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64-424: The Pine Gulch Fire burned on private and public lands and threatened gas and oil drilling infrastructure. The fire resulted in the closure of highways, government-managed and recreational land, and the evacuation of rural residences in the fire zone. The fire was declared 100% contained on September 23, and all evacuation orders were lifted. In total, the fire burned 139,007 acres (56,254 ha). The Pine Gulch Fire

128-509: A Rustic Road system where local routes are purposefully maintained as dirt or gravel roads in order to not interfere with natural scenery and preserve them in their past state. County highway markers are usually a yellow-on-blue pentagon (the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices standard pattern) or a black-on-white square (largely older signs). Some states, like Virginia and North Carolina , have no county highways in most of their counties:

192-547: A letter. Many counties in Ohio use markers to designate county roads. Ohio's county roads vary widely in construction, signage, and naming from county to county. Seneca County uses the default blue pentagon marker and limited signage (generally only at intersections); Logan County uses a square white marker with a black border (similar to the St. Louis County design in Missouri) and signage

256-402: A more unified bureau mission and recognized the value of the remaining public lands by declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership. The law directed that these lands be managed with a view toward "multiple use" defined as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of

320-522: A number (usually one or two digits), a single letter followed by a one- or two-digit number (i.e.: V-34, A-29), or in Rock Island County, with letters like Wisconsin but on a blue pentagon marker. These highways are usually marked at the beginning of the highway and occasionally throughout the route; they cannot be relied on as geographic directions the way more major highways are (state or interstate). In New Jersey , there are two sets of county routes:

384-590: A pilot project on the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range known as the Adopt-A-Horse initiative. The program took advantage of provisions in the WFRHBA to allow private "qualified" individuals to "adopt" as many horses as they wanted if they could show that they could provide adequate care for the animals. At the time, title to the horses remained permanently with the federal government. The pilot project

448-513: A regular and recurring presence on a vast amount of public lands, roads and recreation sites. They focus on the protection of natural and cultural resources, other BLM employees and visitors. Given the many locations of BLM public lands, these rangers use canines, helicopters, snowmobiles, dirt bikes and boats to perform their duties. By contrast BLM special agents are criminal investigators who plan and conduct investigations concerning possible violations of criminal and administrative provisions of

512-400: A statewide pattern. Any county-maintained road, whether or not it is given a signed number, can be called a county road. Depending on the state or province and county, these roads can be named after geographic features, communities, or people. Or they may be assigned a name determined by a standardized grid reference: "East 2000" would be a north–south road running 20 blocks/miles/km east of

576-689: Is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands . Headquartered in Washington, D.C. , the BLM oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km ) of land, or one-eighth of the United States's total landmass. The Bureau was created by Congress during the presidency of Harry S. Truman in 1946 by combining two existing agencies:

640-556: Is former Highway 620, which had a change in supervision. This is to be contrasted with survey township roads which exist in Alberta after the 1981 Alberta rural addressing system was introduced. Range roads will run north to south, while (survey) township roads run east to west. Highway 620 in Ontario, was downloaded to the Peterborough and Hastings county governments, and in one section,

704-515: Is nearly comparable to state route signage, with advance signage of intersections with county roads and termini; and Scioto County uses a marker with a county outline. In Canada , numbered county roads are only found in Ontario , where they are similar to American county highways. Ontario county or regional roads are marked with trapezoid-shaped signs, usually (but not necessarily) with a white, black, green, or blue background, and normally identifying

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768-546: Is not protected by a national park or monument designation. The BLM's May 30, 2019 statement proposed an additional 183,668 acres on "lands managed by the Canyon Country, Color Country, Green River, and West Desert districts" that would be listed for the quarterly oil and gas lease sale on September 10, 2019. In their May 2019, September lease offerings, the BLM said that they had "245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska" and across

832-619: Is the SIG Sauer P320 chambered in 9mm which is replacing the SIG Sauer P226 /P229 both chambered in .40 S&W. The BLM manages free-roaming horses and burros on public lands in ten western states. Though they are feral , the agency is obligated to protect them under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA). As the horses have few natural predators, populations have grown substantially. WFRHBA as enacted provides for

896-530: Is the agency's largest ever purchase in the state. In 2024 the Department of the Interior has begun to advance a new rule according to which the Bureau of Land Management can distribute restoration leases and mitigation leases exactly in the same way as it distributes new leases for oil and gas drilling. The designed land will be used for nature conservation including use of indigenous knowledge. Established in 2000,

960-559: The 500-series (500–599), part of a statewide system which usually run through multiple counties, but are county-maintained; and the non-500 routes which are usually contained within a single county and are repeated in different counties. The latter generally use numbers in the 600-series; some counties have routes in the 700s and 800s. Two counties, Bergen and Monmouth, along with some routes in Ocean County, have routes outside this range with one- or two-digit numbers along with some numbers in

1024-466: The Department of the Interior . It took several years for this new agency to integrate and reorganize. In the end, the Bureau of Land Management became less focused on land disposal and more focused on the long term management and preservation of the land. The agency achieved its current form by combining offices in the western states and creating a corresponding office for lands both east of and alongside

1088-701: The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, the first of now 20 national monuments established on BLM lands and managed by the agency. The establishment of Grand Staircase–Escalante foreshadowed later creation of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System in 2000. Use of the Antiquities Act authority, to the extent it effectively scuttled a coal mine to have been operated by Andalex Resources , delighted recreation and conservation enthusiasts but set up larger confrontations with state and local authorities. Under

1152-673: The Mississippi River . As a matter of course, the BLM's emphasis fell on activities in the western states as most of the mining, land sales, and federally owned areas are located west of the Mississippi. BLM personnel on the ground have typically been oriented toward local interests, while bureau management in Washington are led by presidential guidance. By means of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress created

1216-698: The National Conservation Lands (formerly known as the National Landscape Conservation System), totaling about 36 million acres (150,000 km ). In addition the National Conservation Lands include nearly 2,400 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers , and nearly 6,000 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails . There are more than 63,000 oil and gas wells on BLM public lands. Total energy leases generated approximately $ 5.4 billion in 2013, an amount divided among

1280-574: The National Landscape Conservation System is overseen by the BLM. The National Landscape Conservation System lands constitute just about 12% of the lands managed by the BLM. Congress passed Title II of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11) to make the system a permanent part of the public lands protection system in the United States. By designating these areas for conservation,

1344-652: The Treasury , the states, and Native American groups. The BLM's roots go back to the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These laws provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original Thirteen Colonies ceded to the federal government after the American Revolution . As additional lands were acquired by the United States from Spain , France and other countries,

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1408-678: The United States Congress directed that they be explored, surveyed, and made available for settlement. During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies. After the war, the Treaty of Paris of 1783 , signed by the United States, the UK , France , and Spain , ceded territory to the United States. In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day Ohio . By this time,

1472-715: The United States General Land Office and the Grazing Service . The agency manages the federal government's nearly 700 million acres (2,800,000 km ) of subsurface mineral estate located beneath federal, state and private lands severed from their surface rights by the Homestead Act of 1862 . Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: Alaska , Arizona , California , Colorado , Idaho , Montana , Nevada , New Mexico , Oregon , Utah , Washington and Wyoming . The mission of

1536-636: The United States General Land Office as part of the Department of the Treasury to oversee the disposition of these federal lands. By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled. In the 19th century, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land. Several different types of patents existed. These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots. A system of local land offices spread throughout

1600-516: The 100s. New Jersey's county routes are usually signed just as well as state routes (with mile- and half-mileposts), and will appear on freeway exit signage. In Iowa , secondary roads are defined simply by the Iowa Code as "those roads under county jurisdiction." The 99 counties in Iowa divide the secondary road system into farm-to-market roads and area service roads. Farm-to-market roads are maintained by

1664-555: The American people." Since the Reagan administration in the 1980s, Republicans have often given priority to local control and to grazing, mining and petroleum production, while Democrats have more often emphasized environmental concerns even when granting mining and drilling leases. In September 1996, then President Bill Clinton used his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish

1728-495: The BLM and other statutes under the United States Code. Special agents are normally plain clothes officers who carry concealed firearms and other defensive equipment, make arrests, carry out complex criminal investigations, present cases for prosecution to local United States Attorneys and prepare investigative reports. Criminal investigators occasionally conduct internal and civil claim investigations. The current sidearm

1792-513: The BLM is "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." Originally BLM holdings were described as "land nobody wanted" because homesteaders had passed them by. All the same, ranchers hold nearly 18,000 permits and leases for livestock grazing on 155 million acres (630,000 km ) of BLM public lands. The agency manages 221 wilderness areas , 29 national monuments and some 636 other protected areas as part of

1856-615: The Biden administration, the BLM is working on a pilot project called "outcomes-based grazing", to see if cattle grazing can help achieve conservation, agency director Tracy Stone-Manning said in an interview published in April 2022. In June 2022, the BLM finalized two acquisitions in Colorado and Wyoming, acquiring over 40,000 acres of previously inaccessible land. The acquisition in Wyoming for 35,670 acres

1920-693: The County State Aid Highway Fund. Differences in signage between CSAH routes and other county roads depends on the county. Some counties, such as Stearns County, delineate between the two by using the standard blue pentagon marker for CSAH routes and a normal white square marker for other county roads. Most county roads in Minnesota are designated with numbers, although a few non-CSAHs in Dodge County utilize letters. A few roads that cross county borders are also signed with an inter-county designation and

1984-557: The National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund each year for five years for needed maintenance for critical facilities and infrastructure in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas and American Indian schools. The Act also committed $ 900 million a year in royalties from offshore oil and natural gas to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund investments in conservation and recreation opportunities across

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2048-599: The Trump administration, the BLM offered millions of acres of available Federal lands for 10-year leases for commercial development, potentially in oil and gas and mining, with the stated goal of "promoting American energy security". The BLM holds quarterly oil and gas lease sales. According to a June 18, 2018 article in The Atlantic , under the tenure of then- United States Secretary of the Interior , Ryan Zinke "practically gave away hundreds of thousands of acres of open land across

2112-550: The United States another "700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate" is under their management. The statement also said that these "diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $ 96 billion in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2017" while supporting over 468,000 jobs". On August 4, 2020, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law, committing up to $ 1.9 billion from energy development revenues to

2176-475: The United States needed revenue to function and land was sold as a source of income for the government. In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted. The Land Ordinance of 1785 instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors. The first years of surveying were completed by trial and error; once the territory of Ohio had been surveyed, a modern public land survey system had been developed. In 1812, Congress established

2240-475: The United States, county highways are denoted or signed in various ways, differing by state. In Wisconsin , county highways are marked with letters—with one- to three-letter combinations (i.e.: C, CC, or CCC). Wisconsin's county highways are frequently and clearly marked at most intersections. Because county road names are not exclusive, a state may have many county roads with similar or identical names. In states like Illinois , county highways are marked either with

2304-792: The United States. There are several herds of horses and burros roaming free on 26.9 million acres of range spread out in ten western states. It is essential to maintain a balance that keeps herd management land and animal population healthy. Some programs and partnerships include the Mustang Heritage Foundation, U.S. Border Patrol, Idaho 4H, Napa Mustang Days and Little Book Cliffs Darting Team. These partnerships help with adoption and animal population as well as education and raising awareness about wild horses and burros. In 2009, BLM opened Renewable Energy Coordination Offices in order to approve and oversee wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal projects on BLM-managed lands. The offices were located in

2368-766: The West, leasing it to energy companies for pennies on the dollar." The Salt Lake Tribune reported that in March 2019, the price per acre for leases near the Golden Spike National Historical Park , in Utah were "$ 1.50 an acre for the next two years". By September 11, 2018, the Department of Interior was offering 2.9 million acres to be leased to commercial operations including drilling for oil and gas and mining in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and other states where public land

2432-607: The area. A red flag warning was put into place on August 11 and the fire was seven percent contained. The fire began burning in closer to Roan Creek and on the south slope of Kimball Mountain. Red flag winds pushed the fire over 50,000 acres (20,234 ha) on August 11. On August 15, the fire burned onto Garfield Mesa and additional road closures were put in place. The air quality was impacted in Craig and Meeker . The fire moved north of Fruita , resulting in more road closures. Air tankers began providing support, dumping retardant to slow

2496-626: The closure of roads. The fire threatened oil drills and gas wells. This resulted in gas wells being stopped from collecting gas on August 2 and fire crews implementing defensible space around them. The fire impacted air quality in Garfield, Moffat , Mesa and Rio Blanco Counties, including the communities of Craig and Meeker . Firefighters sustained minor injuries. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management ( BLM )

2560-450: The country. Also in August 2020, the BLM headquarters was relocated to Grand Junction, Colorado , by an order signed by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt . The relocation was praised by Republican Western politicians but criticized by Democrats as a move to weaken the agency through the loss of experienced staffers, who opted to stay in Washington, D.C. Some ranchers were concerned about

2624-941: The county and, paid for from a special fund: the Farm-to-Market Road Fund consists of federal secondary-road aid and 8% of Iowa's road use taxes. The farm-to-market road system is limited to 35,000 miles (56,000 km). Unlike most states, Iowa's signed secondary roads are not numbered on a county-by-county basis. With exception to County Road 105 , secondary roads use a uniform numbering grid using one letter and two or three numbers, e.g., E41. County roads running primarily east and west are assigned letters (from north to south) A through J. County roads running primarily north and south are assigned letters (from west to east) K through Z. The letters I, O, Q, and U are not used. In Minnesota , some county roads are known as county state aid highways . These roads are constructed and maintained by counties, but they are eligible for funding from

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2688-569: The county or region responsible for the road's maintenance, sometimes with the jurisdiction's coat of arms or corporate logo . The county road network has been present for many years, but has only been signed with the flowerpot logos since the 1970s and early 1980s (depending on the area). Previously, the roads simply had road names, such as "Essex Road 42" or "Kent County Road 14", and so on, but had no markers to designate them. Many Ontario county roads are built to provincial highway standards, as thousands of kilometres of highways were downloaded from

2752-971: The designated zero point. Many other variations are also used. Many locales have somewhat arbitrarily assigned numbers for all county roads, but with no number-signage at all or only on standard street name blades. County roads and highways vary greatly in design standards, funding, and regularity of maintenance. Some county highways in urban areas are freeways or expressways . County roads that link communities or serve residential areas are often indistinguishable from state highways or residential streets. In rural areas, many county roads carry very little traffic and are maintained infrequently. They may be in poor condition (if paved) or not paved at all. In remote areas, county roads may be sand, gravel, or graded earth, only occasionally seeing foot, equestrian, and four wheel drive traffic. Some states, such as Wisconsin, use county highways in great numbers, linking major highways and cities or towns to each other. Wisconsin also maintains

2816-508: The early successes of the adoption program, the BLM has struggled to maintain acceptable herd levels, as without natural predators, herd sizes can double every four years. As of 2014, there were more than 49,000 horses and burros on BLM-managed land, exceeding the BLM's estimated "appropriate management level" (AML) by almost 22,500. The Bureau of Land Management has implemented several programs and has developed partnerships as part of their management plan for preserving wild burros and horses in

2880-482: The fire area by foot, to build control lines, with the support of helicopters and planes dumping water and retardant. The next day, on August 2, the fire had grown spread north, burning on private land along a road. The fire was five percent contained, at 1,500 acres (607 ha) by the morning of August 3. Mesa County Rd. X 1/2 after High Lonesome Ranch were closed. The fire continued to grow, threatening oil and gas drilling infrastructure. A temporary flight restriction

2944-428: The fire had burned 139,007 acres (56,254 ha) and was 83 percent contained. By September 9, the fire was 95 percent contained. The Pine Gulch Fire resulted in the evacuation of residences, including along Roan Creek (CR 204) Rd. Numerous county roads were closed, as well as a portion of Highway 139. The Pine Gulch Fire impacted recreation, transportation, and energy infrastructure in the area. The fire resulted in

3008-581: The fire to grow to an estimated 125,000 acres (50,586 ha). This growth resulted in additional evacuation orders in Garfield County for residents east of Highway 139 and closures of 639,111 acres (258,639 ha) of BLM land north of Loma , Fruita, Grand Junction and Palisade . By August 24, the Pine Gulch Fire was 44 percent contained. Two days later, on August 26, Highway 139 reopened. The next day, suppression repair began. A flash flood warning

3072-496: The fire to grow to over 20,000 acres (8,094 ha) by the evening of August 7. The fire had moved down Forshay Gulch on the north side of Horse Mountain, before eventually spreading to Lion and Bledsaw Gulches and along 200 Rd. The fires continued growth resulted in evacuation warnings being put in place for residents in rural, western Garfield County and a small group of homes were evacuated along County Roads 200 and 202. On August 9, evacuations were put in place for more residences in

3136-487: The fire's spread. On August 18, residents on a portion of Roan Creek Rd were allowed to return to their homes. An evacuation warning was put in place for areas of County Road 205, Kimball Mountain Rd and County Road 256. A thunderstorm moved through the western flank and caused wind gusts up to 40 MPH in near Echo Lake , resulting in firefighters having to evacuate the area due to the fire's erratic behavior and fast spread. This caused

3200-626: The four states where energy companies had shown the greatest interest in renewable energy development: Arizona , California , Nevada , and Wyoming . County road A county highway (also county road or county route ; usually abbreviated CH or CR ) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can be determined by each county alone, by mutual agreement among counties, or by

3264-555: The highway was downloaded further to the township of Wollaston , and is now signed Wollaston Township 620, with a municipal sign similar to an Ontario tertiary highway . A number of townships in Wellington County sign their township road system in a similar manner. In England and Wales , county road , as alluded to in section 29 et seq. of the Local Government Act 1929, was the term used to refer to any road for which

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3328-440: The isolation of Grand Junction compared to other Western cities, having limited flights and road access. After the announcement, 87% of D.C.-based employees left, prompting former lead career BLM official Steve Ellis to state "the bureau lost a tremendous amount of expertise...[of] very seasoned people." On September 17, 2021, Secretary Deb Haaland announced that the headquarters would be moved back to Washington, D.C. Under

3392-618: The jurisdiction which maintains them, they may instead be designated as a Regional Road , Municipal Road , Regional Highway , County Highway , District Road , Township Road , or City Road . In the unincorporated districts of Northern Ontario , as there is no county level of government the province maintains a secondary highway system to serve the same function. In addition to county roads, many civil townships also have concession roads and (civil) township roads, such as Colchester South Road 3, and Concession 8. These usually do not have markers (only names on signs and maps). One exception

3456-859: The law directed the BLM to ensure these places are protected for future generations, similar to national parks and wildlife refuges . Source: BLM Resources and Statistics The BLM, through its Office of Law Enforcement & Security, functions as a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Government. BLM law enforcement rangers and special agents receive their training through Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). Full-time staffing for these positions approaches 300. Uniformed rangers enforce laws and regulations governing BLM lands and resources. As part of that mission, these BLM rangers carry firearms and defensive equipment, make arrests, execute search warrants, complete reports and testify in court. They seek to establish

3520-415: The province to counties and regional municipalities in 1997 and 1998, and most of the downloaded highways were rolled into the county road systems. In some situations, these in turn were downloaded from the region/county to the local municipalities. Not all jurisdictions in Ontario which maintain a numbered road system use the name "County Road" to designate them, however — depending on the official name of

3584-463: The public rangelands by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees. The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, commonly referred as the O&;C Act, required sustained yield management of the timberlands in western Oregon. In 1946, the Grazing Service was merged with the United States General Land Office to form the Bureau of Land Management within

3648-597: The removal of excess animals; the killing of lame, old, or sick animals; the private placement or adoption of excess animals; and even the killing of healthy animals if range management required it. The killing of healthy or unhealthy horses has almost never occurred. Pursuant to the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 , the BLM has established 179 "herd management areas" (HMAs) covering 31.6 million acres (128,000 km ) acres where feral horses can be found on federal lands. In 1973, BLM began

3712-449: The state government maintains all roads in unincorporated areas. In West Virginia , the state maintains secondary roads though they may be designated as county routes. Other states, like Connecticut , have no county routes because there is no government at the county level. Alaska 's county-equivalent boroughs maintain roads in unincorporated areas but none are numbered. Louisiana 's county equivalent of parishes have parish routes. In

3776-615: The territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding Office of the Surveyor General of a particular territory. This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States. The laws that spurred this system with the exception of the General Mining Law of 1872 and the Desert Land Act of 1877 have since been repealed or superseded. In the early 20th century, Congress took additional steps toward recognizing

3840-528: The value of the assets on public lands and directed the Executive Branch to manage activities on the remaining public lands. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as coal , oil , gas , and sodium to take place on public lands. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the United States Grazing Service to manage

3904-482: Was announced for the eastern portion of the fire due to forecasted thunderstorms. A small debris flow took place near Kimball Creek Rd. On August 28, the fire had burned 139,006 acres (56,254 ha) and was named the largest wildfire in Colorado history. The fire was 77 percent contained. Evacuation warnings were lifted for all areas west of Highway 139 to the Utah border and BLM closures were reduced. On September 1, all evacuation orders were lifted. As of September 3,

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3968-535: Was first reported on July 31, 2020, around 5:15 PM, in a remote area of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Mesa County , Colorado, approximately eighteen miles north of Grand Junction . Started by a lightning strike , the fire spread rapidly, fueled by hot weather, steep terrain, and drought stricken grass, sage, pinyon and fir. Burning entirely on BLM land, within 24 hours the Pine Gulch Fire had grown to 280 acres (113 ha). Fire crews were only able to reach

4032-581: Was put in place for the fire area on August 4. The fire began burning northwards onto Horse Mountain. Air quality began to decline and an Air Quality Health Advisory was put in place for northern Mesa County and southwestern Garfield County . Within 36 hours the fire had grown to 11,846 acres (4,794 ha) by the evening of August 5. Red Flag Warnings were put in place on the 6th and additional road closures were put in place. Smoke began to impact De Beque, Colorado and areas along Interstate 70 . Extremely low humidity, high temperatures and strong winds enabled

4096-457: Was so successful that BLM allowed it to go nationwide in 1976. The Adopt-a-Horse program quickly became the primary method of removing excess feral horses from BLM land given the lack of other viable methods. The BLM also uses limited amounts of contraceptives in the herd, in the form of PZP vaccinations; advocates say that additional use of these vaccines would help to diminish the excess number of horses currently under BLM management. Despite

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