June 2, 2016

The Honorable Brian Sandoval

Governor of Nevada
State Capitol Building
101 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
Dear Governor Sandoval,
We, the below-signed organizations representing thousands of Nevadans,
write to you regarding your recent statements about wild horses on federal
land.
A large number of your constituents in Nevada care passionately about
protecting these iconic animals and we recognize and appreciate your
previous support for wild horses. We are, however, extremely concerned
about recent actions and statements by your administration, including
threatened legal actions to reduce wild horse populations and urging the
roundup of 4,000 mustangs from public lands.
We believe your history suggests you are open to rational, fact-based
dialogue and honest efforts to solve problems and produce win-win solutions,
such as those that are being pursued by your own Department of Agriculture
through a cooperative agreement with the American Wild Horse Preservation
Campaign, acting as an umbrella for a local coalition of organizations. In that
spirit, we offer the following comments for your consideration and look
forward to further dialogue with you.
We share your frustration with BLM management practices, but believe the
evidence clearly demonstrates that BLM mismanagement is the fundamental
problem not too many horses. To that end, there are numerous flaws in
BLMs management of the program, including:

The BLM uses a system of appropriate management levels or AMLs

to determine how many wild horses and burros should be on public
land. These numbers are arbitrary. The National Academy of Sciences
wrote in 2013 that it could not identify a science-based rationale
behind the AMLs. BLM, not Congress, decided to set AMLs at roughly

the same levels that existed in 1971, levels that were so low it caused
Congress to unanimously pass legislation to protect the fast
disappearing wild horses.

The National Academy of Sciences also wrote that BLMs system of

roundups and removals are facilitating high rates of population growth
on the range and that removals are likely to keep the population at a
size that maximizes population growth rates, which in turn maximizes
the number of animals that must be removed through holding
facilities.

The BLMs Wild Horse of Burro Program budget has doubled since
2009, reaching $80 million in Fiscal Year 2016. Approximately 70
percent of this budget is spent on roundups, removals and
confinement. Since roundups and removals only fuel population
increases, this means U.S. taxpayers pay more each year for this failed
system.

In Nevada, two -thirds of federal lands grazed by livestock have no wild

horses present on them. In fact, the number of acres in Nevada
available to wild horse and burro grazing has decreased by 30 percent
since 1971, from 22 million acres to just 15.7 million acres.

As you know, wild horses are highly valued by most Americans. Polls show
three out of four Americans favor protecting these animals, and 80 percent
of Americans oppose horse slaughter, including 90% of women. The
overwhelming will of the American people should prevail on public lands.
Additionally, Nevada stands to gain major revenue generation through the
promotion of wild horses and burros to its national and global audiences.
Revenue generated from ecotourism activities support small business
development, existing business endeavors, and a healthy tax based revenue
stream for the State.
In summary, BLM roundups and removals fail to control wild horse
populations, waste taxpayer dollars, thwart the will of the American people
and the citizens of Nevada, and are inhumane, subjecting animals to stress,
injury and death. There is a better way and we urge you to support the
following course of action, which is proven, humane, economical and
consistent with public opinion:
1. Manage wild horse and burro populations appropriately and humanely
via PZP fertility control vaccine. PZP has a 30-year track record of safe,
effective use in wild horses. The BLM, itself, uses it in several

management areas, as do various tribal and voluntary organizations

throughout the West. In Nevada, private volunteer groups have
partnered with BLM to carry out PZP management of wild horses in the
Fish Springs and Pine Nut areas. We should use this safe, effective and
humane tool the best we currently have available to its full
potential, as is advised by the National Academy of Sciences.
2. Adjust the artificially low and unscientific AMLs to allow for the
preservation of wild horses and burros in genetically viable herds.
Ratcheting up conflict between the public and livestock interests and calling
for an increase in ineffective, unpopular roundups will only trap us more
deeply in the current cycle of failure.
We urge you to study the proposals we have suggested and we welcome the
opportunity to discuss them with you in greater depth.
Sincerely,

Suzanne Roy
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
1025 Alameda #633, Belmont, CA 94002
www.wildhorsepreservation.org

Shannon Windle
Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund
P.O. Box 20052, Reno, Nevada 89515
www.hiddenvalleyhorses.com

John T. Humphrey
John T. Humphrey Photography
P.O. Box 2743 Gardnerville, Nevada 89410
www.wildhorsesnv.com

Willis Lamm
Least Resistance Training Concepts

11345 Silver Lane, Stagecoach, NC 89429

www.whmentors.org

Sheila Schwadel
Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates
P.O. Box 2843, Garnerville, NC 89410
www.wildhorseadvocates.org

Corenna Vance
Wild Horse Connection
www.wildhorseconnection.org

Bonnie Matton
Wild Horse Preservation League
P.O. Box 1958, Dayton, NV 89403
www.wildhorsepl.org

Mark Terrell
Wild Horses of Nevada Photography
P.O. Box 1400, Dayton, NV 89403
www.wildhorsesofnevadaphoto.com

Robert Maccario
Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association
P.O. Box 536, Virginia City, NV 89440
www.vrwpa.com