“Ranchers, hunters, and the BLM have long pointed the finger at wild horses and burros for devastating rangelands and competing with cattle and big game for scarce water and grass.
But the extent of damage to Nevada’s public lands from livestock and wildlife is largely a mystery because the BLM, charged with assessing and addressing the impacts, has reviewed less than half of the land allotted to ranchers in the state, according to BLM data obtained through a public information request by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
According to PEER’s new report, based on BLM field office data, the BLM has granted 782 allotments of public rangeland to ranchers in Nevada, covering 43.2 million acres. Of that, it has failed during a multi-year process to assess more than half — 481 allotments totalling 24.7 million acres.”
