As part of an ongoing effort to improve its Wild Horse and Burro Program, the Bureau of Land Management announced June 29, 2012, that it is soliciting proposals for private land ecosanctuaries for wild horses. The ecosanctuaries, to be publicly accessible with a potential for ecotourism, would help the BLM feed and care for excess wild horses that have been removed from Western public rangelands. Each proposed ecosanctuary must be able to support at least 100 wild horses.
Wild horses in natural habitat
The BLM is soliciting proposals for private land ecosanctuaries for wild horses and hoping to encourage ecotourism and boost adoptions.
The BLM is preparing to publish a proposed wild horse and burro management strategy that emphasizes population control techniques; promotes public-private ecosanctuaries to hold excess wild horses and encourage ecotourism; seeks to boost adoptions by making more trained wild horses available to the public; and establishes a comprehensive animal welfare program that is built on sound science and research.
The BLM developed the proposed strategy after actively soliciting input from both the public and the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board on how to best ensure the health of America’s wild horses and burros, both on and off the range.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs.
The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
The official notice of solicitation can be found at grants.gov To submit an application, an applicant must register on grants.gov and must first obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number. This can be obtained by going to DUNS After receiving a DUNS number, the applicant may proceed to the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) page and register. The CCR registration Website is located at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx Completing this registration process can take up to two weeks, so applicants should work on their proposals while they are waiting for their registration confirmation.