Are we on the verge of the end?

NACO gets more Nevada County money to fight against wild horses and the BLM Tri-RAC passes resolution calling for removal of wild horses and their destruction.

Wild Horse Education has filed in federal court to intervene in the case. The Elko article fails to mention the filing. Please support our work if you can.

cattle watching wild horses load onto a semi trailer … copyright 2012 Laura Leigh, all rights reserved

Elko County agrees to give up to $10,000 in wild horse lawsuit

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE http://elkodaily.com/news/elko-county-agrees-to-give-up-to-in-wild-horse/article_83d700fc-8fa6-11e3-b6f3-0019bb2963f4.html

ELKO — County leaders agreed Thursday to help pay up to $10,000 for a lawsuit filed against the federal government’s management of wild horses.

The Nevada Association of Counties and the Nevada Farm Bureau Federation, who filed the complaint with a federal court in Reno, argue that although wild horses and burros have long been a part of Nevada’s landscape and heritage, their populations have grossly exceeded appropriate management levels.

Jeff Fontaine, NACO president, said via email as of Thursday NACO spent about $56,000 on the suit and estimated the cost to reach about $90,000 by the time it gets resolved. NACO funds will not be used in the lawsuit, however.

“So far we have received financial support from a variety of groups, including nongovernment organizations and counties,” Fontaine said.

The county commission voted to give NACO $5,000 immediately for the lawsuit, and approved to give an additional $5,000, if it is needed.

NACO released a statement that explained counties are concerned about wild horse population numbers for a variety of reasons.

“Wild horse overpopulation creates serious environmental concerns for horses, wildlife, and ecology of rangelands, and creates both direct and indirect economic impacts,” it states. “Loss of use of public lands as well as the cost of services associated with the health and safety impacts created by the overpopulation of wild horses and burros decreases tax revenues and yet increases the costs that counties must bear.”

According to NACO, after attempts to reach out to the U.S. Department of the Interior to discuss the problem failed to yield results, it decided to file suit.

NACO is asking the court to require the DOI to gather all excess animals on public lands, conduct regular counts, cease interfering with water rights, follow multiple-use principals, and remove horses from long-term holding facilities to instead “auction, sell and otherwise properly dispose of such animals in accordance with the (Wild Horse and Burro) Act.”

Meanwhile, wild horse advocates, who are also critical of the BLM’s management practices, are vehemently opposed to the lawsuit.

Wild horses that ranchers say are in “ill health and starving” on BLM land

TRI-RAC MEETING IN ELKO 2/6/2014

The BLM NV Tri-RAC (Resource Advisory Council) met yesterday. They passed a resolution asking BLM to remove wild horses and sell them without limitation or destroy them. This supports the NACO suit.

“We urge the RAC to support cooperative efforts between advocate organizations and BLM to facilitate water hauls in drought situations,” Leigh said in an email. “Our organization stands ready to assist with man power, supplies and funding if needed.”

READ ARTICLE IN ELKO DAILY: http://elkodaily.com/news/comments-call-for-more-fertility-control-with-wild-horses/article_a7a49570-8f93-11e3-a227-0019bb2963f4.html

READ ABOUT WILD HORSE EDUCATION’S FILING TO INTERVENE IN THE NACO CLAIM HERE

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