SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT-Nevada Section
RELEASE DATES: September
17 - November 5
Contact: Barry Perryman, Associate Professor, UNR
College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources (775) 784-1265 or
Gary McCuin, UNR, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 237-5326
Nevada Section, Society for Range
Management, in cooperation with the SRM Center for Professional Education and
Development,
PRESENTS:
The 2009 Conference on Wild & Feral
Horse and Burro Management and Policy
A search for solutions within Ecological, Biological,
and Economic Realities
Wild, feral, and estray horse and burro management policy
in the US can be very controversial and polarizing. Natural resource
professionals now indicate that the dynamics and limits of natural ecosystems
and current economic realities have collectively given rise to a situation that
will not be sustainable. In the past, the wants and needs of horse owners and
advocates have often been pitted against the policies and requirements of
federal and private land managers. The
consequence is a tremendous burden placed upon the very habitats that sustain
horses and burros as well as all other wildlife species.
Wild
horses and burros have a very high capacity to increase their populations in a
free range scenario. With the domestic economic downturn, privately owned
horses that can no longer be cared for by their owners, and without other
viable disposal options, have been turned loose on public, Indian sovereign,
and private lands, further exacerbating site specific management problems.
Federal budgets designated for horse and burro management have increased, with
incrementally more going to support long-term holding costs of unadoptable
animals.
In
some cases, overpopulation of horses and burros has led to numerous unintended
consequences of the original federal authorization including degradation of
rangeland habitats. This adversely
affects ecosystem functions, biodiversity, and other legally authorized land
uses including other wildlife species that share the same habitats.
Rangeland
management professionals, horse advocates, wildlife managers and advocacy
groups, federal, state, county and municipal officers, congressional
delegations and staff, tribal leaders, and concerned citizens from Nevada and
other states throughout the country will come together in Reno/Sparks, NV on
November 3-5 to search for solutions within the ecological, biological, and economic
realities of today and the future. The specific goal is to honestly and openly
identify challenges and concerns regarding wild and estray horse and burro management
policy, and develop realistic and achievable recommendations that will assist
legislators and management agencies charged with the care and welfare of these
animals and the habitats that support them.
¨ What: Conference on Wild &
Feral Horse and Burro Management
and Policy
¨ When: November 3-5, 2009
¨ Where: John Ascuaga's Nugget,
Reno/Sparks, NV
¨ Who: Current sponsors
include: NV Section SRM,
Society for Range Management, Bureau of Land
Management, United Organizations of the
Horse, and University of Nevada-Reno College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and
Natural Resources, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
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