L17AS00236 NOI FY17 WHB Training_Placement and Marketing.docx

United States Department of the Interior

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Financial Assistance

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD

This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the Bureau of Land Management’s intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition.

ABSTRACT

Program Officer

Deborah Collins, WHB Specialist ~ email: dcollins@blm.gov

OVERVIEW, RECIPIENT AND BLM SUBSTANTIAL INVOLVEMENT

OVERVIEW OF PROJECT:

The Mustang Heritage Foundation is a 501(C) (3), public, charitable, nonprofit organization with a mission to help create and promote programs and activities that provide information and education about wild horses and burros to elevate their image and desirability, provide opportunities to become involved in the wild horse and burro experience and secure caring homes for excess wild horses and burros. Since partnering with the BLM through an Assistance Agreement in 2007, MHF has helped place a total of 9,111 (as of June 30, 2017) animals into private care. They have steadily increased the annual number placed through their programs from 124 animals in 2007 to 1,583 animals in 2017.

The accomplishments of the MHF programs translate into a substantial public benefit and estimated taxpayer savings by placing animals into private care. MHF is working to increase their program income, in-kind contributions, and private donations to supplement their budget and, in the future, to off-set BLM costs. To date, their income stream has been negligible. In recent years, MHF has reduced their overhead and administrative costs to approximately 5% of their total budget.

BACKGROUND:

The BLM-MHF partnership has grown into a vital resource to assist in placing animals into private care and build public support for BLM management actions. The following are key MHF initiatives:

· Extreme Mustang Makeover (EMM): A competition to showcase the trainability and utility of the American mustang and market them. Competition horses are placed into private care.

· Trainer Incentive Program (TIP): The primary focus is to cultivate private trainers who use natural horsemanship techniques to gentle wild horses and burros and place them with an adopter in their local area.

· Storefront Program: TIP trainers may hold and train up to 20 animals for pick-up by adopters, other TIP trainers, or successful Internet adopters and purchasers. The aim is to increase the availability of wild horses and burros to adopters throughout the nation.

· Youth Programs (ages 8 – 17): Introduces youth to the opportunity of training and adopting wild horses and burros. They have 90 – 100 days to work with and prepare wild yearlings for competition. The youth programs are managed by TIP trainers or other community/youth program leaders making the program highly effective in gaining support and interest from youth and parents alike.

· Veteran’s Programs: The program pairs military veterans with wild horses in an 8-week, on-site training and education program at MHF headquarters in Georgetown, TX. The program focuses mostly on overall equine husbandry and training as well as general WH&B information. By the end of the 8-week session, some of the changes in the Veteran participants include a decrease in dependency on medication, improvement in quality of life and increase in social experiences.

America’s Mustang Virtual Reality Trailer: A self-contained truck and 40’ trailer with three separate educational stations that include Your Land: Public Lands and Multiple Use mission information; Your Horse: On-Range information; and Your Horse: Off-Range information and a virtual reality experience showcasing recent footage of conditions on the range in northern Nevada and Utah and footage of various off-range corrals and pastures.

Objectives

· The overall intent of this project is to continue providing successful opportunities for placing trained excess wild horses and burros into private care in safe and humane environments. Continuing this partnership increases the program’s ability to minimize the current practice of holding animals in off –range corrals and pastures, which currently utilizes over 50% of the WHB Program’s budget.

· The secondary objective is to continue the current marketing and outreach opportunities that encourage public visitation at off-range corrals, events, and storefronts, while providing WHB Program educational opportunities.

Project-specific objectives include:

· To provide regular, monthly updates on projects involving the WHB Program.

· To provide stimulation of local economies through the marketing of their training programs and competitions, which also provide stimulation and primary and secondary job creation.

· To provide opportunities to generate program income to assist with the expense of maintaining the outreach opportunities and training programs.

· To promote visitation to the off-range corrals, placement events, and HMAs.

· To promote marketing, outreach and educational opportunities to the public through tours, expos, hosting adoptions/sales and special events, and a virtual reality experience.

Public Benefit:

· The public benefits from this program through the stimulation of local economies where competitions and training programs are held throughout the lower 48.

· The public benefits through increased awareness and participation in the Wild Horse and Burro Program by attending competition events, expos, and virtual reality education. Their programs provide unique opportunities to view and learn about wild horses and burros, their history, and their unlimited potential as working, therapy, competition and companion animals.

Performance Goals:

The partnership will assist the BLM in achieving and maintaining their goal of managing animals at appropriate management levels (AML) within the herd management areas and maintain that level to assure the horses and burros on the range remain in good condition. The recipient is to provide opportunities to train, place, and market wild horses and burros in a safe and professional manner that includes proper animal welfare. The opportunities will include discussions on the complexities of range management within herd management areas (HMAs), holding of animals in off-range corrals and pastures, and placing animals into private care through adoptions and sales.

The BLM's substantial involvement in this cooperative agreement may include, but not be limited to, the following:

· The BLM will work with the recipient by providing technical advice and guidance.

· The BLM will conduct periodic checks at the recipient’s events that place BLM wild horses and burros into private care and educate the public on the WHB Program.

· The BLM will work with the recipient to approve all trainers involved in their programs to ensure BLM animals will be trained at locations that meet BLM requirements for safety and animal welfare.

· BLM will coordinate and assist the recipient in carrying out development of public outreach as well as joint events between the BLM and the partner to maximize public education.

· BLM will conduct co-monitoring of the care of the horses and burros involved in the recipient’s programs until they are placed into private care.

· The BLM will ensure recipient provides a core staff with the expertise needed to operate successful, professional events and programs to place wild horses and burros into private care and educate the public on the WHB program.

SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS

Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable for each single-source award. The justification must address one or more of the following criteria as well as discussion of the program legislative history, unique capabilities of the proposed recipient, and cost-sharing contribution offered by the proposed recipient, as applicable.

In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

(1) Unsolicited Proposal – The proposed award is the result of an unsolicited assistance application which represents a unique or innovative idea, method, or approach which is not the subject of a current or planned contract or assistance award, but which is deemed advantageous to the program objectives;

(2) Continuation – The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of an activity presently being funded, and for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity;

(3) Legislative intent – The language in the applicable authorizing legislation or legislative history clearly indicates Congress’ intent to restrict the award to a particular recipient of purpose;

(4) Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, cost-sharing ability if applicable, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications;

(5) Emergencies – Program/award where there is insufficient time available (due to a compelling and unusual urgency, or substantial danger to health or safety) for adequate competitive procedures to be followed.

BLM did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, cost-sharing ability if applicable, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications. The technical expertise and unique qualifications of this partner are supported by the following:

The partnership between the BLM and the Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) has been successful over the past 10 years due to the MHF’s establishment of the Trainer Incentive Program (TIP), a sound program in which they are able to enlist competent trainers who are willing to train and gentle wild horses, attract adopters (many trainers have adopters ready to adopt as soon as the horse’s training is complete), and to showcase their trained horses at BLM/MHF adoption events. The TIP program alone has realized more than double the adoptions since 2015.

The expectations of the MHF adoption/education program reached fruition since this partnership’s inception. Event audiences have steadily increased each year, from a one-event program with 1,500 spectators in 2007, to a six-event program with an expected 12,000 spectators in 2017.

The MHF is successful generating program income from the proceeds of event ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorship's and in-kind contributions, which defrays the cost of the WHB program. This area of expertise comes from the experience learned over years of merchandise sales at previous events.

The MHF has generated corporate support through corporate sponsorships and events such as the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Rodeo Austin, Houston Rodeo, Reno Rodeo, Western Horseman, RAM Trucks, GIST Silversmiths, Zoetis, Resistol Hats, Professional Bull Riders Association, the Humane Society of the United States, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and others.

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