By WHITNEY ROYSTER
Star-Tribune environmental reporter Wednesday, October 24, 2007

JACKSON -- Federal spending restrictions and poor range conditions in Nevada have halted wild horse roundups in Wyoming, drawing the ire of Gov. Dave Freudenthal.

The governor sent a letter to BLM officials this week blasting the decision to shift funding for wild horse roundups from Wyoming to Nevada. The BLM notified Freudenthal' s office last week it needed to redirect funding from Wyoming to Nevada, as horses there were in danger because of drought and wildfires.

"... (W)hile the situation in Nevada may warrant additional resource allocations for horse gathers there, I am hard pressed to see how Wyoming's funding for horse gathers must be sacrificed to address conditions in Nevada," Freudenthal wrote in his letter to Wyoming BLM Director Bob Bennett. "Clearly the 'emergency situation' in Nevada, when read together with the difficult range conditions in Wyoming, lends itself to new dollars being added to the budget instead of shuffling dollars to Nevada, which will, in turn, exacerbate problems in Wyoming."

Wyoming's BLM wild horse and burro specialist, Alan Shepard, was out sick Tuesday. BLM spokesman Steven Hall in Cheyenne said the decision to shift funding stems from a "continuing resolution" in the federal budget saying the agency is allowed to spend 12.5 percent of its fiscal year 2007 budget between Oct. 1 and Nov. 16 as a 2008 budget is being debated.

That budget squeeze led the agency to prioritize, and it determined only to do roundups where horses are in immediate danger. About 2,200 horses are at risk in Nevada because of range conditions, Hall said. The agency had planned to gather 725 horses in Wyoming this fall, which will be delayed to next year.

"We have certainly heard the governor on this issue" and are looking at ways to address his concerns, Hall said.

Hall said the planned roundup in Wyoming would cost about $320,000, plus $625,000 to house the horses in holding facilities for the typical 180 days.

Freudenthal said barring a roundup, he hoped the BLM "would exercise a measure of flexibility for those livestock permittees operating within the White Mountain and Little Colorado Herd Management Area boundaries." Those areas, north of Green River and west of Rock Springs, are where the 725 wild horses were to be rounded up. Wild horses compete with domestic cattle and sheep for forage.

Hall said the BLM would "absolutely" look at the grazing situation as it arises.

There are about 4,400 wild horses on BLM land in Wyoming. The agency objective is between 2,700 and 3,700. In 2003, the state and BLM signed a "consent decree" dictating the objective number.

In his Monday letter, Freudenthal complained that the BLM wasn't honoring the consent decree.

"While gathers contemplated under the existing continuing resolution will create serious budget concerns, I question how the budgetary and other cited concerns absolve the BLM of its responsibilities under the Decree," he wrote. "As such, I have directed the Attorney General's Office to advise me regarding the language of the Decree and its application in the circumstance at hand."

Hall said the agency is looking at all options regarding horse roundups in Wyoming.

There are about 29,000 wild horse and burros on BLM lands across the West. There are about 30,000 in holding facilities after they were removed from the public lands.

Nevada has the largest population of wild horses and burros -- about 13,000.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@tribcsp.com.