EDITORIAL: A sad situation
If any place in the West has an appreciation for wild horses, it’s Grand Junction.
Witness the metal horse sculptures that greet visitors exiting Interstate 70 at Horizon. They’re inspired by the Little Bookcliffs herd near De Beque.
But for all their majesty and iconic stature as emblems of the West, wild horses, or mustangs, pose a sizable ecological challenge – one that Congress is trying to address.
There are about three times more horses than rangelands can sustain. Public lands will support 27,000 of the animals, but there are 72,000 on BLM land, the Sentinel’s Dennis Webb reported Monday. That’s not counting this years’ new foals. Another 47,000 are in holding facilities leading “miserable lives” according to a volunteer with Friends of the Mustangs.
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The Associated Press
the-associated-press@coloradopolitics.com
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marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
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michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
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marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
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michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
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