Land Grab Roundup will Wipe Out Nevada’s Wild Horses to Make Way for Mining and Liquid Natural Gas Fracking

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Protect Mustangs

BLM plans on conducting a wild horse roundup in eastern Nevada
ELY, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin a wild horse roundup near Ely, Nevada on or about July 8, 2019. The purpose of this roundup is to use taxpayer dollars to appease Cattlemen as well as the mining and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) fracking industry, etc. There is no evidence of overpopulation it’s just a big fat greedy lie.

Wild horses torn from their family bands and homes on public land, will be made available for adoption or sale as a means of “disposal” through the BLM’s Adoption and Sale Program. In the past, the BLM has sold thousands of wild horses to alleged kill buyers such as their buddy who purchased at least 1,700 native wild horses to “use in the Mexican film industry.”

The BLM is claiming the population of wild horses in the proposed roundup area, known as the Triple B Complex, was estimated at 3,381 as of March 1, 2019 – more than ten times above the target population of 474-889 wild horses. Advocates who crunch numbers such as Marybeth Devlin find this impossible because wild horses don’t have litters.

After years of land degradation from overgrazing cattle and most especially sheep, the BLM and their P.R. division spin lies and fake news once again. They claim, “… By balancing herd size with what the land can support, the BLM aims to protect habitat for other wildlife species such as sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and elk. Removing excess animals would also enable significant progress toward achieving the Standards for Rangeland Health identified by the Northeastern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (NGBRAC).” Know that the NGBRAC is made up of opportunists who want to cash in on the land, water, resources or government funding for the wild horse “problem”.

Of course, former Secretary of Interior, Ryan Zinke, has joined the board of U.S. Gold Corp., who is involved with mining and exploration of liquid natural gas, etc. Even the Elko Daily reports:

“The rapid transition from the highest levels of the executive branch to the corporate boardroom is raising questions about possible conflicts of interest.

It comes fewer than four months after Zinke left a cabinet position overseeing the country’s oil and gas, coal and other natural resources and those companies that profit off their extraction.”

Read more about Zinke’s alleged conflicts of interest here: https://elkodaily.com/mining/zinke-joins-board-of-elko-based-u-s-gold-corp/article_83ccde9d-edf5-5bde-a9c2-265d69c58a76.html

Keep in mind that Zinke, while in office, allegedly made deals to remove America’s wild horses from public land–to free it up for mining, fracking, water grabs, etc. Just #FollowTheMoney because now it’s so obvious as the public watches it play out.

Now here’s the funny part–the BLM has not proved to the American public or elected officials that there are “excess” wild horses on 1,682,998 acres of public land in what’s known as the Triple B Complex near Ely and Elko. After allegedly being seduced by big dollars, Zinke said there were too many wild horses while in office and therefore it supposedly is so.

Who suffers as a result of all this greed? The innocent wild horses do of course.

Roundups are cruel, period. Injuries and deaths are commonplace. Native wild horses suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after being chased by helicopters, stampeded into traps, then ripped from their families and their native land. Because the BLM views American wild horses are soul-less animals and pests, they don’t care and they lie to claim they do. The BLM strives to hide the cruelty from the public to avoid outrage that travels like wildfire–thanks to the social media.

The Triple B Complex is located in the BLM’s Elko and Ely districts on public lands administered by the Wells and Bristlecone field offices. The roundup may also take place in areas outside the Complex where wild horses have moved in search of food and water after being fenced out of their rightful access to food and water on public land. The BLM claims they will leave 2,581 wild horses in the Complex once the roundup is completed. The truth is the BLM inflates the population estimate to justify removing a high percentage in order to wipe out the majority of wild horses in the resource-rich Complex. The roundup is expected to last approximately 20-25 days at huge expense to the American taxpayer. Are you aware of how much money roundup contractors rake in?

The BLM states that members of the public are welcome to view the daily roundup operations, provided that it does not jeopardize the safety of the animals, staff or observers and that it does not disrupt gather operations. The BLM will escort the public to gather observation sites located on public lands. The BLM anticipates that viewing opportunities will begin on or about July 9, 2019, weather and logistics permitting. Those wanting to view roundup operations are asked to notify Public Affairs Specialist Chris Hanefeld at (775) 289-1800 prior to the desired viewing date to be added to the attendee list and to receive specific instructions on meeting locations and times.

Some high-tech behind the scenes horse advocates, who aren’t asking for donations, believe the BLM’s contractor “pre-gathers” and therefore stampedes wild horses much further than they would let the public know. Of course, the BLM and everyone in on the roundup game won’t tell you the truth.

The BLM is conducting the roundup under the DOI-BLM-NV-E030-2017-0010-EA Antelope and Triple B Complexes Gather Plan Environmental Assessment decision signed on December 21, 2017, when Ryan Zinke was the Secretary of Interior overseeing the BLM. Access the Decision Record and determination of the National Environmental Policy Act adequacy at https://go.usa.gov/xyYxj.

Once the roundup is underway, the BLM will post roundup reports and wild horse death reports as well as additional information on its website at https://go.usa.gov/xy2R7. For technical information, contact Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Ben Noyes at (775) 289-1836 or bnoyes@blm.gov.

Is your representative in Congress pushing for America’s wild horses to lose their federal protections?

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Protect Mustangs

Stop elected officials who want to ruin the 1971 Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act!

READ the shocking letter written last year by elected officials who seem to be supported by special interests groups: http://www.wylr.net/guest-opinions/347-letters-to-the-editor/5887-letter-to-the-editor-from-u-s-senators-and-representatives

Notice the following points in their letter:

These elected officials call the wild mustangs just “horses” most of the time not “wild horses”. Obviously, this is a constructed subliminal move to wipe out the WILD ones that are to be protected since 1971. [Note: Be sure to always refer to mustangs as wild horses]

Members of Congress, elected by the public but who seem to serve special interests, seem to make false claims of: “overstocking” in HMAs, failure to “dispose” of horses and burros, significant ecological “damage” to riparian areas, “overgrazing” and “compromised water” resources, etc.

We know the public has been telling these elected officials the truth for years so why aren’t they listening? Are they getting paid off?

They also claim “adoptions have “fallen almost 70 percent” in the last 10 years. Is this true?

Is this why the BLM makes it so hard to adopt wild horses due to the worst customer service in America? Do they want the adoption program to fail so they can kill them all?

The BLM always wanted to “dispose” of our cherished wild horses & burros. Sterilization is the next best thing in their eyes. They NEVER wanted to use PZP. They label return-native wild horses as “INVASIVE SPECIES” aka PESTS as you see in their letter. Just like the PZP Pesticide applicant classified them in their 2012 PZP application.

The signers of the letter seem to falsely claim: “Improper management compromises equine health, habitat conservation efforts and allows for resource degradation and encroachment by invasive species that will affect wildlife, livestock producers and recreationalists for decades to come.”

What about the cattle and sheep at more than 100 head of livestock to 1 wild horse that is grazing on public land? Do they think the American public is so stupid to buy into the myth that range degradation is the fault of wild horses?

Contact your elected officials across America to let them know you want your voice in Congress to stand up for what’s right, stand up for the 1971 law, keep America’s wild horses federally protected and never give them to the states!

The letter to Neil Kornze, the Director of BLM, was signed by the following elected officials from the Republican Party:

Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)

Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)

Steve Daines (R-Mont.)

Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)

Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)

Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)

Dean Heller (R-Nev.)

Mike Lee (R-Utah)

John McCain (R- Ariz.)

James Risch (R-Idaho)

Reps. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)

Mark Amodei (R-Nev.)

Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)

Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)

Raul Labrador (R-Idaho)

Steve Pearce (R-N.M.)

Adrian Smith (R-Neb.)

Chris Stewart (R-Utah)

Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.)

Now in April 2016 Rep Chris Stewart’s plan has gained momentum as you see in the video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uPFMAE49NM

Links of interest:

Letter to BLM’s Neil Kornze asking for the states to grab control of America’s federally protected wild horses & burros: http://www.wylr.net/guest-opinions/347-letters-to-the-editor/5887-letter-to-the-editor-from-u-s-senators-and-representatives#sthash.allOgrdU.dpuf

PZP Application calls wild horses and burros “PESTS” to get the pesticide approved: https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf

READ the Associated Press article from 2014: Rep. Chris Stewart’s bill seeks to allow states to manage wild horses http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765656593/Bill-seeks-to-allow-states-to-manage-wild-horses.html

Contact Congress: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Protect Mustangs is an organization who protects and preserves native and wild horses.

Emergency roundup that’s been planned since 2014 starts Monday

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Protect Mustangs

More wild horses will be removed forever

ELY, Nevada – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District is scheduled on Monday to begin a helicopter roundup to wipe out approximately 100 wild horses from public and private lands adjacent to U.S. Highway 93 and State Route 322 in and outside the Caliente Herd Areas Complex and Eagle Herd Management Area in eastern Nevada. This issue could be resolved with fencing but they would rather spend the taxpayers money for the next 20 years to warehouse wild horses or send them to slaughter after the American taxpayer has fattened them up with hay.

The District will remove up to 50 wild horses from between Pioche and Eagle Valley that have moved outside the Eagle HMA in search of forage during last years drought. Now that the area is getting enough precipitation the BLM could simply push them back onto the HMA to save the taxpayers money. The Arbitrary Management Level (AML) for the Eagle HMA is 100-210 wild horses. The current population is 1,370 wild horses.

The District will remove up to 50 wild horses from Oak Spring Summit west of Caliente that have moved outside the Caliente Complex in search of forage. Why is the Caliente Complex managed for zero wild horses? The current population is 796 wild horses.

The roundup is expected to take four to six days to complete. A veterinarian will be on site during roundup operations, which will be conducted by a contractor.

The native wild horses will be removed forever, transported to the Axtell Contract Off-Range Corrals in Axtell, Utah, where they will be offered for adoption to qualified individuals if the BLM’s customer service improves. Un-adopted wild horses will be at risk of being sold to slaughter middlemen after 3 strikes in BLM’s failed adoption system or placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and treated, and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act until they are over ten years old and then they legally can be sold by the truckload to a slaughterhouse in Canada or Mexico according to the Burn Amendment to dispose of wild horses and burros.
The BLM claims they do not sell or send any wild horses to slaughter. They sell them to the middlemen who then sell wild horses to slaughter. This way the BLM’s hands don’t get dirty.

The Eagle-Caliente Complex Emergency Gather is no emergency as it’s been planned to appease ranchers and county commissioners with greased palms since 2014. The impacts are described and analyzed in the Ely District Public Safety and Nuisance Gather Environmental Assessment available at http://1.usa.gov/23ws5je but almost no maps or data appears there. This is the bulk of the information

Have you wondered why no well funded group is challenging the roundup in court or mediating for alternative holistic management solutions? Is the BLM using fertility control or just removing all the wild horses?

Follow the money . . . Know what resources (renewable energy, tracking mining, etc.) are about to erupt in that area. Keep in mind this is the same BLM office and cast of shady characters who are involved in the Water Canyon GONACON™ EXPERIMENT.

The roundup Hotline has been established at 775-861-6700. A recorded message will provide updated roundup activities. Roundup reports will be posted on the BLM Ely District website at http://on.doi.gov/1lGnDYC.

Please go to the roundup if you can at your own risk, document and now that it’s 2016 be sure to report animal cruelty to the FBI if you see it. But be careful because this part of the country is run by wild horse hating scoundrels pretending to be otherwise.

For more information from a BLM employee, contact:

Ben Noyes, wild horse and burro specialist
BLM Ely District office
702 North Industrial Way
Ely, NV 89301
(775) 289-1800

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

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

Why did the feds roundup the Diamond wild horses?

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

BLM Nevada News

Battle Mountain District Office, No. 2013-21

Release: September 20, 2013

Contact: Jon Sherve, 775-635-4164, email: jsherve@blm.gov

BLM Seeks Public Comments on the Environmental Assessment

for the Copper Basin Exploration Project

Battle Mountain, NV – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Mount Lewis Field Office is seeking public comments on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed Copper Basin Exploration Project that would be located five miles south of Battle Mountain, NV.

Newmont Mining Company has submitted a Plan of Operations to conduct an exploration drilling and trenching project. Newmont is proposing to disturb up to 200 acres of their project area which encompasses 3,169 acres. The disturbance would include roads, overland travel, drill pads, and trenches.

The comment period begins September 23, 2013 and ends October 23, 2013. Written comments received during this 30-day period will be considered during the decision-making process. The EA may be viewed at: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html or a printed copy can be picked up at the Battle Mountain District Office at 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, NV.

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised, that your entire comment — including your personal identifying information — may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Questions and written comments should be mailed to David Djikine, Project Lead, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, NV 89820 or emailed to ddjikine@blm.gov.

-BLM-

Battle Mountain Mineral Assessment Report

and

Development Scenario for Solar and Wind for the Battle Mountain District Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement

1.2 RENEWABLE ENERGY-RELATED BLM POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

At the time of writing of this report, the BLM’s solar and wind energy is directed by the regulations and executive orders listed below. The policies and procedures cited in this report are applicable at the time of writing but are expected to evolve over the timeframe of the RMP. The right-of-way (ROW) authorization process, which is required for solar and wind projects, is also expected to change over time.

As of 2013, the BLM’s renewable energy policy is directed by the following regulations and executive orders:

 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Title II, Sec. 211), which requires the US Department of the Interior to approve at least 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy on public lands by 2015

 Executive Order 13212, Actions to Expedite Energy-Related Projects, which requires federal agencies to expedite review of energy project applications

 Secretarial Order 3285, which requires the US Department of the Interior to identify and prioritize specific locations best suited for large-scale renewable energy production

Breaking News: Protesters want to end native wild horse abuse and use mustangs to fight wildfires

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

Wildfire risk potential version 2013, data origin & source: USDA Forest Service

For immediate release:

More than 40 international protests today to stop the roundups and stop horse slaughter

OAKLAND, Ca. (April 27, 2013)–Protect Mustangs™, the Bay Area-based native wild horse conservation group, is holding protests today in Oakland and Rock Springs, Wyoming to save indigenous wild horses from roundups, abuse, slaughter and pass the SAFE Act. The Oakland rally is held outside the Rockridge BART station from 3:30 to 6 p.m. The Rock Springs rally is held at 70 Gateway Blvd at 2 p.m. The group wants all the wild horses in government funded holding to be returned to the range to help reduce wildfires. More than 40 international protests, spearheaded by Nevada’s Patty Bumgarner on Facebook, are being held to save the horses. Protect Mustangs™ requests Congress stop the cruelty, the slaughter and save taxpayer dollars–especially during the Sequester.

“We are united across the country to say no to slaughter, roundups and cruel overectomies in the field,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs™. “We want our wild horses to be protected. Did you know America’s wild horses are indigenous? Are you aware that CalTrans found ancient horse fossils while digging the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel?”

The horse, E. caballus, originated in America over a million years ago and returned with the Conquistadors if it ever went extinct in the first place. With history written by the Inquisition, one must read between the lines. It was heresy for Old World animals, such as the horse, to have originated in the heathen Americas.

Novak points out,”Recent DNA testing proves our iconic wild horses are the same species as E. caballus–the original horse.”

Esteemed scientists Kirkpatrick, J.F., and P.M. Fazio explained the following in Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife (Revised January 2010). The Science and Conservation Center, ZooMontana, Billings:

‘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.’

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received $78 million last year to run the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Two-thirds of the expenses went towards caring for the equids in captivity. Despite the federal budget crisis, the program received a $2 million increase in funding for their 2014 fiscal budget–including $6 million for the helicopter contractor.

California’s Senator Feinstein chairs Energy and Water subcommittee as well as rules on Interior issues within the Committee on Appropriations. The Committee gives taxpayer dollars to fiscally irresponsible and cruel wild horse and burro roundups despite public outcry.

Roundups and removals are linked to mining and toxic fracking in the West. It appears native horses are being removed to fast track the extractive industry’s use of public land for private profit yet the public and the environment are hit with the costs.

Native wild horses will soon be zeroed out from Wyoming’s “checkerboard” public-private land–allegedly in preparation for the largest natural gas field in the country. The conservation group has requested a $50 million fund be created to mitigate environmental distress from fracking on the range.

“Tourists love to come to Wyoming to see our wild horses,” states Melissa Maser, outreach coordinator for Protect Mustangs™ in Wyoming and Texas. “We’d like to see native wild horses protected for future generations.”

Advocates are documenting wild horses being removed throughout the West as healthy and with fewer foals. The starving and overpopulation myths from BLM spin doctors are fabricated to sway Congress to fund roundups and removals.

“We’d like to find a win-win for wild horses in the West,” explains Novak. “Native horses will help reduce wildfires that cost insurance companies billions of dollars annually and contribute to global warming. We have requested the BLM put a freeze on roundups and return the 50,000 wild horses stockpiled in holding to public land. This will take the burden off the taxpayer and help to reduce wildfires.”

Protect Mustangs™ is 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.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Anne Novak, 415.531.8454 Anne@Protect Mustangs.org

Kerry Becklund, 510.502.1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org

Photos, video and interviews available upon request

Links of interest:

Gone viral~ The Associated Press, February 10, 2013: Wild-horse advocates split over interior nominee http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020332496_apnvwildhorses1stldwritethru.html

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/

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

Horseback Magazine: Sequester prompts call for wild horses and burros to be returned to the wild http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/21568

Horseback Magazine, March 8, 2013: Protect Mustangs calls for fund for Wyoming wild horses http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/20979

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

Ruby pipeline and wild horse roundups? http://www.8newsnow.com/story/12769788/i-team-bp-connected-to-wild-horse-roundups

BLM’s 2014 Budget: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/april/04_10_2013.html

Why are the wild horses being removed? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCWWgOugF2U

Wyoming Tourism’s video of wild horses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tRZkBXkbyY

Protect Mustangs™: www.ProtectMustangs.org

Protect Mustangs™ on Facebook

Protect Mustangs™ on Twitter

Protect Mustangs™ on YouTube

Protect Mustangs™ in the News

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

Water Wars: Mining vs Wild Horses

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Protect Mustangs

Old Gold during roundup (Photo © Cat Kindsfather, all rights reserved.)

Wild horses are removed due to drought but water can be used for mining?

Please send your comments in to request water be allocated to wild horses and roundups in the region stopped before any mines be allowed to take the water from the aquifers during an alleged drought.

BLM Seeks Public Comment on Proposed

Arturo Mine Project Draft EIS

ELKO, Nev.–The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tuscarora Field Office announces the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Barrick-Dee Mining Venture’s Arturo Mine Project proposal to expand the Dee Gold Mine located approximately 45 miles northwest of Elko, Nev. The notice opens a 45-day public review and comment period that will end March 4, 2013.

A public meeting will be held Feb. 6 at the Elko District Office, from 4 – 6 p.m. The Elko District Office is located at 3900 E. Idaho St., Elko, Nevada.

The proposed project would be located at the previously authorized Dee Gold Mine site. The proposal includes the expansion of the existing open pit, construction of two new waste-rock disposal storage facilities, construction of a new heap-leach facility, and the construction of new support facilities. The proposed project would create approximately 2,774 acres of surface disturbance on public land. The life of the project is estimated to be approximately 10 years of mining and ore processing followed by three years of site closure and reclamation. The proposed project would provide an estimated 240 jobs.

Comments received during the scoping period in June 2010 were addressed and evaluated, and appropriate issues are incorporated into the draft EIS as project alternatives. These alternatives include partial pit backfilling, a single waste-rock storage facility, no-action alternative, and the proposed project. The preferred alternative for the Arturo draft EIS is the proposed project.

Copies of the Draft EIS are available at the BLM Elko District Office and also online at the BLM Elko District Web site address: www.blm.gov/rv5c

Comments should be mailed to: Bureau of Land Management, Arturo Mine Project, Attention: John Daniel, 3900 Idaho Street, Elko, NV 89801-4611; emailed to: BLM_NV_ELDOArturoEISComments@blm.gov; or faxed to (775) 753-0255. Questions concerning this project should be addressed to John Daniel at the above address or by phone at (775) 753-0277.

Before including your address, phone number or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

-BLM-

Letter to the President

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Dear Mr. President,

Wild horses are indigenous to North America. They will heal the land while creating biodiversity to balance out the surge of grazing, energy, mining and water projects on public land.

We understand your priority to foster the New Energy Frontier and therefore we ask you to find the win-win so America’s wild horses and burros–our living treasures–will not become extinct from the industrialization of western public lands.

It’s essential to leave viable herds (families) on public land so the wind horses and burros can reverse desertification because of their nature to forage and roam.

Predators will control the population as part of nature’s cycle and only the fittest will survive. This cuts out the cost of buying costly pharmaceuticals to control reproduction.

We know all the 51,000 wild horses in holding are at risk of going to slaughter and ask that they be returned to public land where they will cost the government almost nothing to live out their lives. Most male horses in holding have already been sterilized so they will not be able to reproduce.

We oppose creating additional herds of sterile wild horses as they don’t exhibit wild horse behaviors and could threaten the indigenous horse with extinction.

We stand with thousands of Americans to respectfully ask you to stop the cruel wild horse and burro roundups, so that an accurate accounting of horses on the range can take place and alternative sustainable management techniques could be applied to save the indigenous horse.

We thank you in advance for becoming a hero for America’s indigenous horses.

In gratitude,

Anne Novak

Executive Director

Protect Mustangs

P.O. Box 5661

Berkeley, California 94705

Wild horse advocates gagged in Las Vegas newspaper

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has CHANGED the article that was getting many hits and comments. The link is the same but now the article is skewed and biased against the indigenous wild horse.

The advocates voices have been gagged. Quotes by Anne Novak (Protect Mustangs) and Suzanne Roy (AWHPC) have been erased from the article published on September 2nd, 2012. Why?

Here is the link: http://www.lvrj.com/news/nevada-wildlife-refuge-to-remove-all-wild-horses-168331946.html?ref=946

The original article published in the Review was identical to the one published at The Republic also on the 2nd.

Why would a Las Vegas newspaper censor quotes supporting the indigenous wild horse’s rights to live in a national wildlife refuge?

Please comment about this on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs The newspaper needs to read what YOU think about this censorship! We encourage you to comment at the article itself too.

Congress considering terrible bills to speed up oil and gas destruction of public wildlands

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Cross-posted from National Resources Defense Council

By Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

May 15, 2012

A suite of bad bills is scheduled to be considered in the House Natural Resources Committee tomorrow, and NRDC opposes all of them. Here are the details from my colleague Bobby McEnaney on the four worst:

H.R. 4383 – This draconian bill is designed to eliminate the public’s right to have a say in the management of public lands–lands that belong to all Americans. The bill would abolish most avenues to protest oil and gas leasing decisions, mandates unrealistic timelines for challenging oil and gas leases, aims to limit the scope of federal courts, and imposes a $5,000 fee if anyone can still find a way to protest an agency’s oil and gas leasing decision. Further, this legislation would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to bypass proper environmental review, even though the oil and gas industry currently is sitting on thousands of unused leases.
H.R. 4382 – This sweeping legislation would mandate oil and gas leasing on public lands, even when it is not warranted. It would also eliminate the public’s right to participate in management processes associated with leasing decisions by severely curtailing the opportunity to protest inappropriate leasing decisions. Lastly, it would force the BLM to lease lands when oil and gas companies want, even when such a decision would destroy or damage sensitive lands and wildlife habitat, including wilderness quality lands. In essence, this bill would cede control of federal lands to oil and gas producers and remove safeguards that balance energy production with necessary conservation mandates.
H.R. 4381 – This bill would require the Department of Interior (DOI) to establish arbitrary targets for energy production on federal lands–even those under the jurisdiction of other agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service. The bill would require the agency to take all necessary actions to meet the targets, leading to extraction of coal, oil and gas, and other dirty fossil fuels at the expense of cleaner sources such as wind and solar.
H.R. 4402 – This legislation would nearly abolish the public’s right to participate in the management of mining claims on federal lands. H.R. 4402 would eliminate the few safeguards that are in place and turn the clock back to the 19th century by eliminating the public’s right to challenge inappropriate mineral leasing decisions.

The original blog post is here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/congress_considering_terrible.html

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