Earlier in 2013, the talk of the news media was the impending across-the-board cuts of all federal spending known as the sequester, which would occur if and when Congress failed to reach a budget agreement. The threat of budget shortfalls across government programs wasn’t enough to end legislative gridlock, and in March, the sequester was enacted.
According to Sally Spencer of the BLM, the 2013 operating budget for the Wild Horse and Burro Program is around $71 million, a $3 million cut from the previous year’s budget.
“Due to the impacts of sequestration, the Wild Horse & Burro Program has had to make some hard decisions regarding budget priorities for 2013,” says Spencer. “Our highest priorities continue to be the health and well-being of horses and burros on and off the public ranges.”
The BLM is charged with maintaining the herds of wild equines in public lands in the Western United States, balancing that duty with its responsibility for managing the land itself. They do this through sometimes controversial round-ups of Mustangs, which are then kept in short- or long-term holding facilities. The BLM holds adoption events where some of the younger equines are sold to private homes.
According to Spencer, the schedule of round-ups is decided based on a variety of factors, so it is not known if the sequester cuts will affect them. The adoption opportunities may be affected by budget cuts, but some locations are working to find ways to stretch their resources.
“States have adjusted to the constraints in varying ways, taking advantage of any unique circumstances and opportunities to minimize the impact on daily operations,” says Spencer. “Some have adjusted schedules or staffing levels and/or enlisted more volunteer support to maximize adoption opportunities in the face of current tight budgets.”
A full schedule of adoption events is available on the BLM’s website.
Popular Mustang retraining and adoption events such as the Extreme Mustang Makeover, run by The Mustang Heritage Foundation, will lose some funding due to the sequester.
“The reduction in funding has forced the agency to curtail funding to the Mustang Heritage Foundation this year,” said Spencer. “Working with the Wild Horse and Burro Program, the Foundation has identified a number of adoption-related programs and events which it plans to scale back in view of the reductions. In particular, the planned Extreme Mustang Makeover events in Albany, OR, and Gainesville, GA, in October and November are canceled. In addition, the Foundation will suspend enrollment for its Trainer Incentive Program. This is seen as the best way to ensure that program priorities are met until the agency’s budget outlook for fiscal year 2014 and beyond becomes clear.”
To find out more about the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, visit BLM.gov.
To learn more about Mustang Heritage Foundation’s programs, visit MustangHeritageFoundation.org.
politicians can’t trust them I say cut their pay and take away their “perks” and see how long this BS lasts
don’t even get me started on this sub!
Oh come on, teh best way for them to save money is to take money away from the programs that enrich the possibility of adoptions, training and events that allow people who love the mustangs to show off their skills. This is almost blasphemic.
How Sally Spencer and all those on the dole in the name of hte wild horses and burros look to their contracts to process, brand, transport to sale authority buyers, geld, spay and roundup. the best way to save money is to curtail the grazing permits and allow the horses to stay on teh land they were promised by the 1971 Act. There are over 4 million livestock grazing on land that BLM says 30,000 are overgrazing. Please! This is nothing short of propaganda at its worst.
I wish the rest of the American would see the Mustangs and Burros, and horses in general, through “our” eyes and hearts.
Remove/limit the cattle/sheep grazing and there would be plenty of forage. Cheaper to keep the Mustangs on the range, where they belong!
Yes, limiting some employee expenses would also help.
I guess we’ll see.
Stop giving the “BIG” farmers supplements for NOT growing crops, and there would be a enough to go around.
Right on Gee and Haw!
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