THE WEST

3 large corrals approved for wild horse roundups

RENO, Nev. — The federal Bureau of Land Management has approved construction of three new corrals to hold more than 8,000 wild horses captured on federal rangeland to accelerate horse roundups slowed by a lack of space in existing holding pens.

The bureau issued final decisions on environmental assessments of the plans for the pens in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

The pens are the next step in plans announced last year by the administration of President Donald Trump to speed up the capture of 130,000 wild horses over 10 years at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

Backers include the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and American Farm Bureau Federation, which have pushed for the slaughter of excess horses that compete for forage with livestock grazing on U.S. lands.

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Objecting to the corrals are wild horse advocates who insist the mustangs should remain in the wild and that the money would be better spent on horse fertility controls, like darting mares on the range with contraceptive drugs.

American Wild Horse Campaign spokeswoman Grace Kuhn said her group is considering an appeal.

The government currently holds about 50,000 horses in off-range corrals and pastures at an annual cost of about $50 million.

About 95,000 remain on the range, a number more than three times what the land can sustain, the bureau said.

The new corrals would be built on private land and operated by contractors near Canon City, Colorado; Sutherland, Utah and Wheatland, Wyoming. An existing corral near Axtel, Utah would be expanded.

Mustang advocates have said the roundups are aimed at placating ranchers at horses’ expense, arguing that cattle do far more damage to ranchland than mustangs.

MONTANA

Governor presses to remove Trump’s public lands boss

BILLINGS — Montana’s Democratic governor asked a federal judge Aug. 20 to take swift action to remove the Trump administration’s chief steward of public lands, as the former industry attorney hangs onto the post despite the White House saying Aug. 15 that his nomination would be withdrawn.

Gov. Steve Bullock said William Perry Pendley’s continuing leadership of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management undermines conservation efforts and is illegal because Pendley never had a Senate confirmation hearing.

The bureau, which moved its headquarters to Grand Junction earlier this year, oversees almost a quarter-billion acres of land, primarily in the U.S. West, and regulates activities ranging from mining and oil extraction to livestock grazing and recreation.

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The Associated Press reported that Pendley remains in charge under an arrangement that Pendley himself set up months ago. In a May 22 order, Pendley made his own position, deputy director, the bureau’s top post while the director’s office is vacant.

Since establishing that succession order, Pendley has approved two sweeping land resource management plans that would open 95% of federal land in Montana to oil and gas development, attorneys for Bullock said in a court filing that asked U.S. District Judge Brian Morris to expedite a July lawsuit filed by the governor.

Officials with the Interior Department, which includes the Bureau of Land Management, said the governor’s lawsuit was “nonsense” and a waste of taxpayer resources.

A second lawsuit from environmentalists challenging Pendley’s control over the agency is pending in federal court in Washington, D.C.

NEW MEXICO

Project will bring drinking water to pueblos

POJOAQUE PUEBLO — Work has started on a project that will bring drinking water to residents of four northern New Mexico pueblos as part of a settlement that ended a decades-long fight over water rights.

Federal officials said construction on the Pojoaque Basin regional water system began in after crews finished prepping the site earlier this summer. The system, which will divert water from the Rio Grande, will consist of treatment facilities, storage tanks and transmission and distribution pipelines with the capability of supplying about 3.57 million gallons of drinking water a day.

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The pueblos of Pojoaque, Nambe, San Ildefonso and Tesuque will benefit along with other residents of Santa Fe County.

San Ildefonso Pueblo Gov. Perry Martinez said the start of work marked a major milestone as the project has been talked about for years.

Officials with the federal Bureau of Reclamation said the project will cost about $400 million and will take several years to complete.

OKLAHOMA

‘Tiger King’ zoo closes after animal treatment investigation

WYNNEWOOD — The Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary has closed after federal authorities investigated it for alleged maltreatment of animals and suspended its license.

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park closed to the public after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 17 suspended the exhibitor license for owner Jeff Lowe for 21 days.

The zoo, previously run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage —also known as Joe Exotic— became famous after being featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”

Denver Zoo receives leading humane certification

The Garvin County Sheriff’s Office and USDA investigated the zoo after receiving a formal report that documented photos showing a lion with its ears covered in flies and another with the tips of its ears covered in blood.

But Lowe said in a statement Aug. 18 that his license was suspended over a “litany of falsehoods.” He said he plans to open a new park for private filming for television and streaming services, KFOR-TV reported.

Officials at the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, referred to as PETA, say the photos included in the report show lions suffering from flystrike. In this condition, flies are usually attracted to uncleared animal waste, bite other animals and lay eggs on them, resulting in hatched maggots eating the skin.

UTAH

Mormon choir Christmas concert cancelled due to pandemic

SALT LAKE CITY — The annual Christmas concert by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ choir has been canceled because of lingering concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

It will the first time since the holiday concert began in 1974 that the show has been canceled, said Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the Tabernacle Choir, previously known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The cancellation announced Aug. 21 by church officials is the latest sign that disruptions to normal religious activity will continue through the holidays.

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The Utah-based faith previously announced it would hold its twice-yearly signature conference in October without in-person audience as it did at the April conference.

The faith has limited activities at temples and allowed regular Sunday worship services to resume only where it’s allowed under local government rules and without safety measures. It’s missionary program has shifted to focusing on online faith outreach.

The Christmas concert that has been cancelled usually brings thousands to the faith’s 20,000-seat auditorium in Salt Lake City. It has been held for decades without disruption.

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