On May 28th of this year, the application period for “partnership grants” from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) closed. We have not heard any news on which, if any, of the grants were funded. Our purely volunteer application to assist with drought monitoring was never followed up on. Our request to enter into “range improvement” agreement involving water, was denied even before it was submitted.
Today, the agency has sent out a “request for information.” The request is limited to “trapping, transport, fertility control.” Essentially, info for prospective roundup contracts with an added fertility control component. The trapping method in the solicitation for information is not limited to bait trap.
From BLM:
The Bureau of Land Management has released a Request for Information to identify potential sources capable of performing catch-treat-hold-release operations for the Wild Horse and Burro Program. These operations could potentially include: capture, handle, transport, care, apply/administer various population growth suppression treatments, hold for extended periods of time and release wild horses and burros back to public lands. Information collected as part of this request will help inform a potential Request for Proposals that may be initiated in the coming months.
For more information and to access the Request for Information, visit https://sam.gov/opp/8c5d44a26e8f43feb596bfb6c4bcf548/view.
The deadline to submit information is 11 a.m. MDT on October 12, 2021.
The agency has also created a new page referencing “fertility control” they utilize, leaving out surgical (gelding) and other non-surgical methods like burning/gluing oviducts shut. You can access the page HERE.
Moment after panel gate shut at bait trap
The 2021 fiscal year roundup schedule is ending at an accelerated pace not seen in recent memory. The 2022 schedule is expected to continue this pace under the “Path Forward” agenda approved in the BLM 2020 Report/Plan.
In September alone, there were four roundup contractors working at the same time in multiple states. This current request appears to be the agency looking to see how they can expand their options in the coming years.
The “Path Forward” recommended “Modeling shows that for the first three years, 15,000-20,000 horses would need to be removed per year.” The document also recommended the agency prioritize as follows: “Some areas cause heightened concerns due to rangeland degradation, and direct political conflict with the BLM’s multiple-use mandate. With that in mind, we suggest that the agency prioritize those areas for immediate attention… The BLM could begin removals in 2020 focused on those areas, gradually shifting focus in subsequent years to removals in all HMAs where wild horse and burro populations exceed the AML.”
Seeing the specific areas targeted in this acceleration, the intense fall-out, you can see the agency is prioritizing “political conflict” zones.
You can download the Path Forward HERE.
September Roundups
Barren Valley Roundup Reports (ongoing)
Our teams are busy on multiple fronts. We continue to push for actual management planning through our active legal actions. We are launching the next round of volunteers into the field.
We are up against very well-funded corporations and back door deals. With your help, we can continue to expose wrongdoing and fight back.
Help keep us in the field and in the courts.
Thank you.
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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