Dear Editor,
In recent weeks there has been quite the stir regarding the management horse gathering that is being conducted by the Bureau of Land Management.
I emphasis the word management as this effort is essential to the health of the landscape and by law must be carried out.
The associated protest rallies and their sound bites that have garnered headlines are diluting the real issue.
Any momentum gained through these protests by a means of emotional attachment and lack of science based research is truly a travesty. Sportsmen need to answer these protests with a message that is derived from a different trough, one that is rooted with responsibility and accountability.
While there are some strong opinions on all sides of this sensitive topic, it is important for all stakeholders to recognize the consequences if mismanagement persists. The core of the issue is really quite clear and it is rather unfortunate to see the rally cries of the ignorant distorting the truth to further their own agenda.
Feral horses (often confused and coined as wild horses), domestic livestock and wildlife must be managed to not only maintain sustainable populations but also a healthy landscape and the science based carrying capacity of each. If left unchecked the collateral damage upon the landscape results in a detriment to all.
There are essentially two ways to manage the impact of grazing animals (wild, feral or domestic) on range and that is by population size and location (where they graze a particular area).
The setting of the population size is absolutely necessary to maintaining the production capability of the land, and therefore the habitat for the animals. This is done with livestock by pulling them off the range, and with wildlife by hunting. Population goals for horses must be set and equally as important, maintained.
Failure to do so is mismanagement and really nothing more than a dereliction of duty.
The overpopulating and overgrazing of the range with horses has significant and negative impacts to deer, grouse, pronghorn, elk, sage sparrows, etc. and the range. Failure to recognize the heart of the issue seems to be a chatter that is distracting and oblivious to the overall understanding of responsible management and stewardship. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is a livestock issue or an issue of good favor for special interests or ranchers.
This is quite simply an issue of how much forage is being produced and how many critters the landscape can support. The management of wildlife and livestock has been accountable to such calculations and it is long overdue that the management of the horses be maintained as well.
Sportsmen, consumptive and non-consumptive, need to recognize and make it clear they are not willing to let unregulated horse populations reduce populations and habitat quality for native wildlife species. This issue is about accountability, impact, and engagement. Failure to make this message heard would be a dereliction of duty on our part.
Joshua W.D. Coursey
Green River
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