(5) in paragraph (f)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(1) which’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘(2)’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, in accordance with sec-
tion 3(d),’’ after ‘‘from an area’’; and 
(C) by striking the period at the end and 
inserting a semicolon; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) ‘thriving natural ecological balance’ means 
a condition that protects ecosystem health, the eco-
logical processes that sustain ecosystem function and 
a diversity of life forms, including those species list-
ed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and 
further ensures that wild horses and burros, live-
stock and wildlife species are given fair consideration 
in the allocation of resources on those lands where 
said species are authorized or managed consistent 
with the requirements of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–579) 
and other applicable law; and 
‘‘(h) ‘fatally injured or terminally ill’ means an 
animal exhibiting one or more of the following: 
‘‘(1) A hopeless prognosis for life. 
‘‘(2) A chronic or incurable disease, injury, 
lameness, or serious physical defect (including
severe tooth loss or wear, club foot, and other 
severe congenital abnormalities). 
‘‘(3) A condition requiring continuous 
treatment for the relief of pain and suffering in 
a domestic setting. 
‘‘(4) An acute or chronic illness, injury, 
physical condition or lameness that would pre-
clude an acceptable quality of life for the fore-
seeable future.’’. 
SEC. 5. INVENTORY AND DETERMINATIONS. 
(a) Section 3(a) (16 U.S.C. 1333(a)) is amended as 
follows: 
(1) By striking ‘‘is authorized and directed to’’ 
and inserting ‘‘shall— 
‘‘(1)’’. 
(2) By striking ‘‘, and he may’’ and inserting 
a semicolon. 
(3) By inserting before ‘‘designate’’ the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2)’’. 
(4) In paragraph (2) (as so designated)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘their’’ and inserting 
‘‘the’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘of wild free-roaming 
horses and burros’’ after ‘‘preservation’’;
(C) by striking ‘‘wherein’’ and inserting 
‘‘where’’; 
(D) by striking ‘‘deems’’ and inserting ‘‘, 
considers’’; and 
(E) by striking ‘‘desirable. The Secretary 
shall’’ and inserting ‘‘desirable; 
‘‘(3)’’. 
(5) In paragraph (3) (as so designated), by 
striking the period after ‘‘public lands’’ and insert-
ing a semicolon. 
(6) By striking ‘‘He shall’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(4)’’. 
(7) In paragraph (4) (as so designated), by 
striking ‘‘of this Act.’’ and inserting ‘‘of this Act;’’. 
(8) By striking ‘‘All’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(5) ensure that’’. 
(9) In paragraph (5) (as so designated)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘related to wild free-roam-
ing horses and burros are’’ after ‘‘activities’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘shall be’’ both places it 
appears; 
(C) by inserting ‘‘relevant State’’ after ‘‘in 
consultation with the’’;
(D) by striking ‘‘of the State wherein such 
lands are located’’; 
(E) by striking ‘‘which inhabit such 
lands’’; and 
(F) by striking the period after ‘‘endan-
gered wildlife species’’ and inserting a semi-
colon. 
(10) By striking ‘‘Any’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(6) ensure that any’’. 
(11) In paragraph (6) (as so designated)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘on any such lands shall 
take’’ and inserting ‘‘are made after taking’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘which inhabit such 
lands.’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’. 
(12) At the end of such subsection, add the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(7) ensure that, to the extent practicable, the 
acreage available for wild and free-roaming horses 
and burros shall never be less than the acreage 
where wild and free-roaming horses and burros were 
found in 1971.’’. 
(b) Subsection (b)(1) of section 3 is amended as fol-
lows:
(1) By striking ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) In order to determine if a thriving natural eco-
logical balance exists with regards to wild free-roaming 
horses and burros, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1)’’. 
(2) In paragraph (1) (as so designated)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘a current’’ and inserting 
‘‘an’’; and 
(B) by striking the period after ‘‘public 
lands’’ and inserting a semicolon and the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) update the inventory every two years; and 
‘‘(3) make the inventory available to the public 
on the Website of the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment.’’. 
(3) By striking ‘‘The purpose’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘the Secretary’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) In order to better manage and protect wild free- 
roaming horses and burros, and to achieve and maintain 
a thriving natural ecological balance, the Secretary, not 
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
section, shall take the following actions:
(B) By inserting ‘‘(B)’’ before ‘‘wildlife agen-
cies’’. 
(C) By striking ‘‘wherein’’ and inserting 
‘‘where’’. 
(D) By striking ‘‘such individuals’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(C) individuals’’. 
(E) By striking ‘‘such other individuals’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(D) individuals’’. 
(F) By striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec-
retary’’. 
(G) By inserting ‘‘to’’ after ‘‘determines’’. 
(6) In subparagraphs (A) through (C) of para-
graph (6) (as so designated), by striking each 
comma and inserting a semicolon. 
(7) In subparagraphs (A) through (D) of para-
graph (6) (as so designated), by moving the margins 
of such subparagraphs 4 ems to the right. 
(8) After paragraph (6) (as so designated), by 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(7) Identify new, appropriate rangeland for 
wild free roaming horses and burros, including use 
of land acquisitions, exchanges, conservation ease-
ments, voluntary grazing buyouts, and agreements 
with private landowners to allow for the federally su-
pervised protection of wild horses and burros on pri-
vate lands, except that the Secretary shall assess the 
effects of new range for wild free-roaming horses 
and burros on rangeland health, riparian zones, 
water quality, soil compaction, seed bed disturbance, 
native wildlife, and endangered or threatened species 
and transmit the results of the assessment to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate. 
‘‘(8) Establish sanctuaries or exclusive use 
areas, except that the Secretary shall assess the ef-
fects of sanctuaries or exclusive use areas for wild 
free-roaming horses and burros on rangeland health, 
riparian zones, water quality, soil compaction, seed 
bed disturbance, native wildlife and endangered or 
threatened species and transmit the results of the 
assessment to the Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. 
‘‘(9) In identifying or designating any new 
rangeland, or establishing any sanctuary or exclusive 
use area for wild free-roaming horses and burros, 
the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall take into account and avoid any 
potential conflicts with wind, solar, geothermal, oil,
natural gas, energy transmission, and mineral re-
sources potential of the lands affected by the identi-
fication, designation, or establishment. 
‘‘(10) Research, develop, and implement en-
hanced fertility control for mares, stallions, or both, 
such as surgical or immunocontraception steriliza-
tion or other safe, humane, and effective methods of 
fertility control.’’. 
(c) In subsection (b) of section 3, by striking ‘‘(2) 
Where’’ and inserting ‘‘(d) If’’. 
(d) In subsection (d) (as so designated) of section 3— 
(1) by striking ‘‘determines’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘horses and burros to be’’ in subpara-
graph (B) and inserting ‘‘has exhausted all prac-
ticable options for maintaining a thriving natural ec-
ological balance on the range, the Secretary may 
provide that wild free-roaming horses and burros 
are’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘for which he determines’’ the 
first place it appears and inserting ‘‘so long as the 
Secretary has determined’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘and for which he determines he 
can assure’’ and inserting ‘‘and the Secretary can 
ensure’’;
(4) by striking ‘‘(including’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘That, not’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘by 
requiring that— 
‘‘(1) no’’; 
(5) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘animals’’ the first two 
places it appears and inserting ‘‘wild free-roam-
ing horses and burros’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘such’’ the first place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘the’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 
and adding the following: 
‘‘(2) each individual adopter shall execute an 
appropriate attestation, pursuant to section 1001 of 
title 18, United States Code, affirming that adopted 
animals or their remains shall not be sold or trans-
ferred for consideration for processing into commer-
cial products; and 
‘‘(3) wild free-roaming horses and burros may 
not be contained in corrals or short-term holding fa-
cilities for more than 6 months while awaiting dis-
position.’’; and 
(6) by striking subparagraph (C) and para-
graph (3).
(e) Redesignate subsection (c) of section 3 as sub-
section (e) and in such subsection— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Where excess animals have’’ 
and inserting ‘‘When a wild free-roaming horse or 
burro has’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘a period of’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘is authorized’’ and inserting 
‘‘shall,’’; 
(4) by inserting a comma after ‘‘transferee’’; 
(5) by striking ‘‘to’’ before ‘‘grant’’; 
(6) by striking ‘‘title to not more than four ani-
mals to’’; and 
(7) by striking ‘‘at the end of the one-year pe-
riod’’ and inserting ‘‘title to that animal’’. 
(f) Redesignate subsection (d) of section 3 as sub-
section (f) and in such subsection— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Wild’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Ex-
cept as provided for in paragraph (2), wild’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 
(4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively; 
(3) in subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘(c) except for the limitation of sub-
section (c)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)’’; 
(4) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘(b)’’and inserting ‘‘(h)’’;
(5) in subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a period; and 
(6) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘(5)’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘burro’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) No animal ever covered under this Act’’. 
(g) By inserting after section 3(f) (as so redesig-
nated) the following: 
‘‘(g) Not later than one year after the date of enact-
ment of this subsection, for the purposes of carrying out 
a successful wild free-roaming horse and burro adoption 
program the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) implement creative and more aggressive 
marketing strategies for the adoption program, in-
cluding the use of the internet or other media to 
showcase horses and the adoption program; 
‘‘(2) explore public outreach opportunities, in-
cluding agreements with local and State organiza-
tions that are using horses for rehabilitation, ther-
apy, or prisoner programs; 
‘‘(3) provide resources to properly screen and 
train potential adopters; 
‘‘(4) conduct tours of Bureau of Land Manage-
ment facilities for interested parties;
SEC. 9. CRIMINAL PROVISIONS. 
Section 8 (16 U.S.C. 1338) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Any person who’’ and inserting 
‘‘(a) Any person who’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4) of subsection (a) (as so 
designated)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘except as provided in sec-
tion 3(e),’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, transports for proc-
essing,’’ after ‘‘processes’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘the remains of a’’ and in-
serting ‘‘a live or deceased’’; and 
(D) by inserting ‘‘for consideration’’ after 
‘‘burro’’. 
SEC. 10. LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY. 
Strike section 10 (16 U.S.C. 1339) and redesignate 
section 11 as section 10. 
SEC. 11. REPORTS. 
Section 10 (as so redesignated by section 10 of this 
Act) is amended as follows: 
(1) By striking ‘‘After the expiration’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘thereafter’’ and inserting 
‘‘(a)(1) Not later than one year after the date of en-
actment of this subsection and annually thereafter’’. 
(2) By striking ‘‘will submit to Congress a joint 
report’’ and inserting ‘‘shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources of the Senate a joint report’’. 
(3) By striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secre-
taries’’. 
(4) By inserting after subsection (a)(1) (as so 
designated) the following: 
‘‘(2) The report shall also contain the following— 
‘‘(A) the number of acres managed by the Bu-
reau of Land Management and the USDA Forest 
Service for wild free-roaming horses and burros; 
‘‘(B) the appropriate management levels on 
public rangelands; 
‘‘(C) a description of the methods used to deter-
mine the appropriate management levels and wheth-
er it was applied consistently across the agency; 
‘‘(D) the number of wild free-roaming horses 
and burros on public lands; 
‘‘(E) a description of the methods used to de-
termine the wild free-roaming horse and burro popu-
lation; 
‘‘(F) any land acquisitions, exchanges, con-
servation easements, and voluntary grazing buyouts 
that the Secretary has acquired or pursued for wild 
free-roaming horses and burros;
‘‘(G) any sanctuaries or exclusive use areas es-
tablished for wild free-roaming horses and burros; 
‘‘(H) programs established for fertility control 
research, development, and management level imple-
mentation; 
‘‘(I) the extent to which fertility control is being 
used by the Secretary to control the population of 
wild free-roaming horses and burros; 
‘‘(J) the percentage of the Bureau of Land 
Management budget devoted to contraception annu-
ally; 
‘‘(K) the ratio of animals the agency has 
contracepted and put back on the range; and 
‘‘(L) which herds have been administered con-
traception and with what results. 
‘‘(3) Each report submitted under paragraph (2) 
shall be made available to the public on the Website of 
the Bureau of Land Management.’’. 
(5) By inserting ‘‘(b)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of 
the Interior’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 17, 2009. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1018 
AN ACT 
To amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Bur-
ros Act to improve the management and long- 
term health of wild free-roaming horses and bur-
ros, and for other purposes.