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September 2009
by Dan Gralian

Last month I attended a Nevada Wildlife Commission meeting in Elko and had the misfortune to witness a travesty of justice that sickened me. Under the guise of a technicality of “Roberts Rules of Order” the current chairman and vice chairman of the Wildlife Commission changed the agenda at the last minute to keep the County Wildlife Advisory Board representatives and interested public from being able to provide input into the selection and election of chairmanship’s for the upcoming year. One member of a wildlife group stood and spoke out in protest of this travesty and was escorted from the room; but not before asking those in the audience who opposed this mockery of Roberts Rules to stand and be counted. Most of those in the audience stood up. Yours truly sat there in shock, unable to comprehend just what was happening.

Both the chair and vice chair were elected by a 5 – 4 vote. Both were nominated by newly appointed board members. The five votes in favor of their election were cast by the three new board members and the vice chair, with the tie breaking vote coming from the re-elected chairman himself. (Talk about a stacked deck!)

It was obvious that these two elected “sportsmen” (Term used loosely.) had done a thorough job of lobbying for their election with the three newly appointed board members who were attending their very first wildlife board meeting and casting their very first vote on this very important issue in the very first ten minutes of their very first term on the board. (Talk about pressure!)

Over the ten minute period that this injustice transpired I felt a number of emotions: confusion, embarrassment, anger, outrage, shame and finally just plain old “disgust.”

But, later on in the meeting, the bile in my stomach began to neutralize as I watched the various wildlife County Advisory Board (CAB) representatives set all this childish nonsense aside and address the true issues of what these Nevada Wildlife Commission meetings are all about . . . . . . wildlife and wildlife habitat!!!

As I sat there and listened I began to think how fortunate we are to have dedicated sportsmen who truly care. These fine folks volunteer their time and their own resources to work for the welfare and betterment of our wildlife and wildlife habitat. We all benefit from their hard work but seldom do we recognize their efforts and thank them: “As President of the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Sportsmen and Wildlife Enthusiasts out there for their efforts in enhancing and protecting our States wildlife and wildlife habitat.”

Later in the agenda there was an item of concern that I did have the opportunity to comment on: That is the potential conversion of the Wine Cup Ranch into a wild horse refuge. (I know what you’re thinking: “Here he goes again with the horse thing!”)

The passing of HR 1018, remote as it may be, would basically amend the Wild & Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act to where wild horses now in holding facilities could be released back onto public lands that are currently livestock grazing allotments. Naturally all public lands ranchers and most sportsmen are concerned with the impacts these horses would have on our rangelands; its forage & habitat. Especially, with the present day lack of management, or more appropriately lack of funds for proper management.

My comments were that with an estimated 43,200 under-managed wild horses currently roaming our western rangelands, we need to work hard to get them into a controlled management environment. We therefore need to think this through very closely before we react with a completely negative response to a proposal that offers a partial solution, as impractical as it may seem. I went on to say that the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association would join the Wildlife Commission in drafting a letter to appropriate agency heads and elected officials, expressing our concern and encouraging resolution to the wild horse problem. I went further to suggest that we might work together to come up with some tangible and realistic solutions as to how to address this wild horse problem and get their numbers down to a manageable level.

It seems all we ever hear about is the problem. Well, who better to start working towards real solutions than those of us on the land? Our agency managers and congressional representatives in Washington DC shouldn’t be expected to come up with the answers of how to solve this wild horse population problem. That should come from those of us with first hand knowledge of the land and the animals that are supported by it. What the Washington DC folks should be expected to do is to write and pass the legislation when a realistic plan is presented and provide the funding and recourses to implement the plan. (John Falen & Dick Loper have a proposal that would be a good basis to start building a plan. (See my June 09 Commentary.)

And maybe, just maybe, there is a place for a privately owned and responsibly managed Wild Horse Refuge that would involve both public and private lands. We need to start thinking out side of the box. We need to listen to ideas that are suggested no matter how off the wall they seem. For somewhere in those layers of ideas there may lay a part of the solution we are searching for.

Sometimes it seems like we ranchers and sportsmen are at odds with each other and that really shouldn’t be. If you think about it, we have very much in common. After all, we all love the out doors. And, we both have the best interests of our animals and the land that supports them at heart. There are lots of ranchers who are avid hunters and fishermen. (Or is that the other way around?)

In any case, I see this wild horse issue as being an opportunity for us ranchers and sportsmen to come together in a common cause. This hopefully would be the first of many.

They say that there is strength in numbers and that is true. And if the truth were to be known, we ranchers are very much in the minority. Oh, we may control a lot of land, but when it comes down to money and votes, we are most defiantly out numbered. With sportsmen, it’s the other way around. But, put the two together and we have a winning combination.

Think about it.

Oh, and by the way. You know how when we go to these meetings and are asked to stand, introduce ourselves, and give our affiliation & interest? From now on, I’m going to stand and say: “My name is Dan Gralian and I am a rancher. I raise cattle, a few sheep and 50+ species of wildlife including sage grouse, mule deer and Lahontan cuthroat trout. I grow alfalfa hay, grass hay, a little grain and tens of thousands of acres of wildlife habit; including sage grouse habitat, mule deer habitat and LCT habitat.”

Think about it.

Until next month. Thanks . . . . . and such.

 

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