interior's Kempthorpe's Bison Initiative of last fall gives federal support. Keep the faith: Bison will once again roam free in the American West.

Michele, As young tyke I was on a sheep docking crew in Sweetwater county in the late 40's ten years old. There was a rumor that there was still buffalo (bison) out there. I didn't see any. however, I have I have been acquainted with the Rock Springs Grazing Association since that time and one thing I do know is that they will do anything for money. That is why they would be receptive to wild horses on their private land and leased land if the price was right. That would go for free roaming bison but who would pay?

Tree Huggin' Cowgirl:

You didn't read my post correctly. I said that certainly some of the equidae on public lands are feral (which begs the question, how many freakin' years does it take until a species is not feral, but possibly migratory or germane to the environment?); I said I believed on the lack of study, science, etc that it is very possible that the equidae were not completely wiped out at the end of the last ice age...that pockets remained.

To others: Excuse me, but don't cattleman shoot bison for fear of health issues for their stock? Don't we shoot wolves because of unacceptable mortality rates of the same stock (plus sheep)? They are both native, continually present species in NA and the feds, states and ag entities seem to have problems with those species too.

Finally, no one addressed the issue that at the turn of the 20th century, there were estimated 2 million equidae in NA (5 million centuries ago). We are now down to 37K roaming (+33K in pens). Seems the extermination plan is working to me. IOW, the plan is to manage to extinction and 100% removal. FOIA meeting minutes seem to support this premise. That fellow Americans, isn't mustang/burro management.

Dr. John - The last free roaming bison was killed in Sweetwater County in the late 1890's. I did also hear of a band of privately owned bulls that had escaped from near Riverton and lived in the Red Desert for several years. Not sure of the time.

My thoughts are that since we the people currently subsidize both ranching and industry, why not encourage bison? There are a lot of reasons to switch to bison, and if there are financial bonuses as well, great. There is a movement within the bison industry to provide humane slaughter also, so that bison could be harvested in hunt like settings rather than run into slaughter houses, (which are another major thing wrong with our current food production), both adding value and saving cost.

As people continue to become more aware of how their consumer choices affect their environment, a bison economy makes more and more sense. And it makes sense for us to work with groups like the Rock Springs Grazing Association to find win-win solutions.