Flyover reveals low wild horse and burro population in California

Craig Downer and Jesica Johnston’s Twin Peaks Flight Report

An independent aerial survey was completed over northeastern California and northwestern Nevada for the Twin Peaks Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Area on December 22, 2014. The objective was to estimate the population of wild horses (Equus caballus) and burros (Equus asinus) and to monitor the habitat recovery from the Rush Fire, which burned 315,577 acres in August 2012. The flight and pilot were arranged and made possible through LightHawk.

During the aerial survey a total of 62 horses and 11 burros were counted along the 174 miles of transect strips flown within the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area boundary. In addition, several groups of approximately 90 trespass cattle grazing on public land were documented in the no grazing restricted area from the 2012 Rush Fire. These were found in the south-western section of the Twin Peaks Grazing Allotment #00701 in the Skedaddle mountain range.

Using the aerial strip transect method, the survey estimated the populations of wild horses and burros in the Twin Peaks Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Area as follows:
(a) 447-593 wild horses (including some mules)
(b) 101-120 wild burros

Follow this link to read the full report: Twin Peaks Flight Report

Wild horse overpopulation myth debunked

Nevada mustang © Carl Mrozek

Nevada mustang © Carl Mrozek

 

WILD HORSE POPULATION GROWTH

Research Collaboration by

Kathleen Gregg Environmental Researcher

Lisa LeBlanc Environmental Researcher

Jesica Johnston Environmental Scientist April 25, 2014

 

INTRODUCTION

The recent National Academy of Science (NAS) report on the Wild Horse and Burro Program determined that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has no evidence of excess wild horses and burros; because the BLM has failed to use scientifically sound methods to estimate the populations (NAS, 2013). The NAS cited two chief criticisms of the Wild Horse and Burro Program: unsubstantiated estimates in herd management areas (HMA), and management decisions that are not based in science (NAS, 2013).

Effective wild horse and burro management is dependent on accurate population counts and defensible assumptions. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) routinely uses the assumption that wild horse and burro herds increase annually at an average rate of 20%. However, our review of available scientific literature combined with an analysis of BLM data for 5,859 wild horses found that approximately 50% of the foals survived to the age of 1 year, which indicates a 10% population growth rate based on yearling survival rates.

METHODS AND DATA

The data and analysis is based on the BLM’s wild horse and burro removal and processing documents acquired under the Freedom of Information Act. The data sets were evaluated separately, and then combined to total 5,859 wild horses, captured, aged, and branded by BLM. This data is the basis for the analysis in this report and the accompanying chart in table 1 below.

Burro data was also calculated for foal and yearling survival. That data indicated a 7% population growth rate for burros based on yearling survival, but that data is not included here as burros are not present in all of the HMAs.

The data was collected from 4 herds captured by BLM in Nevada and California in 2010 and 2011. The data below in table 1 shows the individual herds and accumulated age structure data which supports the overall conclusion. Wild horse foals and yearlings were tallied for population increases and in all four samples, recorded a combined foaling rate of less than 20%, but only half or 50% survived to the age of 1 year (see table 1 below).

Table 1 Age Structure Yearling Survival Rate

PM Population growth

 

DISCUSSION

This research does not include or reflect the additional adult mortality rates due to the complexity of population dynamics, but does raise serious questions about the validity of the BLM’s assumed 20% annual herd population growth rate. Furthermore, the BLMs assumption fails to consider that wild horse populations are dynamic due to isolation and have varied rates of reproduction and survival due to changing climates, forage, competition, disturbance and environmental conditions. All these are factors that can lead to varied herd growth rates and each herd should be evaluated separately.

This research paper is supported by previous studies using age structure data completed by Michael L. Wolfe, Jr. in 1980 titled “Feral Horse Demography: A Preliminary Report”. Mr. Wolfe cited observations in 12 HMAs, over a period of 2 to 5 years, and covered a much broader range over six Western states. He questioned the annual rate increase of 20%, and found that first-year survival rates to range between 50% and 70% (Wolfe, 1980).

Other supporting research includes The National Academy of Science National Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro report of 1982, which states, “…several biases in the (BLM) census data, cited or calculated rates of increase based on a number of published values for reproduction and survival rates, as well as sex and age ratios, and concluded annual rates of increase of ten percent or less” (NAS, 1982).

The NAS 2013 report also used age structure data to estimate population growth. However, the report used foaling rates to draw conclusions about the population growth; rather than first year survival rates (NAS, pg.51-52 2013). This and other studies challenge the assumption that the 20% foaling rate provides an adequate measure of population growth.

The BLM bases their management decisions on environmental assessments that cite inflated population estimates. As shown in this study and previous research, the BLM’s assumption of a 20% annual wild horse population growth rate is not based in science; leading to unsubstantiated population estimates with no evidence of excess wild horses.

 

REFERENCES

National Academy of Science 2013, “Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program – A Way Forward”
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13511&page=R1

Johnston, J. (2011). California’s, Wild Horses and Burros: Twin Peaks HMA.

http://csusdspace.calstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10211.9/1492/WHB_Thesis_Final%2011.30.11.pdf?seq uence=1

“Feral Horse Demography: A Preliminary Report”, Michael L. Wolfe, Jr.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3897882?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=2110368888 4451

National Academy of Science 1982, “Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros”

http://books.google.com/books?id=Q2IrAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Freedom Of Information Act (2012). FOIA BLM FY12-011 1278.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Freedom Of Information Act (2012). FOIA BLM- 2012-00934.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Freedom Of Information Act (2012). FOIA BLM 2012-01046.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Freedom Of Information Act (2012). FOIA BLM 2012-00250.

Download the paper here: PM Population Growth 4.25.14 FINAL

Report unveils wild horse underpopulation on 800,000 acre Twin Peaks range

Northern California/Nevada Border Twin Peaks Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Area Aerial Population Survey November 26th 2013

by

Craig C. Downer, Wildlife Ecologist

Jesica Johnston, Environmental Scientist

Catherine Scott, Photo Journalist

Abstract from the report:   An independent aerial survey was completed over northeastern California and northwestern Nevada for the Twin Peaks Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Area on November 26th 2013. The objective was to estimate the population of wild horses (Equus caballus) and burros (Equus asinus) and to monitor the habitat recovery from the Rush Fire, which burned 315,577 acres in August 2012. The flight and pilot were arranged through the LightHawk organization.

During the aerial survey a total of 44 horses and 36 burros were counted along the 207 miles of transect strips within the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area boundary.

Using an aerial strip transect method, the survey estimates the populations of wild horses and burros in the Twin Peaks Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Area as follows:

(a) 351-459 wild horses (includes some mules)

(b) 230-287 wild burros

Over 300 photographs and continuous video footage were taken during the flight. Photos were taken by Craig Downer, Jesica Johnston and Catherine Scott, and video footage was courtesy of pilot Ney Grant. All this was made possible due to the coordination and support from LightHawk.

See the video flyover here: http://vimeo.com/81195843

Click here to read the full report

Click here to see the photos

Craig Downer is a member of the Protect Mustangs Advisory Board.

Urgent! Wyoming roundups cause environmental damage

Permission given to use to raise awareness crediting © Protect Mustangs

Permission given to use to raise awareness crediting © Protect Mustangs

Your comments are urgently needed to help Wyoming’s wild horses today!

You do not need to live in the U.S.A. to comment as we know Wyoming tourism draws people to the state from around the world to see native wild horses.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the roundup and removal of wild horses from the “Checkerboard” region HMAs–Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek (ATSW) in the Red Desert of Wyoming. The EA reads:

“All wild horses on private lands and on the checkerboard lands within the ATSW Complex would be removed in accordance with the 2013 Consent Decree.”

Since wild horses move freely from public land to private land in the “Checkerboard” region, will they chase the native wild horses with helicopters on to private land to remove as many as possible from the entire public-private land region? They have chased them on to public land in the past to trap them.

Does this roundup have a back-room connection to BP America’s Continental Divide – Creston (CD-C) natural gas project that will frack 8,950 new gas wells? The massive CD-C project already has 4,400 existing oil and gas wells.

Watch GASLAND Part II on HBO July 8th to see the answer to that question.

Comments are due to BLM Wyoming by 4:30 p.m. Central Time, June 10, 2013.

We encourage you to select Alternative C, No Action Alternative, No removal  

Email your comments to Jay D’Ewart, Wild Horse and Burro Specialist, using this email address: AdobeTown_SaltWells_HMA_WY@blm.gov with “ATSW Public Comment” in the subject line.

Focus on the environmental damage because of the proposed Adobe Town Salt Wells Roundup. Oppose the roundup and request Alternative C, No Action Alternative, No removal. You can make it short. The point is to make a comment because they count how many come in. Below are some talking points:

  • Damaged and trampled plants, terrain and destruction of the fragile ecosystem from chasing wild horses with helicopters and the potential for a stampede.
  • Damaged and trampled plants, terrain and destruction of the fragile ecosystem from trucks and trailers as well as equipment trucks driving in and out.
  • Damage to riparian areas from chasing wild horses with helicopters and the potential for a stampede.
  • Damage to riparian areas and the surrounding fragile ecosystem from trucks and trailers as well as equipment trucks driving in and out.
  • Noise pollution from noisy helicopters assaults all wildlife and disturbs sage grouse.
  • Helicopters pollute the environment. They release CO2 that increases global warming and should not be allowed.
  • Fuel emissions from trucks carrying equipment and trailers for the roundup pollute. Trucks release CO2 that increases global warming and should not be allowed.
  • Dust from chasing wild horses, coupled with the stress, causes upper respiratory infections, possible permanent damage or possible death of native wild horses as well A hurting other animals in the ecosystem.
  • Dust from equipment trucks and trucks hauling captured wild horses in trailers causes possible damage to other species in the ecosystem.
  • Wild horses are a return-native species (E. caballus) and should not be removed. They are an essential piece in the native ecosystem, creating diversity and helping to reverse desertification. If native wild horses are removed the ecosystem will become more out of balance as we see happening because many predators species are being removed or killed.
  • Without proving overpopulation, this proposed roundup is in violation of NEPA.
  • Without proving overpopulation, this proposed roundup does not merit the use of risky chemical fertility control (PZP, SpayVac®) or fertility control made from pig ovaries (PZP-22, ZonaStat-H) as most pigs have become GMO animals and the risks are unknown. The “birth-control” was approved by the EPA as a “restricted use pesticide” only.
  • Without proving overpopulation, this roundup should be cancelled. Even the NAS study said the BLM fails to provide accurate data to support their overpopulation claims.
  • Native wild horses are not “pests” and should not be labelled or treated as if they are. They are an essential part of the native ecosystem.

More items will be listed later. Your suggestions below are welcome.

Read Debbie Coffey’s statement on using the fertility control agent known as PZP:

“PZP and other fertility control should not be used on non-viable herds either. Most of the remaining herds of wild horses are non-viable. The NAS and any advocacy groups that are pushing PZP and other fertility control have not carefully studied all of the caveats in Dr. Gus Cothran’s genetic analysis reports along with the remaining population of each herd of wild horses.” ~ Debbie Coffey, Director of Wild Horse Affairs at Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Read Jesica Johnston’s statement about overpopulation:

“The NAS findings clearly state that the BLM has failed to provide accurate estimates of the nation’s population of wild horses and burros. Therefore, the NAS cannot conclude that a state of over-population exists and or provide a recommendation for artificial management considerations such as ‘rigorous fertility controls’ to control populations for which the complex population dynamics are currently unknown.” ~Jesica Johnston, environmental scientist and biologist.

Here is the link to the BLM’s Environmental Assessment online:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/rfodocs/adobetown-saltwells.Par.74403.File.dat/ATSWEA.pdf

Here is the BLM press release explaining their side:

Release Date: 05/10/13
Contacts: Serena Baker,
307-212-0197

Adobe Town/Salt Wells Creek Wild Horse Gather EA Available

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rawlins and Rock Springs field offices are launching a 30-day public comment period on an environmental assessment (EA) to gather excess wild horses from the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek (ATSW) Herd Management Areas (HMAs).The two HMAs are managed collectively as the ATSW Complex due to wild horse movement between the two areas. The Complex is located in the checkerboard pattern of mixed public, private, and state land ownership in Sweetwater and Carbon counties, stretching from Interstate 80 south to the Wyoming/Colorado border. The BLM respects private land owner rights while managing wild horse populations. The ATSW Complex includes approximately 510,308 acres which are privately held. This gather would reduce landowner conflicts where the wild horses stray onto private lands.Population surveys conducted in May 2012 found approximately 1,005 wild horses in the ATSW Complex. However, wild horse populations are expected to increase by approximately 20 percent with the 2012 and 2013 foaling seasons, bringing the population in the ATSW Complex to an estimated 1,447 wild horses by summer.The appropriate management level (AML) for the ATSW Complex is 861-1,165 wild horses. The gather is necessary to maintain the wild horse herds toward the lower range of the established AMLs in compliance with the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, and the 2003 Wyoming Consent Decree. The AML for the ATSW Complex was established through an agreement with private land owners and wild horse advocacy groups. It was confirmed in the 1997 Green River Resource Management Plan (RMP) and through the 2008 Approved Rawlins RMP. The proposed gather is anticipated in 2013.

The proposed action in the EA is also in conformance with the Consent Decree with the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA) ordered by the U.S. District Court on April 3, 2013, to remove all wild horses from private lands within the checkerboard portion of the ATSW Complex in 2013. According to the Consent Decree, if the numbers are likely to exceed 200 wild horses within the checkerboard portion of the ATSW Complex, the BLM shall prepare to remove the wild horses from the private lands.

The ATSW Complex was last gathered in fall 2010. During that gather, 99 mares released back to the HMAs were administered the PZP fertility control vaccine. Fertility control is an alternative being considered in the EA.

Public comments are most helpful if they cite specific actions or impacts, and offer supporting factual information or data. Written comments should be received by June 10, and may be emailed only to AdobeTown_SaltWells_HMA_WY@blm.gov (please list “ATSW Comment” in the subject line), mailed or hand-delivered during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to: The BLM Rock Springs Field Office, ATSW Comment, 280 Highway 191 N., Rock Springs, WY 82901.

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 may 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.

For more information, please contact BLM Wild Horse Specialist Jay D’Ewart at 307-352-0256.

Note to editor: A link to the EA and map of the proposed project area can be found atwww.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/rfo/atsw-gather.html.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
–BLM–Rock Springs Field Office   280 Highway 191 North      Rock Springs, WY 82901

Press Release: No proof of overpopulation, no need for native wild horse fertility control

 

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

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

For immediate release:

Is it safe to use pesticides on an indigenous species? 

WASHINGTON (June 7, 2013)–In light of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on wild horses and burros lacking data for an overpopulation claim, Protect Mustangs calls upon Secretary Jewell for an immediate halt to roundups and to return the 50,000 wild horses in government holding to the more than 30 million acres of herd management areas in the West to reduce costs quickly. The native wild horse conservation group calls on the Department of Interior to acknowledge wild horses are native, implement holistic land management and reserve design thus creating a win-win for wild horses to help the ecosystem and reverse desertification. Protect Mustangs requests that ‘survival of the fittest’ should be the only form of fertility control considered because indigenous wild horses must not become domesticated on the range. Artificial management such as pesticides and sterilizations should never be used on a native species such as Equus caballus.

“With the gluttony of roundups and removals, wild horses reproduce at a higher rate to prevent extinction,” explains Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “We need more studies to establish what the normal reproduction rate is and discover truths about alleged overpopulation on the more than 30 million acres of public wildlands designated for their use. Today there is no scientific proof of overpopulation to merit fertility control.”

In July 2010, Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) spearheaded a letter signed by members of Congress, requesting an investigation of the Wild Horse and Burro Program by the National Academy of Sciences. This was a direct result of public outcry and media exposure of roundup carnage. Three years later, the NAS report was released last Wednesday.

According to a press release from NAS released Wednesday, “The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) current practice of removing free-ranging horses from public lands promotes a high population growth rate, and maintaining them in long-term holding facilities is both economically unsustainable and incongruent with public expectations, says a new report by the National Research Council.”

“Making decisions to apply a fertility drug to wild horse herd mares would put wild horse herds in danger of a die-off if any natural or manmade disaster struck the herd management area–be it wildfire, an extreme winter, mass predation or something else,” explains Kathleen Gregg, environmental researcher. “If a majority of the mares are non-reproducing and thus zero or even just a few births, then it is easy to see that the entire herd would be in jeopardy, both genetically and physically, and would diminish their ability to survive into the future. Then we have a herd that is not safe on its own range. Wild horses must to be protected as the law states they shall be.”

“Unfortunately, the Academy quickly recommends fertility control as a better solution without considering the ‘do nothing’ or ‘placebo’ option which is an integral component of every credible field trial for pharmaceutical and other ‘treatment’ plans,” states Carl Mrozek, filmmaker of Saving Ass in America. “Had they searched for examples of herds with minimal or no culling in the past decade or so, they would have found multiple examples of herds which appear to have achieved homeostasis (equilibrium) or something approaching it, naturally, without BLM roundups or fertility treatments.”

“The NAS findings clearly state that the BLM has failed to provide accurate estimates of the nation’s population of wild horses and burros,” states Jesica Johnston, environmental scientist and biologist. “Therefore, the NAS cannot conclude that a state of over-population exists and or provide a recommendation for artificial management considerations such as ‘rigorous fertility controls’ to control populations for which the complex population dynamics are currently unknown.”

Recently fertility control, in the form of immunocontraceptives for wild horses, was erroneously passed by the EPA as “restricted use pesticides”. The EPA inaccurately named indigenous wild horses “pests” in order to pass the drug. Pesticides (PZP, GonaCon®, etc.) should never be used on native species such as E. caballus.

“PZP and other fertility control should not be used on non-viable herds either,” states Debbie Coffey, director of wild horse affairs at Wild Horse Freedom Federation.  “Most of the remaining herds of wild horses are non-viable. The NAS and any advocacy groups that are pushing PZP and other fertility control have not carefully studied all of the caveats in Dr. Gus Cothran’s genetic analysis reports along with the remaining population of each herd of wild horses.”

Equus caballus originated in North America more than 2 million years ago. Equus survived extinction through migration and E.caballus could have returned to America with the Spanish unless some had remained on the continent the entire time. Today researchers question historical records–written with Inquisition censorship–that claim the Spanish brought the first horses to America. Even so, if no horses remained when the Conquistadors arrived they would not be introducing the species but “returning” E.caballus to its native land.

“It’s time for land managers to come out of the dark ages–use native wild horses to heal the land and reverse desertification,” states Novak. “We’d like to see the BLM manage the land using wild horses as a resource in partnership with the New Energy Frontier–at virtually no cost to the taxpayer.”

In 1900 there were 2 million wild horses roaming in freedom in America. Today native wild horses are underpopulated on the range. Advocates estimate there are less than 18,000 left in the ten western states combined.

Protect Mustangs is a conservation group devoted to protecting native wild horses. Their mission is to educate the public about the indigenous wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.

# # #

NAS Study Review

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak 415.531.8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

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

Links of interest: 

Washington Post: Independent panel: Wild horse roundups don’t work; use fertility drugs, let nature cull herds http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/independent-panel-to-recommend-changes-in-blm-wild-horse-program/2013/06/05/b65ba772-cdb3-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html

Congressional letter requesting an NAS investigation: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxhbWVyaWNhbmhlcmRzNHxneDo1ZTFlMDQ1MzY4MzZiMzI3&pli=1

Information on native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562

NAS Press release June 5, 2013: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13511

NAS Report: Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program: A Way Forward http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13511

Sacramento Bee, Panel: Sterilize wild horses to cut population  Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/06/5475171/study-sterilize-horses-to-drop.html#storylink=cpy

GonaCon press release spins wild horse overpopulation myths: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/02/horse_vaccine_approval.shtml

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

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

Gone viral~ The Associated Press, March 24, 2013: Budget axe nicks BLM wild-horse adoption center http://www.denverpost.com/colorado/ci_22862206

US property exposed to wildfire valued at $136 billion says report: http://www.artemis.bm/blog/2012/09/17/u-s-property-exposed-to-wildfire-valued-at-136-billion-says-report/

KQED Horse fossil found in Caldecott Tunnel: http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/05/26/new-fossils-from-the-caldecott-tunnel/

Horseback Magazine: Group takes umbridge at use of the word “feral” http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/19392

Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218

Protect Mustangs’ press releases: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=125

 

A Win! ~ Twin Peaks Roundup on hold ~ Keep the pressure on

Twin Peaks wild horses counting on your help (Photo of “Magic” © G. Gregg)

Happy Thanksgiving!

California-based Protect Mustangs has been working hard to stop the Twin Peaks roundup once we brought you the news of the Rush Fire last summer. We are grateful several wonderful advocates such as Craig Downer, Grandma Gregg, Jesica Johnston, Barbara Clarke, Monika Courtney, R.T Fitch, Debbie Coffey and many others have joined the fight to protect the Twin Peaks wild horses on the range.

We oppose rounding up and removing native wild horses from the Twin Peaks HMA especially now that they can play a key role in restoring the land. It’s time the BLM use good science and cut down on invasive techniques that cause global warming. Wild horses and burros can heal and reseed the range after the wildfire so let them do it.”

Keep contacting your elected officials across the country to educate them about how the Twin Peaks wild horses can heal the land after the fire. Let them know these federally protected wild horses deserve to remain on their range. Tell them removals are cruel and costly–warehousing them for decades is not sustainable. Request the Twin Peaks roundup be cancelled. Thank you for helping California’s wild horses and burros.

Please make a donation to help Protect Mustangs continue our work for the wild horses. Thank you.

Below is the email we received today from Ken Collum at the BLM.

All my best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving,

Anne

Anne Novak

Executive Director of Protect Mustangs

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Twin Peaks Response
From: “Collum, Kenneth R”
Date: Tue, November 20, 2012
To: Anne Novak protectmustangs

There will be no imminent roundup operation in the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA).  The situation will be re-evaluated this January.

HMA population information obtained from September’s aerial inventory will be available soon.

Ken Collum

Field Manager

Eagle Lake Field Office

2950 Riverside Dr.

Susanville, CA.  96130

Ph:    530 252 5374

Cell:  530 260 0158