BLM: the glaring oversight

[PeteJ]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/blm-largest-ecological-study-flawed_n_1124342.html?ir=Green&ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=15581

[echotadog]

Wow.... That is mind numbing in its ridiculousness ...

[dirtwinger]

What always gets me is the "wild horses and burro's" they are feral domesticated animals not wild animals they have no place in the ecosystem, I'm sorry but the romantic image of the "mustang" is just wild west nonsense it is a feral invasive species.

all the best Terence

[footbound]

There is a woman in Texas who has put her considerable fortune up to fight lethal remove of horses and burros from public lands. Her foundation challenges every managment decision they make. There are NGOs out there that challenge every decision on every issue.
Now if the BLM would ever just get rid of these damn pheasants and huns our public lands would be pristene againtoungeout
Michael Gregston
Montana

[goshawkr]

What always gets me is the "wild horses and burro's" they are feral domesticated animals not wild animals they have no place in the ecosystem, I'm sorry but the romantic image of the "mustang" is just wild west nonsense it is a feral invasive species.

all the best Terence

That is a matter of perspective.

The horse family evolved here, expanded its range to include Asia, and then went extinct in the America's shortly after the proto-indians colonized the new world.

Saying it does not belong in the ecosystem is grossly misleading - it evolved in the American west, and the American west evolved with the horse. For 14,000 years or so the ecosystem was missing one of its componenets. It was returned thanks to escaped European horses. It is true that these "wild" horses on the range are not the same as the ones that used to live here thousands of years ago, but they are functionally identicle. There are other missing components - no elephant species or sloths roam the american west like they used to. The Joshua tree is in real danger of going extinct because one of those missing components is no longer dispersing its seeds.

Of course, that has nothing to do with why the mustangs and wild burros are sanctified in the BLM mangement plans - thats pure politics. They were adopted as icons of the west by congress, thanks to the efforst of Wild Horse Annie.

Personally, I am very glad that mustangs were not driven to extinction, as they very nearly were. However, I think its ludicrous that the BLM's hands are tied so thoroughly in mustang management. Sustainable culling should be allowed - the unadoptable horses should not be given free room and board at tax payer expense. They should be sold off for meat in pet food and/or to countries where there is no cultural taboos on eating horse meat.

[Tanner]

So yeah.....the fascinating discussion of wild horses aside, important issue here is that livestock grazing is not being considered/identified for it's rangeland impact at all.

I'm not familiar with this issue yet, does anyone have a suggestion for productive means for raising opposition?

[footbound]

All BLM grazing issues are decided based on watershed resource plans. Western Watershed Project challenges every managment decision the BLM makes.
Michael Gregston
Montana

[sharptail]

http://lobowatch.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/an-open-letter-to-ken-salazar-secretary-of-the-interior/

[Lowachi]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/blm-largest-ecological-study-flawed_n_1124342.html?ir=Green&ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=15581


why am I not surprised