Tag Archives: Mustang

PZP discussion and information

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Fish Creek Mares Indian Lakes aka Broken Arrow 2015

Rebuttal of Misinformation Posted by Pro-PZP Entities
Issue # 1. Criticism of devoted scientists and advocates

Discussion: Sometimes the truth hurts, and sometimes the only way to wake misguided people out of their imaginations is to speak in the strongest of terms.
Issue # 2. Self-regulating herds.

Discussion: The pro-PZP groups parrot the BLM line that there is an insufficient number of large predators to effectively control wild horse populations. But what happened to the predators? They have been virtually exterminated due to excessive hunting by sportsmen and excessive culling by Wildlife Services, which kills on behalf of public lands ranchers. Instead of joining with conservation organizations and animal protection groups that are fighting for the predators, the PZP adherents want us to accept defeat. We won’t. We believe in a thriving natural ecological balance, which must include predators, large and small.
Issue # 3. Impact on genetics and social structure.

Discussion: The pro-PZP groups say it is too late, that the herds have already been genetically and socially disrupted by decades of roundups, removals, and relocations. Their solution? PZP. Thus, we are essentially being told that underpopulated herds suffering from genetic decline should have their numbers further reduced and their mares eventually rendered sterile. We say, “Absolutely not.” The answer is to fight for the herds, for viable populations, for genetic diversity, for normal behavior, for natural fertility.
Issue # 4. Economics.

Discussion: Pro-PZP groups want us to accept BLM’s mismanagement as a fact and learn to live with it. They say we should let wild fillies and mares be slowly sterilized. Using PZP will, “over time” reduce removals, they claim. If only that were so. A review of BLM’s population estimates for herds scheduled for gathers this year showed case after case of dizzingly inflated numbers, even for years in which PZP would have been at maximum effect. BLM is not a trusted partner! BLM is using PZP to accelerate the demise of the herds, combining slow sterilization with massive removals on any pretext. The pro-PZP groups are unwittingly playing into BLM’s nefarious schemes to wipe out the wild horses and burros.
Issue # 5. Whether PZP is a pesticide.

Discussion: The EPA classifies PZP as a pesticide for use on non-food animal pests. It exerts a contraceptive effect by inflamming the ovaries, causing ovarian dystrophy, destroying oocytes in growing follicles, and depleting resting follicles. The EPA warns that PZP is a biohazard are advises women that accidental injection could cause infertility. The EPA cautions pregnant women to avoid handling PZP, despite PZP’s supposed non-interference with a pregnancy in progress. Thus, the possibility is raised of harm to an unborn child by exposure to PZP in the womb.
Anne-Marie Pinter” The crux of this is; multiple attacks on the immune system; stress then a stimulant…..then you have the makings of “Autoimmune disease” as it is termed in today scientific world; “Autoimmune diseases are due to an overacting immune system, that starts attacking their own body”
Issue # 6. Whether PZP-22 is the best answer, if fertility control is to be used.

Discussion: No. PZP-22 has the same adverse-effects profile, except it is longer acting. Once “native” PZP opened the door to artificial population control, BLM looked for ways to make it last longer so they would have less work to do. Thus, one-year PZP is often rejected as “not feasible” and “not practical”. For the most part, BLM wants to keep holding helicopter roundups on a rotating basis every four years, as they’ve been doing. In BLM’s ideal world, they would continue conducting helicopter gathers to catch and corral the mares, shoot them up with “PZP-48”, remove most of the herd anyway based on exaggerated population estimates, and then retire to their offices to sit back for another four years.
Issue # 7. Whether “native” PZP is a sterilant.

Discussion: Ultimately, yes. But if a filly or mare has a strong immune system, even the first immuno-vaccination could provoke such a powerful immune response that she would immediately be rendered permanently sterile. With multiple consecutive injections, sterility is pretty much a certainty. Exceptions would be mares with a weak or depressed immune system, which would not respond to the PZP. That’s why some mares get pregnant in spite of PZP, and why PZP inadvertently selects for immumo-compromised horses. Over time, herd health would suffer and the population could be wiped out by an inability to fight off disease.
Issue # 8. Whether PZP is a chemical contraceptive and whether it poses a significant risk to inoculated mares and their foals.

Discussion: PZP is a chemical, classified by the EPA as a pesticide, approved for use against “feral” horses deemed to be pests. Let it be understood that our wild horses are Federal, not feral. PZP works to provoke an immune response that has been shown to target the ovaries, causing inflammation and dystrophy. PZP destroys oocytes in growing follicles and depletion of resting follicles. So, yes, it does pose a significant risk to mares injected with such a powerful and destructive “vaccine.” Because pregnant women are strictly warned against handling PZP, even though PZP is said not to interfere with a pregnancy already in existence, the possibility of ovarian or testicular degeneration in the developing embryo or fetus is of concern. Therefore, a pregnant mare’s unborn foal could potentially be affected. The cautionary principle would call for rejection, not injection, of such a substance.
http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=R96054
Issue # 9. Whether PZP causes ovarian damage and other pathologies.

Discussion: Yes, it does. The pro-PZP groups endeavor to differentiate “native” PZP from other PZP formulations and claim that “native” PZP works completely differently from the rest of the PZPs and ZPs. Not so. Recent studies have disproven the theory that ZPs block fertilization. Instead, ZP vaccines cause ovarian dystrophy, oophoritis (inflammation of the ovaries), destruction of oocytes in all growing follicles, and depletion of resting follicles. That is why, regardless of PZP type, it takes years for fertility to be restored (if ever) and why eventual sterilization occurs with certainty after multiple inoculations. Kirkpatrick, Liu, Turner, et al. (1992) found that ” … three consecutive years of PZP treatment may interfere with normal ovarian function as shown by markedly depressed oestrogen secretion.”

http://www.pubfacts.com/detail/1317449/Long-term-effects-of-porcine-zonae-pellucidae-immunocontraception-on-ovarian-function-in-feral-horse

Certainly ovarian damage should have been suspected 23 years ago and investigated, in light of “markedly depressed oestrogen secretion” in PZP-treated mares. Yet despite the developer’s own finding in 1992 that PZP appeared to “interfere with normal ovarian function,” the product was promoted as a safe vaccine that merely blocked fertilization. Recent independent studies, based on examining the reproductive organs of sacrificed experimental animals [note: whether they were “sacrificed” to determine the organ-damage has to be verified], revealed the ovarian destruction, clearly disproving the previous assumption.
Issue # 10. Whether PZP is paving the way for use in humans.

Discussion: No, it’s not. Interesting choice of argument that PZP’s 95 percent efficacy rate would be too low for human contraception. Compare PZP’s rate with that of birth control pills, which are only 91 percent effective unless perfect compliance is achieved, no conflicting medications are taken, and no conflicting health issues are present. And compare PZP’s efficacy rate to that of condoms. With typical use, 85 percent of women relying on prophylactics worn by their partners successfully prevent pregnancy. Interesting choice of argument also in comparing PZP to the influenza vaccine, whose efficacy is reportedly in the 10-60 percent range.

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20150115/flu-vaccine-effectiveness
Issue #11: Whether 150 is the lowest viable population of a wild horse herd to be genetically healthy.

Discussion: The International Union for Conservation of Nature has determined that 2,500 is the minimun viable population for a wild horse herd. A recent meta-analysis suggested that number should be doubled. Interestingly, the Pryor Mountain herd, which the pro-PZP groups cited, is in genetic decline, according to the most recent report from Dr. Cothran. His recommendation? Increase the size of the herd.
Issue #12: Whether or not the NAS recommended fertility control in Federal wild horse herds.

Discussion: The NAS researchers were prohibited by BLM from collecting their own data. They were required to base their recommendations on BLM’s wild horse population estimates, which are exaggerated by more than double. So, it was to be expected that NAS would recommend fertility control. What else could they be expected to do?

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The Example of Assateague Island National Seashore
Examining PZP through the eyes of the Assateague horses themselves:

Horses have not been handled.

Reply: Right. They are shot with a dart gun, so human hands do not touch them, although the PZP causes their ovaries to become inflamed.

Mortality rates have declined significantly, especially among foals.

Reply: Nature operates by survival of the fittest, which means those that are not fit, perish. Reduced mortality may not correlate with a herd being self-sustaining because most of the herd is not reproducing.

Body condition scores have improved.

Reply: Mares in good or improving body condition have a hugely increased tendency to produce colts. This could lead to a gender imbalance. Having too many colts negatively impacts the genetic diversity of a herd.

Longevity has increased dramatically, with mares living three times longer than pre-PZP.

Reply: Longevity, combined with sterility, reduces a herd’s viability in both the short-term and the long-term. Here’s the analogy. On average, American women live about 75 years. If PZP caused them to live three times longer, for 225 years, would that be a good thing if none were allowed to have more than one child?
Discussion: Let’s take a look at another East Coast wild horse herd being managed on “native” PZP: Corolla. The low population limits imposed on that herd have led to birth defects. To increase gene pool diversity, a stallion from the Curritick herd, 150 miles south of Corolla, was translocated. However, he may never win a band and, besides, the mares are contracepted, which makes his job more difficult.

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Issue #13: Whether PZP inoculations can introduce pathogens, and whether administering PZP will cause laminitis, resulting in horses’ hooves to fall apart.

Discussion: This is a two-part issue. As for the first part, yes, it is possible for any inoculation, including PZP, to introduce pathogens. However, the second part appears to be a straw man story invented by pro-PZP parties and falsely attributed to PZP’s critics.
Issue #14: Whether PZP-mares stay in perpetual estrus, causing unrest in the herd.

Discussion: The incorrect word above is “perpetual.” Studies have found that mares on PZP have more estrus events and cycle beyond the normal breeding season. Mares in estrus give off pheromones [note: verify this], which are attractants for stallions. With more estrus events occurring in his mares, the band stallion will likely experience more challenges to his leadership. Yes, foals can get hurt when stallions do battle. A recent study by Ransom et al. showed that herds managed by PZP have a breeding season of 341 days. So, by “perpetual” we mean nearly year-round: 365 days minus 24 days.
Issue #15: Whether pharmaceutical companies are involved with the Assateague Herd project and other native PZP projects.

Discussion: This appears to be a straw man accusation. Pharmaceutical companies have no interest in PZP in any of its various iterations because of the long time it takes to restore fertility (four to eight years), the risk of irreversible sterility, and as has been pointed out, the prospect of settling bad-drug lawsuits.
Issue #16: Predation is the only viable ecological solution.

Discussion: To have a thriving, natural ecological balance (TNEB), an ecosystem must have predators.
Issue #17: The allegation that anti-PZP groups claim PZP, specifically “native” PZP, is patented.

Response: This appears to be another straw man accusation. ZonaStat-H is a proprietary product registered with the EPA by the Humane Society of the United States. It is possible that some persons confused “proprietary” with “patented.” Merck originally held the patent but let it lapse due to the adverse effects listed herein.
Issue #18: Some organizations appear to support perpetuating the problem or creating a new problem.

Response: If your income or your funding depends on there being a problem, you will do things that keep that problem going or create new problems to take its place. Once PZP has sterilized one herd after another, and once BLM zeroes out such HMAs, then these groups will surely take up a new rallying cry: Recreate the herds! They’ll say that no one knows why the herds are dying out (yes, you do; it was the PZP), but let’s sign petitions to bring in substitute horses to reinvent such and such herds. Of course the original herd and its unique genetics will be lost forever, but now these groups will have a new life with a new cause.
Issue #19: BLM is not managing wild horse HMAs according to the Law.

Response: The clear intent of the Act was that mustangs would benefit from the principal use of their dedicated range and its resources. Yet, within 98 percent of their legally designated habitats, wild horses and burros are relegated to a minority share of the forage.
Issue #20: Wild horse sanctuaries are pale imitations of real wild horse herds.

Response: The Law provides for eco-sanctuaries. They are called HMAs. The need for private sanctuaries is due to BLM’s mismanagement, to inadequate AMLs, to removals in numbers that deluge the adoption market.

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© Protect Mustangs, May 17, 2015

Media placement spins wild horses as scary pests to push PZP at upcoming BLM meeting?

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Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

Are the PZP PUSHERS buying CNN media placement ahead of the BLM’s Wild Horse Advisory Board Meeting April 22-23rd in Ohio to PUSH PZP, take over and control America’s wild horses that they see as “pests” deserving of a pesticide for “birth control”? Follow the money and you find millions of donor dollars that would pour in (think of who is on the top of the PZP pyramid) if they were able to claim they solved the wild horse “problem” with PZP.  (EPA Pesticide Fact Sheet: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf)

PM PZP Syringe Yearling Meme

 

Wild horses and the world’s forgotten animals
by Motez Bishara, for CNN April 21, 2015

(CNN)The Rolling Stones sang about them, and Ford named its most iconic sports car after them.

Their numbers are increasing, yet mustangs are among the ever-growing list of animals being eclipsed by the modern world.

That’s the view of Dutch artist Charlotte Dumas, who holds a particular fascination with the wild horses that populate the western U.S., together with the overall roles that animals play in society.

“Their physical presence may be growing, but what they stand for is deteriorating,” Dumas explains. “The whole idea of the wild and free horse is not sustainable anymore.”

From her observations, much of the world’s attention when it comes to animals either fixates on pets, which she says are “put on a pedestal, almost to excess,” or those consumed as part of the giant produce industry. “And then there is a big midsection that completely disappeared,” she says.

Dumas, 37, uses her medium of undirected portrait photography to humanize a largely anonymous subset of the animal population. She avoids zooms, taking photos only with portrait lenses that force her to get up close and personal with the animals — even when those subjects are wolves, wild dogs and tigers (she was safely behind a fence for the tigers).

Her two most recent bodies of work were recently on display at The Photographer’s Gallery in London. For “The Widest Prairies,” Dumas shadowed the mustangs from a trailer in Dayton, Nevada, while “Anima” is a video montage of military horses falling asleep in the stables of Arlington National Cemetery.

“Those horses make for a more appealing subject simply because they are more realistic of how most horses live, rather than in a very artificial habitat (catered to) horses that we might see in the Olympics,” says Dr. Thomas Witte, lecturer in equine surgery at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

Both projects required multiple trips from New York, where Dumas was living at the time, and countless hours behind the lens. Dumas believes taking her time is essential in order to catch the subjects in a relaxed and natural state.

The 12-minute film “Anima” was compiled from footage shot over the course of 15 nights, usually from midnight until 4 a.m.

“I encounter a lot of people in my work, and what they all find the strangest is that I stay around that long,” she explains. “(They ask), don’t you already have it by now?”

A press officer from the cemetery was assigned to accompany her during the overnights, shuffling back and forth between the stables and alerting Dumas when a horse was nodding off.

“I felt really guilty in the beginning because he had to be there for all these insane hours, but he didn’t mind at all,” she says.

The time spent allowed her to present a behind-the-scenes look at the working life of a regal animal. Known as caisson burial horses, the likes of Major and Ringo lead the procession for honored deceased servicemen up to eight times a day.

“(A working horse) is one of the few places where there is still this interaction where man and animal depend on each other,” says Dumas. “They are not as visible anymore, whereas they used to be very much part of everyday life.”

Tens of thousands of tourists go on African safari every year. Many will see the continent most beautiful beasts from the safety of a four-wheel drive vehicle, but some brave the bush on the four legs of a horse.

Witte points to an old adage in the veterinary world: that 10% of the world’s equine population receives 90% of the veterinary care.

“All those equids that are doing the grunt work and supporting their human families in developing parts of the world — the mules and donkeys — they get very little in the way of veterinary care and very little in the way of attention,” he says.

After such an intimate project, Dumas decided to profile the exact opposite type of horse for her followup — one with almost no human interaction or discipline.

“The wild horses have such a romantic connotation; I wanted to challenge myself, and see if it was possible to take a portrait of one,” she says. “I thought it was always a daring topic to go near, so it took me a while before I was ready to take that on. Practically they are very different from each other.”

Dumas spent nights in a trailer loaned by a wild horse preservationist in Nevada. The topic is controversial, since the free-roaming horses (numbering 40,815 throughout 10 states) can overpopulate and encroach on residential areas.

“They keep coming closer and closer to civilization because there is no food on the hills anymore. So (there is a question of) who’s infringing on who,” she explains.

Witte notes that overpopulation can lead to a spread of diseases between species. “Wherever you have that interface between human population and animal population, you’ve got to do something to control the situation; that is for animal welfare as much as it is for human convenience,” he says.

There are a further 16,203 horses up for adoption in holding shelters, and another 31,250 in long-term pastures. All the horses fall under the care of the Bureau of Land Management and are protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

On a gamble, Dumas took to the mountains of Nevada and befriended a local watcher who put her up in her trailer. After studying the horses up close, Dumas decided to return months later — and noticed how their personalities had changed. Oddly, the more time she spent in the mustangs’ proximity, the less comfortable she became.

“I went in early spring which, was like mating season, and then they got really wild. You really had to be careful that you didn’t get caught up between two stallions fighting for mares,” she recalls. “The more I spent time with them, in a sense I got more and more afraid of them.”

Dumas’ other projects have profiled the retired search and rescue dogs of 9/11 (only one was reportedly still alive in 2014, 13 years after the World Trade Center attacks) and stray dogs in Palermo, Italy, along with tigers and wolves living in animal sanctuaries.

“They have so much power,” she says, recalling her nervousness around the tigers, “and when you see them up close they are so much bigger.” The tigers were shot at an eccentric private animal park in Texas that housed over 250 wild cats, while the wolves were photographed at a preserve in Colorado and in upstate New York.

Now back in Amsterdam, Dumas is focusing on her next projects: the logging horses of Lapland, Sweden, along with the eight native horse breeds of Japan, which she says are in danger of extinction.

Each series is part of a collective calling, to preserve a lasting image of a place in time for an unheralded group of animals that may not be around forever.

“What is the value of something that has no real direct use anymore to society?” she asks. “If there is no economic purpose, then they are just going to go extinct. That’s just how it is.”

# # #

Cross-posted from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/21/sport/wild-horses-photographer-charlotte-dumas/ for educational purposes

Is this CNN article another subliminal push for the registrant of PZP (The Humane Society of the United States) to take over wild horse and burro management based on using PZP?  Besides lobbying, are they buying media placements through PR firms too?

Learn more about PZP, the restricted use pesticide used as “birth control” that permanently sterilizes wild mares after multiple use on the Facebook Forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForumPZPWildHorsesBurros

 

PM PZP Betrayal

Despite protests, BLM returns wild horses to range in Nevada

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Fish Creek Mares Indian Lakes aka Broken Arrow 2015

April 12, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Job Listing: Wild Horse & Burro Monitoring Technician

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Nevada mustang © Carl Mrozek

Nevada mustang © Carl Mrozek

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management Mount Lewis Field Office, is recruiting one rangeland ecologist, wildlife biologist, or botanist to conduct upland monitoring across the public lands. The Monitoring Technician will work cooperatively as part of a multi-disciplinary rangeland monitoring team. The overall objective is to collect and compile monitoring data within Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Areas including but not limited to utilization, nested frequency, rangeland health indicators, water availability/condition, and wild horse or burro body condition. The Monitoring Technician may also be required to work as part of other monitoring teams collecting riparian or wildlife data or vegetation data for fire rehabilitation monitoring.

General duties include planning for and completing monitoring within Wild Horse and Burro Herd Management Areas working either alone or in cooperation with the Mount Lewis Field Office Wild Horse and Burro Specialist or other staff member, including other Monitoring Technicians. Monitoring will require adherence to Bureau of Land Management Technical References, use of digital cameras, and detailed documentation of field observations. The incumbent will be responsible for compilation of data, labeling digital photos and analyzing and display of data using GIS (ArcMap). GBI is seeking an associate to fill the monitoring technician position that will perform the following duties:

Wild Horse and Burro Monitoring – The Monitoring Technician will be responsible for documenting wild horse and burro body condition on the range under established BLM Protocol (Henneke Condition Scoring). The monitoring will also involve the documentation of animal presence and movement patterns, and habitat quality and quantity including rangeland health indicators and water availability/condition. The Technician may assist with collecting data for wild horse and burro NEPA documentation and assisting with gathers.
Plant Identification – plant and plant community identification, including the ability to use vegetation identification keys to properly identify upland range plants common throughout the Great Basin. Responsible for the identification of individual plants, describing existing and potential plant communities using soil survey and ecological site description information.
Soil Identification – Has exposure to identification of soils, and is able to use of soil surveys in order to determine soils grouped into the site, identify landscape and soil factors, and determine existing or potential erosional factors. This information would be utilized to aid in determining site potential and evaluation of current conditions.
Upland Monitoring Studies – Utilizing plant and soil identification skills, the Monitoring Technician will be responsible for conducting upland monitoring studies under established BLM protocol. Monitoring could include but is not limited to Utilization, Use Pattern Mapping, Ecological Site Inventory, Cover and Density techniques.
Location: Battle Mountain, NV is located ~220 miles east of Reno, NV and ~300 west of Salt Lake City, UT along Interstate 80. Battle Mountain and the surrounding area (pop. ~4,000) is predominantly rural; situated in the high desert (~4,500 ft. elevation) where ranching/mining are the local economic drivers. The Mount Lewis Field Office within the Battle Mountain District Office is responsible for managing approximately 4.5 million acres of public land typically of basin-and-range topography with Great Basin Desert/sage brush steppe ecotype.

Compensation & Timeline:

Rate of Pay – $16.00/hour
Medical benefits (health and dental)
Start Date: May 18, 2015 (or upon availability) – November 20, 2015, with potential for extension pending funding and a favorable performance review
Full time, 40 hours per week
Qualifications:

Applicants should have a combination of educational and field experience related to the position of interest (degree in Rangeland Management/Sciences, Wildlife, Ecology, Botany or other similar degree), including an understanding of basic principles related to the fields of botany, soil science, and/or livestock science; knowledge of Great Basin ecology, preferable; knowledge and ability to use various monitoring techniques to determine range vegetation and animal condition (e.g. utilization, nested frequency, rangeland health indicators, water availability/condition, wild horse body condition); knowledge and ability to identify rangeland vegetation and the functional aspects of rangeland ecology, riparian condition; and livestock and equine health); experience working with ArcGIS, desirable (includes ability to analyze and display data using ArcMap); ability to work independently and within a team environment; applicant should have good organizational skills; ability to navigate and collect data using handheld GPS units, required; ability to use a compass and read a topographical map; possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license and ability to operate a 4WD vehicle on- and off-road; ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a diverse audience; be physically fit to work outdoors, carry personal and field equipment, and withstand the rigors of the Great Basin in the summer, fall and/or early winter.

Successful applicant(s) must complete a Department of Interior (DOI) Background Investigation (BI) or submit paperwork to BLM human resources indicating an active and fully adjudicated BI has already been completed prior to beginning position.

How to Apply: Qualified and interested applicants should forward a cover letter, their résumé, and a list of three professional references to Amy Gladding, GBI HR Coordinator, at agladding@thegreatbasininstitute.org. Please include where you found this position posted. Incomplete applications will not be considered. No phone inquiries, please.

We conform to all the laws, statutes, and regulations concerning equal employment opportunities and affirmative action. We strongly encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply to all of our job openings. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, age, disability status, Genetic Information & Testing, Family & Medical Leave, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We prohibit Retaliation against individuals who bring forth any complaint, orally or in writing, to the employer or the government, or against any individuals who assist or participate in the investigation of any complaint or otherwise oppose discrimination.

Cross-posted from The Great Basin Institute: http://www.thegreatbasininstitute.org/employment/research-associates-employment/wild-horse-burro-monitoring-technician/

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

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Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

Pine Nut Wild Horses ©Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs

For immediate release

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

###

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

Links of interest:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

Protect Mustangs announces the Spring 2015 Wild Horse Photo Contest

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PM Contest Photo Spring 2015

Celebrate Wild Horses! Announcing the Spring 2015 Wild Horse Photo Contest.

Post your submissions (limit of 2 photos per photographer) on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs from today until April 2, 2015. Photos of wild horses from around the world are welcome. Winners will be announced by April 30, 2015. Good Luck : )

Info: Post the photos on https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs in a unique post. They will show up under the “Posts by others” section. Photographers keep the rights to their photos. Winners get a certificate of award. There is no entry fee. Anyone can enter but the photos must be of wild horses.

ALERT: A new Fort McDermitt roundup proposed

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Fallon auction

Dear Friends of Wild Horses & Burros,

I want to give you a heads up that another brutal Fort McDermitt roundup is being planned for late summer or early fall 2015 in Nevada. Due to our successful 2013 lawsuit, the United States Forest Service is seeking public comment due March 23, 2015, in accordance with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), on the proposal to remove unauthorized tribal horses. Please send in your comments.

Here is their announcement: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/news-events/?cid=STELPRD3830223 Here is the the public scoping notice for detailed information: http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=44432 The link to make your comments online is here: https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=44432 Remember comments are due by March 23rd.

How will the Nevada brand inspectors identify unbranded federally protected wild horses who have migrated off the neighboring Little Owyhee herd management area? This is of great concern to the public at large.

Despite many wild horses being rescued in the mad scramble of 2013 too many truckloads went to slaughter. Horse advocates won’t tolerate the kill-buyer parking lot rip-offs any more. Those Facebook ransom pages won’t be supported this time around either. It’s time for the community to come together with advance planning.

We’d like to work with the tribe to ensure the Fort McDermitt horses don’t end up getting slaughtered for human consumption abroad. It would be a tragedy for these nice horses to end up eaten in foreign countries when they can make nice riding ponies and therapy horses. Those who wouldn’t be a good match for working with people could be distributed to Eco-sanctuaries. People around the world want to experience the Old West and native wild horses hold that allure.

The Forest Service is ignoring the ecological benefits of free-roaming horses on public land. Wild horses reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and help reverse desertification. Despite new methods of holistic land management, the feds continue to scapegoat wild horses for range and riparian damage caused mostly by cows and sheep.

We stopped the ongoing brutal roundups at Fort McDermitt from Sept 2013 until now based on the feds’ NEPA violation. Protect Mustangs and Citizens Against Equine Slaughter sued over the agreement that called for years of cruel roundups. At least now we have advance notice of the proposed roundup. Please contact us via email if you want to help. Our email is Contact@ProtectMustangs.org

Though the USFS didn’t participate in the Fort McDermitt roundup, the USFS-McDermitt agreement was left on the table. Our lawsuit was about their failure to conduct NEPA. Protect Mustangs and Citizens Against Equine Slaughter got the illegal agreement scrubbed out on Sept. 3, 2013, after the roundup cases filed by other groups had been lost/dismissed in mid-August. To ensure transparency of future roundups we requested the United States Forest Service conduct NEPA and give notice if they should roundup Fort McDermitt wild horses again. Now they are doing it.

We did not sue the Fallon Auction Yard. That issue is discussed in the pro-slaughter biased article in RANGE magazine here: http://www.rangemagazine.com/features/spring-14/range-sp14-horse_hoarders.pdf

In accordance with our settlement agreement, Protect Mustangs received notification of another Fort McDermitt roundup and we are sharing the news with you so you can take action.

Here are some links to source information:

2013: Two different Fort McDermitt lawsuits for two different issues: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5242

September 30,2013 Horsetalk, New Zealand Roundup agreement canned following legal challenge http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/09/30/roundup-agreement-canned-following-legal-challenge/#axzz2gPxqlhX1

September 28, 2013 CBS San Francisco Wild Horse Advocates’ Legal Victory Halts Roundups in NorCal Forest http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/09/28/wild-horse-advocates-legal-victory-halts-roundups-in-norcal-forest/#.UkhzyrcAdyU.twitter

Press Release: Legal win creates public transparency and halts 2-year roundup contract (September 26, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5185

Protect Mustangs & Citizens Against Equine Slaughter Win Transparency for Public for Forest Service Roundups with Tribes (September 17, 2013)
Termination of roundup agreement (September 3, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PM-Protect-Mustangs-CAES-McDermitt-Participating-Agreement-Termination-September-3-2013.pdf

August 24, 2013 Horseback Magazine Dances with Wolves author Michael Blake joins lawsuit to stop ongoing wild horse roundups: http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/24124

Breaking News: Michael Blake joins lawsuit to stop ongoing wild horse roundups (August 24, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5060

Citizens Against Equine Slaughter and Protect Mustangs file preliminary injunction (August 24, 2013): PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT
Horses saved and horses lost at Native American horse auction (August 17, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5023

Information about Fallon Livestock Auction (August 17, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4999

Temporary Restraining Order Granted (August 16, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4990

Judge blocks Nevada auction of unbranded horses in second opinion http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/judge-blocks-nevada-auction-unbranded-horses-second-opinion

Viral article: August 16, 2013 The Associated Press US judge refuses to block NV tribe’s mustang sale http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23879138/us-judge-refuses-block-nv-tribes-mustang-sale

Press Release: Lawsuit filed to save wild horses from alleged slaughter (August 16, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=5001

Official request to terminate roundup agreement, request DNA testing, separate unbranded wild horses, etc. (August 15, 2013): http://protectmustangs.org/?p=4969

It’s time to join forces to save the Fort McDermitt free-roaming horses from going to slaughter. Last time we had no advance notice. Today we do. Let’s make the most of it–for the horses!

Many blessings,
Anne

Anne Novak
Executive Director
www.ProtectMustangs.org
Anne@ProtectMustangs.org

 

BIG NEWS: Baby SPITFIRE Born out of the WY14–saved from the clutches of slaughter!

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PM Spitfire 2

Welcome Spitfire!

Baby Spitfire was born out of a miracle rescue. Her papa was brutally slaughtered shortly after 41 wild horses in Wyoming were rounded up in the March 2014 BLM stealth roundup and were quickly sold off by the WY Livestock Board at auction to the most prominent slaughterhouse in North America–who slaughters wild and domestic horses for human consumption abroad.

Mark Boone Junior (Bobby Elvis on Sons of Anarchy) and Anne Novak found the only mustangs left alive at the slaughterhouse yard–14 young and terrified wild horses. Thanks to everyone’s prayers and good vibes they resuced the WY14 back from the slaughterhouse before they were live-shipped and turned into sashimi over in Asia. Read about the rescue here: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=6775 .

Little did they know that a member of the WY14 was carrying a little treasure through all the turmoil and terror.

Please help with a tax-deductible donation for the hay drive to get a semi-load of hay for the WY14-15. They are all growing and need more hay!

Welcome Spitfire! You will carry on the bloodline that those dumb bureaucrats at the BLM thought should be disposed of. SHAME on them.

Please donate and share the Hay Drive http://www.gofundme.com/HayDriveWY14Spitfire so the rescued wild horses can meet their goal quickly. The WY14 and Spitfire thank you for helping them survive and grow strong!

 

www.ProtectMustangs.org

Attend the public meeting and speak up for America’s wild horses

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PM Photo Wild Horses ©AdventureJournalist

Carson City District Draft RMP/EIS Public Hearing

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carson City District (CCD) announces a public hearing session on the Carson City District Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP). Speakers will be required to sign in to speak. There will be a three (3) minute time limit for each speaker and a court reporter will be present to document all public comments. Public hearing comments will be incorporated into the official record and will be included in the final document. BLM managers and staff will be available from 5-5:45pm to interact with the public and answer questions. The formal public hearing will begin at 6pm. The public hearing will take place Thursday March 19, 2015 6-8:30p.m. in the Churchill County Commission Chamber, 155 N. Taylor St., Fallon, Nevada.
The BLM Carson City District Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) public review and comment began on November 28, 2014 and will end on April 27, 2015.