Blm’s Decision-Making Techniques and Concepts

Public Governance

Barbara l. Mitchell

                                             Grand Canyon University

ADM-624

July 20, 2016

BLM’s Decision-Making Techniques and Concepts

       The decision-making techniques and concept most appropriate in the situation for BLM (The Bureau of Land Management) is the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act enacted by Congress in 1971 (Starling, 2010). The purpose of this act was to help establish guidelines for program management. The amendment of the act was also under the 1978 Rangeland Improvement Act to help address issues involving over population, long and short term storage, and growth in land management. The BLM overtime has managed to show great impact in their services but as years pasted the cost in maintaining shelter, services, feeding the horses, and care has tripled. Under these two acts, the guidelines established by Congress were to help manage the storage and growth in over population issues for both burros and wild horses. According to Starling (2010), the growth in over population indicates an exponential increase of both burros and wild horses. In this case the mission is to focus on the best way to manage the population of animals and maintaining a balance that is natural ecological. The BLM needs to develop a better decision making technique that analyze cost effectiveness and cost benefit in order to determine the output in expenditures, and weigh the benefits and effectiveness of the programs cost. To develop decisions for the programs, administrators of the program must acknowledge and identify the overage in population as an issue that needs to be taken care of (Starling, 2010). The administrators have guidance through the 1978 Rangeland Improvement Act to deal with the over population of animals. So there is an option in this case to destroy, free, or sell without any limitations but there is still some concerns to consider.

Suggestions for BLM

       A suggestion would be for BLM to develop new strategies in program management to educate individuals on the management population of burros and wild horses on a global perspective. In America, the symbol of freedom represents wild horses to many individuals and not too many will agree with the way most animals are handled almost the same as the Horse Lobby View stating that “horses have the right to be here” (Starling, 2010).  In Europe for example, the meat of slaughtering horses is a delicacy.  So selling horses to be slaughtered would be a cost opportunity for the Bureau of Land Management. The monetary gain from the sale on the horses could be used to help with the funding of programs with the necessary resources to maintain and build new short and long range locations for holding horses. In other countries, such Australia the industry earns $100 million a year for commercial slaughtering of burros, feral horses (Starling, 2010). So in this case, BLM needs to consider implementing changes in regards to the use of slaughtering, free selling, and euthanasia as a means in managing the population in the programs for burros and wild free roaming horses.