The Bureau of Land Management is extending to December 7, 2007, the deadline for submitting public nominations to fill three vacancies on the national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The categories to be filled are: Wild Horse and Burro Advocacy, Veterinarian Medicine, and General Public Interest. The Board advises the BLM (an agency of the Interior Department) and the Forest Service (an agency of the Department of Agriculture) on the management, protection, and control of wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands administered by those agencies.
The nine members on the Advisory Board represent a balance of interests. Each member has knowledge or special expertise that qualifies him or her to provide advice in one of the following categories: wild horse and burro advocacy, wild horse and burro research, veterinarian medicine, natural resources management, humane advocacy, wildlife management, livestock management, and general public interest. Members must also have a demonstrated ability to analyze information, evaluate programs, identify problems, work collaboratively, and develop corrective actions.
Any individual or organization may nominate one or more persons to serve on the Advisory Board; individuals may also nominate themselves. In accordance with Section 7 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, Federal and state government employees are not eligible to serve on the Board, whose members serve three-year terms, on a staggered-term basis, with one-third of the Board subject to appointment each year.
The Board meets at least two times a year and the BLM Director may call additional meetings when necessary. Members serve without salary, but are reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses according to government travel regulations.
The BLM is accepting nomination letters plus resumes that include the nominee's name, address, profession, relevant biographical information, references, endorsements, and specific category of interest.
Nominations should be sent by December 7, 2007, to the National Wild Horse and Burro Program, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 89520-0006, Attn: Ramona DeLorme; phone: 775-861-6583 or fax: 775-861-6711.
The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act mandates the protection, management, and control of wild horses and burros to ensure healthy free-roaming herd populations at levels consistent with the land's capacity to support them. The BLM manages about 29,000 wild horses and burros that roam public rangelands in 10 Western states.
See Wild Horse and Burro Fact Sheet: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/Fact_Sheet.html
