FEBRUARY 24, 2011

BLM Public Meeting in March

Come join the Cloud Foundation in Phoenix and give a voice to wild horses and burros

PHOENIX – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is holding a meeting Thursday and Friday March 10-11 in Phoenix, Arizona, to discuss its proposed new wild horse and burro management strategy. This is the first meeting in nearly a year and an opportunity for the American public to stand in front of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and the BLM to voice your opinions.

We will be attending this meeting, and I urge you to join us. We need to present a united front and ask for the following (pick your favorite topics):

• Halt all roundups, at least temporarily
• Raise the number of wild horses and burros (AML's) allowed to live on their legally designated ranges
• Allocate the majority of forage in herd management areas to wild horses and burros ("principal" users as stated in the WHB Act)
• Improve existing water sources
• Remove fencing to allow for truly free roaming behavior
• Allow for genetically viable populations
• Abandon the artificial skewing of sex ratios, return to a natural 50-50
• Protect mountain lions that have limited wild horse populations growth naturally
• Return healthy wild horses in holding into zeroed out herd areas
• Sincerely explore public-private partnerships

The public comment period of the meeting will be held on Friday, March 11, from 9 a.m. – Noon. People who wish to speak need to arrive by 8:30 a.m. to register and per BLM "must provide a written statement of the comments, which may be brought to the meeting." The BLM's notice of this meeting can be found here.  

If you are unable to attend the meeting, the BLM is accepting electronic comments through their website here. You can find a sample form on the Cloud Foundation website.

The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel at 340 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004.  

Show up for the mustangs and burros! See you there.