(In My Humble Opinion) by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/Director of HfH Advisory Board
After years of wasting money on deadly Wild Horse Roundups the well has run dry
BLM: "Please, you can trust me."
As part of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) alleged “New Strategy” the agency claims that it is extending its hand “soliciting proposals for private-public partnerships to establish wild horse ‘ecosanctuaries’ on non-BLM managed land.” In a press release, dated 03/16/2011, the BLM states that they will entertain said partnerships in an effort to help the BLM care and feed the “excess” wild horses the BLM have removed from their rightful homes.
On the surface this would appear to be a wonderful new and revolutionary idea but in reality it is not even a concept that the BLM can claim to be its own. Madeleine Pickens has made the commitment to acquire half a million acres of grazing land, in the west, in an effort to give a better home to the horses that the BLM has unjustifiably removed from their lawful range. Years of research and lobbying went into the plan and BLM Director Bob Abbey give Pickens a thumbs down after months and months of reassuring her that the plan was viable. Of course, Abbey now says that he was misquoted but what do you expect from a guy who has been gorging himself at the government’s feed trough for his entire career, the truth?
A glaringly obvious consideration, with this entire scenario, is that it is nothing more than Secretary of the Department of Interior Ken Salazar’s “Zalazoo Plan” only in a different flavor with someone else helping to pay the bill. The proposal still calls for separate, “non-producing” herds of gelded stallions and chemically sterilized mares segregated onto different land. Abnormal, death herds of shattered former families living out their lives separated from their natural partners simply waiting to die. No bands of wild horses, no births or babies but instead just herds of gelded stallions running separate from herds of mares. Ain’t that sweet?
As usual the BLM is looking at the backside of the horse versus making corrections and guiding the head. Don’t get me wrong as I would welcome anything to help improve the quality of live for those that are in holding but again, the collective bureaucratic mind of the BLM can only see to treat the symptom versus curing the disease and now that they have squandered away tens of millions of your dollars on senseless and deadly roundups they want help with the very problem that they created.
Fix the problem you knuckleheads!!! Stop swelling the bank accounts of cruel stampede contractors Cattoors and Sun-J. Settle into the idea of accurately COUNTING the ACTUAL number of horses on the range and partner with professionals who can recommend humane management practices and stop fueling the problem by recklessly removing wild horses and burros from their rightful homes. It’s an easy fix but to continue down the road of ripping every single wild horse and burro off from their rightful land and then shoving them into long term holding has proven to be a failure. Fix it!
If the BLM were forced to function within the private sector they would have failed in business many decades ago. The roughshod concept of full speed ahead at all costs without proper numbers, planning and finances would run a private company straight into the dirt but instead the BLM has used your money, destroyed your herds, ignored years worth of public protest and now that they are out of money, they want you to help. It’s time to put some business sense into the running of our government and if we can’t succeed in doing it at the top then lets run the leaders of this agency out of town on a rail and build a bureau of professional, compassionate and accountable business personnel who realize that 1+1 does not equal 20.
Click (HERE) for BLM press release
Related Articles
- Phoenix Rally Meeting Report – Take Action! (thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com)
- Madeleine Pickens to Join Wild Horse Advocates and Celebs at Mustang Rally (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Captures 1,400 Wild Horses: Releases 31 (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Called Upon To Halt Wild Horse Roundups Until “New Normal ” Policies Enacted To Ensure Humane Treatment of Mustangs (yubanet.com)
- Progress! House Votes to Reduce Agency Budget for Wild Horse Roundups (news.change.org)
- Video Shows BLM Contractor Targeting Pregnant Wild Horses (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Thanks R.T. for clarifying something that sounded too good to be true. I’m with you as far as anything is better than nothing. However, leaving the horses to roam free, where they belong, and being cared for by real horse folks would be THE solution. Keep fighting RT, and thank you, we’re all beside you!
LikeLike
Madeleine A Pickens offered help to BLM with her idea of a sanctuary – ecosanctuaries but they threw away her offer because they have other ideas of where the money (grant money) will go. They want their grubby hands on the money to rid of the WH & B. They are crooks and thieves and murders of life. The only ones who will join their wicked big scheme will be likewise just as wicked . Wonder what the payback will be? Something stinks and it’s not cow poop!
LikeLike
In Tomorrows letter to my congressman I think I’ll just tell him he can no longer use MY tax money unless he tells $alaczar and Blob Slabbey to give the horses to the SAM group. FINAL!
LikeLike
do I have it right here, they take the horses off their own land, and now blm wants someone else to step up and provide different land for them and assist in caring for the herd. Isn’t that what the blm was supposed to do on the land that already belonged to the horses. I just get more confused the more i read about it.
put them back on the land that was theirs to graze and live upon and leave them alone. nature will take care of nature if humans would get their grubby hands out of it.
cattle are not part of that ecosystem, and they will decimate the plant life faster than horses. the horses have been on that land for 100’s of years and low and behold, there is still plant life there. hmmm
so why does the blm want to do this besides lack of money now, so the cattle rangers can have what is rightfully the land that belongs to the horses. why in god’s name are your taxpayers paying for the rangers grazing land for their cattle. shouldn’t they be buying their own land to graze their own cattle. that would be the same if I took my sheep down to Algonquin Park, and then ordered all the moose to be culled. I have never heard of such BS.
they say the land will be over populated with horses, well if they didn’t get rid of their natural predators it wouldn’t be an issue. but I think it was the ranches that wanted to get rid of the wolves because they were losing some of their cattle to the wolves. and what about large cats, how many are left…..
all that said and done, RT Fitch, you were terrific the other day at the advisory group meeting, last week. Way to go. Thank god we have people like yourselves speaking for our wildlife, particularly our horses.
get rid of all the dirty greasy hands and dirty money there, those hands that belong to blm, government, and corporate cowboys.
LikeLike
They’ve already got eco-sanctuaries–called Long-term holding–where the horses we want free-on-their-rightful-ranges are warehoused on private land at taxpayer expense. How many times are we going to pay for these animals? We pay for their federal land/helicopters/trucking/wranglers/gelding/more trucking/private pastures. And once on private farms we can not see them?? Madeleine gave them the perfect opportunity to start this process– But oh no –they even removed horses she said could stay on the land. And then they sat at the meeting and LIED about no summer round ups (gathers)—– HELLOOO BLM– I’m calling my congressman tomorrow and demanding that my tax dollar not go to this dead end. ( This has nothing to do with the poor horses–I want them safe and free.)
LikeLike
Bravo Ann I feel the same, The BLM talks from both sides of there mouths quite frankly I am sick of there lies and there cop out and there weak tries to convence us they want to change,,,,,,They have lost our respect a long time ago,,,,,,,,,,,The Wild Mustangs deserve there Freedom, and that is the its going to be,,,,,,,,,
LikeLike
This is what I heard in a nutshell R.T. and I think you aptly stated the real issues. BLM is used to doing business with no numbers and a hand shake with whom they want to play rather doing the people’s business. They also need to find the other 35,000 letters of input over the 9,000 they said they had in creating their next move and plan on changing their strategy from the get go. How do you expect to be given taxpayer’s money for this program when there is no plan. If we were asking money of a bank to do business like this, it would NEVER happen!
LikeLike
DAMN STRAIGHT R.T !
LikeLike
I am tired of paying for a program that uses my money to perpetrate cruelty to animals, neglect providing what is reasonable and appropriate care for these animals, and whose actions all seem to point to a preoccupation to kill and inflict as much misery on these horses as possible. No trace of humanity.
It’s almost like the people who work for the BLM are Stepford Men and Women—they lose their real minds and start parroting rehearsed verbal messages on cue, no matter how false, irrelevant, and plastic it sounds.
This is what I don’t get. Everyone says that the BLM favors cattle ranchers because of money. How is any public agency making money from cattle. The grazing fee is 1.35 for a mother cow and her calf–two cows. Now I know that for a few months the calf will nurse, so is there some kind of upgrade when the calf is weaned or is the fee still 1.35 for as long as the calf is grazing. How could anyone make any money on this game when it has been said that the grazing fees do not cover the costs of refurbishment. The BLM is not making money on cattle grazing fees, at least not legally.
Then there are the miners of oil, gas, coal, silver, copper, etc. How does the BLM make money on this. The fees for mineral rights are even lower for than they are cattle grazing. So where is the idea that the BLM or the United States government are making money from the mines. Yes, there are taxes on profits. I get that part, but it is a pittance compared to the profit the corporations make.
Finally, we have the great real estate scam for those people who are buying and selling homes adjacent to public lands for whom they have grazing permits. Home owners, bankers and real estate agents all profit from the artificially inflated prices of homes that lie next to public land.
It looks like there is one great big scam being run on the American people to the benefit of cattle ranchers, energy companies, precious minerals miners, roads and transportation providers, and now banks and real estate companies. There are way too many private citizens getting wealthy from using the resources of America’s public lands, while at the same time destroying some of the resources we hold most dear such as our wild horses and burros and quantities of unpolluted drinking water that we can use safely to produce food.
If greed were the only problem, it would be bad enough. A bigger problem is that there are people in decision making positions who do not have the intelligence and humility to be in their positions. Sometimes you sound a lot smarter when you just admit “I don’t know”. And when you do know that you do not have all the answers you proceed cautiously. Bob Abbey said that there is no evidence that fracking for natural gas is harmful…he doesn’t even qualify that???? Natural gas is cleaner than say coal as far as air pollution is concerned, but it contaminates water and raises the temperatures in streams and rivers, so that fish that rely on cooler water can not survive.
Maybe the BLM is just too big to work any more. Maybe Interior is too big. Maybe we are living at a time when we need these agencies run by scientists instead of politicians. There is just too much at stake to let ignorance and cronyism continue to rule the day.
LikeLike
One of my fav speeches was the one repeated three times–FIRE SUN J and the CATTOORS!
LikeLike
Thank you RT, great humble opinion 🙂 , Wild horses living on ‘ecosanctuaries’ is not saving the wild horse, no matter who is doing it. They must be saved before the BLM gets their hands on them. As far as stopping the captures, they did exactly what they wanted to do, come September they will start again. They can not and will not be trusted. I am saying this again, 33,000 wild horses in 2008, MP couldn’t get them because they are gone, they pulled a smoke screen and I will not forget it or forgive it.
LikeLike
Eco-sanctuaries ala Bob Abbey? It’s LTH with a nice new name. You can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig. This is their new way of doing business? As we all knew same ole same ole. I started counting up the ways we pay over and over again for the horses. Starts with we own the land they are born on. It should stop there but it doesn’t. We pay for the BLM employees to be inept at their jobs, contractors and equipment for roundups, vets (if you call them that) to manage health, transport from STH to LTH to adoptions and back again. Training in prison programs. Software to track their movement and status (they do have it, they just don’t want to let loose the figures as they are pretty damning). Now they want us to foot the bill in our own names for LTH. Least costly solution? Just have the American people own the land they are born and live free on period the end. Open the gates to LTH and one last transport back to where they started. Then just walk away. Could retire discount welfare grazing leases and start charging $14 or so per grazing leases like regular folks have to pay.
LikeLike
After what the BLM put the wild horses and burros through, I wouldnt give them license to run a flea circus. These idiots are animal abusers and there is no excuse for animal abuse. Fire $alazar and Bob Abbey and put Mr. Fitch in charge of the BLM.
LikeLike
Hmmm, what a crock. And the cattle are there to stay I assume and rule the range. What a bunch of BS. They really ought to be ashamed of themselves but they haven’t got the capability.
LikeLike
You know, after seeing the advisory board in action in Phoenix last week, and listening to the BLM rep for AZ NOT have accurate numbers and info for the Board questions (ie LYING), I had to get up and leave the room for fear of opening my mouth to breath and not being able to stop the words of disbelief that would have come out from the back row where I was sitting. Sitting on the benches in front of the Sheraton minutes later I found myself thinking of a phrase from years ago: “Trying to teach a pig to sing is a waste of your time….and it annoys the pig!” I’m done calling or writing my representatives here in AZ or in DC – and getting cookie cutter replies in e-mail or snail mail. We may have them on the ropes for the moment, so it’s time to go for their throats and take them down period! As a friend of mine often says when someone lying: “Don’t piss on my leg and try to tell me it’s raining!” It’s time to kick up the pressure on all of them and make them accountable.
LikeLike
The past and current events have lead many to recognize that BLM tends to always fall back to their ways, declining our herds, continuing their same old cruel stampedes (it doesn’t take an Einstein during round ups to apply humane standards) and to boldly allow cattle moving into the ranges of mustangs, who lose their homes. To continue to employ a contractor who clearly fails humane standards, violates FAA regulations and behaves like a sadistic pilot on crack is beyond acceptance. Allowing such cruelty to take place whilst denying any interference and consequences within contradicts the reform they preach… I think one positive thing is that the public has caught on to be hip to their two-faced ways, their true colors are revealed. If people lie or exaggerate casually before we do business with them, they will most likely lie while we do business with them. May the latest ingratiating comments issued by Abbey not be yet another attempt to butter up his already frail image.
While I would like to appreciate a philosophy of “reform” within BLM… the reality of their actions and non-genuine “management” policies just do not reflect any of it…. and while things do not change overnight, BLM continues to deliver more blows to our mission and to truly preserve our herds, than not.
Bottom line is, people do not trust them, the change is not coming from within their hearts, but only by force of budget cuts, bureaucratic measures or litigation. They have made it clear what their intentions are. The most recent atrocities of their awful application of “humane standards” is an insult to anyone’s intelligence, whilst they boldly issue press releases and PR gigs as usual…. clearly demonstrating their disconnection to the very despicable reality they cause.
BLM’s only reform is replacing the current head honchos, whose minds are ill set and corrupt, no matter what pretty embellished intentions they publish. I will praise the BLM when I see true and genuine change, reflecting the niveau and values of the 21st century, such as Raul Grijalva expressed in his letter to Abbey / Salazar in August of 2009 (Pryor Mt. round up). The barefaced ignorance by BLM to that very plea and inquiry to improve their “science” and failed program was an eye opener and learning curve as to how BLM’s true talents lie not in manifesting any truthful components ever in their PR gigs, but to pacify and manipulate.
The fancy application of “science” on their part is a joke anyway. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the horses are disrupted, removed and wrongfully persecuted… most horses evicted from their range are in perfect body condition, not reflecting any of the “concerns” of BLM…. I am deeply troubled that any agency in this time of age in a supposedly modern, educated country could mislead the public for decades and boldly continues to tell us one story and perform another – and we rely on our observers to find out the appalling truth, horrific cruelty and brutality that is found only by the persistent eyes of devoted folks on the frontline – whilst BLM maintains their well planned PR gigs and covert tactics… and if they truly want to apply “science”, then one can only wonder, why wouldn’t they create a board that consist of true ecologists and range scientists such as Craig Downer ?? Well we all know why. The first step to balanced, improved management: END the biased hierarchy of the BLM Board and create a new Board that consists of both sides…. A simple step, yet not implemented…. we all know why. The present Board is a waste of time… too many years have been wasted with clever PR gigs and Board meetings that only brought to light how corrupt they operate even at a meeting… the horses and burros have no more time to waste !!!
Cleaning out house is what is needed – and with the present hierarchy may God help our horses.
We all know how public pressure is received by office holders… their first attempt is saving their own ass before anyone else’s. And every time we have faith or are told one thing, another blow or surprise shock is delivered.
PZP’ing our herds into extinction in my eyes is not a positive thing. When Abbey and Salazar leave office, and Craig Downer gets on the National Advisory Board, then I praise.
Also, to convince Congress of the truth and lack of BLM’s integrity and deliverance, some of those people in Congress who have a final say ought to take an unannounced field trip to witness a stampede live….
that may be the ultimate and only convincing they need, because we all have written personal emails, snail mail letters and sent faxes and comments and made calls by the hundred thousands…. which were and are so blatantly ignored by BLM, one can wonder why they even have a comment line. (Oh, it looks good, doesn’t it ?)
Back when…. I kept thinking BLM would ever behave like anyone that was educated, I sent the below letter out. I suggested what would be the base of reform…. out with the rotten and rogue, in with new and capable do to a job…
yet sadly… BLM and DOI do not act as if they understand plain english – management reform applied in any other corporation that dictates the outcome, quality and success of any outfit… is not a known horizon within our government, where true change only comes by force, scandalous events or budget cuts. When solutions have been presented by some very knowledgeable and expert advocates, of which we have quite a few who devote their time and lives to this cause… I just keep wondering, WHY the elaborate and sabotaging BLM doesn’t take the help and assistance ??
LikeLike
They want to privatize everything in US currently BUT keep a hand in. If no one else steps up to partner we may see Slaughterhouse Sue, Cattoors, or someone else with ulterior motives. Please read BLM Budget and Wild Horse and Burro program. I sent a 10 point objection letter to BLM before this last roundup over by Ely. I mailed it. They sent a legal reply from their Dept of Interior attorneys in California and another letter from Virginia. I must have hit a nerve. It’s about the money I am sure now. $64.7 million plus $25 million increase for the Wild Horse program alone yearly. Many of these ranchers have been re-renting these grazing permits to make money which is totally illegal. In BLM’s reply they basically hinted that they disregard canned e-mails. We need to start MAILING these things thru the Post Office. Their reply to me was quite a few legal pages and even had a disclosure attached to the back that the Head of BLM in Reno had not received it. I wondered why they were answering it if they hadn’t received it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sent copies of the original letter to Senators and Congressmen in my state and noted it at the bottom of the letter. We should always send copies to our representatives so BLM has to reply to us. They had to pay the legal dept to do this extensive paperwork. If each letter is individual – they will have to answer. It is only one of the things we can do.
LikeLike
If they don’t get it now, then one can wonder, if they EVER do.
From: TCourt5096@aol.com
To: Janet.jankura@hiintergrity.com, gzakotni@wyoming.com, dooleyv@northwestcollege.edu, Johnson@blackeagleconsulting.com, boyddvm@wellsrec.net, rangeswest@ctcweb.net, renee@taylor-environmental.com, AMHRSEPROT@aol.com
CC: Sally_Spencer@blm.gov
Sent: 12/4/2010 1:36:22 P.M. Mountain Standard Time
Subj: BLM Board Inquiry
To whom it may concern:
In light of recent events during gather operations, new concerns of the discussed animal welfare within your agency arose. I met most of you during the Nat’l BLM Advisory Board meeting here in Denver in June. The discussions on welfare and transparency seemed to be a new reached milestone of a proposed pro-active partnership, yet results remain to be seen. Whilst implementing a balance and progress on both fronts in a true manner is a goal that could be achieved – the lack of representation of wild horse groups within your Board impedes such said goal.
You might not be aware of all that is going on out there. BLM is a big outfit and improvements can’t happen overnight. Yet, your Board requires the incorporation of at least one representative to wild horse groups, as we have plenty of experts available. If BLM’s pledges and public reports carry any weight, then incidents such as below can and must be prevented, see link of helicopter incident (highlighted in yellow). The danger and unprofessionalism did occur, and do not reflect the findings in your recent wild horse report, nor did it initiate filing a complaint with FAA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM_V4TIGrrA
As the national pressure on your program has increased, a campaign to get a reprehension on the make up of your Board seems long overdue. As of now, it is representing special interests only, and your promises in Denver do not reflect the current situation. The devise for a safe future for America’s wild horses calls for a fair representation thereof. Improvement on animal welfare, prevention of incidents such as below and reform within your Board for the wild equid program are vital and necessary to bear fruit in reaching the goal discussed in Denver.
The below thread contains links to cruel incidents, which must stop. These took place in other than the staged round ups you released within your wild horse report. They must not be dismissed or ignored as a routine of your program. The addition of a wild horse group Board member will ensure the pro-active partnership or the transparency the meeting in June discussed. With an allocated budget of $ 579,164, it seems very possible and giving the American public and advocates a voice to ensure and improve your program.
Sincerely,
M.C.
LikeLike
I also believe that Madeleine’s vision is way different than the LTH waste pens in which the evicted mustangs languish.
This is a time where I believe our wild herds would do just fine on their own in their ranges as they always have.. but there are too many enemies. Any outfit, club, rancher assoc., good ol’boys, hunters etc., you name it.. we know they are there. If all horses in holding would be put back in their rightful homes, it would be a perfect world as nature intended. But it would cause a revolution of greedy interests to go berserk. I can only imagine the illegal activities or silent crimes taking place in the still of the dark nights… of twisted minds who claim this land is theirs. Is the next step then to invent a BLM police to fight these criminals… ? Our horses have been doomed by this agency, with a revolting fan club of miners, ranchers and special interest groups in tow. I believe a save place for the horses in holding would be in a sanctuary such as Pickens. There they would not be hunted down secretly, fall prey to outlaws who have caused havoc in the past or be jeopardized. I do not compare Madeleine’s offer with a Salazoo either. It would be safe haven for the horses, similar to their past homes, but much better than the hellish pens they stand in now, waiting to die. The actions of BLM have destroyed the true West, whether one puts the horses back in the wild or not. The destruction is done. It will take years and years to heal and recover. Some of it is lost forever. Will we have to establish a border “range” patrol next… to protect the few that are left ? It is saddening, how little respect for the wild mustangs and burros really exists. Not just from BLM.
LikeLike
Monika, Yes, we need to have the people out visiting the wild herds. That will help protect them. Along with them we need students and researchers out on the ranges to learn and document the lives and the ecology of these returned native wildlife… We need to celebrate them always and protect them always. mar
LikeLike
Yes Mar, education is the took that has not addressed this topic much in any classrooms or horse groups. I tried for a long time to get the school administrators in local high and middle schools to get a current event project going on round ups and the history of the American wild horses and burros… and their invaluable status of our freedom and fundamental help in building this very country… yet no one cares to make time or have the guts to make this a topic. “It’s not part of the curriculum”… then one wonders why main stream America or some on the East Coast do not even know who BLM is and that they manage most the places these very people go on a vacation in the “West”…
LikeLike
As Ginger stated, between 24 and 56 million acres have been taken away from the Wild Horses and Burros. That is where we need to start, in my opinion. There are millions of acres of public lands and there are Herd Areas that have been “zeroed out”. Those need to be reinstated and these animals need to be taken back to where they belong–on the range. We have capable and competent people who fully understand good range management and good herd management. THOSE are the people that need to be in charge, but first, the round-ups and removals HAVE TO STOP.
LikeLike
Seriously??!! This doesn’t work at all, its called leave the few free roaming mustangs on private land they should have, get the cattle and sheep that are owned the effe off that land, and freeing some of the excess horses they cannot care for. Then why oh why did they take Antelope complex horses out of their freedom. I can see them in the future saying they still own those horses and trying to clear them off sanctuary land. Lets all be realists here, the BLM’s one clear mission is to remove WILD HORSES from the range so they can be greedy and make $ off it from private grazers!!!! This needs to be stopped and i hope not one of us stops till this is made a reality!!!!
LikeLike
I can’t agree more about the dead herds. I too would just love to get the wild captives back on home territory but why do they have to be non-reproducing? I know about population increases but if we only have sterile mares and geldings what is the point? This should be treated like a conservation effort so down the road we can have some still truly wild blood herds to draw from. Who knows maybe the population of the US will go down and we will get some ground back and want to have the wild ones back. It could happen! Maybe!
LikeLike
Welll, BLM, Bob Abbey, PUT THEM BACK WHERE THEY BELONG!
LikeLike
I agree completely about snail mailing everyone. I try to snail mail, call and email almost on a daily basis. I’m not a word-smith, so cut & paste ideas that I feel are relevant and would be something I would like to say.
If any of you would write & post letters on this site, and encourage any or all of us to take it, personalize it, print it out and send it out, well, maybe a small, itty-bitty dent.
It’s all hard, but I ain’t giving up!
LikeLike
You know what really Sleighs me, here we all are , spending time and money, on this end , for something that should not even have to be done, we all thought that our Mustangs were safe, on the other hand , again here we are trying to correct something that should not be happening !!!!!!! When clearly they are proven liars , cheats , Criminal animal abusers of the worst kind…………..and even with all our documented prove , it still continues, Federal Courts cannot stop them………….. OMG….. Our Wild Mustangs are made to suffer unspeakable horrors, In my wildest imagination, I cannot even believe this is still allowed to continue, Our Mustangs have no voices , they are completely totally innocent in this whole disgusting scenario………. not to even mention that this is totally needless and unfounded………. with no basis……….. The Crying Shame here is Our Mustangs , Are we really in America Land of the Free????? I think not, when this kind of horror is allowed to continue, this is not America we must be in some third World Country, because Americans and America would not allow this………… Through all of this Our Mustangs have remain the Pillars of Strength, beauty and poise, how do they do it……….I f they were needed by us they would have no reservations about coming to our aide, This is the kind of stuff they are made of, God Bless their innocent Hearts…… And this is why we can never yield to an Agency full of Corruption and Greed. We must find a way to bring them (BLM) to justice and return The Power and Strength to the People and to the Country built on the sweat and blood and the bones of the most Magnificent Animal in The World , an animal who has already endured what I could not………………………..The Wild Mustang !!!!! We Must return them to their Land !!!!!!! They are to Roam Free …… What they have to give and to teach to us is needed , The belong here on their Land …………..This is undeniable their fate and we must stop their destruction…………….
LikeLike
The herds DO NOT have to be non-producing. There are barely any viable herds left. That is something that the public needs to hear and understand. The BLM has castrated the stallions and injected the mares with PZP. The PZP has reaped havoc with the herd social structures as well as with the gene pool.
LikeLike
Hi Everyone, just wanted to say that I finally got the entire Press Conference uploaded. Sorry for the delay, it literally took me 7 hours per part.
It is in 6 parts. My youtube channel is Fjalar14.
Thank you!
LikeLike
Thanks, R. T.. This is SICK !! Offers of help have been there, only to be rejected, now this crap! The BLM must leave some, at the very least, strong, healthy, INTACT, stallions & mares, in family bands or herds, able to continue breeding, to keep these valuable wild horses genetically viable, &, not let them become extinct!! Those people are worse than stupid, if that’s even possible. Our wonderful government keeps saying they’re going to stop “wasteful” spending, yet, schools across the country are being forced to let go of teachers & other staff, police & other emergency workers are also being forced to make cuts, & they justify continuing funding the BLM & their blundering, inhumane, wasteful spending to destroy these wild horses, OUR American heritage!! SICK & an OUTRAGE!! Make bigger cuts to the BLM, & use that money where it IS needed. Let caring people help take care of the wild horses, not manage them to extinction.
LikeLike
Thanks for setting the record straight, RT. It is a shame now at the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. These horses and burros should be restored in their rightful herd areas througout the West.
LikeLike
Yes Craig, Amen to that. They should be. Yet, we and mostly you have been telling this to BLM for years. Raul Grijalva suggested a return of mustangs to restored habitat… yet BLM plays dumb. They do not listen. They are like a train, unstoppable, going off track and dislodging all and everything along the way.
We know how it could be done, yet they refuse our input. For a democracy this place has become awfully tyrannic.
LikeLike
If anyone wants to wade through the actual solicitation from the “grants.gov” website, here it is:
http://www07.grants.gov/search/synopsis.do;jsessionid=VbsmNQlWnByNXPngRYJKLZ8pcQ7QddP9wxVp2hq5vn3F6rBJgN4Q!1145704052
The “Synopsis” was complicated enough. When I went to the “Full Announcement” and opened the “DOC” (ZIP file is the same verbage) I was FLOORED. In my opinion, the only people who will be able to understand all this are those who have already received or thoroughly investigated government contracts and know the process.
LikeLike
The direct link doesn’t work. Sorry about that. Maybe this will. Go to: http://www.grants.gov/
Choose “Find Grant Opportunities” from the red box on the left and you should get a blue drop-down menu. Choose “Advanced Search”. Type L11AS00033 in the “Search by Funding Opportunity Number” box. Then go to the bottom of the page and click “Search”. click. Then click on “Wild Horse Partnerships for Eco Sanctuaries on Private Lands” to open the page with the Synopsis and Full Announcement.
This SHOULD work, but this time I’ll test it.
LikeLike
This worked for me. If it doesn’t for you, I’ll try another way.
LikeLike
Though I’m becoming jaded, I’m still surprised by the BLM. At the advisory board meeting they said that there wasn’t any new $ for sanctuary ideas, but then Karla Bird spoke of setting up a website for people to submit proposals….
LikeLike
the grants are for 2 “eco sanctuarys”- a warm and fuzzzy kinda LTH facility-for “feral horses-domestic horses that just got lost and are dying literaly-to get back home..I often wonder if someone is hired full time to come up with these phrases to obscure the truth and make untruths more palatable…20 million for 2 of these..does that mean more horses in prisons being trained and adopted where it takes an act of congress to get in and see them or to get pictures of the horses out..and does this free up 20 million from the budget process? does congress vote on grant money? so it is not budgetary funding…HMM..those 2 facilities will hold alot of horses for 20 mil..where are the horses coming from to fill them..the roundups that aren’t sup[posed to happen? an awful lot of questions to answer yet on this one, and the grants are due in May 14?
LikeLike
why are so many people saying that the BLM makes money on cattle when the grazing fees do not even cover the cost of refurbishing the ranges. They are spending additional tax payer dollars to replenish the range and still not doing a very good job of it.
The way I see it, we are paying for roundups, short term holding, long term holding, transportation between facilities, and personnel for the horses plus we are having to spend millions to pay for the cattle ogre and over again. Plus, the cattle on public lands are not producing food the American people. American tax payers are not benefitting from having cattle on public lands. They are only costing us more dollars. The American tax payer is paying to support a group of selfish self-entitled farmers, so they can continue with a life style. I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to ranch and farm on land he owns or leases from a private land over, but I am over ranchers who feel they have more right to this land than anyone else.
Now is he time to continue to hit our senators and representatives because cutting the funds to the BLM for their roundups and to maintain horses in short and long term holding is not only the right thing to do. It is one of the few budgetary cuts, that will not hurt human interests. These cuts will not cost a single teacher her job, keep an elderly citizen from getting Social Security, prevent a needed bridge from being built, or keep our soldiers from having state of the art equipment. Cutting the BLM’s funding for its bad policies is the right thing to do, and now is the right time to do it. It makes fiscal and humane sense.
I talked to the office of the Senate Committee for Appropriations yesterday, and my call was returned today by a member of the Sub-committee for the Interior. We spoke for several minutes. She told me that they had had several packets delivered regarding the BLM and the wild horse issue. She told me that there is a way to submit comments through their web site as testimony. She said the site it explained how to do it. She told me that it was too late for 2011, but not 2012.
However, I do not know if that is actually something that could be reviewed since the Senate voted today to continue the current resolution for three more weeks. I think one good strategy is to use snail mail, but I have now twice been directed by my representative and senator’s home office to go through them to make sure the elected official gets information that I want to reach him or her.
We need to get the roundups stopped, the horses returned to their herd areas, and if one horse is harmed by human meanness, then those people need to go to jail and sit for a very long time. There should be a Congressional investigation into the BLM. If we can take advantage of the current economic conditions to save our wild horses then that is what we must do.
In addition, I think it is also important that we let our leaders know that the The public has no faith in anything that the BLM says. We just finished filling out comments on their last year’s reform and now we get to fill out another on this year’s proposed change. We know that we can not trust these people, and right when they seem to be offering us a hand is right when they are getting ready to stomp on our feet.
LikeLike
By this time it should be Loud and Clear to all state reps, and the rest of the government how America feels towards it Wild Mustangs, this has to be a gigantic STALL, I have myself flooded all officials in Ohio and other states , make every action alert signed and delivered, written letters, call Obama everyday, it has to be clear to them what needs to be done and what has to be done to save these Magnificent Wild Mustangs………………….. I have to believe there is no action, because we are not yet LOUD Enough !!!!! Saving the Mustangs appears now to be in our Hands no other hands seem to be stepping up, The Mustangs keep suffering , and nothing is being done, The BLM is on a Mission to destroy them , We need to Stop them !!!!! What more can we do here !!!!! This has been going on for more years then I want to know about !!!! Where are our voice for the MUSTANG falling on DEAF EARS>>>>>>>>>>>..
LikeLike