Free-roaming feral horses.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL
House
JOINT RESOLUTION
No
.
HJ0003

ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION NO.
3
,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

A JOINT RESOLUTION requesting Congress, state and local authorities to take action to prevent further damage and remediate damages caused by free-roaming feral horses on rangelands in the West and to develop effective fertility control methods to reduce the populations of free-roaming feral horses in the West.

WHEREAS, Wyoming has recognized the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and free-roaming horses are defined as feral under W.S. 11-48-101(a)(iii)
; and

WHEREAS,
the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimates that
almost fifty
thousand
(
5
0
,000)
feral
horses

roam
BLM managed
rangelands
in the West, with nearly
three
thousand (
3
,000) of those
feral
horses, the majority of which descend from animals turned out by ranchers, roam
ing
public rangelands in
Wyoming
; and

WHEREAS,
free-roaming
feral
horses have virtually no natural predators in
Wyoming
n
or
the West and
BLM
evidence suggests
the population of
feral
horses c
an double
in size
about every four
(4)
years
if left uncontrolled
; and

WHEREAS, BLM estimates that the current free-roaming population of
feral
horses significantly exceeds the number that can exist in
healthy
balance with other public rangeland resources and uses, including wildlife
and
domestic livestock grazing
; and

WHEREAS,
free-roaming
feral
horses
, among other things, trample and destroy vegetation, hard-pack soil, over-graze and decimate
riparian areas

causing
degradation in areas that provide important habitat for native species such as pronghorn, mule
deer, bighorn sheep and
sage grouse
; and

WHEREAS, the state of Wyoming has a federally approved sage grouse conservation plan, the efficacy of which is being compromised by continuing habitat damage resulting from free-roaming horses; and

WHEREAS,
the number of free-roaming
feral
horses
removed

from public rangelands in the West
by BLM
in compliance with
the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
,

now far
exceeds
the number of
feral
horses
adopted or sold
; and

WHEREAS, th
ose
feral
horses not adopted by the public are held in
long-term
pastures or
short-term
corrals
costing BLM
nationally
an estimated

fifty
-eight million dollars (
$
5
8
,
0
00,000.00)
per
year
; and

WHEREAS,
evidence suggests the
development and use of effective
fertility control methods can limit the populations of
free-roaming
feral
horse
s, lessen
the need to remove
free-roaming
feral
horses from the state
's
rangelands
,
improv
e
the health of
the

rangelands
in the West
, conserv
e
wildlife habitat and sav
e
taxpayers money; and

WHEREAS, the following reports provide, among other things, data, statistics and recommended strategies to manage free-roaming
feral
horses in the West and protect the state's rangeland resources and uses: Range-wide Interagency Sage-grouse Conservation Team, Near-Term Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Action Plan (September 2012); Ted Williams, Horse Sense,
Audubon
(September/October 2006); David
Ganskopp
and Martin
Vavra
, Habitat Use by Feral Horses in the Northern Sagebrush Steppe, Journal of Range Management Volume 39(3) (May 1986); K.W. Davies and C.S. Boyd, Effects on Feral Free-Roaming Horses on Semi-Arid Rangeland
Ecosystems: An Example from the Sagebrush Steppe, Ecosphere Volume 5(10) (October 2014); Linda
Zeigenfuss
et al., Influence of Nonnative and Native Ungulate Biomass and Seasonal Precipitation on Vegetation Production in a Great Basin Ecosystem, Western North American Naturalist Volume 74(3) (2014); Erik
Beever
and Peter
Brussard
, Examining Ecological Consequences of Feral Horse Grazing Using
Exclosures
, Western North American Naturalist Volume 60(3) (2000); Kelly Crane et al., Habitat Selection Patterns of Feral Horses in Southcentral Wyoming, Journal of Range Management Volume 50(4) (July 1997); Erik
Beever
, Management Implications of the Ecology of Free-Roaming Horses in Semi-Arid Ecosystems of the Western United States, Wildlife Society Bulletin Volume 31(3) (2003); and Erik
Beever
and Cameron Aldridge, Influences of Free-Roaming Equids on Sagebrush Ecosystems, with a Focus on Greater Sage-Grouse, Studies in Avian Biology Volume 38 (2011)
.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

That the Wyoming Legislature calls on Congress and federal agencies to
adequately
fund and support
all
efforts to
manage
free-roaming
feral
horses
on rangelands in the
West
at the appropriate management level
, utilizing all management and control methods authorized by Section 3(d) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act
.

Section 2.

That the Wyoming Legislature calls on Congress in conjunction with all appropriate state and local governments to engage in cooperative efforts to remediate and minimize the
environmental
impact of free-roaming
feral
horses on rangelands in the West. These
efforts should include the development and use of effective fertility control methods to reduce the free-roaming populations of
feral
horses on rangelands in the West.

Section 3.

That the Wyoming Legislature calls on Congress to prohibit the reintroduction of
feral
horses back onto the western rangelands outside the current herd management areas, nor onto existing herd management areas at or above the authorized management levels.

Section 4.

That the Wyoming Legislature calls on Congress and federal agencies to prioritize these requested management activities to the sage grouse core areas and priority habitat strongholds in order to reduce the possibility of an endangered listing for the sage grouse and to stop the resource damage now occurring
.

Section
5
.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress
,
to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation
, the Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the
Federal Bureau
of Land Management and the Director of the Wyoming Office of the Bureau of Land Management
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

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