BLM Ely, Nevada, district to roundup native wild horses

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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District is scheduled in early November to begin rounding up and removing approximately 120 alleged excess wild horses from in and around the Triple B and Silver King herd management areas (HMAs) in eastern Nevada.

Details will be posted on the district website as they become available. The roundups are allegedly necessary to prevent further damage to private property and provide for public and animal safety.

The district will remove about 70 alleged excess wild horses from the Triple B HMA, located about 30 miles northwest of Ely, that are allegedly damaging private property, and allegedly harassing and breeding domestic stock resulting in landowner complaints. Appropriate Management Level (AML) for the Triple B HMA is 215-250 wild horses. The current population is 1,311 wild horses.

The district will remove up to 50 excess wild horses from in and around the Silver King HMA. The horses to be gathered are located about 120 miles south of Ely. They are an alleged safety concern on U.S. Highway 93 and are damaging private property, resulting in property owner complaints. The AML for the Silver King HMA is 60-128 wild horses. The current population is 452 wild horses.

The BLM claims attempts to keep wild horses away from private property and the highway, including trapping and relocating animals to other portions of the HMAs, have been unsuccessful.

The BLM will utilize the services of roundup contractor Cattoor Livestock Roundup, Inc., of Nephi, Utah, which uses a helicopter to locate and stampede wild horses toward a set of corrals to be trapped and who has already been paid millions of tax dollars, year after year. The pilot is assisted by a ground crew and a domesticated horse, known as a Judas horse who is trained to lead wild horses into the corral.

Wild horses removed from the range will be transported to the National Wild Horse and Burro Center at Palomino Valley, in Reno, Nevada, where they will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals. Wild horses for which BLM is unable to adopt out will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be allegedly humanely cared for and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

A Wild Horse Gather Information Line has been established at 775/861-6700. A recorded message will provide information on daily gather activities and schedules. The BLM will also post daily gather information on its website.

Public lands within the HMAs will be open to the public during gather operations, subject to necessary safety restrictions, and the BLM will make every effort to allow for public viewing opportunities. The BLM has established protocols for visitors to ensure the safety of the wild horses, the public, and BLM and contract staff. The protocols are available at http://on.doi.gov/1lGnDYC under “Observation Opportunities.”

Roundups in and outside the Triple B HMA were analyzed in the Triple B, Maverick-Medicine, and Antelope Valley HMA Gather Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA), signed in May 2011 and available at http://on.doi.gov/1tgdHc6. Gather activities in and around the Silver King HMA were analyzed in the Ely District Public Safety and Nuisance Gather EA signed in August 2014 and available at http://on.doi.gov/1lx856K.

For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public affairs specialist, at 775/289-1842 or chanefel@blm.gov.

11 thoughts on “BLM Ely, Nevada, district to roundup native wild horses

  1. Thank you, Protect Mustangs, for bringing the facts and truth to light regarding our wild free-roaming horses and burros.

  2. These people that want the roundups, and coerce and scare BLM employees to do them, are simply placing their vision on Taxpayer money (greed) — read as subsidies and the people that receive these subsidies Mooches! Nothing more nor nothing less — and the fact is the Roundups are not needed, required, or necessary for ecological or habitat reasoning. Simply done to place more cattle on America’s Public Lands!

    The fact is, and commonly overlooked a lot, is the people in Ely, the ranchers in the area as well, have a history of hiring a couple of rednecks out tin their area to shoot Wild Horses — Oh, the BLM looked the other way when this done — gee, what a surprise! So in common sense terms, what these people out there say about Wild Horses, most people with knowledge simply ignore them, and also acknowledge they are an ignorant people with narrow greedy perspectives.

    The Roundup does not have to take place —

  3. Hi,
    My name is Meghan Dixon. I am fighting to stop the slaughter of horses both wild and domesticated. I am also fighting to save America’s wild horses & burros. I want to share my true story with you that I believe will save them! I was diagnosed with a Autism Spectrum Disorder known as “Asperger Syndrome” That is the most misunderstood disability in the world today. I will be honest, living with High Functioning Autism can be an enormous struggle. The best way to describe the complexity of this evasive scenario is like this, I am trapped in this body where I can’t communicate with others at all. It consumes me. People just do not understand me and I do not contain the words or wisdom to get them to understand. The harder I try, the more difficult the situation becomes. It always seems that I am trapped in a world that is impossible to grasp that simple companion known as certainty or likeness. Due to this situation filled with combustible emotions, I get locked out of the world. All on the sole account or simple justification, I am different. I am treated cruel for little reason. I always look in the mirror and ponder to myself, “What is wrong with me”, “Is it the way I look, or the way I dress” I just don’t understand why? I don’t think I will ever know why. I never could grasp the concept or completely understand how they could judge someone that they truly did not understand or even know. None really instigated an attempt to understand me. They only retreated to the simplistic, band wagon task of assuming I was different than the norm in which, made it right for them to mistreat me. A devious illusion created by fear, laziness, and down right pure immaturity. I have been bullied and mistreated by many different individuals my entire life. You know that simple scenario of small time humor at the midst of childhood when little kids tend to tease one another for fun? Well this was me, and it never was terminated, only escalated and became more harsh as the young minds began to mature. For centuries horses have been used for a lot of things like, pulling wagons, helping gather cattle, ranch work, transportation, the pony express, they helped build America, and they even carried our soldiers as they fought in war. Now you get to see them in a whole new way. This is my true story, one that the Man Up Stairs has allowed for through hope, healing, and recovery.

    All people with autism share some similar struggles but are affected in many different ways. Because of my autism I never been good at socializing or making friends with people, It is almost impossible for me to makes friends. I have a disability that no one can see, not all disabilities are visible, mine are invisible.

    When I was a child, every night before I went to sleep, I would pray to God and Jesus and ask, “Please give me a true friend!” No one wanted to be my friend. I was the awkward outcast girl that no one wanted to be friends with or talk to!

    I started telling my Mom everyday at the age of 9 that “I wished I was dead!” I heard the doctor tell my Mom that Autism was a brain development disorder, So I asked if I could have a brain transplant. So that I could be accepted. I became angry at God for making me this way! My whole world began to fall apart.

    By the time I got in to middle school and was a teenager everything began to get worse. I was then diagnosed with mental illness, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, and was even showing signs of bipolar. I also have a learning disability, So I was not the teachers favorite. I been mocked, teased, bullied, laughed at, rejected, and judged for things that are way beyond my control. As I got older the bullying then escalated. I was having problems with my Autism. I would have melt downs everyday. I didn’t understand why God made me this way. I became very angry at God!

    School was a living nightmare for me. They (The Bullies) called me names like “fat”, “freak”, “retard”. “worthless”, “loser”, “ugly”, “annoying”, and A LOT of other things. I even been told plenty of time to go kill myself, They even told me that God put me here as a joke, that I’m a mistake. They said unimaginable things to me. I also have a learning disability. So the school discriminated against me for that and I was not learning anything in school. I would just learn that I was all these horrible names they called me. The students at the school I went to, Made me feel like a parasite who infected the world. The bullies would also trip me in the halls at school, They would start rumors about me, Say things that wasn’t true, They would even push me out of the lunch lines. When I would cry or become upset and have a ‘meltdown’, they would stand there and laugh. The teachers and principle at the school would even bully me. They would label me and call me un-teachable. They would always give my Mom problems, My Mom got bullied too. They told her she was a bad parent and that I looked normal that there was not anything wrong with me. That I am spoiled and my Mom is a horrible parent. The school discriminated against me.

    The doctors tried to put me on medication they tried almost every medication and therapies. Nothing worked. I then began to lash out in ways no one could understand. I became a victim of self harm and had so much anger towards myself and life. Mostly anger towards people and the things they did to me. I became so afraid of people. I had a very low self esteem. It was like I didn’t have self esteem at all. I then became very suicidal and became manic depressed.

    I was not able to defend myself from the bullying. It was like I was suffering from my Autism Spectrum Disorder. There were so many things that I did not understand. No one wanted to be my friend, And I did not understand why. I didn’t understand their sarcasms. To me they were being rude and mean. When I would react with hurt feelings, they would either laugh at me or say I was weird. It was as if I was on this crazy alien planet- and I was the alien! Just when I thought I had made a friend, they would leave me and not want to have anything to do with me. I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong.

    They (The Bullies) called me names like “fat”, “freak”, “retard”. “Worthless”, “loser”, “ugly”, “annoying”, and A LOT of other things. I even been told plenty of time to go kill myself, they even told me that God put me here as a joke, that I’m a mistake. They said unimaginable things to me. The students at the school I went to, Made me feel like a parasite that infected the world. I would always look in the mirror and ponder to myself when I got home from school, “What is wrong with me”, “Is it the way I look, or the way I dress” I just don’t understand why?

    I had no help with the bullying. When I would reach out to a teacher or someone at the school for help they would call me a liar or tell me “it’s life deal with it.” There was one teacher and the principle who gave the bullies permission to bully me. They didn’t care. I would be the one who got in trouble sometimes and the teachers would take up for the bully. They told my Mom I was a tattle tale. The teacher who gave the students permission to bully me, Her and a coach who bullied me stood me up in front of everyone in gym class and would say “Why can’t you be normal and be like everyone else!”

    I became broken and lost inside a world that did not want me! The bullies would also trip me in the halls at school, they would start rumors about me, Say things that wasn’t true, and they would even push me out of the lunch lines. When I would cry or become upset and have a ‘meltdown’, they would stand there and laugh. I was not able to defend myself from the bullying. I also have a few health problems so I been a little bigger then other girls the medication the put me on made me gain weight. The boys at the school and other students would talk about how fat and ugly I am.
    I then began to starve myself at times and made myself throw up after I would eat at times. I hated myself and who I was. I hated my skin, my body, and my hair!

    There was even times when the teachers would make us pick groups and have a partner, No one wanted me in their group, they would fight about having to be partner’s with me. I even remember the boys getting in to a fist fight about not wanting me in their group. Even in P.E or gym class they would never pick me to be on their teams and if they did have to pick me they would blame me for them losing the game! I didn’t have a very good childhood. Other things that normal children got to do, I didn’t get to do. I tried very hard to live up to people’s expectations but people treated me like I was never going to be good enough. On top of that because of my Autism Spectrum Disorder I don’t understand sarcasm or read body language or make eye contact. If I did make a friend they would leave and not want anything to do with me.

    The thing about school is, you go home you look in the mirror you cry you think you are fat you think you are ugly then you want to die, the worse thing is you go back and the next day it all happens over again. I would never sleep at night. I stayed up all night having panic and anxiety attacks about what was going to happen the next day. Or I would cry myself to sleep.

    I would cry because I thought I was worthless, Cry because I thought I was never going to be good enough, Cry because of all the comments people would burst out. I let the burden of my thoughts get to me and the monster within me would not go free. I then became my own worst enemy.

    I became lost in darkness. I would pray for God to end the pain, I would pray for better days. There was even times I became so angry that I shouted at God! I felt so faithless. It seemed like I had no hope. I felt like everyone wanted me to die. I then began to hear voices telling me to hurt myself or to kill myself. The voices even told me the things the bullies told me. So I then was lead to believe all the things the bullies told me was true. I was falling apart. There was even one time I almost killed myself by taking 3 hand fulls of pain pills. I remember lying on the bathroom floor in pain! I started cutting.

    I have always loved horses ever sense I was a little girl, If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would say “A cowgirl!” I had horses when I was a young child, but was not able to keep them because we moved to the city. I begged my parents for a horse for years. The very first time I rode a horse was when I was 4. My Dad’s friend let me ride his horse Mouse. As soon as I got on Mouse he went to bucking because something scared him. My Dad said I did a somersault in the air and fell off. I got up and said “That was fun, can we do that again?!” I got right back on that horse. I always thought about that day.

    My parents did not know what else to do. So the therapist ask me “What is something you would love to do?” I told them I wanted a horse. So the therapist suggested to my parents to get me in to horse riding lessons. I then started taking horse riding lessons at riding stables working with horses. I got to compete in horse shows. I became a expert with horse riding through the years! They were amazed at how advanced my riding and horse skills became. The horses really helped me! I loved to jump and barrel race more then anything at the horse shows!

    As a child, When my parents let me start using the internet. I started learning about horse slaughter and the Bureau of Land Management’s cruel wild horse round ups! I became on fire for the horses and wanted to do anything to stop the slaughter and round ups. So I started getting involved in horse advocacy.

    I could not deal with things anymore they were getting A LOT worse with school. The bullying was worse then what it ever was. I wanted to kill myself. Then something amazing happened! My Dad got me my very own horse. He was not just a horse. He was a very special horse. He was a rescue horse that was saved from abuse and slaughter.

    My Dad and his friend took me to meet this horse. He was a lot like me. He was broken and wanted to just give up! When I first met the horse I laughed because he had a lip that hanged down and I thought to myself “What happened to this horse?” I then began to look closer at the horse. He had many different scars. The biggest scar was on the side of his face. He was missing part of his cheek bone and he had nerve damage from abuse so his lip hanged down and he had no feeling on that side of his face. My dad’s friend told me “Life has not always been good to him!” His drooping lip brought the inspiration to his name, The King Elvis.

    They told me I would be the perfect owner to show him the tender love and care, and compassion that he needed. That is when I realized the horse was just like me. When I looked at the horse I could see myself. I realized that the horse was a lot like me. I had things in common with this horse because we were scared of people and had trust issues. We both had scars. He had more physical scars that people could see, I mostly had emotional ones.

    Then suddenly my world began to change. When I looked in to the eyes of this horse I could see and feel the healing hands of God. I felt nothing but love and all the sadness and anger left my body. I felt true love. That one horse began to change my whole life! My life had made a huge turning point! I could even feel God reaching out to me from this horse. That horse saved me from suicide that night. It touched my heart in very many different ways. The King Elvis saved my life – and I saved his life but most of all he saved mine!

    God had finally answered my prayers. God finally sent me my true friend and it was that beautiful quarter horse named The King Elvis! I never knew the horse was going to be the answer to my prayers! That horse became my true best friend I would go out and ride him for hours. When I had a bad day, I would either ride him, or just lay my head on his shoulder and cry my eyes out. He would never move to get away from me. He always made me feel better and I knew he would always be there for me to ride, talk to, or cry on his big brown shoulder. I and that horse had some adventures together. He always knew how to make me laugh and smile. He was my symbol of hope and happiness.

    God really does work in mysterious ways. I never knew that the horse was going to be the answer to all my prayers! Sometimes God does not give us exactly what we ask for. God gives us what we need and what is best for us! Just look at what all I was praying for, He gave me the horse!

    The King Elvis even helped me turn my Autism in to a gift. The King Elvis gave me compassion when no one else would. That horse helped me overcome disabilities when no one else could. He was even there for me when no one else was there for me. He was able to teach me new things. That horse even re-built my battered self-esteem.

    I then began to work with all kinds of horses, I finally got to succeed and win at something at the horse shows I won all 1st and 2nd place! For once in my life, I was in control of something instead of something being in control of me! My Autism became a lot milder. The Autism is still there but is now a gift. My family even saw a difference in me. I never was able to smile until I got on the back of the horse on The King Elvis and got to ride was when I got my first smile! I never felt so free and happy in my life.

    Before horses I tried all those Autism therapies but none of them seemed to work. The only thing that helped me was the horses and riding. I then started to use horse riding as a type of therapy. When I climb in the saddle all my problems I have just melt away. When I ride I feel like I am on top of the world, It feels like I can conquer the world. The Autism melt downs even started to go away. I am able to overcome depression and anxiety with the horse. I no longer suffer. I finally found my place and happiness in this world. I believe that the horse can be a strong cure for depression and anxiety. Horses made a huge difference in my life. Horses give me the courage to face the world around me.

    I know they say there is no known cure for Autism, but horses help! If you give them the chance they will help. The horse has opened up a whole new world for me. There is a healing power in horses and I am living proof of that. I can see the healing hands of God when I look in to their eyes. Horses have really saved my life. From this day they still continue to save me and help me overcome obstacles no matter what may stand in my way! The horse is what gave me my voice!

    Here is a poem I wrote for the first horse who saved my life,
    “The King Elvis I remember the day I came to save you, I knew that I needed you as much as you needed me. This is the place I will stay, this is the place I will be, forever just you and me. When I looked into your eyes and you looked into my eyes, it was like you could read my mind. You would never let me fall behind. I knew you were treated bad, and I knew you were sad. You would never give up on me as I would never give up on you. Oh, how could anyone do this to you, you have two big brown eyes full of love and a heart of gold. I will never let you go. You are the part of me that I need, the part that makes me complete. You are the true meaning between love and friendship. You take my pain away. On a rainy day you brighten my days. You make my world a better place. I will never let you fade away you are here to stay.” – Meghan Dixon.

    The King Elvis died of old age. But even though he is gone his memory lives on. He is a real true hero and needs to be remembered as one! I now dedicate all my advocacy work I do for the horses in remembrance of The King Elvis. I wrote this tribute for The King Elvis, The King Elvis – The horse that saved my life. When my mind was filled with darkness, my life was merely a plight, but then you showed me a light you helped me fight my fights. You were the only one who could see all the pain that I would hide. When there seemed to be no more days but a continuous night, you gave me a happy life, with all this grief and strife. You killed the darkness with your light when there wasn’t glimpse of it in sight. But since you went away, all I can do today is keep walking on my way. No matter what it takes or how impossible they assume, I will not give up on you, I will do all I can to save others like you!
    – Meghan Dixon

    The horse became the answer to my prayers! Horses saved my life! My parents will even tell you, I would NOT be alive today if it was not for the horse! PLEASE, Stop the round ups, end the slaughter and end the pain! The horses give me hope and help me to overcome! Even the wild horses, I got to meet the wild mustang horses in Cold Creek Nevada. They gave me so much hope and motivation for life! These horses earned their freedom! There is still so much I can say, That story I wrote is not even all of my story. It’s just bits and pieces of it. Horses have the power to save and change lives. They help people like me overcome things in life no matter what may stand in our way!

    I even wrote a poem for the wild mustang horses who lost their freedom, And life from the BLM. Called, “The American Wild Mustang- I was loved in the hearts of the beautiful people. I was their symbol of hope, And freedom. I was also a symbol of Power, Grace, Beauty, Nobility, Strength, But most of all when people seen me running free, It gave them a strong motivation for life. Some say that we earned our freedom, We even fought with our soldiers as we carried them to war, I even helped build America. As I am a big part of history…. I am the American Wild Mustang!”

    Because of the horse I no longer suffer in pain, The horse showed me not to kill myself because they show me I have a place in this world and they help me fight my battles and win my wars! The horses teach me to do things that I can not do on my own like love, trust, learn, how to be happy, to believe in myself, and A LOT more! Horses cure my anxiety, depression, and panic disorder and they helped me overcome my Autism and mental illness. I am the strong person I am today because of the horse!

    This is the poem I wrote to the first horse who saved my life, “The King Elvis I remember the day I came to save you, I knew that I needed you as much as you needed me. This is the place I will stay, this is the place I will be, forever just you and me. When I looked into your eyes and you looked into my eyes, it was like you could read my mind. You would never let me fall behind. I knew you were treated bad, and I knew you were sad. You would never give up on me as I would never give up on you. Oh, how could anyone do this to you, you have two big brown eyes full of love and a heart of gold. I will never let you go. You are the part of me that I need, the part that makes me complete. You are the true meaning between love and friendship. You take my pain away. On a rainy day you brighten my days. You make my world a better place. I will never let you fade away you are here to stay.” – Meghan Dixon.

    I am now a horse advocate fighting to win freedom back for America’s wild horses and fighting to stop horse slaughter! Being a horse advocate has taught me a lot of important things in life. Including to always stand up and speak out for what it right and to let your voice be heard! It also had taught me to always speak the truth! All that because The King Elvis gave me my voice and the courage to stand up and speak out for what is right!

    The King Elvis saved my soul. He helped me find my faith; I was able to accept Jesus as my Lord and savior. I am now saved because God sent that horse to help me. Like what it says in the Bible about how when bad things happen greater and good things come out of it. I got to experience that with The King Elvis. Now because of that horse my faith has been made stronger. I now have 2 horses named Ebony, and The Great Cass Ole’s Beau who is the last grandson to Cass Ole that continue to help me!

    Also these horses are America’s icons and if the Mustang becomes extinct it will be a major American tragedy! Mustangs are also native they were here before we were! They are NOT feral pests! They are our guardian angels and symbols of hope and freedom. The Mustang is the very symbol of the freedom to our American people. So PLEASE, let these wild horses run free!! They are also our symbols of Hope, Power, Grace, Beauty, Nobility, Strength, And Freedom, And a lot of other things.

    Thank You for reading!
    Meghan Dixon.

  4. Roundups are an entirely wrong-headed approach, as are the AMLs arbitrarily set to maintain a screen for misuse of the BLM Herd Management Areas. The HMAs should be dedicated to primary use as wild horse habitat, with other uses strictly justified on a case by case basis as an adjunct to dedicated wild horse habitat. Cattle grazing should not be allowed in any HMA, at any time, for any reason. There is more than sufficient federal land available elsewhere, outside wild horse HMAs, that can be leased to ranchers for livestock grazing. Oil, gas, and gold exploration and exploitation should not be allowed in any HMA.

  5. Ridiculous as it stands….over stocked in dry lots already….FREEZEBRANDS on their hind quarters~~~already in line to go to long term holding to be me ER seen again IN THE WEST or ADOPTED out…more roundups are very wrong and all roundups need to be stopped by congress!

  6. Point blank. There are not any EXCESS wild horses. Just the opposite, the herds are dangerously small. The next round up excuse will be because of excessive birth defects due to inbreeding. This is just another part of the plan to exterminate them.

  7. Has everyone read the EA?? I haven’t. But if you Google, use satellite view, you willsee huge pivots of lalfalfa growing everywhere near these HMAs. Is it possible the horses are drawn to these growing areas for he water being rejected and the feed du to the overgrazing? Have these growers and ranchers set the midlife up for disaster and uin federal water o o it?

  8. IPad spelling me words for me. Water s being redirected and wildlife being set up for disaster.

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