The Bureau of Land Management seeks bids for off-range corrals in the West for excess wild horses and burros
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Grand Junction, Colorado – In support of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) mission to sustainably manage wild horses and burros, the agency announced today that it is seeking contractors to provide corral space for excess animals gathered from public rangelands in the West. The BLM will award contracts to facilities in the states of Idaho, Nevada and Utah that can accommodate 500—10,000 wild horses and burros in safe, humane conditions. Corrals will serve as short-term holding and preparation facilities for animals to be transferred to off-range pastures or adoption and sale locations throughout the country.
The BLM removes animals from the range to control the size of herds, which double in population every four years because wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators that can control growth. These rapidly growing herds and the stress they place on the land requires BLM to remove more animals from the range than the agency can immediately place into private care. Off-range care facilities provide needed capacity to hold these excess animals, while providing veterinary care and preparing them for adoption. They provide key support for BLM’s mission of maintaining healthy wild horse and burro herds on healthy rangelands.
Depending on their condition, animals can only be humanely transported a certain distance in a single day (typically no more than 10 hours). Consequently, it is necessary to have a network of off-range corrals strategically located to allow for safe and humane shipment.
Facilities must also be staffed by personnel with knowledge, skill and ability to safely handle wild horses and burros and be capable of providing appropriate veterinary care.
Proposals will be accepted through November 30, 2020.
Applicants who are new to conducting business with the government must first obtain a Dun and Bradstreet number at www.dnb.com and then register at www.sam.gov/ to respond to the solicitation. No fee is involved. The solicitation describes what to submit to the BLM and where to send it. To respond to this solicitation:
(1) Go to https://beta.sam.gov/;
(2) Scroll down under Contract Opportunities (FBO) and click “Search Contract Opportunities”;
(3) Enter the solicitation number (140L0120R0008) in the “Keywords” field and hit Enter.
For assistance, please contact Sherry Stuart, 303-236-6686, slstuart@blm.gov. A list of frequently asked questions is available at https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/get-involved/funding-opportunities.
As of March 1, 2020, the wild horse and burro population on public lands was estimated to be about 95,000, which is more than triple the number of animals the land can sustainably support in balance with other public resource values, including wildlife, recreation, livestock grazing, energy resource development and others. To learn more about the Wild Horse and Burro Program, visit www.blm.gov/whb.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.