From Chrys, Nov. 3, 2009

Hello burro lovers,
I started with the question, "How many wild burros would there be in California in the future?" The answer looks like a couple hundred; not enough if you wanted to save their gene pool for the future. I was trying to stay focused on California's burros because it is so complex an issue, but in California the BLM does not seem to be deciding who gets gathered and when. The National Park Service, military bases and the California Desert Protection Act removed most of the burros, but used the BLM to accomplish it. The Chemehuevi Indian Reservation had burros removed because they were being hit by cars. The burros at Big Bear are on National Forest land and some were removed for getting into homeowners' yards. Every area is different and involves different issues and nobody knows how many burros are really still out there.
When I talk to BLM employees they try to be helpful and honest, but their information is often inconsistent or even contrary because they are dealing with other government agencies. The BLM did not know how many burros are on Clark Mountain, when the burros will be removed, or even what company will be putting up the solar panels that require the burros' removal; I would need to contact the "Public Utilities" for that information.
Why can't the BLM use the 2000 acres it has in the past leased for grazing cattle to preserve a group of burros for the future? The BLM recently gathered 350 burros and in October 2009 had them at the Ridgecrest Holding Facility south of Death Valley. The suggestion to put these 350 burros on the 2000 BLM acres next to the Wild Burro Rescue Sanctuary and let the Sanctuary manage the burros seemed like a better idea than shipping the burros to eastern states and hoping for adoption. Problem is that the BLM can't make the decision. You start with the class of livestock, the previous grazing permit and if the land allotment is available. I am waiting to hear about the long-term pasture contracts involved. To change from grazing cattle to donkeys would require a National Environmental Policy Act analysis (protection and maintenance of the environment with federal agencies) including time for public comment. If going through the usual channels, by the time all the paperwork is finished California's burros will have already been shipped to eastern states. We will need help to expedite the process.
The attached charts don't match the numbers I have gotten recently from the BLM, but you get the idea. Whether there are 40 or 60 burros on Clark Mountain at the moment, there are going to be zero. I don't know what affect stopping all BLM gathers until after a science-based investigation will have nationwide, but I can certainly understand why the wild horse groups are supporting it. Unless there is an immediate life-threatening reason to gather more of California's wild burros (like getting hit by cars), I think the burros are better left in the wild until science can justify removal, technology can slow reproduction rates or there are sanctuaries capable of preserving herds. Wild burros are more likely to be adopted than wild horses, but it still means genetic extinction of the distinct California groups.
Chrys