MINUTES OF THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Eighty-first Session
March 23, 2021
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources was called to order by
Chair Fabian Donate at 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, Online.
Exhibit A is the Agenda. All exhibits are available and on file in the Research
Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Fabian Donate, Chair
Senator Melanie Scheible, Vice Chair
Senator Chris Brooks
Senator Pete Goicoechea
Senator Ira Hansen
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jennifer Ruedy, Policy Analyst
Allan Amburn, Counsel
Christine Miner, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Rebekah Stetson, Chair, Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and
Free-Roaming Horses
David Parks, Chair, Legislative Committee on Public Lands
Sherman Swanson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno;
Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming Horses
James Sedinger, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno
Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President, Nevada Farm Bureau
Larry Johnson
Colby Prout, Natural Resources Manager, Nevada Association of Counties
Steve Walker, Eureka County
J.J. Goicoechea, Chair, Sagebrush Ecosystem Council, State Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources
Dorothy Nylen
Rory Lamp, Sierra Club
Martin Paris, Executive Director, Nevada Cattlemen's Association
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Page 2
Janine Hansen, Chair, Independent American Party
Kyle Davis, Nevada Conservation League
Lydia Peri
William Molini, Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming
Horses
Mary Cioffi, President, Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates
Carlo Luri, Bently Family Limited Partnership
Deniz Bolbol, Vice President, Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates
Craig Downer
Randal Massaro, President, Union Members for the Preservation of Wildlife
International
Judith Conway
Sheila Schwadel
Stephenie McCoy, Wild Now
Deborah Walker, American Wild Horse Campaign
Louise Martin
Jennifer Baker
Erik Molvar, Executive Director, Western Watersheds Project
Alan Jenne, Administrator of Habitat, Department of Wildlife
Jacquie Chandler, Executive Director, Sustainable Tahoe
CHAIR DONATE:
We will hear a presentation by the Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife
and Free-Roaming Horses.
REBEKAH STETSON (Chair, Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and
Free-Roaming Horses):
I will present a slide presentation (Exhibit B) to spread awareness and history of
free-roaming horses and burros and the debilitating impact they have on Nevada
lands when not properly managed. I will read from my written testimony
(Exhibit C) representing the visual on Slide 1.
The herd areas depicted on Slide 2 of Exhibit B illustrate the vast amounts of
horses in Nevada compared to neighboring states. Nevada has nearly 60 percent
of all free-roaming horses and burros in the U.S. These herd management areas
are not limited to areas close to cities but extend to wild parts of Nevada,
resulting in the inability for one-size-fits-all management techniques. The
green-colored areas on the map are horses and burros, yellow areas are burros,
which are closer to Las Vegas, and the purple-colored areas represent horses.
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Page 3
I will continue to read from my written testimony, Exhibit C, with the history of
wild horses and an explanation of the federal Wild Free-Roaming Horses and
Burros Act of 1971 depicted on Slide 3 of Exhibit B.
SENATOR HANSEN:
This is an important issue as Nevadans witness the damage happening in the
wild. I spend a tremendous amount of time in the backcountry, and it is
heartbreaking to see horses starve to death. My suggestions to round up and
properly manage wild horses have been criticized as inhumane. Many people
residing east of the Mississippi River have highly romanticized images of wild
horses in Nevada and make it clear to their U.S. Congressional representatives
they 100 percent object to any changes in policy regarding the public domain.
Political pressure has allowed the U.S. Congress to ignore this issue, and
nothing changes regarding this matter.
Has something changed which allows you to push this idea forward? It was
mentioned the Humane Society uses nonlethal methods. Have you done any
polling of members of the U.S. Congress on this issue?
MS. STETSON:
There has been no polling on members of the U.S. Congress, but there is a
coalition called Free-Roaming Equid and Ecosystem Sustainability Network and a
variety of horse advocacy organizations with whom we are collaborating. We
are geared up for a considerable education campaign, and this is what it will
take. With serious issues such as this, it unfortunately takes starving and dying
horses before people shift what they are willing to do. We are at that place.
This seems to be the only way for change to take place.
SENATOR HANSEN:
I salute you for your efforts and fully support your intentions. Count on my
involvement if I can help with a solution to the problem. The U.S. Congress
should follow its federal laws.
SENATOR GOICOECHEA:
There is a provision for euthanasia in law. We need to understand this is an
alternative. If no other alternative is reached, the federal agencies will be taxed
with doing what the law requires, and it allows for euthanasia.
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Page 4
CHAIR DONATE:
We will open the hearing on Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.R.) 3.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 3: Urges Congress to provide funding to reduce
the wild horse and burro populations to appropriate management levels.
(BDR R-465)
DAVID PARKS (Chair, Legislative Committee on Public Lands):
I will present S.J.R. 3. The Legislative Committee on Public Lands received
testimony regarding overpopulation of wild horses and burros on public lands in
Nevada. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 authorizes
federal agencies to remove excess wild horses and burros from the range to
sustain the health and productivity of public lands. Horse populations in herd
management areas are on average three times the appropriate management
level.
At the September 10, 2020, meeting of the Legislative Committee of Public
Lands, the Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming
Horses shared how horses are adversely impacting ecosystems, forage, habitat
health and water resources.
The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) 2020 Report to Congress: An
Analysis of Achieving a Sustainable Wild Horse and Burro Program seeks
short-term funding for immediate effectiveness and longer-term funding to
successfully reduce excess wild horses and burros to appropriate management
levels (AML). The Report outlines strategies for achieving healthy and
sustainable populations of wild horses and burros on public lands. More than
88,000 wild horses and burros were estimated to be roaming BLM-managed
public rangelands—the highest levels since receiving federal protection 50 years
ago in 1971.
Overpopulated herds damage grazing lands, sensitive water sources and wildlife
habitat. These issues are expected to worsen as populations continue to grow.
The primary features of the BLM plan include nonlethal methods to reduce
populations with herd gathering and fertility control treatments. Given the size
of the current populations and expected growth rates, it will take a sustained
investment from Congress to implement effective strategies to achieve AMLs
within a time frame consistent with congressional direction and protecting range
and herd health.
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Page 5
The rise in program costs is primarily attributed to inflation, holding additional
animals in off-range facilities and efforts to implement fertility control. By doing
nothing, the BLM estimates wild horse and burro populations on BLM-managed
public lands could reach 2.8 million by 2040. However, well before reaching
this level, the population levels would likely become unsustainable. Based on
this information and testimony provided by the Coalition for Healthy Nevada
Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming Horses, the Legislative Committee on Public
Lands voted to unanimously draft a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to
provide funding to successfully reduce the number of free-roaming wild horses
and burros to AMLs using nonlethal means within six years to protect and
restore the health and viability of Nevada's public lands.
SHERMAN SWANSON, PH.D (Professor Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno;
Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming Horses):
I will read from my written testimony, (Exhibit D) with my remarks on
Slides 3, 4 and 5 of the slide presentation, Exhibit B. I will be sharing some
history and providing the basis and need for S.J.R. 3.
JAMES SEDINGER, PH.D (Professor Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno):
I will read from my written testimony (Exhibit E) with my remarks and
explanations of Slides 6 and 7 of the slide presentation, Exhibit B. I will talk
about the impacts of wild horses and burros on Nevada's native wildlife and
summarize the intentions contained in S.J.R. 3.
SENATOR HANSEN:
Are the comparisons between horses and native big game depicted on Slide 6 of
the slide presentation, Exhibit B, based on weighted averages? Deer alone have
reached a population of 90,000.
Dr. Peter Coates, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey,
extensively studied sage grouse and documented that because of
anthropomorphic food sources, there are artificially large populations of ravens
impacting sage grouse populations. Have you observed, as I have, mountain lion
populations being substantially higher where there are large burro populations? I
have seen mountain lions in areas not typical for mountain lion habitat, and they
live near burro populations. In a case about 10 years ago, BLM rounded up
1,400 horses in the Goldfield area of Nevada, and on Stonewall Mountain, there
was a substantial bighorn sheep population. The sheep population disappeared
thereafter. I think mountain lions were living off the horse and burro population,
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Page 6
but when the food supply disappeared at once, mountain lions shifted to
Stonewall Mountain to live off the bighorn sheep and consequently wiped out
that population. Have you done any studies on the relationships of artificially
expanded predation numbers based on anthropomorphic-provided food sources
like horses and burros?
DR. SEDINGER:
We have not done that kind of work. We have seen raven issues with sage
grouse in central Nevada associated with colonizing and transmission lines. A
graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, found that a small
proportion of mountain lions kill horses. She studied 25 radio-collared mountain
lions, primarily females. She followed one large male who was a horse killer.
The data is limited but suggests lions are not going to be a solution to the horse
issue.
SENATOR HANSEN:
I am not suggesting mountain lions as a solution to the issue. Horses are larger
than burros, and mountain lions are aggressive with the burro population.
Slide 6 of your visual presentation, Exhibit B, shows as horse numbers went up,
wildlife populations went down. One of the factors is predation. If an artificially
high animal population is created from feeding off a population of non-native
animals, it can impact Nevada's wildlife. Nevada is being destroyed before our
eyes and something needs to be done.
DR. SWANSON:
Fortunately, burros are quite adoptable. The Southeast U.S. has large demands
for burros. Wild horses four years old or younger are adoptable. If we were at
AML with smaller reproducing herds, adoption would be part of the solution.
SENATOR HANSEN:
Is there a backlog of 50,000 wild horses on some pastures in Nebraska? Is it
feasible to adopt out existing horses in captivity in addition to surplus
populations being harvested by the BLM?
DR. SWANSON:
No, most of the horses on private pastures in the Midwest are older horses and
may not be adoptable. The number of horses will decline as they live out their
lives. Our proposal is to add substantial numbers of horses quickly to the
off-range holding pastures and stop adding to them upon reaching AML. There
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Page 7
are far too many horses, and many are unadoptable. A sustainable program can
be achieved once AML is reached.
CHAIR DONATE:
Many letters and opinions have come forward regarding S.J.R. 3. The Opinions
application on the Nevada Legislature website reflected 277 opinions in favor
and 361 opinions in opposition. Six supportive telephone calls were received
and no calls in opposition. We received 19 letters in support and 36 letters in
opposition.
DOUG BUSSELMAN (Executive Vice President, Nevada Farm Bureau):
The Nevada Farm Bureau supports S.J.R. 3 and participated in a working group
of diverse interests that are mentioned in a 2019 collaborative agreement called
The Path Forward for Management of BLM's Wild Horses & Burros.
The initiative of those who brought this resolution forward is appreciated. It is
important for the Nevada Legislature to encourage the U.S. Congress to provide
necessary funding to bring wild horses and burros to AML. The rangeland of
Nevada and its multiple uses connected to the federally managed lands cannot
continue to be mismanaged and neglected. Exceeding AML levels surpass the
caring capacity of our lands. The U.S. Congress needs to provide the necessary
short-term and long-term funding for removal of excess horses and burros from
the land, along with off-range facilities to house horses and burros that have
been removed in order to reach AML in herd management areas.
LARRY JOHNSON:
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and subsequent
amendments mandate BLM and the U.S. Forest Service to maintain an
ecological balance with all other uses. It mandates removal of excess horses.
Each appropriation bill through Congress limits the BLM from performing its
lawful duty. Scientific range management reports have shown excess wild horse
populations adversely impact range conditions and wildlife populations. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sheldon Wildlife Refuge Environmental Impact
Statement documents over 75 scientific studies. Wild horses should not be
managed as a priority species as they are to the detriment of other uses and to
horses themselves. No one wants to see starving animals of any kind. Wild
horses are large, strong, dominant animals and outcompete native wildlife for
forage and water.
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In drought years, it is common to see wild horse bands monopolize springs and
chase wildlife away. Wild horse advocates falsely state wild horse populations
will regulate themselves. By the time horses reach starvation, the range is so
depleted that wildlife populations are severely depleted or extinct.
Wild horses are a beautiful and valuable resource. Like all resources,
management is required or other uses will suffer.
COLBY PROUT (Natural Resources Manager, Nevada Association of Counties):
The Nevada Association of Counties (NACO) supports S.J.R. 3. In
October 2019, NACO took formal action and endorsed The Path Forward for
Management of BLM's Wild Horses & Burros. This plan was the result of
collaboration of over a dozen diverse stakeholders including the Eureka County
Board of Commissioners, the Humane Society Legislative Fund and the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Nevada
Association of Counties has shared its support of the plan and S.J.R. 3 urging
sufficient and sustained funding for implementing the plan with each member of
the Nevada Congressional Delegation. Nevada is home to 50 percent of the
Nation's wild horses and burros with estimates of 51,000 on our lands. This is
well above BLM zones to determine AML which is the maximum number of
horses consistent with maintaining a thriving ecological balance as mandated by
the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. As Nevada enters
another drought cycle, the effects of populations over AMLs on sensitive
ecosystem species such as sage grouse will be more pronounced and intense.
Overpopulation of horses affects public health and safety in counties where
horses regularly wander onto roadways and other public rights-of-way.
According to the Nevada's Department of Transportation, 240 horse-related
vehicle accidents with 45 human injuries occurred from 2017 to 2019.
STEVE WALKER (Eureka County):
Eureka County supports S.J.R. 3 which promotes and endorses efforts to
achieve AMLs, and supports the diverse stakeholder-developed The Path
Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild Horses & Burros. Eureka County
supports federal funding for reaching AMLs while avoiding unconditional sales
and lethal management of wild horses and burros.
In the past, the Eureka County Board of Commissioners has requested BLM be
given the full suite of tools authorized in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and
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Burros Act of 1971, as amended. Local plans and policies in Eureka County call
for implementing this Act.
The Eureka County Board of Commissioners fully and firmly stands behind The
Path Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild Horses & Burros and has formally
and unanimously voted on three occasions to support the proposal. The Board
Chair, J.J. Goicoechea testified at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on behalf of
Eureka County supporting The Path Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild
Horses & Burros. While we have policies stating support of full implementation
of the Act, we have a strong bias toward solutions that bring excess horses to
levels conducive to rangeland health without using unconditional sales and lethal
management. The Path Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild Horses
& Burros is the only proposal seen by the County that takes this approach and
actually models the ability to reach AML.
Nevada’s rangelands continue to take more than their fair share of adverse
impacts from wild horse and burro populations that far exceed what the
resources can sustain for healthy horses and healthy, working rangelands.
Nevada cannot continue on the current path. It is imperative that action is taken
now to conserve and restore the health of the rangelands negatively affected by
excess horses. Funding and implementation of The Path Forward for
Management of BLM’s Wild Horses & Burros is the right thing to do to help
address the issues.
J.J. GOICOECHEA (Chair, Sagebrush Ecosystem Council, State Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources):
The Sagebrush Ecosystem Council (SEC) supports S.J.R. 3. The SEC is a
legislatively authorized body that oversees the Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem
Program. It is comprised of nine Governor-appointed members representing local
government, wildlife, agriculture, conservation and environment, general public,
tribal nations, energy, mining, ranching and six ex officio members including the
Department of Wildlife (NDOW), BLM, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the State
Department of Agriculture.
The program is housed within the State Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources as per Nevada Revised Statutes 232.162. The Council shall consider
the best science available in its determinations regarding conservation of the
greater sage grouse and sagebrush ecosystems. The SEC shall establish and
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March 23, 2021
Page 10
carry out strategies for the conservation of the greater sage grouse and
sagebrush ecosystems in this State. Wild horses and feral horses are having
negative impacts on fragile ecosystems in Nevada. Nevada has over half of the
Nation's range population with well over 50,000 wild horses.
Species rely heavily on riparian areas where overuse is negatively impacting
many areas. Dr. Peter Coates has provided the Council with data showing a
direct correlation between excessive horse populations and a decline in sage
grouse numbers. This data is supported by land health monitoring showing
declining and often irreversibly impacted ecosystem health due to overuse by
wild horses in some areas.
The 2019 Nevada Greater Sage-grouse Conservation Plan, adopted as amended
and maintained by the SEC, has a section for wild horse and burro management.
It reads:
4.1 Goal: Support, promote, and facilitate full implementation of
the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, as
amended, including to preserve and maintain a thriving natural
ecological balance and multiple-use relationship, without alteration
of its implementation by subsequent Congresses or Presidential
administrations.
Recognizing that if action is not taken until herd health has become
an issue, the range and water resources are likely to be in a highly
degraded and potentially irreversible state. Non-active management
(e.g. let nature take its course, wait until horse health or resource
conditions are critical) is not acceptable management.
Non-management will negatively impact or potentially create
irreversible habitat impacts within the Service Area.
The SEC applauds the Legislative Committee on Public Lands for this resolution.
At a meeting on March 16, the SEC unanimously voted to support S.J.R. 3 after
a presentation by Council members representing conservation, the environment
and the general public. The SEC stands ready to assist in any way. The Path
Forward for Management of BLM’s Wild Horses & Burros is a collaborative
effort and resulted from years of discussions in often contentious meetings. An
endorsement by the Nevada Legislature will send a strong message to our
partners in Washington, D.C., to aggressively manage the wild horse
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March 23, 2021
Page 11
populations and no longer allow our fragile ecosystems to be irreversibly
damaged due to mismanagement of wild horses.
DOROTHY NYLEN:
None of the presenters represent active Nevada long-term wildlife advocacy
groups. The effects of climate change have not been considered. Wild horses
are used as scapegoats for a range problem. Advocacy groups do not support
the lack of management. The website <https://wildhorsepl.org> addresses
some of the issues. There should be a more equitable approach to the issue.
RORY LAMP (Sierra Club):
The Sierra Club and its members support S.J.R. 3. Inadequate management of
wild and free-roaming horses and burros is causing long-term damage to public
lands in Nevada that support native wildlife and multiple uses. The present path
for managing wild horses and burros is unsustainable ecologically and
economically. A lack of adequate management is allowing for uncontrolled
population growth causing significant impacts to the health of public lands. This
negatively impacts our wildlife, horses and burros, livestock and other uses on
the lands.
The problem can only be corrected at the federal level by adequately funding
management efforts. The Sierra Club supports maintaining horse and burro
populations at sustainable levels somewhere near or below AML. Horses and
burros are part of the multiuse fabric of public lands, and everyone enjoys
seeing them. No one wants to witness the continued destruction of our public
lands with the current excess horse and burro populations.
MARTIN PARIS (Executive Director, Nevada Cattlemen's Association):
Politics, limited funding, lack of long-term holding and wild horse and burro
populations doubling in size every three to five years has led to Nevada's herd
management areas being 300 percent over AMLs. This has created a dire
situation for the health of rangelands and health and well-being of wild horses
and burros. The current population of wild horses and burros in Nevada is not
sustainable.
Unlike cattle or other livestock, horses and burros cannot be managed on the
range or moved to another area temporarily for rest and have no rotational
grazing systems. The grazing timing and seasons of use for horses and burros
cannot be changed—they are on the land 24 hours per day year-round. This
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Page 12
factor is taken into consideration when the AMLs are established and is why
maintaining levels is critical. An increase in funding is needed to implement a
removal strategy of excess wild horses and burros followed by an aggressive
fertility control management strategy and finding long-term holding solutions for
removed animals.
The Nevada Cattlemen's Association supports S.J.R. 3 in urging Congress to
uphold the intent of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
Time is of the essence, and delays will be more costly and make it harder to
address the problem.
JANINE HANSEN (Chair, Independent American Party):
I will read my submitted written testimony (Exhibit F) in support of S.J.R. 3.
KYLE DAVIS (Nevada Conservation League):
The Nevada Conservation League supports S.J.R. 3. Unchecked populations of
feral horses in Nevada are causing big impacts on our native ecosystems and
wildlife. Overpopulated areas with wild horses ruin the scenic vistas. The
solutions outlined in S.J.R. 3 are the paths forward to solve some of the
problems occurring since the implementation of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses
and Burros Act of 1971. These issues need to be dealt with for the
environmental health of Nevada.
LYDIA PERI:
I have spent time in the backcountry of Nevada and see horses each time. The
horses are afraid of humans, and it is horrifying to see the horses in areas with
degraded health conditions. Many groups with different opinions are coming
together for a common cause. We want horses on a healthy landscape with
healthy populations. Please support S.J.R. 3.
WILLIAM MOLINI (Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming
Horses):
I was a field biologist for NDOW from 1968 to 1972 and can affirm there were
few horses on rangelands. This was before the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and
Burros Act of 1971 was enacted and implemented. The main goals were horse
recognition and ensuring humane treatment. Having the tremendous number of
wild horses on our rangeland today was not the goal. The Coalition for Healthy
Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming Horses is supportive of the BLM. The
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Page 13
BLM knows what needs to be done and how to do it. Financial and political
support for the BLM can allow for reaching AMLs.
Wild horses have demonstrated the ability to double their populations every
four to five years. By 2025, Nevada could have 100,000 wild horses. This will
put rangeland dependent wildlife at peril. Declines in wildlife species and land
resources will injure the production and sustainability of water, vegetation and
wildlife resources. Recovery potential will be lost for generations.
MARY CIOFFI (President, Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates):
Local residents of Carson Valley have enjoyed the historic bands of wild horses
for as long as local memories can recall. The Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates
worked with the local district BLM office to provide humane birth control to
herds east of our town. The reproduction rate of these bands was reduced by
81 percent in 2020 and success continues. None of our wild mares appear to
be in foal on the Fish Springs Range this year. Our horses are in excellent
health. Wild horses can be managed successfully on many ranges with good
results at lower costs to taxpayers.
Wild horses are not the negative impact solely responsible for the conditions of
our public lands. Off-road vehicles affect our ranges. Senate Joint Resolution 3
does not reflect the opinions of the majority of Nevadans in Douglas County.
Those of us in opposition to S.J.R. 3 wish for a postponement of a Senate
Committee on Natural Resources decision until opinions in opposition are heard.
Many options are being implemented to solve the issues and could be
successful on a greater scale.
Wild horses provide tourism, and advocates have given tours to people from
many areas of the Country and the world. Tourists stay in our hotels, dine in our
restaurants and shop in our stores.
Our community strongly supports leaving wild horses on the ranges where they
were born. The community is willing to manage its horses on the range,
including labor and funding the costs of birth control. Pine Nut Wild Horse
Advocates opposes S.J.R. 3 and the one-size-fits-all program intended to
remove starving and water-deprived wild horses for humane reasons. The
horses in our community are not starving or dying of thirst. Our range has never
had any restoration after decades of numerous fires.
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Page 14
CARLO LURI (Bently Family Limited Partnership):
I will read a statement from Christopher and Camille Bently, owners of Bently
Ranch and Bently Heritage Estate Distillery in opposition to S.J.R. 3:
This is a clear case of throwing good money after bad. Science has
provided a better solution, a more-humane, more-effective solution
that does not spend millions in taxpayer dollars. Are we going to
ignore it just for the sake of making the same mistakes over and
over? The BLM's roundup and holding facilities expenses have
skyrocketed. A science solution is being ignored. The PZP program
being carried out by the American Wild Horse Campaign and their
partners offers a real long-term solution. All that is required is
collaboration between the BLM and the volunteers. We need our
Legislators to be willing to embrace the solutions of today instead
of clinging to yesterday's mistakes.
Members of the Bently Family, LLC consider themselves environmentalists and
care about the health of the range. They do not oppose population management
of wild horses but are concerned S.J.R. 3 is too narrowly focused on removing
horses from the range. I have visited the holding facilities and according to the
BLM, the costs for feeding the horses is $5,000 per year. It is typical for a
horse to be in captivity for ten years. This amounts to $50,000 per horse.
Fifty-thousand horses in captivity would raise those costs exponentially.
The old paradigm is to remove horses and put them in holding, —why, when the
populations can be controlled by effective birth control solving the problem at
much lower costs to taxpayers?
DENIZ BOLBOL (Vice President, Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates):
Please postpone voting on S.J.R. 3 until the Committee receives presentations
with data from the other side of this issue. A biased one-sided presentation is
what your decision will be based on. A two-minute public comment period is
not enough time to address the issues raised. The basis of S.J.R. 3 is BLM's
AML system.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a premier independent, scientific
body and provides the U.S. government with balanced fact-based information
and data. The BLM paid NAS to conduct a review of its wild horse program. The
study claimed there is no science-based rationale used by the BLM to allocate
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March 23, 2021
Page 15
forage and habitat resources to various uses, and AML is not supported by
scientific information. The report stated AMLs must be adapted or changed to
reflect changes in societal values, public attitudes and preferences. The report
indicated wild horses account for just 5 percent of consumption of forage on
BLM lands, and livestock grazing accounts for 95 percent of consumption.
Eighty percent of the forage BLM allocates in the designated wild horse habitat
is given to livestock. Livestock is responsible for widespread destruction of
rangeland.
CRAIG DOWNER:
I am a wildlife ecologist and a multigenerational descendent of Nevada pioneers.
I grew up on a horse, and I wrote a book entitled The Wild Horse Conspiracy.
Based on the information heard today, wild horses and burros are being blamed
for much that is wrong in the State. It is a distraction from the root cause of the
problems. I resent the prejudiced views against wild horses who are a deeply
rooted North American native species.
Horses are miserable and starving when their niche in the ecosystem is not
recognized. I do not agree with using a fertility drug to turn them into
domesticated animals. When horses have mature social units, they self-stabilize
their populations. I am an advocate of reserved design where an area is
contained and allows the horses with mature social units to fill their niche, and
there are ways to keep them in commensurate, viable populations.
RANDAL MASSARO (President, Union Members for the Preservation of Wildlife
International):
The Union Members for the Preservation of Wildlife International represent our
brothers and sisters within the Native American community in opposing
S.J.R. 3. This resolution is a smoke screen. Cattle outnumber horses ten to one.
Cattle-ranching communities have affected the Native American community and
sheepherders by providing free range for their cattle.
As a retired law enforcement officer working on investigations, I am willing to
help the Native American community and fellow animal rights activists with
video footage needed to testify in the event of lawsuits. The banding together
of the unions, animal rights activists and the Native American community to
take on the cattle industry and the BLM is indicative of activation needed for the
war on our wildlife.
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
March 23, 2021
Page 16
The decisions of the Nevada Legislature set the example, and many are looking
to see if the right decisions will be made. Does Nevada have enough money to
take on legal cases? Three to four times more funds are produced by ecotourism
than killing wildlife.
JUDITH CONWAY:
I observe horses often looking for food and water in my Silver Springs
residential area. Accidents often occur, and more fences on U.S. Highway 50
and USA Parkway might be a solution. Why has building development been
allowed to destroy the water hole on USA Parkway? Why was the water not
protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971? Birth
control for horses does not sound like the only or best option to address the
problem. I oppose S.J.R. 3, and it should be adjusted in favor of horses instead
of cattle and buildings. The roundup and holding areas cost more than humane
and realistic solutions.
SHEILA SCHWADEL:
A press release dated September 16, 2014, on the Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility website titled "BLM Weighs Wild Horse Impact
Much More Heavily than Cattle" states:
The method used by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to
assess range conditions is seriously skewed toward minimizing
impacts from domestic livestock and magnifying those from wild
horses and burros, according to an appraisal by Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result, the BLM’s
approach to range management targets scattered wild horses and
burros while ignoring far more numerous cattle.
A PEER appraisal of the methodology found –
• BLM calculates the “area of influence” of wild horses and
burros on sage grouse habitat based merely on their
presence within Herd Management Areas in sage grouse
habitat, while it considers livestock impact to have occurred
only when livestock grazing allotments fail the agency’s
Land Health Status (LHS) standard for wildlife;
• If the agency used the same approach for calculating the
area of influence of livestock within BLM grazing allotments
on sage grouse habitat as it did for wild horses and burros,
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
March 23, 2021
Page 17
the area of influence for livestock would be roughly 14 times
that given in the report and more than six times that of wild
horses and burros; and
• Within BLM’s own grazing allotment LHS database records,
livestock grazing is cited as a cause of failure to achieve a
land health standard 30 times more often than are wild
horses and burros.
The BLM has been skewing its numbers in favor of cattle and blaming the wild
horse population.
STEPHENIE MCCOY (Wild Now):
Wild Now was set up in 2019 to help wild horses. There is a problem, and wild
horses are not protected. There are competing interests, and bands of horses
removed from the rangeland to long-term holding are not protected. Horses on
the range are not properly managed. I approve of the porcine zona pellucida
(PZP) vaccine program. I am trained in it and intend to dart with PZP in the Fish
Creek Herd Management Area. Before making a decision on S.J.R. 3, please
consider all angles. The BLM program has not proven to be successful and
continues to overpopulate the rangelands. The BLM does nothing to stem the
reproduction of wild horses. The horses live as families in bands and look better
on the range than my personal horses do. The problem has never been fixed in
the way proposed in S.J.R. 3.
DEBORAH WALKER (American Wild Horse Campaign):
I am the Nevada field representative for the American Wild Horse Campaign. I
am a volunteer for the PZP program and the Virginia Range is running the
world's largest wild horse fertility-control program. We have darted
1,400 mares and given over 3,300 treatments with a primer and booster. This
is being done by volunteers and donations to the American Wild Horse
Campaign. Capturing and removing 40,000 wild horses will cost taxpayers
$40 million. It will cost up to $2 billion to maintain them in holding facilities.
Taking action on this is against what the majority of Americans and Nevadans
want to see for wild horses.
The BLM management system is a failed system; it is not a solution. Fertility
control is a viable solution which works. There are two sides to this matter, and
wild horses are being used as an excuse. Populations can be managed safely
and humanely on the range.
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
March 23, 2021
Page 18
LOUISE MARTIN:
Both sides of this story need to be presented. Today's presentations were
one-sided. Eighty-five percent of Nevada's residents support our wild horses on
the range. A small minority is fighting against freedom of wild horses. We need
to get past the old and begin with the new solutions. Too many cattle on the
range cause damage.
JENNIFER BAKER:
I am in opposition to S.J.R. 3 because I sat in a room with Governor Steve
Sisolak, Assemblyman Jim Wheeler and several others who decided the most
humane and proper action Nevada can take is fertility control for wild horses.
Horse population control is an issue. If we are to reduce horse populations in
six years, then all efforts should be focused on fertility control, the most
humane action with a simple birth control dart that does not mess with wildlife
behaviors. After five shots, we can look at permanent sterilization of female
horses. It is a permanent solution to excessive grazing and populations. The
BLM numbers are skewed.
ERIK MOLVAR (Executive Director, Western Watersheds Project):
Western Watersheds Project is a nonprofit conservation group working to
correct watersheds and wildlife across the American West. Western Watersheds
Project opposes S.J.R. 3. I am a wildlife biologist, and my publications are about
large ungulate interactions with vegetation and ecosystems, specifically the
Alaskan moose. I did my research at the Institute of Artic Biology.
In Dr. Sedinger's testimony about the biomass of wild horses exceeding the
native wildlife biomass, I did not hear a biomass number for cattle. I looked at
the comparison between cattle and wild horses nationwide and corrected for
animal unit months, comparing one month of horse use to one month of cattle
use, and I found 14.8 times as much cattle use on Western public lands as wild
horse use. It is primarily cattle and livestock impacting the environment and
damaging riparian areas and water holes. If wild horses were the real ecological
problem in the West, Western Watersheds Project would make this a priority.
A publication by Beever and Aldridge in 2011 claims free-roaming horses spread
rapidly across the Intermountain West, and populations reportedly peaked in the
U.S. at 2 million to 7 million animals in the late 1700s to early 1800s. If there
are 88,000 wild horses, and native wildlife was at its peak in earlier centuries,
horses today cannot be a major ecological impact.
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
March 23, 2021
Page 19
ALAN JENNE (Administrator of Habitat, Department of Wildlife):
The Department of Wildlife is neutral on S.J.R. 3. Consider Nevada's
895 wildlife species in this resolution. Nevada's scarcest and most important
resource is water, and the associated riparian habitats are relied upon by all
species. The long-term degradation of these waters and vegetative communities
are exacerbated by the excessive, unmanaged wild horse and burro populations
that have detrimental influence on other species numbers and distribution. Wild
horse and burro numbers at 300 percent of the prescribed management levels
and the potential for populations to double every three to five years,
necessitates urgent action to maintain healthy and productive landscapes for
Nevada's wildlife.
JACQUIE CHANDLER (Executive Director, Sustainable Tahoe):
There is no balance of presenters for S.J.R. 3. Being neutral, I am uncertain
why the voices were not heard for having a viable sustainable habitat for the
animals. We should be giving habitat back to wildlife species or it will affect
human survival. Managing greed and encroachment by urban sprawl and
livestock that has moved into wildlife habitats should be a priority. The BLM
should be working actively with nonprofits and volunteers to help sustain
wildlife. Ranchers dominate the land 80 to 1 against wildlife.
CHAIR DONATE:
We will close the hearing on S.J.R. 3.
Remainder of page intentionally left blank; signature page to follow.
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
March 23, 2021
Page 20
CHAIR DONATE:
Having no further business, we will adjourn at 5:36 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Christine Miner,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Fabian Donate, Chair
DATE:
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
March 23, 2021
Page 21
EXHIBIT SUMMARY
Bill
Exhibit
Letter
Begins
on
Page
Witness / Entity Description
A 1 Agenda
S.J.R. 3 B 1
Rebekah Stetson /
Coalition for Healthy
Nevada Lands, Wildlife
and Free-Roaming
Horses
Slide Presentation
S.J.R. 3 B 3
Sherman Swanson /
University of Nevada,
Reno
Slide Presentation
S.J.R. 3 B 6
James Sedinger /
University of Nevada,
Reno
Slide Presentation
S.J.R. 3 C 1
Rebekah Stetson /
Coalition for Healthy
Nevada Lands, Wildlife
and Free-Roaming
Horses
Written Testimony
S.J.R. 3 D 1
Sherman Swanson
/
University of Nevada,
Reno / Coalition for
Healthy Nevada Lands,
Wildlife and
Free-Roaming Horses
Written Testimony
S.J.R. 3 E 1
James Sedinger /
University of Nevada,
Reno
Written Testimony
S.J.R. 3 F 1
Janine Hansen /
Independent American
Party
Written Testimony
