Congress Votes to Pass the ROAM H.R. 1018 - Some Would Disagree

As a conservative I disagree with the Republican rationale depicted in this article. The passage of this bill provides more viable options for managing the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act which will better utilize public and historic grazing lands that can accommodate viable herds. Managing them locally by non profits/agency partnerships could further save as well as stimulate the local tourist economy. Maintaining our Heritage Herds has not /will not cost the American Public even a fraction of the cost of habitat and copious litigation for endangered species.
The huge expense has been in removal, feed lots, and adoption. This cost could be drastically reduced.
Please contact your local Board of Supervisors and state legislators to encourage cooperation at all levels.
kat

The "Restoring Our American Mustang" (ROAM) Act. (H.R. 1018)

CONTACT:
Allyson Groff or Blake Androff, 202-226-9019
House Panel Acts to Ensure America’s Wild Horses Continue to Roam Free

Washington, D.C. – Rejecting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)
slaughter of otherwise healthy horses as a viable management tool, the
House Natural Resources Committee today approved legislation introduced by
Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) that will ensure the continued protection of
thousands of America’s free-roaming wild horses and burros that make their
homes on America’s public lands.

“While Americans cheer on the thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs this
Saturday, I would submit that the plight of the American mustang is not
something of which we can be proud,” said Rahall. “While the BLM, the
agency charged with their safekeeping, has publicly spoken of killing these
majestic creatures as a solution to a burgeoning budgetary problem, I know
that we can, and must, do better. This legislation would ensure a safe
future for thousands of healthy wild mustangs.”

In 1971, the Congress adopted the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act –
which stated that wild horses are “an integral part of the natural system
of the public lands” – to protect wild horses from “capture, branding,
harassment, or death.” Since then, the BLM, charged with management of the
animals on public lands, has allowed for the general public to adopt wild
horses that have been captured when their population becomes excessive.

Last summer, the BLM announced that the combined lack of funding,
facilities, and future options may require the killing of as many as 30,000
healthy wild horses and burros. Shortly after, the GAO released the
findings of its investigation, which revealed a host of troubling problems
plaguing the BLM’s wild horse and burro program.

“Protection and management of the wild horses and burros on our public
lands is an important federal responsibility - but it is clear that the
federal government has not been adequately meeting that responsibility,”
said Rahall. “This legislation will remedy many of the critical lapses that
are taking place under the 1971 Act by invoking a number of commonsense
measures, including preventing the BLM from resorting to slaughter as a
solution for management.”

The Restoring Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act (H.R. 1018), introduced by
Rahall and co-sponsored by Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Chairman of the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, would amend the
landmark 1971 Act to implement changes suggested by the Government
Accountability Office (GAO). The bill would:

• Promote the use of better science to determine whether
the amount of range that is available to wild horses is capable of
sustaining them.

• Restore the amount of range available to wild horses when
the law was first enacted in 1971, through a combination of public
and private lands controlled by entities seeking to establish
sanctuaries, and reduce the number of animals that are culled from
the herds and placed in holding facilities.

• Provide the BLM with the authority to enter into
cooperative agreements with private entities to establish wild
horse sanctuaries on non-federal lands.

• Bolster the adoption program and implement sterilization
and other fertility controls.

• Prohibit the killing of healthy wild horses and burros.

The Committee adopted an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by
Grijalva that included technical and clarifying changes in response to
input from the Administration and advocacy groups.

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ALLYSON L. GROFF
Communications Director
Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives
1324 Longworth House Office Building
202.226.9019 | resourcescommittee.house.gov
• reply

Bill to Amend the Wild Horse Free-Roaming and Burros Act

To amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to improve the management and long-term health of wild free-roaming horses and burros, and for other purposes.
current 111st session of congress Other Bill Titles (1 more)Hide Other Bill Titles

* Official: To amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to improve the management and long-term health of wild free-roaming horses and burros, and for other purposes. as introduced.

2/12/2009--Introduced.
Amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to revise provisions concerning the management of such animals.
Requires the Secretary of the Interior (for Bureau of Land Management- [BLM] administered lands) or the Secretary of Agriculture (for Forest Service-administered lands) to:
(1) update the inventory of such animals annually and make it publicly available on the BLM website;
(2) take specified actions to estimate populations of, and establish management levels for, such animals;
(3) identify new rangelands, arrange for supervised protection on private lands, and establish sanctuaries or exclusive use areas for such animals;
(4) implement enhanced surgical or immunocontraception sterilization or other safe methods of fertility control;
(5) exhaust all practicable options of maintaining horse and burro populations in the range before providing for the capture and removal of excess animals for private maintenance;
(6) take specified actions to promote the adoption program;
(7) temporarily remove horses or burros from the range if their immediate health or safety is threatened; and
(8) provide specified public information on animal removals, range changes, and treatment. Requires adopters of horses and burros to affirm that adopted animals will not be slaughtered for human consumption. Prohibits:
(1) the use of helicopters or other airborne devices to remove such animals;
(2) containing such animals in holding facilities for more than six months while awaiting disposition; or
(3) the destruction of such an animal unless the Secretary determines it is terminally ill.
Expands the membership of the advisory board on the management and protection of such animals.
Applies criminal penalties to any person who transports a live or deceased horse or burro for processing into commercial products.
Sets forth new reporting requirements on the management of such animals.


All bill actions:
* Added to calendar on Jun 23, 2009: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 94..
* Jun 23, 2009: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 111-177.
* Added to calendar on Apr 29, 2009: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 14..
* Apr 29, 2009: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
* Apr 29, 2009: Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Discharged.
* Mar 03, 2009: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
* Feb 17, 2009: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
* Feb 12, 2009: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
* Feb 12, 2009: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E256)
* Introduced on Feb 12, 2009.

To see more about this very important bill and follow it's progress go to OpenCongress