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Follow Up On Bill To Ban Helicopter Wild Horse Gathers
Last week’s newsletter identified that Nevada Farm Bureau had written Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus to express opposition to her proposed legislation HR 6635.
This week we want to offer this update on what has taken place since sending that letter.
On Tuesday, February 22, Nevada Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Doug Busselman participated in a Zoom meeting with two of the Congresswoman’s staff who are working on this issue. The discussion was a cordial exchange of views on the importance of having effective means for removing excessive Wild Horses and Burros. The Congresswoman’s position is that something other than helicopter gathers need to be used because of the harm done to Wild Horses through such gathers. A recent gather in central Nevada resulted in a colt having to be put down because of a broken leg that came about during the gather.
Doug Busselman told the staff members that there are risks which go with gathering horses, but that leaving excessive horses on the rangelands and the consequences of not having sufficient forage or water, as well as the damage caused to the land were not better results than the risk of doing gathers.
Staff members pointed to the language of the proposed legislation which would have the Government Accounting Office to bring a report to the House Natural Resources Committee, within a year of the passage of the bill, providing information on humane alternatives to the use of helicopters and fixed winged aircraft or using unmanned aircraft systems for gathers. The language also seeks to have the report cover the “job creation presented by the use of such humane alternatives.”
In response, Busselman stated that although Farm Bureau would not oppose on-the-ground, pilot projects to seek for effective gathering methods, this exploration for other ways should not come after foreclosing the use of what is known to be effective gathering practices using helicopters.
Farm Bureau has also provided the Congresswoman’s office with a copy of a paper that was published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science that studied the capture methods using helicopter and water trapping. The results of gathers from 2010 to 2019, written by John Derek Scasta who was with the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management of the University of Wyoming covered 70 reports of gathers (34 bait trapping and 21 helicopter gathers).
While there wasn’t any resolution of Nevada Farm Bureau’s concerns over further Congressional activities which would become a roadblock to bringing Wild Horse and Burro populations to Appropriate Management Levels, there may still be additional interaction with Congresswoman Titus and her staff in regard to her proposed legislation.
Farm Bureau Preparing Public Comments On 30 x 30 Atlas Project
March 7 is the deadline for public comments to be submitted to a January 4th Federal Register Notice asking for public comments to the development of a planned “American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas.” This Atlas, prepared by an interagency federal government group, is intended as a tool for the public to use in keeping track of the “continuum of conservation actions” that are being carried out to meet President Biden’s Executive Order 14008 to conserve “at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.”
The general concern regarding the 30 x 30 program that the federal government is leaping into action to advance is that no where is there any stated definition of what “conservation” will mean or whether there isn’t already meaningful conservation already happening.
The federal government officials who are engaged in this project and their unwillingness to be specific about what they actually have in mind, makes it quite obvious that this is simply another land grab scheme. Nevada Farm Bureau’s draft comment letter notes – “We are deeply distrustful of the way that conservation is suggested as being a ‘continuum,’ yet specifically ask the question – ‘What stewardship actions should be considered, in addition to permanent protections, to capture a more complete picture of conservation and restoration in America?’”
In their May 6, 2021 report “Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful” the agency heads for the U.S. Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce and the Council on Environmental Quality gave flowery platitudes to core principles that the initiative will take.
The questions posed in the Federal Register for public comment input for developing the “American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas” portray ecological considerations that have nothing even remotely in common with the core principle of “Honor Private Property Rights and Support the Voluntary Stewardship Efforts of Private Landowners and Fishers.” Intertwined in the proposed areas for input are themes of seeking where to draw boundaries and setting benchmarks for ecological functions as well as gathering data on the extent of disturbance or expected future risks from climate change, or other human stressors. The input requested also note the need for considerations to be given to the durability of management status. Coming from federal government agencies, “durability of management status” has traditionally meant the agencies being in charge of the management and anything short doesn’t constitute sufficient amounts of “durability.”
How Do You Define “Conservation”?
While it seems apparent that federal agencies involved with the Biden 30 x 30 initiative don’t want to be pinned down with a defined answer of what constitutes “conservation” – we’d be interested in hearing back from you on what would fit your view of what “conservation” should mean?
If the United States should pursue a goal of “at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030” what does that mean and how do we know whether the goal has been accomplished? When is land “conserved?” When is water “conserved?” How do you think the federal government should measure what fits into the baseline and how will they continue to monitor progress?
We welcome you dropping your thoughts on conservation to doug@nvfb.org
Nevada Legislative Joint Natural Resources Committee To Meet Feb. 28
Looking ahead to upcoming activities, the second meeting of the Joint Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to take place Monday, February 28th starts at 9:30 a.m. and will be available to view on the Nevada Legislature’s website.
The agenda includes anticipated reports from Nevada’s Department of Agriculture as well as the agency involved with State Parks and Outdoor Recreation. A presentation will be provided on the economic impact of climate change in Nevada and the appointments for the subcommittee on Public Lands will be revisited. Also wildfires in Nevada will be covered in a presentation to the committee.
View the agenda here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/InterimCommittee/REL/Interim2021/Meeting/24185