Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The nation's wild horse and burro advisory board will convene for three days in Salt Lake City, including touring Tooele County to take a look at the Onaqui Wild Horse Management area.
Meetings will be livestreamed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at www.blm.gov/live.
"The advisory board is comprised of stakeholders who bring diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise to the table as they take on some of the difficult issues facing the program," said BLM Deputy Director Brian Steed. "I look forward to hearing their ideas and recommendations for finding a path to long-term sustainable populations on the range through humane management practices."
The federal agency says that as of May 22, there were an estimated 82,000 wild horses and burros in 10 Western states, including Utah. That number is the largest since the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed and is more than three times the number habitat can support, according to the BLM.
In addition, there are 45,000 unadopted horses in long-term holding pens being cared for at a cost of $50 million a year.
The advisory board meetings will take place at the downtown Courtyard Marriott.
A public comment period will be held from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Individuals who want to make a comment should register in person with the BLM prior to 1:45 p.m. on that same day at the meeting site. Depending on the number of speakers, the board may limit the length of comments, which has been set at about three minutes per person during previous meetings.
