None of the reports show the forage assigned to livestock inside the HAs and HMAs.
The HA/HMA Report provides acreage, AMLs and current populations, but does not tell the American people how the resources in those areas have been allocated.
Western Horse Watchers believes those numbers would show that HAs are managed principally for livestock, while most of the HMAs, a subset of the HAs, are managed primarily for livestock.
If you neglect wildlife, the HAs—the lawful home of wild horses and burros—would be managed exclusively for livestock.
The report should include (1) the AUMs assigned to horses/burros and livestock, (2) percentages of forage assigned to horses/burros and livestock, (3) horses/burros displaced from each area by permitted grazing, (4) the costs of holding those animals in off-range corrals compared to the fees paid by ranchers occupying those areas, and (5) the True AMLs, to be achieved by confining the ranchers to their base properties.
Don’t look to the advocates for leadership in this regard. They’re down with the ranching agenda, indicated by their near-unanimous support of the Montana Solution.
The meeting starts tomorrow.
The Board is dominated by ranchers and ranching sympathizers.
The wild horse and burro program has been a drag on the grazing program for 50 years.
RELATED: WHBAB Meeting Materials Out for Review.
Western Horse Watchers Association 