Appeal to stop the wild horse wipe out

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Protect Mustangs

Dear Friends of wild horses and burros,

Despite the fact that the National Academy of Sciences stated there is “no evidence of overpopulation”, a group with alleged funding related conflict of interest is pushing the sterilizant known as PZP on an uninformed public using the ‘it’s either slaughter or PZP’ scare tactic.

Today’s drug pitch is found in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suzanne-roy/wild-horses-at-risk-of-sl_b_4934857.html It references population control experiments on the less than 48,000 acre Assateague Island in the East and lacks scientific comparison with the vast open range found in the West–where some herd management areas cover 800,000 acres or more.

Why did the coalition of several groups give up the fight for wild horses’ real freedom?

Freedom is the American mustangs’ right according to the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971. They should not be manipulated by man on the range nor in congressional back rooms. Native wild horses should never be domesticated through sterilizants with man choosing who breeds. That’s nature’s job in the wild. It fosters survival of the fittest.

The solution to the fertility control debate is to focus on what the wild herds need to thrive in freedom not what a campaign, driven by a sanctuary or the BLM, wants to achieve. We need good science to find solutions.

The BLM wants to eliminate the majority of wild herds to free up public land for toxic drilling so why is this coalition following BLM’s lead to push population control before science?

There is no accurate population count to justify roundups. BLM’s overpopulation claims are a farce.

What’s the solution for a falsified overpopulation problem? A reality check and good science.

Fearing extinction from excessive roundups since the 2009 public land grab for energy exports, America’s wild horse birthrate in the West is abnormally high. That should be a red flag that there is something seriously wrong with ecology on their native range.

The Chainman Shale deposit of oil and natural gas in northeastern Nevada and into Utah is about to boom. Exploration began around 2009 in tandem with vast roundups removing the majority of wild horses who have the legal right to be on public land. Some went to probable slaughter and others make up the 50,000 captives warehoused in long-term holding facilities at taxpayer expense.

America’s wild horses should live wild and free–not drugged up with “restricted use pesticides” passed by the EPA for pest control and unsafe for domestic horses.

We invite the public and elected officials to demand a 10 year moratorium on roundups for recovery and studies to develop good science for management. Wild horses are an essential part of the thriving natural ecological balance. They will help reverse desertification and reduce global warming by filling their niche on their native range.

Please sign and share the petition for a 10 year moratorium on roundups for recovery and scientific studies: http://www.change.org/petitions/sally-jewell-urgent-grant-a-10-year-moratorium-on-wild-horse-roundups-for-scientific-studies

Contact us if you want to keep America’s herds wild and free. Our email is Contact@ProtectMustangs.org We need your help in various ways.

Remember the herds are the lifeblood of our native wild horses. Due to underpopulation their genetic viability is in crisis today. American wild horses must be protected from experimentation and from domestication so they can always run wild and free.

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Executive Director for Protect Mustangs™
www.ProtectMustangs.org

Links of interest:

Chainman Shale: http://info.drillinginfo.com/chainman-shale-could-it-be-the-next-big-land-grab/

One of the many pesticide fact sheets: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf

Are wild horses going to be sterilized due to an advocacy campaign? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6356

Washington Post reports: U.S. looking for ideas to help manage overpopulation http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-looking-for-ideas-to-help-manage-wild-horse-overpopulation/2014/01/26/8cae7c96-84f2-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html

The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America: http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo.aspx?journalid=118&doi=10.11648%2Fj.ajls.20140201.12

Press Release: No proof of overpopulation, no need for native wild horse fertility control http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4453

Bogus Science and Profiteering Stampeding Their Way into Wild Horse Country http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4475

Protect Mustangs speaks out against the Cloud Foundation’s PARTNERSHIP with BLM using risky PZP that could terminate natural selection: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4941

Wildlife Ecologist, Craig Downer, speaks out against using PZP in the Pryors: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4178

Report unveils wild horse underpopulation on 800,000 acre Twin Peaks range: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6278

www.ProtectMustangs.org
Protect Mustangs educates, protects and preserves native and wild horses. The nonprofit conservation group strives for a moratorium on roundups and science-based holistic land management to reduce global warming.

BAD NEWS! The President’s proposed budget calls for aggressive population control methods. Email your Senators and Rep to defund sterilizations and request a ten-year moratorium on roundups

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Protect Mustangs

from Wikimedia

Statement

“The President’s fiscal year 2015 budget request is outrageous. It favors Big Oil and Gas fracking on public land while funding the American wild horse wipe-out. Currently there is no evidence of overpopulation while the BLM’s runaway train for sterilization packaged as ‘birth control’ bashes down the tracks. We request a ten-year moratorium on roundups for scientific studies on population, migration and holistic land management. Science must come before aggressive measures to sterilize native wild horses. Birthrates are abnormally high from excessive roundups. Studies show the herds will self-regulate if the BLM stops managing them to extinction.” ~Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs

Contact your senators and representatives today! http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ Send them the study showing wild horse herds will self-regulate http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6057

Please sign and share the Change.org Petition to De-Fund & Stop the Roundups.

Sign and share the petition for a 10-year moratorium on roundups for scientific studies: http://www.change.org/petitions/sally-jewell-urgent-grant-a-10-year-moratorium-on-wild-horse-roundups-for-scientific-research

Read the fine print, ask questions and beware of pleges you are asking your representative to sign. Read: Are wild horses going to be sterilized due to an advocacy campaign? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6356

PZP is a restricted use pesticide approved by the EPA calling wild horses PESTS! The Humane Society of the United States is the registrant of the drug. Why did they name indigenous wild horses pests? Was it to fast-track the drug because the FDA would not approve it?

Press Release: No proof of overpopulation, no need for native wild horse fertility control http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4453

Protect Mustangs speaks out against the Cloud Foundation’s PARTNERSHIP with BLM using risky PZP that could terminate natural selection: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4941

Wildlife Ecologist, Craig Downer, speaks out against using PZP in the Pryors: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4178

Proof the herds will self regulate: Study shows wild horse herds with functional social structures contribute to low herd growth compared to BLM managed herds http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6057

Use social media, email and call elected officials to help save America’s wild horses. Wild Horse Wednesday™ is a call to action day. #WildHorseWednesday www.ProtectMustangs.org

Go to the 2015 Budget and comment below on the problems you see.

Cross-posted from a BLM press release:

President Proposes $1.1 Billion for BLM in Fiscal Year 2015
Investment in Public Lands Yields $150 billion in Economic Output and 750,000 Jobs

WASHINGTON – President Obama today requested $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Land Management in Fiscal Year 2015, which will enable the BLM to continue to responsibly manage the development of conventional and renewable energy on public lands, conserve valuable wildlife habitat and cultural and historic resources, and implement innovative landscape scale management approaches.

“This balanced and responsible proposal will advance the BLM’s mission of multiple use and sustained yield of the public lands at a time of tight budgets,” said BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze. “The BLM continues to be a major economic engine for many communities across the West and this budget makes smart investments that provide for a secure energy future, expanded outdoor recreational opportunities and thoughtful resource management.”

Kornze noted that the BLM generates an estimated $150 billion annually in economic output for the Nation and supports more than 750,000 jobs through resource development and conservation and recreational activities on BLM-managed public lands.

The 2015 President’s request seeks $954.1 million for the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation and $104.0 million for the Oregon and California Grant Lands appropriation, the BLM’s two major operating accounts. The total BLM budget request, partially offset by new fee collections, is a decrease of $5.6 million below the 2014 enacted level.

Under the President’s budget for 2015, the BLM – with a workforce of about 10,000 employees – would focus on the following priorities:

Powering Our Future – The President’s 2015 budget proposes an increase of $20.3 million above the 2014 enacted level ($113.4 million) for the BLM’s Oil and Gas Management program. The request includes both direct appropriations and funding fees for services provided to oil and gas producers on Federal lands. The request includes an increase of $5.2 million to provide staffing, training, and other resources needed to strengthen operational guidance to BLM units. The request also includes $4.6 million to strengthen the BLM’s core oversight, leasing and permitting capabilities, allowing the BLM to keep up with industry demand and workload. Among other things, the increase will enable BLM to fill vacancies and expand staff in key locations, as well as continue implementing leasing reforms instituted in May 2010 by supporting enhanced environmental analysis and planning for future lease sales. The budget request also proposes to expand and strengthen BLM’s inspection and oversight capability through fees comparable to those assessed for offshore inspections. This funding will help BLM fully implement a risk-based inspection strategy to improve production accountability, safety, and environmental protection of oil and gas operations. The budget proposes an inspection fee schedule estimated to generate $48.0 million in offsetting collections, which allows for a proposed reduction of $38.0 million in appropriated funds, while providing an increase of $10.0 million to enhance BLM’s inspection capability.

The President’s Budget request maintains funding for renewable energy at essentially the 2014 enacted level, $29.2 million, providing the BLM with the resources it needs to continue to aggressively facilitate and support solar, wind and geothermal energy development as Interior works toward the President’s goal of approving 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy on public lands by 2020.

Since 2009, the BLM has approved 50 utility-scale renewable energy proposals and associated transmission on public lands, including 27 solar, 11 wind, and 12 geothermal projects. Together, the projects could support more than 20,000 construction and operations jobs and, if fully built, generate nearly 14,000 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 4.8 million homes.

Complementing the Secretary’s Powering Our Future initiative are efforts to facilitate efficient delivery of energy to the markets where it is needed to meet growing demands. The West’s aging electrical infrastructure is an impediment to efficient energy transmission and maximizing renewable energy development. The BLM has a critical role in expanding electric transmission infrastructure through the issuance of rights-of-way. To support the necessary upgrades needed to improve reliability and increase capacity, the budget includes a $5.0 million increase in the Cadastral, Lands and Realty Management program to enhance the BLM’s ability to identify and designate energy corridors in low conflict areas and to site high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and related infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive manner.

Bureau of Land Management Foundation – The budget proposes to establish a charitable, non-profit organization to benefit the public by protecting and restoring BLM’s natural, cultural, historical, and recreation resources for future generations. The National BLM Foundation will be similar to existing foundations, including the National Park Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Forest Foundation.

Sage-Grouse Conservation – The President’s request continues to provide $15 million to implement broad-scale Sage-Grouse planning and conservation activities to lessen the threats to the sage grouse and its habitat to help prevent the future listing of the species for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The efforts include amending or revising 98 land-use plans to designate priority habitat; performing habitat restoration and improvement; and conducting habitat mapping, assessment and monitoring activities.

America’s Great Outdoors – The BLM plays a key role in advancing the President’s conservation initiative to reconnect Americans to the outdoors. More than 61 million visits are made to BLM public lands every year. Accordingly, the 2015 budget request includes an increase of $1.9 million to strengthen management of national monuments and national conservation areas, key units of BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System that contain some of the West’s most spectacular landscapes. Other increases in support of America’s Great Outdoors include $900,000 in Recreation Resources Management for planning, visitor safety, and interpretive services and $742,000 in Cultural Resources Management for inventory and site protection activities.

The 2015 budget also includes increases for programs funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a vital component of the America’s Great Outdoors initiative. The 2015 budget proposal includes a total of $89.4 million for BLM land acquisition, including $25.0 million in requested discretionary appropriations and $64.4 million in permanent funding.

Wild Horse and Burro Management – The President’s budget proposes a $2.8 million increase in the Wild Horse and Burro Management program to allow BLM to more aggressively implement recommendations in the June 2013 National Academy of Sciences report on improving the WH&B program, including expanding ongoing research on population control methods, a key component of controlling program costs.

Engaging the Next Generation – The 2015 budget request seeks a total of $4.8 million for BLM youth programs and partnerships, a $1.3 million increase over the 2014 enacted level. This funding will enable the BLM to engage youth in work and training opportunities that promote conservation stewardship and pathways to careers.

Enterprise Geospatial System – The BLM is requesting $3.8 million to expand the implementation of the BLM’s enterprise geospatial system in 2015. This will include improved data management across administrative units that will provide enhanced information for landscape-scale planning initiatives, include the Greater Sage-Grouse Plan Implementation and Monitoring, Renewable energy Development, Rapid Eco-regional Assessments, Climate Change Adaptation and Regional Mitigation.

Abandoned Mine Lands – A $2.8 million program increase in the Abandoned Mine Lands program will support implementation of the remediation plan goals for 2015 at the Red Devil Mine site in Alaska.

Challenge Cost Share – A proposed program increase of $1.2 million in the Challenge Cost Share program will be leveraged with support from local partner organizations to address priorities for on-the-ground habitat conservation, recreation, and cultural resources protection work.

Livestock Grazing – As in previous years, the Administration’s budget proposal seeks to initiate a grazing administration fee pilot project that would enhance BLM’s capacity for processing grazing permits. A fee of $1 per animal unit month is estimated to generate $6.5 million in fee collections in 2015, more than offsetting a $4.8 million decrease in appropriated funds in the Rangeland Management program. The increase of $1.7 million in funding resources will allow BLM to make more progress in addressing the grazing permit backlog.

Alaska Conveyance – The 2015 budget proposal seeks $19 million for the Alaska Conveyance Program allowing the Agency to continue to pursue the implementation of more efficient cadastral survey methods with a goal of completing all Alaska survey and land transfers in the next 10 years.

Oregon and California Grant Lands – The budget proposes reductions totaling $11 million in the Oregon and California Grant Lands account, including a $4.2 million decrease in Western Oregon Resource Management Planning, which is consistent with the expectation that the BLM will complete six resource management plans during fiscal year 2015.

Implementing Federal Oil and Gas Reforms – The 2015 budget includes a package of legislative reforms to bolster and backstop administrative actions being taken to reform management of Interior’s onshore and offshore oil and gas programs, with a key focus on improving the return to taxpayers from the sale of these Federal resources and on improving transparency and oversight. Proposed statutory and administrative changes fall into three general categories: (1) encouraging diligent development of oil and gas leases, (2) improving revenue collection processes, and (3) advancing royalty reform. Collectively, these reforms will generate roughly $2.5 billion in revenue to the Treasury over ten years, of which approximately $1.7 billion will result from statutory changes. Many States also will benefit from higher Federal revenue sharing payments as a result of these reforms.

Modernizing Management of Hardrock Mining and Abandoned Mine Clean-up – The budget includes mandatory proposals to address the legacy of the Nation’s antiquated laws on hardrock mining. Reforms will ensure the cleanup of environmental and safety hazards from past mining practices by creating a Hardrock Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program with dedicated funding for AML cleanup, and provide taxpayers a fair return from the mining of gold, silver and other hardrock resources on Federal lands.

Additional details on the President’s FY 2015 budget request are available online at http://www.doi.gov/budget.

Link to this alert is here: : http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6467

Are wild horses at risk of being sterilized due to an advocacy campaign?

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Protect Mustangs

The public needs to stop panicking and read everything they are asking their senators and representatives to do on their behalf

Is something in that form letter you received that you don’t agree with? Do you want wild horses sterilized using EPA approved restricted use pesticides? These pesticides are not safe for domestic horses so why are they being pushed for use on wild horses? Are you giving up the fight for their freedom to live in natural family bands?

Why is an advocacy group encouraging their supporters to write members of Congress–via click and send form letter–asking them to sign on to the pledge to sterilize wild horses (already in non-viable herds) when BLM overpopulation claim is false?

We found their pitch citing a quote from the National Academy of Sciences report in their form letter being circulated around the Internet. It reads:

“. . . Considering all the current options, [porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccines and GonaCon™ vaccine for females and chemical vasectomy for males] either alone or in combination, offer the most acceptable alternative to removing animals for managing population numbers . . .”

Even worse is the pledge they are requesting members of Congress sign and return the advocacy group’s office.

Senators and representatives will take that to mean you want “[porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccines and GonaCon™ vaccine for females and chemical vasectomy for males] either alone or in combination”. Is that what you want?

Or do you want a 10-year moratorium (suspension) on roundups for scientific research to investigate what’s the best way to manage the underpopulated herds of wild horses left in the West?

Why is this group pushing an elected official “pledge” to use “available fertility control” without scientific studies on population, migration, and holistic land management? What is going on here? Who is funding this scare-tactic-based campaign to sterilize America’s wild horses?

Why isn’t the group mentioning to Congress that the National Academy of Sciences report also said there is “no evidence” of overpopulation–why omit this?

Why hasn’t the group done any independent aerial or in-the-field research on population? Is it because it would not support the BLM’s faulty overpopulation claim?

See for yourself how many wild horses are left in the 800,000 acre Twin Peaks area during a recent aerial survey: http://vimeo.com/81195843 Read the scientific report exposing an underpopulation crisis on public land: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6278

The group appears to know wild horses are not overpopulated. Recently they were quoted in an Associated Press article debunking the BLM’s overpopulation claim in comparison with livestock on public land.

Why then are they attempting to lead the public into blindly supporting a plan lacking good science–a plan calling for permanent and temporary sterility actions against indigenous wild horses?

Is the group eluding to a false risk of all wild horses going to slaughter if they aren’t sterilized?

Why create all the panic so people will quickly click, sign and share the pledge with their senators and congressmen asking them to “take the pledge” for sterilization, etc.? Is the public reading what they are signing on to?

Why is the group pushing for “fertility control”–using sterilizants passed by the EPA as “restricted use pest control”. Wild horses are a native species. How can restricted use pesticides be used on native species? Read more here: http://www.thedesertinde.com/Articles-2012/EPA-Calls-Wild-Horses-Pests–0511.html

Many other valid concerns about PZP were brought up in this 2010 article as well: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2010/10/220.shtml#axzz2tlL9dGaX More articles will be posted soon.

Are American wild horses becoming lab rats for immunocontraceptives for other species including humans? Read the reference section at the bottom this research paper: http://randc.ovinfo.com/e200501/yuanmm.pdf

How can man (BLM and others) decide which wild horses to sterilize on the range and who to breed? That would be the end of survival of the fittest and the beginning of domestication of the wild horse and burro.

Is the group’s paradigm flawed because it focuses on the individual wild horse and neglects to view the herd as most important–as the lifeblood?

Sanctuaries might need to sterilize wild horses because they have limited space but policy for native wild horses living in the wild should not be modeled after a sanctuary model–unless it is based on reserve design.

America’s native wild horses and burros are wild animals who benefit the ecosystem and fill their niche, reduce wildfire fuel, and help reverse desertification. They are not back alley cats that should be spayed and neutered because of an overpopulation problem. No offense to cats : )

The alleged overpopulation problem for wild horses and burros is a farce.

Now the question is–What do we do to save the wild horses from those who are pushing for risky temporary and permanent sterilization using EPA approved “restricted use pesticides” on non-viable herds?

1.) Sign and share widely the petition for a moratorium on roundups for scientific research. Good science will find real solutions to protect wild horses and burros on the range.

2.) Send an email to your senators and your representatives if you don’t want America’s wild horses to be sterilized. Let them know you didn’t read the fine print of the form letter you signed if that is the truth.

3.) Meet with your senator’s aides and your representative to request they intervene in the wipe-out of America’s wild horses and burros by granting a 10-year moratorium on roundups for scientific research on population, migration, reserve design, holistic land management, etc.

Remember don’t let anyone scare you into believing wild horses are going to be slaughtered if they aren’t sterilized. Fight the good fight for our symbols of freedom and our national living treasures–America’s wild horses and burros.

Links of interest:

Contact your senators and representatives: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Petition for a Moratorium on Roundups: http://www.change.org/petitions/sally-jewell-urgent-grant-a-10-year-moratorium-on-wild-horse-roundups-for-scientific-research

The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America, American Journal of Life Sciences by Craig C. Downer http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo.aspx?journalid=118&doi=10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12

American wild horses are indigenous: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3842 and http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

January 26, 2014 Washington Post (Viral) U.S. looking for ideas to help manage wild-horse overpopulation http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-looking-for-ideas-to-help-manage-wild-horse-overpopulation/2014/01/26/8cae7c96-84f2-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html

Ecologist Craig Downer speaks out against using PZP in the Pryors: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4178

Why end natural selection in the Pryors? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4941

The International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB) study of wild herds shows that functional social structures contribute to low herd growth compared to BLM managed herds: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6057

Public outraged over the EPA approving pesticides for NATIVE wild horses http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3866

GASLAND 2, a film by Josh Fox, the plight of wild horses is featured, http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/

Wild Horses and Renegades, a film by James Anaquad Kleinert, http://theamericanwildhorse.com/

EPA calls wild horses pests, Desert Independent http://www.thedesertinde.com/Articles-2012/EPA-Calls-Wild-Horses-Pests–0511.html

Protect Mustangs’ letter requesting EPA repair error classifying iconic American wild horses “pests” http://protectmustangs.org/?p=1191

EPA Pesticide Information for ZonaStat-H http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf

AVMA Reports: Vaccine could reduce wild horse overpopulation http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/apr12/120415k.asp

Wildlife fertility vaccine approved by EPA http://www.sccpzp.org/blog/locally-produced-wildlife-contraceptive-vaccine-approved-by-epa/

Oxford Journal on PZP for Humans and more http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/12/3271.long
PZP research for humans http://randc.ovinfo.com/e200501/yuanmm.pdf

Wild horse predators: http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080302002619AADTWzh

Princeton reports: Wildlife and cows can be partners, not enemies, in search for food. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/93/41K10/index.xml?section=featured

The star studded documentary by James Anaquad Kleinert requests a moratorium on roundups . . .

“It’s time to pick the torch back up and continue the fight. Never give up. We the people must take back the power for the voiceless wild ones we love!” ~Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs

Secretary Jewell wants to push fertility control on native wild horses before scientific studies.

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

Sally Jewell, Fortune Live Media / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

The Live Chat transcript shows Secretary Jewell wants to push birth control and other methods before science.

The “birth control” The Secretary refers to is a restricted use pesticide, a type of PZP made from pigs ovaries, that is so risky it is not approved for domestic horses.

The National Academy of Sciences reported there is “no evidence” of overpopulation. Protect Mustangs is calling for a moratorium on roundups for scientific population studies. Why is Secretary Jewell pushing the pesticide?

Transcript:

>> GOOD AFTERNOON. I’M TIM FULLERTON AT THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. WE WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO THE ROOF HERE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. WE’RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT TODAY AND GIVE YOU SOME OF OUR GREAT PUBLIC LANDS BEHIND US WITH THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SECRETARY SALLY JEWELL WITH US TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS OVER THE NEXT HALF HOUR ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS. SATURDAY WILL BE THE 20TH TIME WE HAD THE PUBLIC LANDS DAY, WHICH IS A BIG DAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE VOLUNTEER. SO FEEL FREE TO USE THE CHAT ON THE SCREEN AND WE HAVE SOME E- MAIL QUESTIONS AS WELL. FIRST I WANT TO TURN IT OVER TO SECRETARY SALLY JEWELL.

>> THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR TUNING INTO THIS LIVE CHAT. IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET AROUND THIS LANDSCAPE AND SEE EVERYBODY. IT IS WONDERFUL TO HAVE COLLEAGUES LIKE TIM THAT FACILITATE TECHNOLOGY SO I GET A CHANCE TO HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT THE WORLD THAT IS THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR. I WANT TO SAY ONE OF MY FAVORITE DAYS OF THE YEAR IS COMING UP ON SATURDAY. OVER THE COURSE OF A NUMBER OF YEARS, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF VOLUNTEERING ON OUR PUBLIC LANDS AND I WANT TO THANK THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION FOUND — FOUNDATION THAT STARTED IT 20 YEARS AGO SO THAT WE COULD CONNECT SO MANY PEOPLE TO OUR PUBLIC LANDS. I THINK THE VERY FIRST ONE WAS VERY SMALL. WE ARE LOOKING AT 180,000 WELL AND HERE’S — VOLUNTEERS. I WENT ON THEIR WEBSITE BEFORE THIS PRESENTATION TODAY. THEIR TAGLINE IS HELPING HANDS FOR AMERICA’S LANDS. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO TO THEIR WEBSITE, PUBLICLANDSDAY.ORG. YOU CAN SEE BY CLICKING ON YOUR STATE WHAT IS HAPPENING CLOSE TO YOU. I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN ME IN GETTING OUT AND DOING A LITTLE SWEAT EQUITY THIS SATURDAY. I GET TO GO TO ATLANTA OR I’M GOING TO BE WORKING ON THE MLK JUNIOR HISTORIC SITE. THAT WILL BE THE CHILDHOOD HOME OF DR. KING. WE’RE GOING TO BE DOING PAINTING AND MULCHING AND PICKING UP GARBAGE. MOST IMPORTANTLY WHEN YOU GET OUT CAN YOU CONNECT, YOU NEVER LOOK AT THAT SITE IN THE SAME WAY. YOU’LL NEVER LOOK AT DR. KING’S MEMORIAL IN THE SAME WAY IF YOU GET OUT AND YOU WORK ON IT. THAT IS TRUE FOR PUBLIC LANDS AROUND THE COUNTRY. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN, AS PEOPLE DID LAST YEAR, PICKING UP GARBAGE. I THINK WE HAD MANY TONS, 500 TONS LAST YEAR. 23,000 POUNDS OF INVASIVE SPECIES REMOVED. AT THIS TIME OF CLIMATE CHANGE, OF TIGHT BUDGETS, VOLUNTEERS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. I HOPE YOU WILL GET OUT AND JOIN ME AND MAYBE TAKE A YOUNG PERSON BY THE HAND AS WELL. WITH THAT LITTLE COMMERCIAL FOR VOLUNTEERING, I WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS. TIM, IF YOU HAVE SOME. FIRE WAY.

>> WE WERE INUNDATED WITH QUESTIONS. THIS ONE IS FROM VIRGINIA. ARE THERE PLANS TO INCREASE ACCESS AND BANDWIDTH TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE PHONES THROUGH CELL TOWERS? DO YOU BELIEVE THIS IS A POSITIVE DIRECTION?

>> THANKS FOR THE QUESTION. NO QUESTION WE ARE ALL TIED INTO OUR MOBILE TECHNOLOGY TODAY. ALL CHILDREN ARE SPENDING TIME IN FRONT OF A SCREEN, AND I TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT, I ALSO KNOW MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AND TABLETS AND THINGS LIKE THAT CAN CONNECT US TO THE NATURAL WORLD. ONE OF THE THINGS WE ARE SEEING IN A NUMBER OF NATIONAL PARKS, AND WILDLIFE REFUGEES, IS INTERPRETIVE INFORMATION THAT IS TIED INTO GPS SATELLITES SEE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. THE NATIONAL MALL IS ONE SUCH PLACE WHERE YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT HISTORY BASED ON WHERE YOU ARE WITH A GOOD MOBILE CONNECTION. WHILE IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN EVERYWHERE, AND THERE ARE CHALLENGES WITH GETTING CELL PHONE COVERAGE IN SOME OF OUR REMOTE PLACES, I WOULD SAY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR APPRECIATES THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY AND HOW PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THE NATURAL WORLD AND WITH EACH OTHER. AND SOMETIMES EVEN WHEN YOU AREN’T LISTENING TO AN INTERPRETIVE MESSAGE, YOU WILL FIND PEOPLE GATHERING AROUND TO LISTEN TO THAT SAME MESSAGE. I THINK IT IS A GOOD CALL OUT AND SOMETHING WORTH INVESTING IN WHERE THE BUDGET ALLOWS.

>> I WILL JUST THAT IF YOU ARE LAND ON SATURDAY USING YOUR PHONE TO TAKE PHOTOS, THESE USE THE #NPLD20, SO WE CAN GET OUT THE WORD. THE NEXT QUESTION, WE ARE GOING TO SHIFT TO THE BUDGET QUESTION RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THIS. THIS ONE IS FROM RACHEL. WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP THESE PLACES OPEN AND FUNDED?

>> I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION, RACHEL. IT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN VERY CHALLENGING. THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, AS WITH OTHER AGENCIES, HAS BEEN OPERATING UNDER A RESOLUTION WITH THE SEQUESTER THAT HAS FORCED TO BUDGET CUTS ACROSS THE BOARD. IN MANY OF OUR FACILITIES, WE SEE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF VISITATION DURING THE SUMMER. OUR SEASONAL RANGER FOREST AND OUR SEASONAL WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST, A LOT OF TIMES YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING AT BUILDING CAREERS HAVE BEEN HIT THE HARDEST BY THE SEQUESTER AND THE BUDGET SITUATION. I WOULD SAY ALL OF US NEED TO MAKE THE CASE FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC LANDS. AND THE GOOD WORK THAT IS DONE BY PEOPLE ON PUBLIC LANDS. ONE OF THE THINGS I SAY OFTEN IS WHEN YOU SEE A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE, GIVE THEM A HUG OR SAY THANK YOU. THERE IS A LOT OF NEGATIVE MESSAGES. I CAN TELL YOU THERE IS MANY HARD-WORKING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE FEDERAL FAMILY TRYING TO DO GOOD WORK FOR THE COMMON GOOD. FOR TRIBAL NATIONS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY. PUBLIC LANDS AND WILDLIFE AND THE DIVERSITY OF SPECIES AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND WATER AND THINGS PEOPLE CARE ABOUT. YOU NEED TO GIVE BACK TO REGULAR ORDER IN THE BUDGET. WE ALSO WILL PLEDGE TO USE OUR RESOURCES WISELY. I WILL BRING MY BUSINESS EXPERIENCE TO BEAR TO MAKE SURE WE ARE SPENDING OUR MONEY EFFICIENTLY. CAN’T DO IT ON A WEEK TO WEEK BASIS WITH CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS WITHOUT STRATEGY.

>> THANK YOU, SECRETARY JEWELL. THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM VIRGINIA. THIS IS FROM KEITH. HE IS ASKING WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THE DEPARTMENT CAN BALANCE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT WITH THE CONSERVATION IN ORDER TO PRODUCE ENERGY AND SUSTAINING OUTDOOR RECREATION?

>> I APPRECIATE A QUESTION. BALANCE IS A KEYWORD. WE ARE MANDATED BY THE VARIOUS LAWS TO BE THOUGHTFUL IN HOW WE USE RESOURCES, PARTICULARLY WITHIN THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT. THAT IS ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE, WHERE OUR RESOURCES ARE DEVELOPED. BALANCE IS IMPORTANT. THERE ARE PLACES NOBODY WOULD WANT TO SEE DEVELOPMENT. YOU CAN THINK OF SOME OF THE ICONIC SPOTS AROUND THE COUNTRY, THE GRAND CANYON. YELLOWSTONE, YOSEMITE. BUT ALSO THE WILDLIFE REFUGE, WHICH THE PRESIDENT HAS MADE CLEAR IS NOT FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND YET THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE OF ALASKA, WHICH WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH TO OPEN A LOT FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS. WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL. ONE OF THE PRIORITIES I SET IN TERMS OF HOW WE BOOKED AT THE LAND UNDER OUR STEWARDSHIP IS DEVELOPING A LANDSCAPE APPROACH. UNDERSTANDING WHERE ARE THE RESOURCES, WHERE ARE THE SACRED SITES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO OUR NATION’S FIRST PEOPLE? WHERE ARE THE AREAS THAT ARE CRITICAL HABITAT? HOW CAN WE LOOK AT THAT SO WE FOCUS ON OUR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT WHERE THE CONFLICT IS LOWER? WE CAN PRIORITIZE THOSE AREAS THAT ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE WE CAN SET THEM ASIDE. IT IS COMPLICATED BUT BALANCE IS IMPORTANT AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO BOTH. WE DON’T THINK IT HAS TO BE A TRADE-OFF.

>> THAT LEADS US INTO THE NEXT QUESTION, WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN, SO THIS ONE IS, WHAT IS INTERIOR’S ROLE TO PROMOTE THE PLAN?

>> I AM PROUD TO WORK FOR THE PRESIDENT, WHO STEPPED UP IN FRONT OF A NATIONAL AUDIENCE AND LAID OUT A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN. WE ARE FEELING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. CERTAINLY IN THE RESOURCES INTERIOR MANAGES, WHETHER IT IS HOT WILDFIRES, AS WE STILL HAVE BURNING, JUST INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. WHETHER IT IS DROUGHTS OR FLOODS. WE HAVE SEEN ALL OF THEM IN COLORADO THIS YEAR. OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH PEOPLE IN COLORADO AS THEY DIG OUT FROM THE CHALLENGES THEY HAD. WE DO HAVE CHALLENGES IN WATER SUPPLIES. TOO MUCH IN SOME AND DROUGHTS IN OTHERS. WE HAVE MULTIPLE ROLES, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, WITH ONE IN FIVE ACRES OF LAND. ONE IS TO POWER OUR FUTURE IN NEW WAYS. MY PREDECESSOR AND HIS TEAM DID A FANTASTIC JOB OF STANDING UP RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS ON PUBLIC LAND. THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT CAN REALLY HELP POWER OURSELVES INTO THE FUTURE WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES. THEY ARE BEING DONE IN WAYS THAT PAY ATTENTION TO THE IDEALS ON THE LANDSCAPE AS WE ARE DOING IN THE MOJAVE DESERT. AND THOUGHTFUL MANAGEMENT OF CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL FOSSIL FUELS, WORKING WITH INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP THOSE AND TO DO THEM IN A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY IN TERMS OF REDUCED CARBON FOR THE ENERGY OUTPUT. CERTAINLY RENEWABLE ENERGY, CERTAINLY CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES AND PREPARING OUR COUNTRY AND OUR LANDSCAPE FOR THE REALITIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE. A QUICK EXAMPLE, HURRICANE SANDY, THE HUGE DEVASTATING IMPACT IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF OUR COUNTRY. WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THAT, AND WE CAN SHARE THOSE LESSONS, WHAT MOTHER NATURE KNOWS ABOUT RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURES AND THE ABILITY TO TAKE THE LESSONS FROM MOTHER NATURE AND APPLY THEM OURSELVES. WE WILL BE DOING THAT IN HURRICANE SANDY MITIGATION. WE WILL BE USING YOUNG PEOPLE, WE ARE USING AN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW COMMUNITIES WHERE INFRASTRUCTURE WAS SOMETIMES WORSE FOR THE STRUCTURES BEHIND. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WAS SOMETIMES BETTER. JUST A LOT GOING ON IN CLIMATE CHANGE. WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN AND TO SHARE.

>> IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN GENERAL, YOU CAN GO TO DOI.GOV, AND GO TO THE WHAT WE DO SECTION. WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION THERE. AND IF YOU’RE JUST JOINING US, I WANT TO REMIND YOU WE ARE SITTING HERE WITH SECRETARY SALLY JEWELL, ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS RELATED TO THE DEPARTMENT. WE ARE GOING TO STAY ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE QUESTION. THIS IS FROM JOHN IN OREGON. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT ACTIONS ARE PLANNED TO REDUCE CATASTROPHIC FIRES ON OUR PUBLIC LAND?

>> I APPRECIATE THAT FROM JOHN. I KNOW YOU HAD A SPECTACULAR SUMMER IN THE NOSE — NORTHWEST. INWILDFIRES ARE A GROWING ISSUE. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH YOUR SENATOR AND WITH OTHERS ON CAPITOL HILL AND WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION ON A LONGER-TERM FIX FOR WILDLAND FIRES. WE TREAT EMERGENCIES LIKE HURRICANES AND EARTHQUAKES AND FLOODS WITH EMERGENCY MONEY BUT WE TEND TO TREAT WILDFIRES WITHIN OUR REGULAR BUDGET. SO WHEN WE HAVE 10 SEASONS, WE END UP FOCUSING ON SUPPRESSION OF THE RESOURCE, PUTTING OUT THE FIRE. IT TAKES MONEY FROM OTHER PARTS OF OUR PROGRAMS, INCLUDING REMOVING HAZARDOUS FUELS. AS WE BECOME SMARTER AS A PEOPLE AND MANAGER, YOU REALIZE NATURAL FIRE IS IMPORTANT TO THE ECOSYSTEM. WHEN WE GO WITHOUT NATURAL FIRES, WE END UP WITH FIRES THAT ARE FAR MORE DEVASTATING. WE WILL BE CLOSING — WORKING WITH THE ADMINISTRATION ON A LONGER-TERM FIX THAT ENABLES US TO BE SMARTER ABOUT TAKING CARE OF THOSE LANDSCAPES, REMOVING FUELS, AND NOT HAVING TO PULL MONEY OUT OF THE BUDGET TO FIGHT FIRES. THE OTHER THING I WANT TO SAY, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO LOVE LIVING IN THE WOODS, YOU TAKE ON A PERSON RESPONSIBILITY OF MAKING SURE YOU ARE CLEARING HAZARDS AROUND YOUR STRUCTURE. SO MUCH OF MY MONEY GOES TO PROTECT THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE. I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO HELP US OUT BY REMOVING THE HAZARDOUS FUEL ON YOUR PROPERTY.

>> I SEE WE’RE GETTING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THE CHAT. WE’RE GOING TO START OFF WITH ONE WE HAD A LOT OF VARIATIONS ON, RELATED TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES RELEASING A STUDY ON YOUR WILD HORSE PROGRAM. WHAT DO YOU SEE IS THE FUTURE OF THE PROGRAM?

>> THE CHALLENGE OF HOW TO EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS A GROWING POPULATION OF WILD HORSES IS ONE THAT I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY CARE A LOT ABOUT. AND TEND TO SEND ME A LOT OF LETTERS AND ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. I APPRECIATE THAT. I APPRECIATE THE PASSION THERE IS. I ALSO KNOW WE VALIDATED WHAT THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN SAYING. THE HERDS DOUBLE IN SIZE EVERY 3.5 YEARS. SO THERE WERE RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARD TO BIRTH CONTROL. IT IS AN IMPERFECT SOLUTION. THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT HAS WORKED TO TRY THAT OUT. I HAVE ENCOURAGED THEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY CAN DO TO MANAGE THIS, WHERE WE CAN LEARN, NOT ONLY FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMY BUT ALSO FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR. ARE THERE MORE EFFECTIVE EARTH CONTROL METHODS INDUSTRY MIGHT BE ABLE TO RESEARCH THAT MAKES THESE THINGS MORE EFFECTIVE? WE HAVE A VERY ACT OF ADOPTION PROGRAM SO THAT — ACTIVE ADOPTION PROGRAM SO THAT IF WE ARE CHALLENGED, WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND GOOD HOMES FOR THEM WHERE THEY ARE EXPANDED BEYOND THE FEDERAL RANGE INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR. FOR THOSE THAT ARE PASSIONATE, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK OF CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS. THINK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR ON BIRTH CONTROL AND OTHER METHODS AND I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH MY COLLEAGUES TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION THAT IS A LONG-TERM SOLUTION. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON A LONG TIME.

>> THANK YOU, SECRETARY JEWELL. THIS QUESTION IS FROM DAVID. THIS QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE THE DOI PRIORITIES IN REGARDS TO TRUST LANDS AND SHARING DATA WITH TRIBES TO RESTORE HOMELANDS?

>> I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION. I AM COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING OUR TREATY WITH TRIBES. WE HAVE AN ACTIVE EFFORT GOING ON AROUND THE KOVAL SETTLEMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ACCELERATE LAND INTO TRUST. I THINK YOU WILL SEE ONGOING ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT WHICH AREAS WE ARE FOCUSING ON AS WE TAKE OUR RESOURCES AND CONCENTRATE THEM IN GETTING IT DONE. I DO KNOW WE DO NOT HAVE A PROUD HISTORY AS A GOVERNMENT OF POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN HELPFUL. SOMETIMES THE OPPOSITE. WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA’S COMMITMENT, WITH MY PREDECESSOR TERRY, — MIGHT PREDECESSOR, — MY PREDECESSOR, WE ARE MAKING SURE WE ARE BRINGING THE WHOLE FEDERAL FAMILY TO THE TABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE CAN DO AS VARIOUS AGENCIES TO HELP SUPPORT AND ENGAGE IN A WAY THAT TRIBES WANT US TO. SELF-GOVERNMENT, SELF- DETERMINATION ARE VERY IMPORTANT. AROUND GIS MAPPING, WE ARE AT A TIME WHERE WE HAVE CAPACITY TO LEVERAGE MAPPING TOOLS ON A NATIONWIDE SCALE. ONE OF THE PRIORITIES I HAVE LAID OUT HIS AROUND THE LANDSCAPE LEVEL AND USING GIS TOOLS. SO I THINK YOU HAVE SPECIFICS ON HOW IT MIGHT RELATE, WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO SEE THAT. IT ALLOWS US TO GET DOWN TO A GRANULAR LEVEL. THE USGS, WHICH IS PART OF THE INTERIOR, IS THE FOCAL POINT FOR THESE TOOLS ON A NATIONWIDE BASIS AND THEY WILL BE WORKING WITH TRIBES. IT IS A GREAT SUGGESTION. I WILL ENCOURAGE MY COLLEAGUES THAT ARE DOING THE LAND TRANSFERS TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE THOSE TOOLS.

>> I WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY WE ARE HERE WITH SECRETARY SALLY JEWELL TALKING ABOUT NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY. IF YOU’RE JUST JOINING US, THIS CHAT WILL BE ARCHIVED AND WILL BE SHARED ON DOI.GOV AND ALSO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL. WE WILL ALSO REMAIN ON THE LIVE STREAM CHANNEL RIGHT NOW FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS SO YOU CAN WATCH IT AFTER THIS IF YOU WOULD LIKE. WE ARE GOING TO MOVE ON TO ANOTHER QUESTION RELATED TO PUBLIC LANDS DAY. THIS IS FROM JIM IN CONNECTICUT. NOT ONLY IS SATURDAY NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY BUT THE ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY. WITH ACCESS TO LANDS BECOMING MORE DIFFICULT, DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO EXPAND ACCESS TO PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS?

>> WELL, IT IS NONE — NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY. AND I HOPE YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO SOME SPORTSMEN ACTIVITY. THEY HAVE BEEN A CORNERSTONE OF PREZ — CONSERVATION FOR MANY DECADES. THEODORE ROOSEVELT RECOGNIZED HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS ARE CRITICAL ON HAVING THE SHE’S — SPECIES THAT FUELED THE GREAT AMERICAN PASTIME OF HUNTING AND ANGLING AND CONNECT DUST TO THE LANDSCAPES IN WAYS THAT ARE NATURAL FOR US. IN MY PRIOR WORK IN MY OUTDOOR RECREATION INDUSTRY, I CAN TELL YOU THAT OUTDOOR RECREATION IS A HUGE DRIVER OF OUR ECONOMY. SOMETHING UNDER JUST UNDER $650 BILLION A YEAR. SO THANKS FOR THE CALL OUT ABOUT NATIONAL HUNTING INFINITY — FISHING DAY. I HOPE PEOPLE DO ENJOY THIS. ACCESS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO DOING. ONE TOOL THAT HAS BEEN HELPFUL FOR 50 YEARS IS THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN ENABLING US TO BUY EASEMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WERE SOMETIMES ARE JUST AS OF LAND THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR HABITAT AND FOUR SPORTSMEN’S ACTIVITIES. SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE YOUR SUPPORT, TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IT MIGHT DO WITHIN YOUR OWN STATE, AND IF THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU, TO CONTINUE TO MAKE THE CASE TO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IT IS IMPORTANT WE SUPPORT THE FUND AS WE HAVE REQUESTED IN THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.

>> THERE IS A SITE CALLED RECREATION.GOV. FOR HUNTING, FISHING, AND ENJOYING THE PUBLIC LANDS. HIKING, BIKING, CAMPING. ALL OF IT IS THAT RECREATION.GOV. WE HAVE ANOTHER FIVE OR SIX MINUTES. IF YOU HAVE A FINAL QUESTION, SEND THEM IN. THE NEXT ONE IS FROM HARRY IN COLORADO. THE HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE 21ST CENTURY SERVICE CORPS AND HOW IT WILL PROVIDE JOBS FOR THOUSANDS OF YOUNG AMERICANS AND VETERANS WHO WORK ON PUBLIC AND TRIBAL LANDS AND WATER. WHERE DOES THIS FIT WITHIN YOUR PRIORITIES?

>> I APPRECIATE THE COMMENT ON THIS. I AM VERY COMMITTED TO ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE. THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS, AT A TIME WHEN WE WERE IN WORSE SHAPE THAN WE ARE NOW, CERTAINLY ECONOMICALLY, WAS A TIME WHEN OUR COUNTRY CHOSE TO PUT PEOPLE TO WORK WHERE THEY CONNECTED THEM TO PUBLIC LANDS THAT WE STILL ENJOY TODAY. AND FOR THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WENT TO WORK ON PUBLIC LANDS, THEY NEVER LOST THAT CONNECTION. THIS IS A DIFFERENT TIME AND PLACE. BUT WE DO HAVE A NETWORK OF CONSERVATION CORPS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. I HAVE WORKED ALONGSIDE A NUMBER OF THEM. THE 21ST CSC IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE ARE IN A DIFFERENT CORE. WE ARE WORKING ALONGSIDE ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE STUDENT CONSERVATION AND OTHER NETWORK MEMBERS AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT KNOW THEIR COMMUNITIES AND CONNECT PEOPLE YOUNG AND OLD TO THOSE PUBLIC LANDS IN AREAS THAT MAKE THOSE DOLLARS GO SO MUCH FARTHER. THIS WEEKEND IS A GREAT ILLUSTRATION OF ONE DAY IS ACTUALLY BEING DONE 365 DAYS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. INTERIOR PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN THIS. WE HAVE THE PUBLIC LANDS. REGULAR ORDER WITH THE BUDGET WILL ENABLE US TO PUT THE VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS IN PLACE. RIGHT NOW, ANYTIME THE SEQUESTRATION, WE HAVE MORE VOLUNTEERS THAN WE CAN PUT TO WORK BECAUSE OF THE WAY OUR BUDGET IS NOT WORKING RIGHT NOW. SO WE WILL BE GETTING BACK TO REGULAR ORDER, I HOPE. WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON HOW WE CAN LEAN INTO THE COMMUNITIES AND I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THAT WHEN PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WITH LITTLE CONNECTION TO PUBLIC LANDS WORK ON THEM, BUILD A TRAIL, AT SHARK SURE, CLEAN UP GARBAGE, — A STRUCTURE, CLEAN UP GARBAGE, THEY WILL LOOK AT THE LAND, THE BUILDING THEY WORKED ON, I CAN’T THINK OF A BETTER WAY THAN THAT. WE WANT TO BRING BACK MORE YOUTH TIRING. I AM HOPING WE’LL GET PAST SOME OF THE CRAZINESS AROUND OUR BUDGETS AND WASHINGTON, D.C. AND THIS WILL BE A PRIORITY FOR ME.

>> JUST AS A REMINDER IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING, THERE ARE EVENTS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. GO TO PUBLICLANDSDAY.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION. THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM CARL IN CALIFORNIA. WHAT IS THE DEPARTMENT DOING TO INCREASE ACCESS TO THE DISABLED TO OUR LANDS?

>> I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION. IT’S NO QUESTION WE WANT OUR LANDS TO FEEL WELCOMING TO ALL PEOPLE. AND WE KNOW THAT ACCESSIBILITY IS IMPORTANT TO A GOOD PART OF OUR PUBLIC THAT CAN’T ACCESS ALL OF OUR LANDS IF WE DON’T MAKE THEM ACCESSIBLE. IT IS IMPORTANT. I WAS GETTING AN UPDATE TODAY FROM THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ON SOME OF ITS EFFORTS AROUND FIXING THE CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE, WHAT IS NEEDED TO DO THAT. ONE OF THEIR PRIORITIES WAS AROUND ACCESS. MAKING SURE THINGS ARE ADA ACCESSIBLE. IT IS A PRIORITY, IT ALSO TAKES MONEY. ALL OF THOSE THINGS WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE FACILITIES ARE WELCOME AND ACCESSIBLE. THAT IS CERTAINLY GOING ON.

>> WE HAVE TIME FOR TWO MORE QUESTIONS. THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM AUDREY IN FLORIDA. HER QUESTION IS, OF THE 15 DEPARTMENTS, INTERIOR RANKS ON THE LOWER SIDE FOR DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE. WHY IS THAT AND HOW DO YOU INTEND TO CORRECT IT?

>> THANKS, I JURY. — AUDREY. I APPRECIATE HER COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY. IT HAS BEEN INTERESTING TO COME INTO THAT APARTMENT AND IT MAY SURPRISE PEOPLE BUT I HAVE BEEN — SENSED A DEEP COMMITMENT AT EVERY LEVEL ACROSS THE INTERIOR. WE DO NOT HAVE AS MUCH DIVERSITY AS THE NATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. WE DON’T HAVE THE BROAD AMERICAN PUBLIC ENJOYING THE PUBLIC LANDS IN RELATION TO THEIR MAKEUP OF OUR POPULATION. I BELIEVE PUBLIC LANDS NEED TO BE ACCESSIBLE AND WELCOMING TO THE WHOLE PUBLIC. PART OF THAT IS THAT THE FACE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. WHAT IS THE FACE OF THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP THAT IS CREATING ROLE MODELS AND ASPIRATIONS SO THAT PEOPLE DO SAY THIS IS A PLACE I WOULD LIKE TO BRING MY TALENTS? I HAVE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO DIG INTO THIS TOPIC INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE INTERIOR. AS I HAVE GONE AROUND THE LANDSCAPE AND MET WITH MANAGERS, NATIONAL PARK SUPERINTENDENT, BLM STATE DIRECTORS, I HAVE SENSED A CONSISTENT COMMITMENT TO INCREASING THE DIVERSITY OF OUR WORK FORCE AND MAKING SURE OUR COUNTRY IS MORE REFLECTIVE OF THE POPULATION. I WILL ALSO SAY, OUR YOUTH HIRING PROGRAMS, WHICH, BY THE NATURE OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE POPULATION, HAVE BEEN MORE DIVERSE. AS WE WELCOME YOUNG PEOPLE INTO THIS ORGANIZATION, THEY GET US ON THE RADAR IN THEIR THINKING ABOUT THEIR COLLEGE CAREER. THEY ARE DECIDING, WHAT DO I DO? MAY BE BECOMING A WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST IS OF INTEREST. MAYBE BECOMING A PARK RANGER IS AN INTEREST. OR A LAND MANAGER. THOSE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN HIT. WE JUST HAVE TO GET PAST THIS SO WE CAN DO WHAT YOU EXPECT OF US. MAKE SURE WHEN WE ARE HIRING WE ARE REFLECTING THE COUNTRY AND WHEN PEOPLE VISIT, THEY SEE PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE THEM. AND THAT UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY AND CULTURE THAT IS SO RICH. ALL OF IT IS CERTAINLY IMPORTANT.

>> THANK YOU, SECRETARY JEWELL. ONE FINAL QUESTION FROM NEW MEXICO. THIS IS RELATED TO YOUR BE IN — URBAN PARKS. HAD YOU SEE THEM MEETING YOUR GOALS OF GETTING MORE PEOPLE OUTSIDE?

>> ONE OF THE MAJOR TRENDS AROUND THE COUNTRY IS URBANIZATION. WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO CITIES. WHEN YOU COMBINE THAT TO HOW MUCH SCREEN TIME WE SPEND, HOW MUCH TIME OUR CHILDREN ARE IN ORGANIZED SPORTS THAT TAKES THEM AWAY FROM THE NATURAL WONDER OF EXPLORING THE OUTDOORS OR CREATING THEIR OWN GAMES, WE GET A DISCONNECT FROM NATURE THAT IS UNDERMINING ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS WE HAVE AS HUMAN BEINGS, ENGAGING WITH NATURE. URBAN PARKS AND REFUGES, CITY PARKS, VACANT LOTS, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO A CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT. CHILDREN WILL INVENT NAMES IF YOU GIVE THEM A CHANCE. THEY WILL RESOLVE THEIR OWN CONFLICTS. YOU DON’T HAVE TO TELL THEM, IF THEY HAVE A CHANCE TO DO THAT. NATURE IS THE BEST CLASSROOM FOR SO MUCH OF WHAT WE NEED AS ADULTS IN LIVING TOGETHER IN A CIVIL SOCIETY. I THINK PARKS PROVIDE A GREAT SYSTEM TO APPRECIATE THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEES, THE VAST LANDS OF THE BLM. EVEN IN INDIAN COUNTRY. IN TRIBAL AREAS, FINDING OPPORTUNITIES CAN — TO CONNECT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HISTORY AND CULTURE AND CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT. WHETHER URBAN, TRIBAL, CONNECTING YOUNG PEOPLE TO NATURE IS CRITICAL IN MAKING SURE IT IS CLOSE TO HOME, ACCESSIBLE WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, THAT IS IMPORTANT. FOR ALL OF YOU LISTENING, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A PERSON BY THE HAND, BORROW ONE IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN YOURSELF, GET THEM INTO THE PUBLIC LANDS, IF YOU CAN GET THEM TO DO A LITTLE WORK, ALL THE BETTER. CONNECT OUR LITTLE PEOPLE TO THE GREEN WORLD WE ARE ALL A PART OF SO THEY CAN CARE FOR THESE PLACES THAT ARE SO SPECIAL.

>> THANK YOU, SECRETARY JEWELL. AND THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN FOR OUR SPECIAL CHAT WITH SECRETARY JEWELL. WE GOT SOME REALLY GREAT QUESTIONS AND WE WILL BE POSTING THIS ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND ON DOI.GOV. AND IT WILL REMAIN ON LIVE STREAM THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. ANY PARTING REMARKS?

>> COME OUT AND PLAY ON SATURDAY. DO SOME WORK. PUBLICLANDSDAY.ORG. IT WILL TELL YOU WHERE TO GO. GOSH, WHETHER THE WEATHER IS LIKE THIS OR WHETHER IT IS POURING RAIN, THE NATURAL WORLD IS WHAT WE ARE ALL A PART OF. I WILL ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET OUT AND ENJOY IT. THANK THEM FOR WHAT THEY DO. IT IS NOT EASY TO BE A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE BUT OUR WORK IS IMPORTANT.

>> JUST AS A FINAL PARTING GIFT, WE HAD A PROJECT THIS SUMMER. WE ASKED YOU TO SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS OF YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES ON ALL OF OUR PUBLIC LANDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HIS RESPONSE WAS UNBELIEVABLE. — YOUR RESPONSE WAS UNBELIEVABLE. EVERY STATE. IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE THEM. WE ARE GOING TO LEAVE YOU WITH SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS WE HAVE RECEIVED. THIS IS JUST A ROUGH CUT. HE WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL LATER THIS WEEK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

Why end natural selection in the Pryors?

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf

Should humans run a wild horse breeding program or does nature know best?

From: (http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf) The BLM welcomed a new partner this spring. The adept volunteer efforts of the Cloud Foundation’s Effie Orser, Lauryn Wachs, and Ginger Kathrens contributed to the successful completion of this year’s fertility treatments in record time. The trio worked in concert with two BLM employees, Ryan Brad- shaw and Jerad Werning, who were darting wild horses elsewhere on the Range.

Statement from Protect Mustangs

We are against the Cloud Foundation and BLM partnership for extreme PZP in the Pryors for the following reasons:

1.) It ruins natural selection.

2.) According to the National Academy of Sciences there is no evidence of overpopulation.

3.) Reserve design is the healthy choice for management.

4.) Risks of sterility could ruin the herd’s genetic viability.

5.) Unnatural and increased stress on wild mares from wild stallions continuously trying to breed them month after month, year after year, until they are allowed by mankind to have one foal.

6.) Man made fertility control drugs endanger the wild herds’ ability to adapt through reproduction to environmental stresses.

7.) The “Restricted Use Pesticide” known as PZP is not allowed on domestic horses–surely for safety concerns and therefore should not be allowed on native wild horses who have been misclassified as “pests” by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Natural selection has allowed native wild horses to evolve and survive for more than a million years. We believe it is unethical for a government agency and a nonprofit organization to go against natural evolution and manipulate breeding through excessive roundups and drugs approved for use as “restricted use pesticides”.

Now the public is witnessing the final phase of the Salazar Plan announced in 2009 (managing wild horses to extinction) using an EPA fast-tracked “Restricted Use Pesticide” called Porcine zona pellucida–a form of zona pellucida extracted from the ovaries of pigs.

And speaking of pigs, where are the pigs’ ovaries coming from? How were the pig’s ovaries extracted?

The Pryor Mountain Herd is already one of the two herds designated with “Treasured” status–that means they are protected and will never disappear. No need to sell out to “restricted use pesticides” for “pest” control!

“We are proud to be working with the BLM, and we hope our partnership with them will continue and may set an example for the management of other wild herds throughout the West,” said Ginger Kathens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation in the BLM’s top story released on August 12, 2013.

What happened to The Cloud Foundation fighting for America’s wild horses’ right to live their natural lives in freedom?

“Why is Ginger Kathrens now supporting the extreme use of PZP when a couple of years ago she appeared to be against using the drug, against ruining natural selection and against creating zoo-like settings on mountaintops?” asks Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs. “We want a moratorium on roundups and call for immediate population studies before blasting wild horses with fertility control and sterilization.”

Links of interest:

Ginger Kathrens’ paper PZP-22… Do Unintended Side-Effects Outweigh Benefits? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3270

Cloud Foundation Partnership with BLM to dart the Pryor herd with the “Restricted Use Pesticide” known as PZP to “control” fertility http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/mt/main_story.Par.31432.File.dat/TopStoryHorse.pdf

Ecologist Craig Downer speaks out against using PZP in the Pryors http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4178

Salazar presents ambitious plan to manage wild horses, Washington Post: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2009-10-08/news/36823356_1_wild-horses-burros-wild-herd

Ken Salazar’s wild horse plan fuels accusations that he’s in the pocket of ranchers, Huff Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/17/ken-salazars-wild-horse-p_n_324799.html

BLM announces The Salazar Plan (press release) http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/october/salazar_seeks_congressional.html

Public outraged over the EPA approving pesticides for NATIVE wild horses

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

Colin Grey : Foter.com : CC BY-SA

for immediate release

Historic burros will die off if drug causes sterility

WASHINGTON (February 15, 2013)–Americans are outraged to learn the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a second pesticide. for native wild horses when extreme roundups since 2009 have removed the majority of wild horses from public land. Today more thank 50,000 are stockpiled in government holding facilities. In 2012 the EPA approved ZonaSta-H for wild horses and burros under their pesticide program. This week the EPA approved GonaCon™ a long term infertility drug that has sometimes allegedly sterilized wild horses after one application. So few heritage burros remain that giving them harsh fertility control could wipe them out completely.

“Pesticides must not be used on native species and current science proves wild horses are natives,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “The mustangers are working at the BLM these days–hiding behind inflated population guesstimates and feral beliefs. Meanwhile they are selling truckloads of native wild horses to alleged kill buyers like Tom Davis who bought at least 1,700.”

In Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife (Revised January 2010) J.F.Kirkpatrick Ph.D., and Patricia M. Fazio Ph.D. wrote:

The key element in describing an animal as a native species is (1) where it originated; and (2) whether or not it co‐evolved with its habitat. Clearly, E. 6 caballus did both, here in North American. There might be arguments about “breeds,” but there are no scientific grounds for arguments about “species.”

The non‐native, feral, and exotic designations given by agencies are not merely reflections of their failure to understand modern science but also a reflection of their desire to preserve old ways of thinking to keep alive the conflict between a species (wild horses), with no economic value anymore (by law), and the economic value of commercial livestock.

As a native species, wild horses create biodiversity and help heal the land. Predators exist and more can be introduced as needed while herds self-regulate. Today it’s difficult to find the herds. The BLM has rounded up the majority of the wild horses and burros in all ten western states–far more than they can adopt out.

Protect Mustangs, the native wild horse preservation group, calls for the EPA to immediately retract their approval of “pesticides” for native wild horses. They have requested that all the wild horses in government holding be returned to the Herd Management Areas designated for them under the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. The horse originated in America. Wild horses are indigenous and must also be protected according to The Act.

Despite the government’s overpopulation spin, witnesses on the range have observed a shocking decline in wild horse and burro population since 2008.

Carl Mrozeck, journalist and independent filmmaker making Saving Ass in America, chuckled at the BLM’s inflated estimates of burros. “Personally, I’d be shocked if there were even close to the more recent optimistic number of 2,000.”

For years, the BLM has refused advocates’ requests to perform accurate independent census. “Population myths should not drive policy, merit Congressional funding nor justify passing risky infertility vaccines approved as pesticides,” adds Novak.

PEER reported that livestock has ruined the range yet the BLM refuses to address the issue. The BLM always tries to scapegoat the wild horses for typical cattle damage. Cows outnumber wild horses at least 50 to 1 on the range.

Despite public outcry, the BLM has already removed the majority of indigenous mustangs and historic burros from millions of acres of public land. The BLM is removing the wild horses and burros to minimize environmental studies and mitigation in order to fast track toxic drilling projects on public land. The BLM confesses to making tons of money off the extractive industry as stated in the bottom of their press release: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/february/NR_02_01_2013.html

Protect Mustangs asks the BLM to acknowledge wild horses are a native species in order to manage them correctly.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak, 415-531-8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Photos, video and interviews are available upon request.

Links of interest:

Daryl Hannah and Michael Blake speak out about wild horses, burros and toxic drilling: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3866

PEER reports: BLM ducks complaint about suppressing livestock damage: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3367

Native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

Saving Ass in America https://www.facebook.com/SavingAssInAmerica

EPA approves GonaCon™: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3851

EPA calls iconic wild horses “pests” http://protectmustangs.org/?p=1204

USFA APHIS Press release: USDA-Developed Vaccine for Wild Horses and Burros Gains EPA Registration: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/02/horse_vaccine_approval.shtml

See it: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/registration/content/56228-40%20GonaCon%2007-11SPECIMEN.pdf

Photo courtesy BLM

EPA approves a long lasting pesticide/infertility vaccine for wild horses and burros

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

Your government at work

APHIS NEWS RELEASE

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Legislative and Public Affairs 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232 • Voice (301) 851-4100 • Web: http://www.aphis.usda.gov

Contact: Gail Keirn (970) 266-6007 Lyndsay Cole (301) 538-9213

USDA-Developed Vaccine for Wild Horses and Burros Gains EPA Registration

WASHINGTON, February 13, 2013—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services’ (WS) National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted regulatory approval for the use of GonaConTM – Equine immunocontraceptive vaccine (GonaCon) in adult female wild or feral horses and burros. GonaCon was developed by NWRC scientists and is the first single-shot, multiyear wildlife contraceptive for use in mammals.

“Since 2009, GonaCon has been available for use in female white-tailed deer. We are pleased to be able to expand the vaccine’s application to include wild horses and burros,” said NWRC Director Larry Clark. “This nonlethal tool will provide another option to wildlife managers working to reduce overabundant wild horse and burro populations in the United States.”

Overpopulation of wild horses and burros is a significant concern in the United States, as these animals can overgraze native plant species and compete with livestock and local wildlife for food and habitat. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimates that approximately 37,300 wild horses and burros (about 31,500 horses and 5,800 burros) are roaming on BLM- managed rangelands in 10 Western states. The estimated current free-roaming population exceeds by nearly 11,000 the number that the BLM has determined can exist in balance with other public rangeland resources and uses. Current management options are limited with the majority of actions involving the removal of horses and burros from the range and either offering them for adoption or holding them indefinitely in captivity. The BLM estimates there are more than 49,000 wild horses and burros off of BLM-managed lands that are fed and cared for at short-term corrals and long-term pastures.

The GonaCon-Equine vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies that bind to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in an animal’s body. GnRH signals the production of sex hormones (e.g., estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). By binding to GnRH, the antibodies reduce GnRH’s ability to stimulate the release of these sex hormones. All sexual activity is decreased, and animals remain in a nonreproductive state as long as a sufficient level of antibody activity is present. The product can be delivered by hand injection, jab stick, or darting.

GonaCon-Equine is registered as a restricted-use pesticide, and all users must be certified pesticide applicators or persons under their direct supervision. Only USDA-WS and Veterinary Services, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Department of Defense, Federally recognized Indian Tribes, State agencies responsible for wild or feral horse and burro management, public and private wild horse sanctuaries, or persons working under their authority can use it. In order for GonaCon to be usedin any given State, it must also be registered with the State’s pesticide registration authority. Additionally, users are encouraged to contact their State fish and game/natural resource agency to determine specific State requirements. The vaccine is currently manufactured by NWRC; however, the WS program is interested in licensing the vaccine to a private manufacturer.

Future NWRC research with GonaCon will likely involve studies to support expanded registration to other species (e.g., prairie dogs and feral dogs) and aid in preventing the transmission of wildlife diseases.

WS-NWRC is the Federal institution devoted to resolving problems caused by the interaction of wild animals and society. The center applies scientific expertise to the development of practical methods to resolve these problems and to maintain the quality of the environments shared with wildlife. To learn more about NWRC, visit its Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/.

# Note to Reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media advisories are available on the Internet and through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

It’s only getting worse

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Here is a video message about the American wild horse crisis in February 2010. The numbers are bigger now with 53K wild horses in holding and perhaps 15K left on the range.

Thank you Arlene Gawne and team for bringing this YouTube message to the public.

In 2009, 2010 and 2011 we all tried to help The President understand the need to save the mustangs. Sadly he appears to want The New Energy Frontier above and beyond anything else.

If you don’t like what’s going on then contact your representatives and senators because they are your voice in government. Congress funds the rotten Wild Horse and Burro Program under the Bureau of Land Management.

Request a Congressional investigation, forensic accounting and a moratorium on roundups as well as fertility control until the truth comes out that there are hardly any wild horses left out on America’s public land.

This year the EPA passed a fertility control pesticide for use on America’s wild horses and burros. Our indigenous horse has been formally labelled a “pest” by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. We want the erroneous classification reversed. Pests and invasive species are weeded out and disposed of . . . Why did the EPA sell out?

Stop the roundups and the extermination!

Terrified wild horses chased and shot with birth control

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Is this what the EPA has approved for our wild horses and burros? Has the EPA approved–under a restricted-use pesticide program–a method to terrorize the young and old in a herd rendering the mares infertile as young as seven years old?

Who gave the government the right to play God and make the choices? Wildlife depends on natural selection for the survival of the fittest.

The questions remain:

Are wild horses and burros ruining the thriving natural ecological balance on the range–or is it the livestock?

We all know the livestock is the culprit–outnumbering wild horses 50 to 1.

How many wild horses are out there? Some Herd Management Areas have as little as 3 horses on them. Where is the scientific proof they are overpopulating?

If you don’t like what you see then take action.

Re-protect the indigenous wild horse.

Cruel roundups will continue to catch wild horses for EPA approved pesticide

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Sadly cruel roundups will continue. The BLM must catch the wild horses to give them the restricted-use pesticide–birth control–because darting would only work a small fraction of the time.

Do you want your hard earned tax dollars to pay for this animal abuse?

Get active. Lobby and comment on proposed roundups. Get your friends involved.

Protect Mustangs™

Forever wild and free™

Tag Archives: Pesticide