May is known as Burro Awareness Month, a time to learn more about and fight for the protection of these highly resilient, but also misunderstood equines of our American West.
Wild burros play a vital role in the American West, for ecological and cultural reasons. Now more than ever it’s also a time for increased action to protect them against ongoing federal mismanagement.
As far back as 2013, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) warned that the small, fragmented nature of burro herds threatens their genetic viability. NAS stated then that the current population levels were likely too low to sustain healthy herds. Now as in 2013,the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to ignore the facts of science.
This month alone, the BLM plans to remove more than 1,100 wild burros using a bait trap roundup in Arizona’s Three Rivers Complex. This plan would result in only 1,160 burros left in the wild on close to one million acres of public, private, and state land.
The lasting negative impacts from this unnecessary roundup will devastate these herds.
It cannot be emphasized enough the ecological importance of wild burros in desert environments. Studies have shown that burros dig wells that provide water access for native species as well as supporting biodiversity in some of the harshest environments out West. In fact, wild burros can be considered as “ecosystem engineers”.
Take Action Now! Tell the Bureau of Land Management to:
- End roundups of wild burros using helicopters or other methods;
- Acknowledge the ecological importance of wild burros in arid landscapes;
- Use the scientific data regarding genetic fragmentation to reassess Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs); and
- Implement science-based plans to guarantee long-term viability.