Showing posts with label Bureau of Land Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bureau of Land Management. Show all posts

9/12/11

NEED TO KNOW | Removing horses from the wild | PBS

  

Another on target video from Ginger Kathrens. Please watch & share! At the rate the BLM is removing the horses don't have much time left before the herds are so small that they are no longer genetically viable.

It's sad and frightening that our government is allowing the DOI/BLM to decimate our wild herds in the name of "balance" when it's obvious that there was no "balance" even before more horses were removed. The millions of range destroying cattle and the pitiful remnant of our once thriving herds of wild horses barely hanging on as herd after herd are torn apart, families torn apart, never to see each other again.

It is cruel, unnecessary and illegal.



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3/8/11

For High Crimes & Misdemeanors

Please read this and then follow the link to the page where you can tell your Congresspersons and Senators that you too demand that Bob Abbey be impeached. As you can see, there are more than enough crimes committed by this man to impeach him ten times over. It's incredible to me that in America a government agency like the DOI/BLM can lie, break the law, and deny public access to public horses - even after a court order! - not once but many times over many years.

Even worse, this isn't even about horses - it's about the extractive industries, many foreign - that want to dig more open pit mines, build more pipelines, use hydraulic fracturing - fracking - and more. The officials in our Public Lands states are only too happy to take the money offered to allow the DOI/BLM to lease these lands, and have never given a thought about the consequences to their OWN states or America in general. After all, the Public Lands belong to every American, no matter where they live.

The real sticking point is water - something the Western States do NOT have. All of these industries take water, millions and millions of gallons of water. Enough water to actually empty the aquifers in states as dry as Nevada. Fracking has also contaminated the ground water - before it sucks it all away.

The public lands ranchers who have demonized the wild horse for 40 years and have blocked every attempt to force the BLM to obey the law may have shot themselves in the foot. If there's no water for the horses, there is no water for the cattle - and soon, none for the people. Many times I've heard it said that the next war will be about water. Now that I know what is really going on, I believe it.

Impeach Bob Abbey!
Amplify’d from americanherds.blogspot.com
Sunday, March 6, 2011

For High Crimes & Misdemeanors

Last week, Vivian Grant, founder and president of International Fund for Horses in conjunction with Michael Blake, screenwriter of "Dances With Wolves" and two-decade long wild horse and burro champion, released a powerful call to citizens and advocates across the country to exercise their Constitutional rights for the sake of our wild horses and burros.

The timing of the call could not have been better as it coincided with the release of BLM Director Bob Abbey's approved "new" Wild Horse and Burro Proposed Strategy; a regurgitated and misleading pack of cow manure that continues to promote an unyielding agenda of spin and bureaucratic "substantiation" for continuation of their crimes.

"I believe crimes are being committed against our wild horses", says Grant. "Crimes that must be prosecuted and the federal officials responsible removed. We are asking Congress to do just that, starting with BLM Director Bob Abbey."

"Article Two, Section 4, of the United States Consititution states that "The President, Vice President, and all Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."

International Fund For Horses then goes a step further by providing citizens and advocates alike an easy-to-follow, step by step guide to initiating Impeachment proceedings against BLM Director Abbey.

At a time when the BLM is extending its hand with promises of reform, why should those who are trying to implement change demand the Impeachment of Director Abbey?

I'll tell you why.

BLM has been promising reform and using their bureaucratic weight to generate these kinds of smoke and mirror tactics for decades now while our mustangs and burros have suffered and continue to suffer with no end in sight.

How bad is it?


HISTORICAL

> After the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed to protect America's wild horses and burros from harrassment, capture, branding and death, between 1971 and 1980 the BLM allowed over 69,000 animals to be taken off the range by private individuals claiming them as their own.

> In 1986, 20,000 horses went to large scale adopters and were sold to slaughter or abused as a result of weakened adoption standards, fee waiver programs and sanctuaries used as fronts for commercial exploitation; many of these while still owned by BLM employees.

>In 1992, Michael Blake funded and organized an independent census of wild horses in Nevada conducted by the Public Lands Resource Council. At the time, the BLM was reporting over 33,000 wild horses were on Nevada rangelands but the independent found less than 8,300. The results of the census were dismissed by BLM officials based on the assertion that BLM used a superior method to count the animals via helicopter while the independent census used a fixed wing aircraft. Today, BLM is making "progress" on new census techniques using fixed wing aircrafts.

> In 1992, an investigation by BLMs own law enforcement officials resulted in the accumulation over 3,000 peices of evidence being compiled about what amounted to little more than a highly organized horse-to-slaughter trade run by the BLM now known as Del Rio. The DOI, Department of Justice and Office of the Inspector General were all implicated in a large scale cover up at the highest level through a systematic dismantling of a Grandy Jury convened to try the DOI for alleged crimes. After the successful shut down of the investigation and trial proceedings, those involved in uncovering the truth about the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro program pleaded with then Attorney General Janet Reno to re-open the case. This request was denied.

> In 1997, Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza began a series of articles filled with investigative research exposing more corruption within the DOI's BLM, which touched off a fire storm of press about the Program.

>In 1998, a Congressional Field Hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public lands regarding Range Issues And Problems With The Wild Horse And Burro Act, which current BLM Director Abbey attended, quotes Congressional representative Faleomavaego raising the question: "And is it true that some 32,000 horses cannot be accounted for since we implemented this program?" Mr. Abbey failed to answer the question nor was an investigation ever initiated to determine their fate.

> In efforts to placate public outrage, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board was re-established after a lenghty hiatus. Predominately stacked with those who had glaring conflict-of-interest, staunch pro-BLM supporters were reappointed time and time again as the list of their recommendations justified each new step in extinction of the herds that continues unabated to this day. Public requests for investigations and removals of Board members were denied.


THE NEW MILLENNIUM

>
In March 2000, a Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Natual Resources held a hearing where long-time National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board member Larry Johnson submitted a statement in concert with BLM urging support for a mass cleansing campaign of wild horses and burros throughout the West under the "Restoration of Threatened Watersheds" proposal. Wild horses and burros, not livestock, were cited as one of the top three threats to watersheds in the West. The official testimony has since disappeared but was preserved HERE and was instrumental in launching the largest removal campaign of wild horses and burros since the passage of the Act, which is still ongoing today.

> After four years of massive removals, Senator Conrad Burns slips an eleventh hour amendment in an Omnibus Appropriations Act, without public notice or review, which allows the unlimited sale of our American heritage. BLM officially launches the legal sale of wild horses and burros to undisclosed individuals, a practice that continues today. The original language of the For Sale Authority clauses were found in a Nevada strategy document and linked to Nevada Senator Harry Reid. The majority of both advocates and citizens now consider the secret sales of wild horses and burros a legitimate function of the BLM and rarely call for its immediate repeal.

> Over the next decade the BLM continues to remove wild horses and burros at record levels while simultaneously reducing appropriate management levels and accelerating the elimination of habitat without accountability or review. As the costs of warehousing the now captured animals skyrockets, in 2008 the BLM announces the Program is broke and they no longer have the funding to feed the animals. Euthanasia of tens of thousands of animals is proposed and strategies are developed to kill wild horses and burros en mass and sterilize the remaining herds in documents titled BLM Team Conference Calls and Alternative Management Options.

> In response to the BLM's declaration of considering mass disposal of America's wild horses and burros, Congress orders the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review of the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program and answer questions about the status of the land that has been removed from wild horse and burro use. The GAO comes back with a report that freely admits the majority of the information and data used to compile the report has not been independently verified by the GAO. Instead, the GAO relies on BLM survey data to evaluate the Program and issue their conclusions and recommendations based on BLM personnel responses. With respect to questions surrounding the large scale habitat loss, again the GAO defers answers to BLM instead. After three years, the BLM has still failed to provide a comprehensive overview of the lands status and there has been no independent review as to the accuracy of BLMs summary reports.

> In response to Congressional demands for reform in September 2009, newly appointed Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar responds with a new initiative a month later. A long-time cattle rancher with strong ties to the oil and gas industry, Salazar presents a vision that utterly fails to challenge the culture of corruption and history of abuse by pushing for so-called reforms that merely continue the trend of decimating America's herds.


CURRENT

> In 2008, U.S. District Judge Collyer rules the DOI/BLM has exceeded its authority by issuing decisions to declare all wild horses in the Colorado based West Douglas Herd Management Area as "excessive" and zero the area out. After the ruling, the BLM proceeds to issue a bushel basket full of new Resource Management Plans that continue to eliminate at least 2 million acres of previously designated habitat and schedule the removals every wild horse and burro they can find.

> In September 2009, the BLM launches a roundup of the Pryor Mountain wild horses and The Cloud Foundation is instrumental in catapulting public awareness of the plight of the American mustang and burro into the spotlight. BLM responds to increases in public scrutiny by closing off public lands to conduct their activities and BLM Field Manager Jim Sparks tells the public, "This is not a democracy".

> In December 2009, the BLM signs the decision to launch the largest wild horse removal operation of the year in the Nevada based Calico Complex. The public submits over 10,000 comments with questions about the legality of BLM's environmenal review process, discovers recent increases in cattle authorizations and that the BLM buried testimony and data from their own rangeland specialist to justify the removals. A lawsuit is filed by Bill Spriggs on behalf of In Defense of Animals, who argues that long term holding is illegal. While the judge agrees this is most likely the case, the BLM moves operations on private land to keep the public at bay and almost 1,900 animals are removed before a verdict is rendered; the case loses on a technicality and answers about long term holding are left answered.

> Advocates and citizens attempt to gain access to wild horses removed from Calico and are greeted by a barrage of law enforcement escorts and restrictions. Despite this, over 100 horses are reported as dead as a result of the removals including known miscarriages and aborted foals. Citizen based photos and videos of the reality of roundups gain national media exposure and the BLM begins to scramble to find ways to justify how roundups are humane.

> In June 2010, the BLM hosts a public forum led by hired spin doctors to sell the Salazar Initiative. This event will culminate in the newly released strategy document referred to above, which coincidentally found three main topics worthy of consideration out of 9,000 public comments, two of which are almost identical to Salazar's new vision.

> In July 2010, the BLM again closes all public lands during the Tuscarora roundup and is greeted by a lawsuit by Laura Leigh and Gordon Coward demanding public access. After filing a request for an injunction, the BLM suddenly announces the wild horses are dying of thirst and a BLM emergency response team is created to provide testimony to the judge. As a result, the judge rules in favor of the BLM and the horses are removed with little to no independent scrutiny.

> In response to evidence of inhumane treatment and allegations of illegal activites, Congress sends a letter to BLM requesting a moratorium on the roundups and urges the initiation of a study by the National Academy of Science (NAS) to review the Program. Secretary Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey ignore the request and the roundups continue. While BLM did agree to a review of the program by NAS, signs are already becoming visible that the study will have strict controls on what it will be allowed to review and just last month, BLM refused to upload the prior NAS studies online for public access. (That's assuming NAS will actually be awarded the contract as it is currently up for Solicitation of Bid and may be awarded to another contractor based on a "viable response".)

> On December 3, 2010, the BLM releases what it hails as an "Independent Observers Report" on the methods and procedures used to remove wild horses from public lands. Questions surface as to the allegiance of the observers and their "independent status" due to long-standing ties to the BLM's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and pro-horse slaughter industry supporters comprising the team.

> On December 13, 2010, the DOI Office of the Inspector General (OIG) releases a report extolling the virtues of Secretary Salazar's initiative and asserts that roundups are humane and necessary. Though OIG inspections are generally conducted at the request of officials, the OIG reports they initiated the inspection themselves due to public concerns. Evidence of a whitewash surfaces one month later and suggests the large scale cover ups of the 1990's attributed to the DOI's OIG are ongoing. At the same time, a collaborative effort by advocates release an alternative report based largely on BLM published information and data that outlines the potential fraud and abuse of the Program and urges for the Defunding of Roundups through 2012. In response, the BLM ignores the report.

> In January/February 2011, a coalition of advocates document and film multiple abuses of helicopter techniques used to drive wild horses to trapsites in the Antelope Complex in Nevada. ("Antelope Roundup a Disaser for Wild Horses" by The Cloud Foundation, "Pictorial Essay of Obama's Wild Horse Stampede at Antelope Complex" by R.T. Fitch/Straight From The Horses Heart, "Antelope Complex Wild Horse Roundup's Final Days - Heavily Pregnant Mares and More Horse Abuse by Contractor" by Herd Watch/Grass Roots Horse, "Antelope Complex Ends With 1,368 Mustangs Captured" by American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign).

> The BLM reviews the Antelope Complex roundups, contractors, methods and treatment exposed by citizens to address allegations of impropriety. The BLM clears itself and the contractors of any significant wrong doing.

> Less than a month later, the BLM unveils its new plan and strategy for the future of America's Wild Horses and Burros filled with the same old rhetoric, misleading statements and craftily presented alternative "solutions". Promises of BLM's proposed reforms supported by well-heeled government lackies ring hollow, both to America's wild horses and burros, as well as within every page of the strategy itself.


THE DOI AND BLM HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO OPERATE THE WILD HORSE AND BURRO PROGRAM WITH VIRTUALLY NO ACCOUNTABILITY TO ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES AND THOSE WHO DEPEND ON GOVERNMENT SALARIES OR ARE CONNECTED TO GOVERNMENT STRINGS.

THIS IS A LONG STANDING TREND
THAT HAS CIRCLED ITSELF REPEATEDLY
AND MUST BE STOPPED!

AMERICA'S WILD HORSES AND BURROS NEED MORE
AND THEY MUST HAVE MORE
NOW!

PLEASE VISIT
THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR HORSES WEBSITE TO
DOWNLOAD THE IMPEACHMENT PETITION
AND
SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

IT'S TIME TO DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY - NO MORE EXCUSES!

DO IT TODAY!



CLICK HERE

Read more at americanherds.blogspot.com






2/1/11

D.C We Have a Problem ! Wild Horses Harassed and Abused by Government Hired Helicopter Contractor

A problem. Yes, I'd say we do have a problem. The problem is that no one is doing anything while the BLM and their contractors - this being Sun J - have repeatedly injured, harassed and tortured our wild horses, and will most certainly continue to do so until someone with authority steps up and says, "ENOUGH!"

These sadists are being paid thousands of OUR tax dollars to harass and kill OUR Mustangs. This entire stampede and all the others are being paid for with OUR tax dollars.

Not only that, how can these horses they are removing in such a cruel manner possibly be "excess" when the contractor has had to move the trap site several time because they can't find any horses! Clearly, this cannot be excessive population, and the BLM has no right to remove horses that are not contributing to overpopulation.
Amplify’d from blog.grassrootshorse.com
GrassRootsHorse.com

Monday, January 31, 2011


D.C We Have a Problem ! Wild Horses Harassed and Abused by Government Hired Helicopter Contractor

Calls need to be made immediately: Dean Bolstad 775-861-6583, Alan Shepard 775-861-6500, Bob Abbey 202-208-3801, Tom Gorey 202-912-7420 anyone and everyone you can think of to pull this pilot and this contractor off this roundup. Call your legislators now !  These pictures were taken today by journalist Laura Leigh. Copy the pics and send them to congress. There are 8 pictures and details follow.
antelope backside - this is what Sun J is doing
Antelope backside of trap bad contact
antelope backside of trap bad while cows graze
antelope backside of trap this is Sun J 2
antelope backside trap bad 4
antelope backside trap bad 4
Today when no information on the location of yet another new trap site location is given, journalist Laura Leigh traveled to the old trap site and made her way as the crow flies to find the new trap site. What was happening out there in the range to the Antelope Complex wild horses will turn your stomach.
Photos of extremely skittish and obviously exhausted wild horses have surfaced since the early days of this round up and the public needs to get very loud regarding what appears to be not only the questionable ability of Sun J helicopter pilot but his blatant abuse and harassment of these horses as well.
While Laura was searching for the trap location she came upon the trap site from a different angle that afforded her a full view of the gruesome happenings. (And plenty of grazing cows also)
The blm goes to great lengths to deny the public access to view the roundups, especially at the point of capture. Here is further proof of the reason for such gymnastics. 
It appears to me and to a great many other people that these horses have not only been run over great distances but they are being sadistically harassed and abused as well. This helicopter contractor, Sun J has brought in 2 helicopters and while only one helicopter is visible the other can be heard but out of sight, for a very long time and only a mare and a foal are brought in. What are they doing ? more of this ?
And before anyone tries to say the second helicopter is “unknown” we know they are both Sun J helicopters, we have proof.        .
Laura Leigh, supported by Grass Roots Horse is engaged in a lawsuit demanding access to view and report on the welfare of the wild horses from capture throughout their life in the “government system”. This lawsuit is critical and I hope you will visit our website to read the legal filings and make a donation to this fight.
Prior to our first lawsuit the blm was attempting to close off public lands to the public. We prevailed on a First Amendment rights argument and the judge ruled the blm could not bar the public. It would seem obvious by these pictures why they would want us off public lands while this behavior, which appears to be sanctioned by the blm is held from view of the public.  
We are committed to having eyes on the ground and to educating and training others to be effective advocates as well. As you can see from these photos, which are the tip of the iceberg, this is critical as well.
Please support us as we bring these atrocities and abuse of power and authority by the government agency, the bureau of land management who acts under the direction of the Department of the Interior.      
The wild horse roundups at Antelope Complex in NV continue today. The blm has still not updated their “hotline” which is by blm accounts, the “latest” and “most accurate” information nor have they updated their website which claims the same accuracy.
Journalist Laura Leigh is reporting back to us from this roundup which intends to remove 2,000 wild horses from their home range even though only small, scattered family bands have been seen. This same observation has been verified by Ben Noyes, the blm Wild Horse and Burro specialist.
Congress, we have a serious problem and congressional intervention and investigation is warranted. Immediately.
 
Read more at blog.grassrootshorse.com

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1/31/11

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! STOP THE BLM! STOP THE ROUNDUPS!


This is your tax money at work!

Antelope Complex - Day 5       January 27, 2011




The BLM had to search for the few horses left on this HMA. But, they finally found them - population obviously out of control with serious overpopulation on these thousands of acres. If they manage to find any horses at all, they are over the population limit - as set by the BLM - and must be removed at all costs!

In this video, a band of eight horses enters the chute after being chased for a long distance. They run for a distance before an older mare collapses in the snow, her legs buckling beneath her, utterly exhausted from the long, terrifying run. She lays there helplessly as the helicopter hovers over her. She is too exhausted to move. Two wranglers run toward her waving whips with plastic bags tied to the ends, forcing her to struggle to her feet. Incredibly, the helicopter continues the chase. The spent mare tries to escape, breathing hard, puffs of steam billowing from her nostrils. The helicopter comes within feet of her as she summons her last strength to trot and then run to escape it. To those of us watching, the chase of seems to go on forever; we are shocked that BLM allows it to continue. Finally, the helicopter gives up and the mare is left dazed, her sides heaving. She stops for a moment, then walks off, away from the trap where her family is confined, and out onto the range. Alone.
This mare’s ordeal exemplifies the inhumanity of the roundups, which indiscriminately stampede the elderly, the infirm, the crippled and the very young along with the able-bodied, subjecting them to extreme, and sometimes fatal, terror, trauma and exertion. Even a local, pro-BLM rancher observing the roundup remarked on the chase of the elder mare, “that shouldn’t have happened to that old sister.”

NO, it sure as HELL shouldn't have happened to any horse, let alone an older one. But the BLM contractors get paid by the head - dead or alive, preferably dead. Even a person completely unfamiliar with horses would be able to tell this mare is in serious trouble. How could anyone be so chillingly callus as to do something like this to an innocent old horse?

Please share this video with your Senators and Representatives! Not only is this unconscionable cruelty, WE are paying over a MILLION DOLLARS for this roundup alone. Let's stop the BLM before they do this to even one other horse.



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1/1/11

Int'l Fund For Horses - Impeach Salazar!

The Int'l Fund for Horses has a form that you can use to have your name added in support of the impeachment of US Secretary Ken Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey relating to alleged criminal conduct in the management of America's wild horses and burros. You must be a US resident.

Please visit their page and help get these horse killers impeached!
Amplify’d from www.horsefund.org
WILD HORSES AND BURROS
Support Our Campaign to Impeach US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey
Complete the form below to have your name added in support of the impeachment of US Secretary Ken Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey relating to alleged criminal conduct in the management of America's wild horses and burros.  You must be a US resident.
Please read carefully before submitting your information.
Thank you for your support.
Read more at www.horsefund.org

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12/18/10

Pictures and Report from Bald Mountain Wild Horse Roundup

I believe the words and pictures in this report speak for themselves. Stampeding the horses during a "freezing fog" event, no shelter for the horses in bitter cold, new equipment including a "cell killer" which probably had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that every time Laura tried to go live, her cell service would immediately drop out even though it was just fine seconds before. Stinks to high Heaven doesn't it?

Please contact your Senators and Representatives in Washington and ask them if this is their idea of complying with a journalist's 1st Amendment rights. There is nothing so low that these creeps won't stoop to it.

And, get this, Laura was the ONLY observer there!
Amplify’d from blog.grassrootshorse.com
GrassRootsHorse.com
Friday, December 17, 2010


Pictures and Report from Bald Mountain Wild Horse Roundup

BM-01 BaldMountainCCCCCCCCC
Yesterday’s freezing cold and a fog of legends at Callaghan wild horse roundup was nothing compared to reports of the bitter cold temperatures in Nevada’s Bald Mountain today. 

The legend, >From Wikipedia:
The name pogonip is an English adaptation of the Shoshone word meaning "cloud" (payinappih). The English-speaking settlers who encountered this unpleasant and sometimes scary phenomenon when they went out West in the 1800s needed a word for it and they borrowed it from local populations.

This freezing cold fog has been known to kill animals by freezing their lungs.

Apparently, blm thinks its a great day to stampede America’s wild horses to their capture. 

Here are five photos, taken yesterday by journalist Laura Leigh. She is on the ground at Bald Mountain reporting back to us on the happenings there and the world is watching.
BaldMountainAAAAA BaldMountain6 
Basing my assumptions on the past actions of this government agency blm, no member of the public would have ever seen these horses. Laura’s pictures are the only testimony to their existence. Thankfully Laura’s courage and fortitude has her witnessing. 

All our attempts to stream live from this location, so far, have resulted in cell service “dropping” immediately as her equipment was set to go live even though it was clear and strong seconds earlier.  New equipment on the government’s blm vehicles, at least those seen in Twin Peaks, had the capability to kill cell service and broadband connections, much the same way as movie theaters do. I can’t help but wonder if Nevada has the same…….and more importantly, why would they need it ?


And since I am asking, why has blm supplied it’s employees with new cameras and new flip videos ? Why would a blm truck need what’s called a “cell killer”, cameras, tracking devices and other types of surveillance equipment ? Why do you suppose………..
BaldMountain8
Maybe they should have spent the over 62 million dollars in stimulus money they received last year to put the Wild Horse and Burro Program on a sustainable track and not on high tech “toys”.  The word shame does not even begin to describe this scenario.
I am waiting for Laura Leigh’s additional report from today’s roundup activities. I expect to hear from her shortly. 

Posted by
GrassRootsHorse.com


at
12:41 PM


Read more at blog.grassrootshorse.com

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11/12/10

A Note From the Field

This is from Laura Leigh, the advocate GrassRootsHorse is supporting in her ongoing law suit against the BLM and their transgressions against our wild horses.
It has become obvious that the BLM is retaliating against Laura, unbelievable as this may seem. This is only the latest example. There seems to be NO level to which these people will not stoop - and our tax money is paying for it all, including their salaries.
Laura does have a Court date now. On Wednesday, November 17th, she will again be in Judge Hicks court in Reno, arguing for our horses and her - and our - Constitutional rights.
For now, however, she only wants to pick up her beautiful Mustang in peace and fairness. This is YOUR tax money at work.....
Amplify’d from horsebackmagazine.com

A Note From the Field

November 12, 2010
Story and Photo by Laura Leigh, 
Horseback Magazine Special Correspondent, 
RENO, (Horseback) – I have spent literally thousands of hours on the road trying to document the hands-on care of America’s National Treasure, the wild horse by the agency tasked by Congress to manage these beings “humanely.”
My travels have included documenting wild horses on the range, at roundups and holding facilities.
I do this work because I am passionate about the subject. These animals speak to my soul. The convoluted process that has them literally trapped both fascinates and disgusts me.
When I am at roundups, or facilities that house our horses, I may express my opinions but I am never “out-of-line.” I obey rules, no matter how ridiculous.
At the Silver King roundup I was “grabbed” hard by a beautiful Albino stallion. His gaze was riveting. When he shipped we followed him from Pioche, Nevada all the way to Gunnison Prison in Utah.
As I inquired about his adoption, to go to sanctuary with some of the others, I exchanged emails with a woman I met once.
Dona Bastian runs the BLM facility at Gunnison.
In the course of her emails to me she told me I had to make sure to tell them when I was coming to pick up the stallion. She informed me that they needed to notify SWAT.
I’m not kidding.
Here is the email:
I need a application for adoption and also payment before the animals are

picked up. Do you have an approved adoption application? I know you said

you was working on it with John Neil. Also, the pickup is by appointment

only. We have to have a clearance, and also SWAT notified in advance.

Let me know!

Thanks,

~* Dona *~
Dona A. Bastian

Wildhorse & Burro Specialist

Gunnison Prison Facility Manager

Utah State Office
Read more at horsebackmagazine.com
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9/3/10

More Roundups Planned Despite Pleas from Congress

This is it, people. If the BLM is allowed to continue the roundups scheduled for this year, it will mark the end of the line for America’s Wild Horses. In the unprecedentedly aggressive roundups so far this year, the BLM has taken has taken every herd they’ve “gathered” below the level of genetic viability - in short, they left so few horses that the gene pools in the herds are too small for long term survival.

Craig Downer, the famed wildlife ecologist, has warned of this for years, and here it is. The BLM knows exactly what it is doing - make no mistake. They want the horses off the range. ALL of them. Then they can expand existing mining operations, start new mining on pristine land and start blasting the way for the Ruby pipeline - carrying BP gas, among others - across five states.

If the BLM is not stopped - NOW - our Wild Horses will be extinct. And we will have paid for it with OUR taxes. Is this really what America has come to?
Amplify’d from www.8newsnow.com

Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp and Chief Photojournalist Matt Adams

I-Team: More Roundups Planned Despite Pleas from Congress



I-Team: More Roundups Planned Despite Pleas from Congress

3:36
LAS VEGAS -- Government contractors have fired up their helicopters for yet another roundup of Nevada wild horses. The latest gather targets a remote area north of Ely, Nevada.
Four more roundup operations are on the schedule in our state this year. They will not only thin the herds, but wipe them out altogether.
2010 already ranks as one of the most aggressive in the history of Bureau of Land Management horse roundups, with a lot more to come. Operations which proved deadly for the herds have already scooped up thousands of mustangs from public ranges, but with no commensurate reduction in the number of private cattle allowed to stay.
The next round seems are designed to wipe out the horses altogether.
See more at www.8newsnow.com
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7/29/10

Government Spin Machine Goes into Overdrive in Wild Horse Case

The BLM is totally out of control, killing and brutalizing the Mustangs they are supposed to protect. They spin their way out from under the law, doing only the bidding of Big Cattle and Big Energy.

Let's stop them NOW!
Amplify’d from animals.change.org

Government Spin Machine Goes into Overdrive in Wild Horse Case

by Laura Allen


July 19, 2010
The Bureau of Land Management is the federal agency within the Department of Interior that is tasked with protecting wild horses and burros.
But someone needs to tell the BLM that.
The Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act is specific in requiring BLM to protect wild horses and burros as "components" of the public lands, free from "harassment" and "capture," and manage them at the "minimal feasible level" to maintain "free -roaming" behavior. Instead, BLM has turned the Act on its head, managing these animals primarily by rounding them up and placing them in long term holding facilities.
Two federal judges have already warned BLM that its policy of keeping wild horses and burros in long term holding facilities may not be legal.
This past week, Laura Leigh filed a lawsuit in Nevada federal court asking Judge Larry Hicks to order BLM to delay the Tuscarora roundup until after foaling season, and also to allow media access to the roundup.


Stop government roundups of wild horses and burros

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7/27/10

Government Lawyers Mislead Federal Judge on Wild Horse Water

Why is the BLM allowed to ignore both the law and the mandate of a Federal Judge? Are we sill living under the rule of law or not?



This is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. If you agree, tell your elected officials so, and in NO uncertain terms.
Amplify’d from horsebackmagazine.com

Government Lawyers Mislead Federal Judge on Wild Horse Water


July 21, 2010

By Steven Long
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – When Laura Leigh, an author, artist, journalist, and litigant chased the BLM into the desert to observe wild horse capture after a federal judge told her she could do so, she wasn’t allowed to see horses – but she did see water.
Judge Larry Hicks lifted his temporary injunction and permitted the federal Bureau of Land Management to capture horses in the fierce July desert heat of Nevada. As in previous death chases, the result was predictable. Horses dropped after being relentlessly stampeded by a roaring helicopter owned by BLM contractor, Cattoor Livestock Roundups out of Nephi, Utah. The federal agency had lied to the judge, telling him that death by thirst was imminent if they weren’t removed.
Thus far, 21 horses and foals have died after the latest high summer stampedes.
Hicks granted the plaintiff, Leigh, a first amendment stake in the chase. He told her it was unconstitutional for the BLM to ban her from observing the horses. In reply, the agency pulled off a cowboy hat trick of sorts in the desert. They moved the trap, the pen where the wild animals were to be driven, onto private land in a mountain canyon out of sight and then told the sheriff’s cops to arrest trespassers, including the litigant who had just won the right to see what BLM was doing in their “gather” first hand.
While Leigh didn’t get to see the objects of the BLM chase, North American Mustangs, she spotted something equally important and precious in the desert – water at the fenced off Desert Ranch Reservoir.
“While the reservoir is located on BLM public land, the water in the reservoir is privately owned (i.e., the private owner holds the water rights in accordance with State of Nevada water law),” said BLM’s Washington spokesman, Tom Gorey. “The reservoir is mostly fenced, but the fences are constructed in a manner that allows wild horses access to the privately owned water in at least three locations. As a result, wild horses are able to move freely to and from the water using the large gaps in the fencing.  In short, access to the reservoir water by wild horses is not blocked.”
If access to the water hole was open in three places, Leigh had caught the BLM lying to a federal judge.
“Desert Ranch Reservoir on public land is less than 5 miles from the trap site,” Leigh told Horseback Magazine late Monday. “BLM has the authority to utilize resources on private property to deal with emergencies. (BLM Director Bob) Abbey declared this issue in Owyhee an emergency.”
Gorey acknowledged late Tuesday that there is water available to the horses that are being stampeded by the BLM contractor.
“In general, water within the Owyhee Herd Management Area (HMA) is provided primarily by unfenced public land reservoirs (water catchments),” he said. “There is also one spring, called Bookkeeper Spring, which is located on unfenced private land within the HMA.  This spring is normally adequate to water a small number of wild horses, but because of drought conditions, there is very little water available for use this year.”
Claiming extreme drought conditions, the BLM has delivered more than 30,000 gallons of water to the horses in the Owyhee HMA since Monday.
By admitting that water on public land is privately owned, Gorey raised a significant issue. What was the federal government thinking when it privatized an asset as precious as desert water, selling it out of government control? Moreover, when was it sold, for how much, and to whom?
“My assumption is that the BLM has never held the right to this water,” Gorey said.
It the government doesn’t own the water on federal land, who owns it?
Gorey has promised to research the ownership issue of water BLM lawyers claimed was nonexistent, so scarce, the deaths of hundreds of otherwise healthy horses and foals was imminent.
“Why did the BLM choose to press a stressed population through the round up instead of stabilizing the situation and waiting?” Leigh asked. “The claims made in the report given to a federal judge outline a population so fragile that BLM projected would be dead in three days (if the agency was not allowed to round them up.)”
“In the event of an emergency (such as one declared by Bob Abbey in this case,
 the BLM can utilize resources on private land (not just public) and reimburse
the landowner,” Leigh said. “If the horses were gong to die off at the rate of 75 percent they had the authority to open gates.”
Leigh has filed briefs charging the BLM with contempt of court.
Read more at horsebackmagazine.com

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"From my earliest memories, I have loved horses with a longing beyond words." ~ Robert Vavra