Comments referenced in the June 14, 2015 Salt Lake Tribune article

 PM Indigenous © Protect Mustangs Photo © Cynthia Smalley

Comments made to the BLM against giving PZP to the wild Onaqui mares in Utah

Protect Mustangs, Anne Novak

The public was not informed as they should have been according to NEPA of your proposal https://www.blm.gov/ut/enbb/files/Onaqui_Fertility_Control_EA_2_18_15.pdf The scoping period’s notice was hidden, and the EA’s comment-period was cut in half. These actions show a lack of transparency on the part of the BLM and mocks the public process to participate with comments. We request you start over with a full 30 day public comment period.

We are against the outrageous proposal to forcibly drug any wild Onaqui mares with PZP- – the EPA restricted-use pesticide also known as ZonaStat-H.
( http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf ) The drug sterilizes wild mares after multiple use and disrupts natural herd dynamics amongst other horrors. How many times has each Onaqui mare or filly been drugged previously? Drugging any wild filly under the age of 2 is barbaric. Her reproductive system has not developed completely. Forced drugging of fillies and mares until they are 6 will ruin their chances of ever producing healthy offspring who can survive the environmental changes ahead.

We request you do not use PZP or any other sterilant or sterilizing procedures on the Onaqui mares for fertility control or for any other reason. Experimentation and roundups must stop now.

Roundups increase global warming and must stop immediately. The vehicles and aircrafts used to implement the proposed PZP programs also increase global warming as well as harm the fragile ecosystem on the Onaqui herd management area.

We endorse the no action alternative and ask that you do not remove any Onaqui wild horses as their population numbers are too low now. Land-use plans should be modified to have a higher AML ensuring herd survival and genetic variability with predators such as mountain lions protected.

Holistic management should be used from this day forward for recovery and to adhere to the minimum-feasible-management requirement of the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act.

Our members enjoy observing, filming and photographing the Onaqui herd and would be devastated if the mares or fillies would receive PZP or any other sterilizing agent that will ruin natural herd behavior and the survival of the herd.

No excess wild horses in the Pryors

PM PZP Betrayal

 

PZP is a risky pesticide. Will it ruin the treasured herd?

By Marybeth Devlin

The issue underpinning the use of PZP and the continuing cycle of removals of wild horses from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is: Whether there are excess wild horses. No, there aren’t. BLM creates the illusion of an overpopulation by administratively setting the maximum herd-size below minimum-viable population. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature determined that, if a herd were managed carefully per a stud-book, it could sustain itself genetically at a minimum of 500 individuals. Compare that number to BLM’s maximum: 120.

In fact, according to the latest genetic analysis, the Pryor Mountain herd is evidencing “a general trend for a decline in variations levels of the herd.” The recommendation was to “increase population size.” Yet, BLM stubbornly insists on its own failed approach of artificially limiting herd-size, declaring that it disagrees with the scientific “interpretation.”

But can the range accommodate more horses? Yes. By way of comparison, BLM allots 38 acres per cow or calf when setting the stocking-rate for livestock grazing. Thus, the 33,187 acres that compose the Pryor Mountain habitat can support 500 to 873 horses. When the WHR is restored to its original configuration, 44,920 acres, the high-bound can be increased to 1,182.

As for PZP, numerous independent studies have disproved the old theory that PZP merely blocks sperm attachment. In fact, PZP’s mechanism of action is to alter ovarian function, causing inflammation of the ovaries and cyst formation. PZP provokes an auto-immune response, wherein the pig-ovary-derived PZP antibodies attack the mares’ ovaries, resulting in dystrophy of those reproductive organs. Despite being hyped as a non-hormonal contraceptive, PZP causes “markedly depressed oestrogen secretion” in mares treated for just three consecutive years. The latter finding was disclosed by Dr. Kirkpatrick himself 23 years ago. PZP-use is associated with stillbirths, altered ovarian structure and cyclicity, interference with normal ovarian function, permanent ovarian damage, prolonged breeding season, and unusually-late birthing dates. A particularly troubling finding suggests that PZP can be selective against a certain genotype in a population.

PZP is touted as reversible; however, a recent study warned that just three years of treatment, or administration of the first PZP injection before puberty, may trigger infertility in some mares. Thus, only two PZP injections could be viewed as relatively safe, but it appears that even one injection is risky. The researchers warned that inducing sterility may have unintended consequences on population dynamics by, ironically, increasing longevity while eliminating the mares’ ability to contribute genetically.

Most pertinent to the Pryor Mountain herd is a longitudinal study on three herds treated with PZP — Little Book Cliffs, McCullough Peaks, and … Pryor Mountain. The researchers found that the birthing season lasted nearly year-round: 341 days. Out-of-season births put the life of the foals and the mares at risk. That same longitudinal study found that, following suspension of PZP injections, there was a delay in the mares’ recovery of fertility that lasted 411.3 days (1.13 years) per each year of PZP treatment. Thus, mares injected for four consecutive years (per BLM’s “prescription”) would be expected to take 1,645.2 days (4.51 years) to regain reproductive capacity. If disaster were to befall the Pryor Mountain horses, even if PZP were stopped immediately, it would take years for the herd to recover, if ever.

PZP has neither stopped nor slowed the roundups. Only lack of holding space has done that. Even the Pryor Mountain herd, injected for decades with PZP, is facing removals again this summer (per the usual three-year cycle) in addition to an intensified PZP “prescription” to be administered per an “equal opportunity program” eerily similar to Communist-China’s one-child policy. What’s ironic is that, for all the interference, BLM has achieved basically the same — or worse — record as has been attained the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. ISPMB complies with the “hands-off” minimum-feasible management approach stipulated by the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. ISPMB’s two wild herds grew 8.73 and 5.08 percent, respectively, without PZP and without removals. Pryor Mountain’s most recent report — reflecting management with PZP and with removals — grew by 8.26 percent.

BLM needs to get out of the way of Nature. Let the Pryor Mountain herd find its own appropriate population level.

(Note: Beware of petitions pushing PZP. Be sure to read everything you sign these days especially the fine print!)

Please donate to Protect Mustangs’ Legal Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/mustanglaw2016 to help the voiceless in court. Thank you!

Take Action to protect wild horses!

© Cynthia Smalley, all rights reserved

This stunning Pine Nut stud lives in freedom today near Carson City, NV, with his family, because the lawsuit kept his herd free and safe. There is much more work to do for the mustangs and honestly it’s getting URGENT we file quickly to protect America’s wild horses.

Please donate http://www.gofundme.com/qarve8 and share so the wild ones will have their voices heard in court. We will list everyone’s names who has donated to the legal fund on our website (unless you want to be anonymous) because you deserve to be recognized for being part of the next legal effort with your tax-deductible donations. YOU are making this happen with your donations.

America’s wild horses are counting on all of us to chip in to help them. They are so grateful for your caring, love and support. Thank you!

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Volunteer Executive Director
www.ProtectMustangs.org

PayPal donations to Contact@ProtectMustangs.org

Legal petition filed to cancel PZP pesticide registration

It is with great pleasure to announce that Friends of Animals has filed a legal petition to cancel the EPA’s registration of wild horse fertility control pesticide, PZP http://friendsofanimals.org/foa-files-legal-petition-cancel-registration-wild-horse-fertility-control-pesticide-pzp and that Protect Mustangs’ education and outreach has culminated in this action. When Anne Novak started the PZP Forum in November she felt that through education and outreach, action would follow. Everyone’s participation in the PZP Forum has made it an educational hub while the battle wages on . . .

Our successful Pine Nut lawsuit that brought PZP to the court for the first time, when we partnered with FOA, came out of The Forum. We hope FOA’s PZP legal petition will be equally successful.

We are grateful FOA has the funding needed to employ legal staff spearheaded by Michael Harris, who rocks at wildlife law, with the awesome Jenni Barnes.

We hope someday we can afford to hire legal staff but for now, as a dynamic grassroots volunteer organization, we stretch donor’s dollars so we will be paying less on a case by case basis. We encourage wild horse supporters to donate to the Protect Mustangs’ legal fund so we can file our unique legal actions quickly to help America’s wild horses and protect them from all sides. Our Legal Fund site is here: http://www.gofundme.com/qarve8

With our boots on the ground in the West, we educate, advocate and rescue. We are dedicated to serving and protecting America’s wild horses ‘forever wild and free’™.
(BLM’s photo of mares used for PZP experiments)

Urgent funding needed for legal action to save wild horses

MICHAELBLAKE Oscar

Please share and make a tax-deductible donation today! Protect Mustangs needs to act quickly and independently to FIGHT for America’s wild horses in court.

During the Pine Nut roundup case we brought the PZP/pesticide issue into the court room and ultimately stopped the roundup. Our Fort McDermitt case (READ Michael Blake’s declaration below) stopped sending more than a thousand wild horses to slaughter in 2013 and 2014. There are many important cases to win!

We donate our time but still need to pay the lawyer a reduced fee. Using lawyers on staff with other groups was a blessing at the time but doesn’t work anymore because there is so much to do QUICKLY! Please HELP America’s wild horses with a tax-deductible donation here: http://www.gofundme.com/qarve8 to fight for them in court today!

Did you know that Michael Blake (Dances with Wolves), RIP, joined our Fort McDermitt lawsuit in 2013 when we stopped 2 years of horrible roundups that were sending wild horses to slaughter?

This is what he wrote on August 21, 2013:

I, Michael Lennox Blake, declare and state as follows:

1. I am an author as well as a screenwriter. I have written several books and screenplays including Dances with Wolves, which was released to international acclaim in 1990. In 1991, I won every major award for my screenplay for Dances with Wolves, including an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Writer’s Guild Award, and the Silver Spur. I have also received public service awards including the Eleanor Roosevelt Award and the Americanism Award, in addition to many other awards during my life.

2. I reside in Sonoita, Arizona. I am a member of Protect Mustangs, and also am on the Advisory Board for Protect Mustangs. In a professional capacity I am an author and screenwriter. I support the work that Protect Mustangs does to protect wild horses and advocate for effective wild horse conservation on public lands.

3. I have visited Nevada for decades to see the wild horses, study them, and be inspired by them for my work. I have explored the lands of Nevada where the wild horses roam in freedom for inspiration and research for my work. I intend to return to these areas so I may continue to be inspired and do research for my work.

4. In 1992, I helped commission the first comprehensive aerial census of wild horses in Nevada. In almost every herd area, the horses were far less numerous than the BLM estimated. The final count in our survey was 8,324.

5. Protect Mustangs’ members are interested in wild horses, and I support their work to protect wild horses’ freedom and safety from cruel and harmful practices including but not limited to illegal roundups. Their mission is to educate the public about indigenous wild horses, protect and research American wild horses on the range, and help those who have lost their freedom. Protect Mustangs works to educate the public about the decisions and activities of the government that impact wild horses, and find solutions for wild horse conservation that does not include roundups and auctioning off wild horses for slaughter. Members of the public and horse advocates across the United States are interested in and support Protect Mustangs’ work to protect wild horses due to their recreational, scientific, spiritual, ecological, cultural, artistic, historical, iconic, and aesthetic values.

6. I wrote in my book Twelve the King:

But he and hundreds of thousand like him are gone now from this beautiful land, and for that reason alone I could not stop as I traveled over four hundred miles of Nevada roads. Something evil is still afoot in this land, and it has left its imprint everywhere. In all those miles of open, free country, the mark of evil is present in what is absent. The wild horses are missing from the land.

7. I have written extensively about the American West and find inspiration seeing and studying wild horses. If these unbranded, wild horses are rounded up and removed by the USDA Forest Service and/or the BLM on tribal land, or elsewhere by the Forest Service and/or the BLM, I will be harmed because I will no longer have the ability to study them or be inspired for my books, stories and other works.

8. Wild horses and their connection with the land in the American West inspire me to write. I have plans to spend time in the future using and enjoying these lands and studying free-roaming wild horses on public lands in the Owyhee HMAs and where the wild horses roam in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, as well as on tribal lands. The proposed gather on USDA Forest Service and tribal lands will forever remove wild and free-roaming horses that I rely upon in my professional and personal capabilities.

9. I derive significant satisfaction and happiness from the existence of native wild, free- roaming horses. Ensuring the continued existence and distribution of wildlife including wild horses in the West is of the utmost importance to me and has directly influenced my life a great deal. The West is far different than the East because the West still has wildlife—including wild horses that inspire me to write fiction and non-fiction.

10. If the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather proceeds as planned, it will prevent me and other members of Protect Mustangs from recreating, enjoying, studying, being inspired from, and writing about the wild horses in the area in the future. I am very unlikely to continue deriving benefit and inspiration concerning the wild horses in an area where they have been removed and herd numbers drastically reduced as is proposed by the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather and the 2013 Agreement between the Forest Service and Fort McDermitt Tribal Council. Our members share these views as well.

11. I have been studying and gaining inspiration from seeing wild horses in Nevada throughout my life. I have certain plans to continue visiting these wild areas of Nevada authorized for roundup, including the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, throughout my lifetime. For the aforementioned reasons I would be directly harmed should the unbranded, wild horses at issue in the Fort McDermitt Horse Gather be removed and the horses rounded up and be allowed to go to holding, auction, sale, or slaughter.

[End of Michael Lennox Blake’s declaration]

HELP build the legal fund today so Protect Mustangs can fight for wild horses in court. We are a unique group dedicated purely to the preservation of America’s wild horses. We need to act QUICKLY and independently to HELP SAVE wild horses with legal action. Please make a tax-deductible donation today and share this fundraiser: http://www.gofundme.com/qarve8

Thank you for taking action today to help save the wild horses!

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Volunteer Executive Director
www.ProtectMustangs.org
Telephone: 415-531-8454

Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

Don’t take the wild out of wild horses!

The truth

Associated Press reports: Groups differ on plan to help control wild horse population

May 9, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plan to inject 50 wild horses in western Utah with contraception drugs to help control the population is being applauded by one wild horse advocacy group but derided by another.

The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign supports the plan, saying it is a more humane method than taking horses off their ranges, the Deseret News newspaper in Salt Lake City reports (http://bit.ly/1zCcWkw ).

“This is the best-case scenario,” campaign spokeswoman Deniz Bolbol said. “We really applaud Utah BLM for doing this for the Onaqui herd and letting these horses stay with their families, remain wild and free, and at the same time manage the number of horses born so they don’t have to do roundups into the future.”

But the group Protect Mustangs says the anti-fertility drug can lead to sterilization and wreak havoc on natural selection.

“This is an essential part of survival of the fittest. Nature knows best,” said Anne Novak, Protect Mustangs executive director. “No one should be shooting wild horses with dart guns. It’s harassment, plain and simple.”

This marks the first time this method has been used in Utah. The BLM plans to begin injecting the drugs in the horses using darts in May, said spokeswoman Lisa Reid. It will continue with the project over a five-year span.

The drug that will be used, called porcine zona pellucida, is most effective for one year, the BLM said. It is effective in preventing pregnancy in horses for one year, Reid said.

The BLM says there are 317 wild horses in the Onaqui Mountain area about 60 miles southwest of Tooele. That’s more than double the appropriate level of 120.
Statewide, there are about 4,300 wild horses and burros in Utah, above the appropriate management level of about 2,000, the agency said.

“This is a very important program. The only tool we’ve had in the past to manage herds is through removal,” Reid said. “We prefer not to round them up, so administering birth control through darting is a great tool because it’s less invasive and less stressful to the herds, and it allows us to hopefully reduce reproduction effectively.”

Roundups are also expensive, said Gus Warr, Utah director of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro program. Helicopter roundups cost about $400 to $500 per horse while fertility drugs cost roughly $100 per horse, Warr said.

The issue of wild horses has been a lightning rod across the West for years. Many ranchers claim the horses are overrunning the range, causing ecological damage and reducing grazing for livestock. They want the BLM to immediately round up excess horses.

Bolbol, of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, said she hopes BLM officials around the West use this method to keep herds at manageable levels.

But Warr said the contraception plan won’t work in all Utah herds because of difficult terrain and skittish horses.
___
Information from: Deseret News, http://bit.ly/1zCcWkw

Link to the Associated Press article that’s gone viral: http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Groups-differ-on-plan-to-help-control-wild-horse-6252849.php cross-posted for educational purposes

# # #

Please share the petition to bring emergency shade and shelter to wild horses & burros https://www.change.org/p/bring-emergency-shelter-and-shade-to-captive-wild-horses-and-burros

Also please share the petition to defund and stop the wild horses roundups https://www.change.org/p/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups

JOIN the Facebook Forum on PZP to learn more about forced drugging with the pesticide (PZP) made from slaughterhouse pig ovaries: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForumPZPWildHorsesBurros/

Help Protect Mustangs continue to fight for wild horses with a donation via PayPal.com to Contact@ProtectMustangs.org or visit our website www.ProtectMustangs.org to join the organization.

You can also make a tax-deductible donation to help us keep fighting in court to protect America’s wild horses right here: http://www.gofundme.com/qarve8

Together we can keep the wild in wild horses!

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Executive Director
www.ProtectMustangs.org

Despite protests, BLM returns wild horses to range in Nevada

Fish Creek Mares Indian Lakes aka Broken Arrow 2015

April 12, 2015

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Despite the protests of a rural county and rancher, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has returned some 160 wild horses to the range in central Nevada.

The agency returned the horses to the Fish Creek Herd Management Area near Eureka on Tuesday after being cleared to do so by the Interior Board of Land Appeals.

The BLM originally had planned to return some 100 mares treated with a fertility control vaccine and 80 studs to the HMA on Feb. 20. They were among 424 horses removed from the HMA during a roundup that ended earlier in February.

The bureau routinely thins what it calls overpopulated herds on public land across the West, sending horses that aren’t adopted by the public to pastures in the Midwest for the rest of their lives.

The agency also routinely releases mares treated with fertility control drugs back to the range after being rounded up. Varying numbers of studs also are released back to the range to help maintain the genetic viability of herds.

Eureka County commissioners and rancher Kevin Borba filed an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals to block the return of any of the 424 horses to the range and to challenge the BLM’s assessment of how many horses the HMA can support.

But the board affirmed the BLM’s authority to return 162 of the horses to the range. Arguments in the case continue on the underlying claims.

Borba has said the BLM has drastically reduced his livestock allotments in the HMA while allowing well over twice as many horses in it as it can support. He and Eureka commissioners seek the removal of more horses.

Horse advocates praised the BLM’s return of the horses to the range, saying it’s in line with recommendations released in 2013 by a National Academy of Sciences panel calling for increased emphasis on fertility control to keep horse numbers down.

“Now is the time to move forward with innovative management that makes sense, keeping wild horses on their range and saving millions of tax dollars in the long term,” Neda DeMayo, president of Return to Freedom, said in a statement. “It is time for a new direction instead of wasting time and money obstructing positive solutions that will benefit the horses, wildlife, ranchers and the range.”

But not all horse advocacy groups support the use of fertility control drugs on mares.

“We want to see drug-free holistic management used for native wild horses,” said Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “(The fertility control vaccine) PZP sterilizes after multiple use and we’re concerned that will ruin survival of the fittest.”

Borba has said he thinks the fertility control vaccine is far less effective than the BLM and horse advocates claim, and horse numbers will further explode as a result. Ranchers view wild horses as competition for scare forage in the arid West.

Cross-posted for educational purposes only from the San Francisco Chronicle.

URGENT: Help the WY14 get their hay!

Here is the first video clip released of some members of the WY14. Please help them raise the money before 3 p.m. (Pacific Time) March 31st to get their semi-load of hay. Donations are tax-deductible and sharing helps too. Here is the link: http://www.gofundme.com/HayDriveWY14Spitfire

The survivors need hay to grow strong and heal from the trauma of the roundup that sent all their herd members over the age of 2 to slaughter. The clock is ticking.. . Please help the WY14 and Baby Spitfire! It takes a village.

They send their love and are so grateful you care.

Many blessings,
Anne
Anne Novak
Volunteer Executive Director
www.ProtectMustangs.org

BREAKING NEWS: Advocates win — BLM Cancels Roundup Following Protect Mustangs’ and FOA’s Court Victory

Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

For immediate release

BREAKING NEWS: Advocates win — BLM Cancels Roundup Following Protect Mustangs’ and FOA’s Court Victory

Nevada’s beloved Pine Nut Herd from ‘The Misfits’ escapes horrible helicopter stampede

RENO, NV. (March 25, 2015)—After U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks’ Feb. 11 decision to grant Protect Mustangs’ and Friends of Animals’ (FoA) a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the proposed roundup of more than 300 wild horses on the 98,000 acre Nevada Pine Nut Herd Management Area (HMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today it has officially canceled the roundup. The famous herd from ‘The Misfits’ continues to live in freedom thanks to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and justice in federal court.

“The BLM is attacking wild horses, painting them as pests that are destroying the environment while the real culprits act with impunity in their own best interest,” states actor Mark Boone Junior (Sons of Anarchy, Batman Begins).

“We are so grateful truth and justice has been upheld for America’s wild horses,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs based 4 hours away in San Francisco. “We have been studying the wild horses in the Pine Nuts for several years. They are an inspiration to fight for wild horse freedom throughout the West.”

“The BLM’s outdated 2010 environmental assessment did not stand up in court because it did not take into account the current situation on the range,” explains Tami Hottes Protect Mustangs board member. “We are working on increasing the Appropriate Management Level for native wild horses to ensure their survival.”

Before the proposed 2015 roundup was stopped, BLM wanted to permanently remove 200 wild horses and forcibly drug with PZP the few remaining mares to be released. Protect Mustangs and FOA filed a case in the District Court of Nevada, arguing that BLM violated its duties under NEPA by dusting off their stale 2010 Environmental Assessment. U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks agreed to the preliminary injunction. On Feb. 11 Hicks decided that the plaintiffs showed they were likely to succeed on their legal claims and granted Protect Mustangs’ and FoA’s request to postpone the roundup.

“This gives us a fighting chance to restore the herd’s population to what it was when I was a boy,” says Craig Downer director of ecology and conservation for Protect Mustangs. “Habitat restoration is essential for native wild horses to survive drought and environmental changes in these times.”

“Forced drugging with PZP, an EPA restricted use pesticide that sterilizes after multiple use, is something we will not tolerate on the federally protected Pine Nut herd,” states Novak. “Americans will champion the herd’s freedom and will prevent special interest groups from using them as pharmaceutical lab rats for drug research on the range.”

“Underpopulation on the Pine Nut HMA is a serious problem for the herd’s long term survival because of the public land grab and environmental degradation due to multiple use policies,” explains Novak. “Since BLM tried to round them up in the beginning of 2015 we have become vigilant and are often in the field gathering evidence to keep the native herd safe, as well as building our legal department to fight for the voiceless in court.”

###

Protect Mustangs is the leading grassroots nonprofit organization who protects and preserves native and wild horses. www.ProtectMustangs.org

Links of interest:

EPA Pesticide Fact Sheet for PZP: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf

Bureau Of Land Management Halts Horse Contraception Program (Associated Press) http://kjzz.org/content/118651/bureau-land-management-halts-horse-contraception-program

US agency abandoning Nevada mustang roundup for now http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar/25/blm-abandoning-nevada-mustang-roundup-at-least/

Agency abandons at least for now roundup that US judge earlier blocked (Associated Press) http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/47f8f5d9e87d4a408461657fd926bea7/NV–Wild-Horses-Lawsuit-Contraception-Rift/

Protect Mustangs’ legal fund http://www.gofundme.com/qarve8

Facebook Forum on PZP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForumPZPWildHorsesBurros

February 11th Court order granting preliminary injunction: PM Pine Nut Order Granting Preliminary Inj.

US judge “troubled” by mustang roundup planned in Nevada http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/02/09/3636398_us-judge-troubled-by-latest-mustang.html?rh=1

Lawsuit targets Nevada wild horse roundup (USA TODAY)http://usat.ly/1yNrjLy

Latest suit to block Nevada mustang roundups targets drugs http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/02/01/3622737_latest-suit-to-block-nevada-mustang.html?rh=1

Jan. 26th Press release: Protect Mustangs & Friends of Animals file lawsuit to stop Pine Nut Mountains roundup: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=7806

Wild-horse activists kicked out of federal meeting in Nevada, (Associated Press) went viral: http://bit.ly/1zHGrjY

Activists split on US agency”s plans to treat 250 mares with fertility-control drug in Nevada: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/28/activists-rip-blms-plans-to-remove-750-more-mustan/

Genetic viability in Pine Nut herd at risk http://protectmustangs.org/?p=7917

Mark Boone Junior http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0095478/

Protect Mustangs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

ProtectMustangs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProtectMustangs

Anne Novak on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAnneNovak

A brief history of wild horses in the news: http://bit.ly/1LsjGEz

 

 

 

Media Contact:
Anne Novak
Executive Director
Protect Mustangs
Tel./Text: 415.531.8454
Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

Speak Out at the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting in Ohio (April 22-23)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces that the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will conduct a meeting on matters pertaining to management and protection of wild, free-roaming horses and burros on the Nation’s public lands.

The Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday April 22, 2015, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time and Thursday April 23, 2015, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This will be a two day meeting. Public comment is on the 22nd at 3 p.m. and written public comments may be submitted also for the Advisory Board. See detailed information below.
ADDRESSES:

This Advisory Board meeting will take place in Columbus, Ohio at the Hyatt Regency Columbus, 350 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215, telephone 614-463-1234.
Written comments pertaining to the April 22-23, 2015, Advisory Board meeting can be mailed to National Wild Horse and Burro Program,WO-260, Attention: Ramona DeLorme, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, NV 89502-7147, or sent electronically to wildhorse@blm.gov. Please include “Advisory Board Comment” in the subject line of the email.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ramona DeLorme, Wild Horse and Burro Administrative Assistant, at 775-861-6583. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board advises the Secretary of the Interior, the BLM Director, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Chief of the Forest Service on matters pertaining to the management and protection of wild, free-roaming horses and burros on the Nation’s public lands. The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board operates under the authority of 43 CFR 1784. The tentative agenda for the meeting is:
I. Advisory Board Public Meeting

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 (8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)

8:00 a.m.Welcome, Introductions, and Agenda Review
8:50 a.m.Approval of August 2014 Minutes
9:10 a.m.BLM Response to Advisory Board Recommendations
9:30 a.m.Wild Horse and Burro Program Update
12:00 p.m.Lunch
1:15 p.m.Program Update continued
3:00 p.m.Public Comment Period Begins
4:30 p.m.Public Comment Period Ends
5:00 p.m.Adjourn
Thursday, April 23, 2015 (8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)

8:00 a.m.Program Update continued
12:00 p.m.Lunch
1:15 p.m.Working Group Reports
2:45 p.m.Advisory Board Discussion and Recommendations to the BLM
5:00 p.m.Adjourn
The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities. An individual with a disability needing an auxiliary aid or service to participate in the meeting, such as an interpreting service, assistive listening device, or materials in an alternate format, must notify Ms. DeLorme two weeks before the scheduled meeting date. Although the BLM will attempt to meet a request received after that date, the requested auxiliary aid or service may not be available because of insufficient time to arrange for it.
The Federal Advisory Committee Management Regulations at 41 CFR 101-6.1015(b), requires BLM to publish in the Federal Register notice of a public meeting 15 days prior to the meeting date.
II. Public Comment Procedures

On Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. members of the public will have the opportunity to make comments to the Advisory Board on the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Persons wishing to make comments during the meeting should register in person with the BLM by 2:00 p.m. on April 22, 2015, at the meeting location. Depending on the number of commenters, the Advisory Board may limit the length of comments. At previous meetings, comments have been limited to three minutes in length; however, this time may vary. Commenters should address the specific wild horse and burro-related topics listed on the agenda. Speakers are requested to submit a written copy of their statement to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section above or bring a written copy to the meeting. There may be a Webcam present during the entire meeting and individual comments may be recorded.
Participation in the Advisory Board meeting is not a prerequisite for submission of written comments. The BLM invites written comments from all interested parties. Your written comments should be specific and explain the reason for any recommendation. The BLM appreciates any and all comments. The BLM considers comments that are either supported by quantitative information or studies or those that include citations to and analysis of applicable laws and regulations to be the most useful and likely to influence BLM’s decisions on the management and protection of wild horses and burros.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.