***BLM News***![](media/image1.png){width="1.1826388888888888in"
height="0.9125in"}

NEVADA STATE OFFICE NO. 2005-23

FOR RELEASE: April 22, 2005

CONTACT: Noelle White or Maxine Shane at 775-861-6586

**BLM Sponsors Wild Horse and Burro Art Contest**

**to Promote June 18 Adoption**

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is sponsoring an art contest for
Rainshadow Community Charter High School students. Students are being
asked to create a poster with a drawing or photograph of a horse or
burro and submit it with information about the BLM's June 18 Wild Horse
Adoption at Palomino Valley. The art contest began April 15 and will run
through April 29. Submissions will be judged and a winner will be
announced in early May. The submissions will be judged based on the
image being appropriate to BLM's Adopt-A-Horse or Burro Program.

Reno's Rainshadow Community Charter High School is an interdisciplinary
and project based high school in its second year. Rainshadow is a "last
chance" for many students. Each class of students is given a project
that they will work on throughout their years at Rainshadow. One such
project is focused on equines.

The equine science project group studies equine literature, movies and
training philosophies and they are very interested in wild horses.

Ms. Blackwell is an English and life skills teacher at Rainshadow. She
is one of the five teachers at the school and she teaches freshmen
through seniors. She is working with the BLM to coordinate the art
contest.

"I hope that through the art contest the students will have a greater
understanding of the issues we have here in Nevada with wild horses"
Blackwell said. "A project like this can help them break through their
apathy."

The Adopt-A-Horse or Burro Program was launched by the BLM in 1973. The
current free-roaming population exceeds the number that BLM-managed
rangelands can sustain. Federal law authorizes the BLM to remove wild
horses and burros from the range to control herd sizes; those animals
removed are cared for in BLM or contracted facilities and thousands are
placed into private ownership through adoption each year. Since 1973,
the BLM's adoption program has placed more than 203,000 animals into
private care.

John Neill is the manager of the National Wild Horse and Burro Center at
Palomino Valley.

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BLM Sponsors WH&B Art Contest -- 2222

"It's really great to see students interested in the wild horse
program," Neill said. "Wild horses are a part of Nevada's heritage.
These legendary, free-spirited animals have something to teach us all.
The winning poster will be displayed in local tack, feed and similar
stores to advertise the event."

The June 18 adoption will take place at the National Wild Horse and
Burro Center at Palomino Valley, 20 miles north of Sparks at the Pyramid
Lake Highway. The horses available for adoption will be from the Calico
Mountains and Granite Herd Management Areas. The public can view the
animals for adoption from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The silent bid
adoption will begin at 10:00 a.m.

All adopters must meet certain qualifications before they are allowed to
bid.

If you are interested in adopting a wild horse or burro or just want
more information on the program, please call (775) 475-2222, or visit
[www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov](http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/).

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