Derek Dowsett is the Producer of the County Seat. Now entering his 11th season of the program, he has received what he considers a "Crash Course" in County Government.

Being the “city slicker” that I am I would have never imagined that Wild Horses would be such a contentious and emotional issue. It is doubtful that many people even know that there are 3,900 horses that are roaming the BLM range wild. It may be a surprise that as a nation we spend close to $80 million dollars managing these wild horses and burros (talk about a first world problem).

This week on the County Seat we will talk about the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro program and the challenges of managing an animal that is neither wildlife nor livestock. What are the costs currently and what will happen if we continue putting off an important debate over how to manage these animals?

Mark Whitney – Beaver County Commissioner
http://www.beaver.utah.gov/index.aspx?nid=85
J. J. Goicoechea – Eureka County Commissioner, NV
http://www.co.eureka.nv.us/comish/commission.htm
Kevin Bunnell – Utah Division of Wild Life Resources
http://wildlife.utah.gov/
Gus Warr – Utah BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program Manager
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram.html

Jim Schnepel- President, Wild Horses of America Foundation
http://wildhorses.org/