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Saturday, September 10, 2016
Wild Horse Science vs Feral Horse $cience in the American West
If you're interested in decisions being made with your money for your wild horses, Elko, isn't a convenient venue. Not to worry, says BLM. Meetings are (sorta) streamed online and the Wild Horse Advisory board includes folks to speak for all "...from advocacy groups, wild horse and burro research institutions, veterinarians, natural resource organizations, humane advocacy groups, wildlife associations, and livestock organizations." I'd assume by his email address that "cowdoc75" represents veterinary or livestock interests, but no. He's the Natural Resources expert. This board is clearly skewed toward cash cows and what they can do for ranchers, not what they can do to the environment. For that, they blame wild horses. The vote to kill mustangs was 7-1. Ginger Kathrens, Humane representative, was the lone vote for life. These horses belong to all Americans and this vote doesn't represent them. My letter to the Board and BLM follows. Please use the email addresses to convey your opinions.
TO: drfred@gmail.com,
cowdoc75@infowest.com
, mustangs@infowest.com
, jweileldvm@yahoo.com,
suemcd@vet.upenn.edu,
Jen.sall@gmail.com , benmasters88@gmail.com
, Steven.leslieyardley@yahoo.com
CC: dbolstad@blm.gov, nkornze@blm.gov, whbadvisoryboard@blm.gov
Advisory Board Members:
BLM was once so valuable
to me as a writer that I included staffers in dedications to my PHANTOM
STALLION book series. I even named a main character after BLM's Bryan Fuell of
Elko because he was so helpful.
BLM employees used to meet advocates at Bruno's for coffee before round-ups. We often disagreed, but we asked and answered questions and listened to each other. Now, advocates are met in the same Gerlach parking lot by armed rangers. And, when I asked questions for my non-fiction book on wild horses, BLM stonewalled for over 13 months, until my publisher finally sent the book to press without updated comments from the Interior Department. After 20 years of observing BLM, I thought I was beyond shock over wild horse mismanagement.
I was wrong. The
advisory board's choice of wild horse slaughter, based on willful ignorance of
science and finances, sucker-punched me.
BLM has wasted millions of dollars on rounding up and warehousing wild horses despite the availability of cheap on-range solutions to man-made problems. In fact, the Humane Society of the United States' analysis of BLM's budget documents indicated that the more money Congress appropriated to BLM's "reform," the more expensive the wild horse programs became. Only one thing changes from year to year: money going to independent contractors. BLM’s job is to protect and manage wild horses and the range, but BLM's Don Glen and Dean Bolstad made it clear at 2009 Wild Horse Advisory Board meetings that another priority was "keeping our contractors happy." And have they ever, with ever-increasing amounts of tax dollars. As an author for young readers, I know many students use the Interior Department's websites to search for factual information. The dissemination of '70s era science skewed toward merchandisers of Western resources amounts to malpractice of the sleaziest kind -- lying to kids for political gain. Board members, I urge you to retract this emotional response to BLM's cry for more money for further mismanagement. Instead, listen to non-vested scientists who've proven the environment's been turned upside down by man's replacement of native species (including equines; check the fossil record) with livestock. Listen to those with no financial stake in destroying the range. Years from now, will you have helped save the last wild places? Or will every book and Google search list you as an accomplice to the death of West?
Sincerely,
Terri Farley Labels: BLM, BLM adoption, BLM Advisory Board, BLM round ups, Bruno's, cattle, contractors, Dean Bolstad, Elko, Gerlach, Ginger Kathrens, long-term holding, mustangs, Neil Kornze, Nevada, slaughter, wild horses Permalink to this blog post Posted by Terri Farley @ 11:47 PM 1 comments  
Monday, June 27, 2016 Where's Mama? : What Happens to Foals After a Wild Horse Roundup  WASHINGTON, DC (June 23, 2016 ) Republicans on the Federal Lands Sub-Committee launched a plan for the extinction of America's wild horses. Rep. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming purred that euthanasia is "such a lovely way to die." An alternate strategy? Round up 100% of America's wild horses so they won't suffer on the range. Here's what happens to wild foals if they survive roundups. I was at Palomino Valley Wild Horse corrals with photographer Karen Hopple a few years ago when these foals arrived. The first filly out of the contractor's truck tumbled out backward, but kept her balance. Most horses were sorrels, but there were also bays, duns and paler horses, including a palomino.
She and a few others tried to nurse from other foals. This method of self-soothing indicates these babies are too young to be separated from their mothers, even though they met BLM's guidelines for weaning. This is a perversion of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and if you're an American tax-payer, you're paying for it.
Labels: BLM, BLM roundup, contractors, euthanasia, filly, foal, mares, mustang, Palomino Valley, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, weaning, wild horses, Wyoming Permalink to this blog post Posted by Terri Farley @ 3:00 AM 10 comments
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