They claim that wild horses in Nevada are threatened by drilling and mining, and the loss of water associated therewith, according to a bulletin picked up by AP News.
Are they suggesting that those companies are draining ponds and creeks to supply their operations? Or maybe they’re tapping into underground sources that will somehow deplete surface water needed by wildlife and the horses?
Sounds like rape and pillage. How did that get through the NEPA process?
Where are the environmental impact statements and findings of no significant impacts that authorized the destruction?
As for the HMAPs, they must comply with land-use plans, as noted earlier this week.
If the plans allow water to be used for drilling and mining in HMAs, then so will the HMAPs.
If the plans assign most of the authorized forage to privately owned livestock, then so will the HMAPs.
If you disagree with that, the problem is not HMAPs or the absence thereof.
The problem is in the planning and decision documents that determine how the HMAs are managed.
The advocates don’t want you thinking about them because changes would actually help the horses and they prosper under the status quo.
Drilling and mining require anywhere from a few acres to a few thousand acres while pubic-lands ranching devours entire HMAs and beyond. There’s no comparison.
RELATED: The Three R’s of HMAPs.
Western Horse Watchers Association 