As part of an ongoing effort to improve its Wild Horse and Burro Program, the Bureau of Land Management announced Friday that it is soliciting proposals for private land ecosanctuaries for wild horses. The ecosanctuaries, to be publicly accessible with a potential for ecotourism, would help the BLM feed and care for excess wild horses that have been removed from Western public rangelands. Each proposed ecosanctuary must be able to support at least 100 wild horses.

The official notice of solicitation can be found at www.grants.gov. To submit an application, an applicant must register on www.grants.gov and must first obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number. This can be obtained by going to http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/index.jsp. After receiving a DUNS number, the applicant may proceed to the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) page located at CCR registration.. Completing this registration process can take up to two weeks, so applicants should work on their proposals while they are waiting for their registration confirmation.The BLM is preparing to publish a proposed wild horse and burro management strategy that emphasizes population control techniques; promotes public-private ecosanctuaries to hold excess wild horses and encourage ecotourism; seeks to boost adoptions by making more trained wild horses available to the public; and establishes a comprehensive animal welfare program that is built on sound science and research.

The BLM developed the proposed strategy after actively soliciting input from both the public and the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board on how to best ensure the health of America’s wild horses and burros, both on and off the range.