Cloud's Herd & Rescued Bands Update

This is the newsletter from The Cloud Foundation with an update on the 15 Freedom Fund horses that they were able to purchase back from the BLM after the hateful roundup in September, 2009. It was hard to believe that the BLM - against its own regulations removed older horses like the 19 year old Conquistador and the 21 year old mare, Grumpy Grulla. Then they put them up for sale! I don't even want to contemplate what might have happened to them if the Cloud Foundation hadn't been able to buy them back.

So I put on my Conquistador t-shirt, make some coffee in my Conquistador mug and just rejoice in these pictures. Enjoy!

Cloud's Herd & Rescued Bands Update
A letter and travel journal from Ginger Kathrens

Dear Friends of Cloud and his family and all our wild horses;

After Christmas, Ann Evans (owner of Cloud’s sisters- Smokey and Mahogany and my dear friend), Connor (my Irish Terrier), and I traveled north to Montana. First we visited our Freedom Fund horses on the ranch just north of the Pryor Mountains.

 

 Only with your help and immediate action were we able to adopt and purchase these 15 after the disastrous roundup in September 2009.

BLM removed every horse from Commissary Ridge in the Custer National Forest at the request of the Forest Service. In their defense, I do not believe that the Forest Service managers knew that BLM was permanently removing all of them, but were under the impression at least some would be allowed to go free in the designated range. But, BLM surprised all of us and did not let one horse go free—not even the 19-year-old band stallion Conquistador or the 21-year-old mare, Grumpy Grulla.
It is my great pleasure to report to you that all 15 in four bands look fabulous! They have settled in to a pasture in the shadow of the Pryors, an expansive, scenic area bisected by a willow-lined creek below colorful red rock cliffs.

 

Conquistador has assumed his role as “king of the stallions” and, while we were sitting with him and his mare Cavalitta, Wild Blue, the lone bachelor stallion, came across the creek and ventured a bit too close for Conquistador’s comfort. The proud old stallion marched up to Blue and they did their ritualized pooping and snorting. Then they sparred, rearing and biting. When Conquistador grabbed the back of Blue’s neck, the bachelor fought to get away.

 

With the snow flying, Conquistador pushed him down hill. He released Blue and they pranced side-by-side, before Blue took off kicking and bucking. I sensed this was great fun for the four-year-old and that he was pleased with himself. After all he got a rise out of the “king.”

   
Band stallions Bo and Shane

True to her name, 21-year-old, Grumpy Grulla, is happily bossing around every one of her family members in Bo’s band, including the chestnut mare, Sierra, Bo and his bay mare, Chalupa, have the only youngster in the small herd, a coming yearling we named Star. But, Star may soon have young companions as four mares look pregnant including a very round-bellied Mystery (Wild Blue’s mother), one of Shane’s two mares. And Trigger’s mare, Mae West looks as if she could foal at anytime, but we think she’ll wait until spring. This new life will allow for the continuation of rare bloodlines that can one day rejuvenate the main Pryor herd.

 

Trigger, Mae West and Evita in background

The weather was even warmer when we drove into the horse range and began looking for mustangs. On Tillett Ridge, right near the road, we found Diamond, Cloud’s palomino mother, Trace’s mother, and her daughter. The four looked great. In fact, Diamond and the Palomino look better than they have in years—since Diamond’s injury during the 2006 bait-trapping of horses and the Palomino’s 2007 abscess from an infertility drug dart. 

The young bachelors we saw just above them also looked wonderful and included Cloud’s four-year-old half brother—a flashy light-colored roan with stockings and a blaze.  On Sykes Ridge the four-year-old blue roan bachelor, Fool’s Crow and the older sabino bachelor, Medicine Bow, eyed us warily from the crest of a hill near Cougar Canyon. 

Connor and I took a hike where we had seen Flint and his little family disappear the day before when it was getting dark. From the top of a flat-topped rocky hill, I glassed and glassed and on a distant, snowy ridgeline far above us, I spotted Cloud! He shone in the mid-day sun and I could see others with him but couldn’t make out who they were or how many. I knew that reaching them was impossible which was a disappointment, but that is the reality of winter. 

Flint's band: Feldspar, Jasper and Heather

As I glassed the canyons nearer my lookout, I saw a horse who looked very familiar. It was Flint and he was with his family. Ann and I were able to hike through the snow to them. Flint, Feldspar, their son Jasper and a new mare foraged amongst the juniper breaks. We watched as they scooped up snow and chewed, water dripping from their mouths. I recognized Flint’s new mare, Heather, a pretty little red roan two-year-old  (featured as a foal in our 2010 Cloud Foundation Calendar by Carol Walker—she was the March “pinup”). I was proud of Flint and whispered, “Good for you.” He had lost a young filly who was removed in the round up, so Heather was a great catch for the young band stallion. 

As we watched, I saw Fool’s Crow appear on the hilltop and peer down at Flint’s family. Flint stood very still, watching the young bachelor intently. Then Flint crossed the little draw toward the blue roan who walked downhill to meet him. They greeted, sparred a bit and were joined by another bachelor bright mahogany bay. 

Their sparring was strictly for fun, but it also gave Flint a chance to warn them not to come any closer. Medicine Bow appeared atop the hill and Flint accompanied the two bachelors uphill where he and Medicine Bow sparred ever so briefly. Then the three bachelors dashed off. Every so often I turned to see what Feldspar, Jasper and Heather were doing. The mares looked around and started grazing while Jasper watched his father with the bachelors. There is much for a foal to learn just by watching. Jasper and Flint are two of the closest fathers and sons I have ever seen. The colt clearly loves his father, much like Flint loved Cloud when he was a baby.

On our last day we walked from the Red Buttes across Turkey Flat to the mouth of Big Coulee and found Bolder and his band in the sagebrush flats that lead into the deep canyon. Like all the horses we saw, they looked plump, with Autumn and Cascade looking especially round.

There may be two more Bolder babies in the spring. The dark palomino ate snow with Texas as I had seen them do together through the years when they were both in Shaman’s band.

The grand, old stallion died just days before the round up. If Shaman had to go, I was thankful he did not have to go through that awful ordeal. Bolder’s buckskin filly daughter wandered up a snowy gully toward us.

She looked spectacular—the black on her legs is above her knees and her pale coat shone in the sun. It was as if her great-grandmother had returned. We call the filly Jewel and she is a gem. My hope is that she will be allowed to live free in her home forever.

With this in mind, the Cloud Foundation’s top priority in the coming year will be to work on expanding the boundaries of the Pryor Wild Horse Range to reflect the large historic use area of the horses. When we are successful with this effort (which will require continuing education and potentially litigation), the removal of entire families like what happened in the Custer National Forest last September will never happen again! And the BLM will have no excuse to manage the herd at the current, non-viable number.

Meanwhile, the struggle goes on to protect wild horse and burro herds all over the West. We are leading a fight to raise public awareness, focusing attention on BLM’s extraordinary mismanagement of our horses and burros at the expense of not only the animals, but the American taxpayers. A staggering 12,000 wild horses and burros are to be rounded up in 2010. With your continued support we will keep fighting for their right to remain where they belong—in their homes, with their families on our wide western landscapes.

Happy Trails!
Ginger Kathrens
Volunteer Executive Director

Cloud tries to snake his band back to get missing family members. September 2009 roundup

Take Action for Our Wild Herds!
Request immediate hearings on the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program

Join The Cloud Foundation on Twitter & Facebook & check our blog for updates

Please update your contact information so that we can reach you about events specific to your area!  You will not receive duplicate emails- just click here, thank you!

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Managed Extinction of Cloud's Herd - KEEP CALLING AND WRITING! THIS IS NOT OVER! (goldendays-suzanne.blogspot.com)

Congressional Committee Will Call for Moratorium on Gathers

Posted Oct 28, 2009 by lauraallen

 

 

© by Laura Allen, Executive Director, Animal Law Coalition

Update Nov. 2, 2009: A Congressional staff member has confirmed to Animal Law Coalition that the House Natural Resources Committee is calling on BLM to stop all gathers or removals of wild horses and burros until Congress takes action on the controversial issues surrounding the wild horses and burros. 
A Congressional staff member told Animal Law Coalition, "It is my understanding that BLM has 11 more roundups planned for 2009 and is expecting to remove more than 6,000 horses.  This is unacceptable especially in light of the fact that these roundups are not based on science." 

Support the House Natural Resources Committee's call for a moratorium! Write or call your U.S. representative and senators and urge them to support a moratorium pending decisions by Congress on the role of the BLM and the course of the wild horses and burros program.  Copy the Committee on any fax or letter to your representative and senators so they can see your support for a moratorium! 

For more information, read Animal Law Coalition's call for a Congressional investigation and moratorium on gathers!

Original report: It's time for a public Congressional hearing and investigation of BLM's management of America's wild horses and burros including the new plan recently announced by DOI and BLM. 

In the meantime and pending decisions about the course of the wild horse and burro program, there should be a moratorium on gathers. 

On October 7, 2009 Dept. of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey announced a new 3 part plan for managing America's wild horses and burros in the future. But, other than a press release and a letter to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the specifics of the plan have not been made public. As Mr. Abbey said in the press conference held on Oct. 7, 2009, there are "thousands" of wild horse and burro enthusiasts who care about the fate of these animals. There are also innumerable experts and citizens concerned about BLM's management of these American icons.

There should be a public hearing and investigation held by Congress regarding BLM's management of America's wild horses and burros particularly before yet another plan essentially approved only by BLM and DOI is put in place. There should be a moratorium on all gathers until Congress has completed public hearings and an investigation and reached a decision about the appropriate management of these animals consistent with the laws that protect them. These are after all America's wild horses and burros.

The Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) directs BLM to manage America's wild horses and burros to "maintain free roaming behavior".  All management activities by law are to be at the "minimal feasible level". Under WFRHBA America's wild horses and burros are entitled to humane treatment and to remain free from "capture, ...harassment, or death".

But, instead, the BLM largely manages these animals by running them down with helicopters and gathering or removing them from public lands to holding facilities, separating families, injuring and even killing horses in the process. A terrifying ordeal that leaves wild horses and burros in holding pens where few are adopted, many are sold for slaughter and still more languish, their spirits and bodies broken. The operation of holding facilities will consume about 70% of the total 2009 budget for these animals.  

Surely, that is contrary, to say the least, to the directive of the WFRHBA. Indeed, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer found in her August 5, 2009 opinion: "It would be anomalous to infer that by authorizing the custodian of the wild-free roaming horses and burros to manage them, Congress intended to permit the animals' custodian to subvert the primary policy of the statute by capturing and removing from the wild the very animals that congress sought to protect from being removed from the wild." Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, Inc. v. Salazar, No. 06-1609 (D.D.C 2009)

Mr. Salazar insists that "arid western lands and watersheds" can't support the few wild horses that remain "without significant damage to the environment" and "degrading public lands".  These are reasons typically stated by BLM in its environmental assessments and environmental impact statements to support removals of wild horses and burros from herd areas. And, just as typically, there are no specifics to support these claims.

For more examples....

Indeed, Mr. Salazar and BLM do not mention the thousands of cattle grazing and drinking and fouling water on these lands, BLM's land sales, development, increasing recreational use, and mining as well diversion of water from herd areas. Wildlife ecologists say if public lands are "degraded", something that is disputed, these factors are far more to blame. In fact, citizens living in the areas where there are wild horses and burros, including small ranchers, contradict BLM's assessments the range is "degraded" or lacks sufficient water for these few remaining animals. 
Note that in 1990 BLM claimed the range was the best it had been in the last century. Yet, since then, there has been an increase in the numbers of wild horses and burros removed from the range. There is also no question BLM has routinely renewed grazing permits, finding the range satisfactory for grazing cattle and at the same time, issue environmental assessments that claim the very same range cannot support the few wild horses and burros that remain. BLM has also relied on outdated or what can only be called completely false assessments in its apparent zeal to justify removal of wild horses and burros. 

Shouldn't Congress at least have a hearing or investigate whether BLM's claims are true? Shouldn't Congress consider whether BLM should even continue as the manager of the wild horses and burros program? An agency that has turned the WFRHBA on its head and instead of managing to maintain free roaming behavior, does so by removing and penning wild horses and burros. 


It is also questionable whether BLM really has the authority, as it claims, to manage America's wild horses and burros in all respects pursuant to a multiple use concept. Though WFRHBA mentions "multiple-use relationship" in connection with specified ranges, it is very clear that the directive is to manage these animals otherwise only to "maintain a thriving natural ecological balance on the public lands" and "protect the natural ecological balance of all wildlife species which inhabit such lands, particularly endangered wildlife species".

In effect, WFRHBA authorizes only limited interference with wild horses and burros in herd areas where they were living in 1971. Nothing about removing wild horses and burros from herd areas where they lived in 1971 to allow multiple use such as cattle grazing, recreation for off road vehicles, mining or development. Also, protecting the ecological balance of all wildlife has never meant rounding up and removing whole species. Especially when there is a law that explicitly protects their right to exist in historic herd areas.
Even designated ranges managed under a multiple use concept are to be "devoted principally" to wild horses and burros. The wild horses and burros on these lands are not to be eliminated for cattle or mining or recreation or even secondary to these other uses.  

Despite the limited authority to interfere with wild horses and burros under WFRHBA, the BLM has decided, however, the multiple public use concept applies to all herd areas as well as ranges. BLM even issued a regulation that effectively rewrites WFRHBA to say the "objectives of these regulations are management of wild horses and burros as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands under the principle of multiple use". 43 CFR § 4700.0-2 Yet, the WFRHBA says only that wild horses and burros "are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands". 16 U.S.C. §1331.

The BLM has also authorized itself to divide herd areas into "herd management areas", something not authorized by WFRHBA. 43 CFR 4710.3-1. In this way, with no statutory authority at all, BLM has limited wild horses and burros' access to thousands of acres that were historically their herd areas. This is done without thought about the horses' seasonal migration patterns or available resources. The BLM then removes wild horses and burros from the artificially created "herd management areas" on the basis there is insufficient forage, water or habitat! BLM also targets them for removal if they cross the artificial boundaries into their original herd areas.

While BLM has authorized itself to create divide herd areas into Herd Management Areas, its own regulations provide that "management of wild horses and burros shall be undertaken with the objective of limiting the animals' distribution to herd areas, 43 C.F.R. § 4710.4."Herd area" is defined by regulation as "the geographic area identified as having been used by a herd as its habitat in 1971," 43 C.F.R. §4710.4.
Another example of BLM's erosion of the WFRHBA protections is the rewording of the WFRHBA mandate "[a]ll management activities shall be at the minimal feasible level". BLM's regulation says "[m]anagement shall be at the minimum level necessary to attain the objectives identified in approved land use plans and herd management area plans." 43 CFR 4710.4, 16 U.S.C. §1333. Two very different laws. So if a land use plan authorizes a land giveaway or increased recreation or mining, "management...at a minimum level" can mean round up and removal, according to the BLM.
The Federal Land Policy Management Act requires management of public lands under concepts of multiple use and sustained yield. 43 U.S.C. §§ 1701, et seq.  But the multiple use concept does not trump the WFRHBA protections for wild horses.  In fact, the statute makes clear that the protections under WFRHBA take precedence. FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. § 1732 (a) Yet, despite this, BLM has issued a regulation that provides "[w]ild horses and burros shall be considered comparably with other resource values in the formulation of land use plans." 43 C.F.R. §4700.0-6(b).

The BLM's land use plans make clear that contrary to WFRHBA, it does not decide to remove wild horses and burros only to maintain a "thriving natural ecological balance to the range, and protect the range from the deterioration associated with overpopulation". Nor are the protected wild horse ranges "devoted principally" to the use of wild horses and burros. Instead, the BLM clearly embraces the multiple use concept for all lands designated for wild horses and burros.  Indeed, the plan seems to be to eliminate or zero out the wild horses and burros in favor of increased development and recreational use, mining, and cattle.
Surely, BLM's fast and loose interpretation of the WFRHBA is more than sufficient for Congress to take a look, hold a public hearing and investigate before America's icon is lost forever.

It should be noted that BLM has also virtually ignored the directive in the WFRHBA to "maintain a current inventory of wild free-roaming horses and burros on given areas of the public lands". 16 U.S.C. §1333(b). According to WFRHBA, the inventory is critical in determining appropriate management levels or AML and whether there is indeed an overpopulation or excess horses and burros. Yet, BLM has gathered and removed thousands of horses without the important information necessary to determine if the removal is legal. It's time to take a look, an independent census and standardize AML determinations.

It is important for Congress to open up for public review the work of an agency that has operated largely in secret, offering the public generally pre-determined courses of action, making a joke out of the public comment process. It is also time BLM or whatever agency that is put in charge of the wild horses and burros took seriously the WFRHBA mandate requiring consultation not with special interests but also a range of independent experts recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, the states and those with  "scientific expertise and special knowledge of wild horse and burro protection...[and] wildlife management". 16 U.S.C. §1333(b).

Congress should hold public hearings and investigate Secretary Salazar's plan in particular. There are innumerable experts outside of the BLM who should have an opportunity to weigh in on how BLM continues to manage America's wild horses and burros.

Secretary Salazar delivered the following 3 part proposal to Sen. Reid: 1. BLM will work with non-profits and the "thousands" of wild horse enthusiasts to create sanctuaries and preserves in the Midwest or east. In fact, BLM appears to have already decided on sever preserves. It is not known who is involved in these transactions or how BLM decided on these preserves. Surely, the public is entitled to know how this happened. Mr. Salazar says tourism would be encouraged and could provide a source of revenue.  But the mandate of the WFRHBA is to avoid such zoo-like settings for these American icons. The idea, the law, in fact, is that these animals are to remain free to roam on the public lands where they were living in 1971 when the Act went into effect.

2.  Mr. Salazar will designate more ranges for wild horses. He cited the Pryor Mountain herd, recently rounded up and decimated, as an example of a range under BLM protection.

3.  This is one of the most troubling aspects of Mr. Salazar and Mr. Abbey's plan. They say BLM will work to restore the "sustainability" of herds and public lands. BLM will continue to round up and remove horses but step up "fertility control", monitor sex ratios, and introduce non-reproducing herds.  More like BLM will work toward the extinction of herds.  The obvious concern is how a herd that is non-reproducing or sterilized can remain self-sustaining, genetically viable, as mandated by law. There are serious questions here about BLM's determination of sex ratios. These proposals will have a very negative effect on herds and herd behavior. This plan euphemistically referred to as "restoring sustainability" during the press conference, is, in fact, the opposite, a plan to exterminate the wild horses and burros and in doing so, create great chaos and suffering in the herds. In effect, this plan raises real concerns about compliance with WFRHBA's mandate that BLM should manage these animals to maintain "free-roaming behavior" and a "thriving natural ecological balance" in herd areas.

There are also growing concerns about the effectiveness and use of the contraceptive, PZP, particularly in view of its effect on herd behavior and dangerous side effects such as out of season foals.

These plans likely stem from BLM's secret discussions that began in July, 2008 about ways to eliminate wild horses through unlimited slaughter, killing, manipulation of sex ratios, sterilization of mares, creation of gelding herds and the like. It is telling that here there is no promise in this plan to stop the slaughter of these wild animals or killing of healthy animals. There is no promise to stop the round ups, the decimation of herds, the brutal treatment of America's wild horses and burros in holding facilities.

During its discussions in the past year BLM considered ways to keep the public away from round ups and the killing of healthy horses and burros and planned to brand protests as "eco-terrorism".  This was all to be done in secret. If Congress does not hold a hearing, investigate this plan and this agency, BLM will have succeeded.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

The wild horses and burros can be saved. There has to be a better way to manage these animals other than by hiring criminals to run them down with helicopters and penning some for life and sending others to slaughter. The WFRHBA requires them to be protected in their herd areas where they were living in 1971. And that is what the BLM should do. 

Find and contact your U.S. senators here and urge them to hold a hearing or investigate BLM's management of America's wild horses and burros and tell the BLM to stop rounding up and killing or removing our wild horses and burros or selling them for slaughter and return them to the lands where they were living in 1971. 
Go here to write your U.S. representative and urge him or her to do the same! 
 

Update On Cloud, Firestorm And Exhilaration From Pryor Wild

I sent an email to Matt at Pryor Wild a few days ago asking about Cloud, his four year old daughter, Firestorm and the others injured in that messy, mismanaged roundup. He kindly emailed me right back informing me that he'd seen Cloud and he appeared to be moving fine. What a relief! Then on Friday he emailed me that he'd updated the Pryor Wild Blog with this video of Cloud and Firestorm as they look now. As you can see, they look just great!

Also, on the last segment of the video, you can see Exhilaration, who has a puncture wound on the back of his right front leg. Matt thinks he'll be okay, but you really can see him limping in this segment. Will have updates on him ASAP.


I know many of us have been greatly saddened by the decimation of this herd as well as many others as the BLM continues on their mad pace to gather all the wild horses from their ranges. The massive gathers are not only continuing, but increasing in number and scope, with hundreds more horses already having been removed from their ranges.

Please continue your efforts to stop this madness while there are still some wild horses left to save. See the Cloud Foundation for the latest information on what's happening and what you can do. We did get their attention. We can't stop now!

For the horses.

Return America’s Wild Horses to Their Rightful Ranges - A Response From The Cloud Foundation to Secretary Salazar's Plan for Our Wild Horses

ALERT!  Please post and re-post!  ALERT!

Return America’s Wild Horses to Their Rightful Ranges:

A Response to Secretary Salazar’s Plan for America’s Wild Horses Equids

For Immediate Release

OCTOBER 8, 2009‐ COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO‐‐ On October 7, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a new initiative for the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro program. The Secretary announced that this is a “national solution to restore the health of America’s wild horse herds and the rangelands that support them by creating a cost‐efficient, sustainable management program that includes the possible creation of wild horse preserves on the productive grasslands of the Midwest and East.”1

The Cloud Foundation is encouraged that the Interior Department realizes that there are problems with the management of wild horses on public lands by the Bureau of Land Management and is considering ways to improve the Wild Horse and Burro Program.

However, the Cloud Foundation questions the need to develop seven new preserves in the mid‐west and east (at an estimated initial cost of $96 million) when there are 19.4 million acres of designated wild horse and burro of rangelands that have been taken away from them since 1971. In just the past few weeks, 12 herds (620 horses) were zeroed out on an additional 1.4 million acres in Eastern Nevada. “It would seem that the best use of taxpayer dollars and the most humane plan for the nearly 32,000 wild horses in government holding2 would be to return them to their native lands” says Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation. “These millions of acres were identified for use by wild horses and burros and these lands are already owned by the American public.”

Rather than spending over thirty million dollars this fiscal year (October 1, 2009‐September 30, 2010) to remove a record number (over 12,000 wild horses and burros) from the range, only legitimate emergency roundups and removals should be conducted. “The BLM continues to lead the public to believe that exploding populations of wild horses are causing degradation of the range and they must be removed before they all starve. This is without merit because wild horses and burros make up only a fraction of animals grazing the range, far greater damage is caused by the privately‐owned cattle who outnumber the horses more than 100 to 1,” states Arizona advocate Julianne French.

The intent of Congress’ 1971 Free‐Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act was not for wild horses to be corralled and penned. The clear intent was that the wild horses and burros be allowed to live on western rangelands designated primarily for their survival in self‐sustaining populations.

Initial Recommended Steps for the Management of America’s Wild Horses & Burros:

1) Cease all roundups until independent analysis can be made of each herd management area. Move forward only with emergency removals if deemed necessary by independent as well as BLM specialists.

2) Return wild horses and burros in good health to the 20.8 million acres of public land designated primarily for their use in 1971 that has since been taken away from them. As per the ROAM Act (§1579): “ensure that, to the extent practicable, the acreage available for wild and freeroaming horses and burros shall never be less than the acreage where wild and freeroaming horses and burros were found in 1971.”

3) Reanalyze appropriate management levels (AMLs) for herd management areas (HMAs). Currently only about 25% of wild horse and burro herds are genetically viable.3 AMLs should not be reduced due to the private use of public lands for livestock grazing. Currently AML “is based on consideration of wildlife, permitted livestock, and wild horses and burros in the area.”4 It is not cost‐effective to remove wild horses from an HMA at a cost of $2600 ‐ over $3000 per individual removed in order to allow a cow/calf pair to graze for a payment of $1.36/month. Cattle, who originated in southeast Asia, damage the land to a far greater degree than wild horses, who are of North American origin.

4) Congress should follow‐up with hearings on the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program as recommended by the Government Accounting Office (2008 report).

Photos and more information available from:

The Cloud Foundation

719-633-3842

info@thecloudfoundation.org
______________________________________________________________

1 Department of Interior press release, 10/7/2009.

2 Nearly 32,000 wild horses are in holding as of 10/7/2009 according to BLM records. No independent inventory has been conducted and the truth of this number cannot be verified.

3 Genetically viable defined here as a population of horses 1 year and older that is at or above 150‐200 individuals with a Ne (genetic effective number) of 50 or more. This is the bare minimum for genetic viability of wild horse and burro population.
More information here.

4 According to Nevada BLM site, accessed 10/8/2009

Related articles by Zemanta

• Ken Salazar Plans To Transfer Overpopulated Western Wild Horses To Sanctuaries In East (huffingtonpost.com)

ALERT! Cloud’s Herd Roundup on CNN tonight ALERT!

This just in from the Cloud Foundation ~

Cloud’s Herd Roundup on CNN tonight «: "Cloud’s Herd Roundup on CNN tonight
By thecloudfoundation

CNN tonight (Headline News) around 7:oopm EST

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/issues.with.jane/

Chantal Westermann, who was at the roundup, will be on the Jane Velez Mitchell show tonight on the CNN-HLN channel. This will also be available online post broadcast. This will be short, please ask CNN to do a longer story as soon as possible!"

If you miss the program, you can read the transcript a little later as soon as the transcript page is updated. Don't forget to send your comments to CNN and ask for a longer story soon!
  

MustangGate

Another outstanding blog post from R.T. Fitch here. What he is referring to in that since the BLM "happened" to schedule the Pryor Mountain roundup over the Labor Day holiday - when we couldn't contact our Congress people, animal welfare advocates or news services - the BLM agents working the roundup were getting double time pay on Labor day and overtime pay on Sunday. What does that little nugget do for your blood pressure?

Yup, while Cloud and his family were running for their lives, down the mountain, BLM agents were dipping their hands even deeper into your pockets and laughing all the time.   See how profitable hunting down innocent mustangs can be?  There is big bucks for the BLM in stripping our native wild horses from our public lands and it’s just not the big boys, with special interests, who make out but the field agents get a slice of the pie too and you get to pay for it all.  That really leaves one with a warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn’t it?rtfitch.wordpress.com, Straight from the Horse's Heart, Sep 2009

You really do need to read the entire article.

Wanna do something about it? You can ~

Phone calls to make:

ask for the release of the older horses and reform of the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, fax your comments as well:

    * White House Switchboard – 202-456-1414 (fax: 202-456-2461) E-mail here  Ask for Senior Advisors:  Valerie Jarrett  and David Axelrod. Ask for Michelle Obama too, her office is recieving a tremendous number of calls and they need to continue.
    * Call your Senators – switchboard 202-224-3121 and ask that they support S1579, The Restore our American Mustang (ROAM) Act
    * Call the Senate Committee of Natural Resources – 202-224-4971 (fax 202-224-6163) Email here. ask that they push the ROAM Act through immediately– it must go up for a vote soon in the Senate
Take Action… and an update « (17 September 2009)
 http://thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/take-action-and-an-update/
 http://snipurl.com/ryaas


Demand reform for our wild horses, it is too late for thousands but it is not yet too late for Cloud's herd and many others.  The roundup crews are headed next to the Steens Mountains of Oregon.We have been told that there will be no observers or photographers allowed. This  is illegal- these are the public's wild horses.

Right now 12 herds are being zeroed out in Nevada, 650 horses off 1.4 million acres because the land is not suitable… but the horses have been living there for over a hundred years.

Please join us and many others at the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting in Arlington, VA on September 28th. Make your voice heard – and then join us on the hill for meetings the following day. Their hoofbeats need to be heard in Washington DC.

Take Action… and an update « (18 September 2009)
 http://thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/take-action-and-an-update/
 http://snipurl.com/ryqa5

Come to DC for Wild Horses!
September 17, 2009 by thecloudfoundation

Please join us for MUSTANGS on the HILL- people are coming from all over the US to speak up and show up for our wild horses.MUSTANGS ON THE HILL Flier
 (18 September 2009)
 http://thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com/
 http://snipurl.com/ryqw2

We will be attending the BLM Advisory Board Meeting on the 28th of September in Arlington, VA and also "Mustangs On The Hill" in Washington DC on September 29th to support the ROAM ACT. Please click for more details on the BLM Meeting. Send in your comments as soon as possible to Ramona_delorme@blm.gov and reference: WH&B Advisory Board Comments. We are working on getting local and national media to both events and also, Celebrity Speakers.

We will be gathering on the West Front Lawn of Capitol Hill on the 29th, which is reserved from 8:00AM to 4:00PM. This is where we will have speakers and we will be meeting with Senators (in their offices) on the Committee of Energy and Natural Resources to urge them to support the ROAM Act and place it on the calendar throughout the day.

We will have a Banner that we will give to the Committee of Energy and Natural Resources with the names of everyone who donated to the Freedom Fund. If you plan on attending either of these events, please RSVP as soon as possible so we can plan for the amount of people coming. You may RSVP to mustangsonthehill@gmail.com. We are expecting 2,000 people for the event on the 29th so please join us and help preserve and protect our wild horses! Thank you to everyone for your continued support and we hope to see you soon!
MUSTANGS on the HILL « (18 September 2009)
 http://thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/mustangs-on-the-hill/
 http://snipurl.com/ryqz4

For more information about any of the above, contact The Cloud Foundation Blog  Do whatever you can. Remember, the old horses from Cloud's herd will be offered for sale starting September 26th. Time is of the essence!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Congress Finally Saves Taxpayer Money on Horse Protection (usnews.com)
• Protect America's Wild Horses (thepetitionsite.com)
• Horse Author and Photographer Interview - Carol Walker (theequinest.com)
• Government Accused of Land Grab in Fight Over Rangeland in the West (usnews.com)

The Managed Extinction of Cloud's Herd - KEEP CALLING AND WRITING! THIS IS NOT OVER!

This is NOT over! We MUST keep the pressure on the BLM. They have been extremely careful on this roundup because of the glare of worldwide publicity. We DID make a difference! Keep it up! There is also hope that more horses will be released, but only if we keep calling, posting and writing. If you wrote your Congressmen, write again. Tell them the old stallions and the babies need to be freed! SPREAD THE WORD!

The Managed Extinction of Cloud’s Herd « Straight from the Horse's Heart

And while a deep silence lay over the witnesses, Cloud, the leader, the master of the mountains turned from the gate and took a stance starring back directly at his aggressor, the helicopter.  His intent was obvious, his message was clear, his point was well taken and a few quite sobs were heard within Cloud’s family of human followers.  He made his stand, then turned and walked towards the gate.  He had done all he could do, the observers had tried all that they could and collectively the humans and horses knew that they had lost all control, their future and fate was no longer in their hands, Cloud’s family was to be ripped apart and all that remained for them was a few final moments of togetherness, a gentle touch, while they huddled in fear against the gate that lead to their group’s destruction.  Their cries intermingled with those from their human friends high above who felt their loss and shared their helplessness, they cried together and bowed their heads.

The betrayed innocent, Cloud

We are told that Cloud will once again run free, that the blue mark on his rump dictates that he is one of the lucky ones that can go back to living his life in the beauty of the Pryor Mountains.  But he will do so with several of his loved ones ripped from his band; he will, now, love mares that have been chemically sterilized so that they will bear him no foals and he will be forced to do all of this while surrounded by a herd that will not be able to genetically sustain itself.

This is the gift of managed extinction that we give to our native, American horses, this is the legacy that we leave to our children and this is the image that we Americans project to the rest of the world.

It is not a pretty picture

Status Update

Please! There is still time to help Cloud! Keep calling and writing!

www.thecloudfoundation.org - Status Update

On Sunday we think that the Cattoors will round up all the horses on the mountain-top-- Cloud's band included-- and drive them the 10-12 miles down the mountain. We are most concerned with the week-old filly and the elderly Bigfoot. There is no reason to bring these specific horses down the mountain and we are requesting that the roundup crew leave them alone.
There is an incredible public outcry for these horses and while the BLM is turning a blind eye to the public whose horses they are charged with managing, others are listening. Please continue to call and demand that your congressionals ask the Montana senators Baucus and Tester, as well as congressman Denny Rehberg, why they are allowing the destruction of this unique little herd on their watch. Tester and Baucus' offices have been telling us that this matter is in the BLM's hands-- this is unacceptable. Demand that fewer horses be removed. These horses are far too special to give up on.

Thank you everyone-- all of us here witnessing this roundup feel your support for these horses and we will keep working to save this precious herd.

--Ginger

National Wild Horse and Burro Meeting!

Please attend if you can. If you can't, follow this link to The Cloud Foundation for information on snail mail and email addresses. I can't go myself - but you can be sure I will be sending those letters and emails!

www.thecloudfoundation.org - National Wild Horse and Burro Meeting

National Wild Horse and Burro Meeting
E-mail Print PDF

Wednesday, 02 September 2009 10:51

Sept. 28, 2009 in Arlington, VA - Please come speak for our wild horses

For immediate release: Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Contact: Tom Gorey 202-452-5137

BLM Sets Meeting of National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board for September 28 in Arlington, Virginia

LAST CHANCE FOR CLOUD'S HERD

Please follow this link to learn more! The roundup is TODAY!

Fight continues to save Cloud’s herd « Straight from the Horse's Heart

Dear Supporters,
We’re sorry to announce that the District Court judge in DC denied our request for a temporary restraining order today and the roundup of Cloud’s herd is to start tomorrow. You can read the court documents here. BLM’s reasoning for this roundup is pathetic. Please don’t give up - we are doing everything we can to monitor this operation and influence the outcome. Young foals only DAYS OLD are on this mountain. Horses in their LATE TEENS and TWENTIES will be removed- this is unacceptable.

Secretary Salazar and the BLM aren’t listening to the public, nor are the Montana Senators. Cloud’s herd represents all wild horses in the West and if we can’t save this most famous herd, what chances do we have with the rest? Please continue to call and fax your congressionals, President Obama (202-456-9000), and all media outlets you can. Read a recent USA Today article here.


Watch our 2 new YouTube videos! Crow Elder & Historian Howard Boggess speaks out for the horses and Advocate Julianne French tells us just who has been hired to do this roundup.
Read and share our most recent Press Release on the current situation and the federally indicted contractor hired to round up Cloud’s herd.

National media attention is being focused on the plight of the herd. We hope it will make a difference.
Please help us bring the struggle of these wonderful animals to the attention of our government. They must not turn a blind eye as this enduring symbol of the American West is lost.

My thanks to all of you who are working so hard. Never give up!


Happy trails,
Ginger Kathrens
Volunteer Executive Director