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Tag Archives: Roundups
Breaking News: Protesters want to end native wild horse abuse and use mustangs to fight wildfires
Wildfire risk potential version 2013, data origin & source: USDA Forest Service
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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
@SecretaryJewell Freeze the roundups & return stockpiled wild horses, burros to the range! #Sequester
Sequester means stop fiscal fiasco. Freeze the roundups. Return all wild horses and burros to the range.
Put a freeze on all roundups due to the Sequester. Return captive wild horses & burros to their public sanctuaries known as Herd Management Areas (HMAs). Tell the Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board NO slaughter for native wild horses! Contact your elected officials and Sally Jewell, the new Secretary of Interior. Ask them to intervene.
Keep them safe!
Join the international rally on April 27th to stop horse slaughter, stop the roundups and stand up for the voiceless wild horses and burros!
Read about our call to put a freeze on roundups due to the Sequester. Horseback Magazine reports http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/21568 Below is an excerpt:
WASHINGTON (April 8, 2013)–Last week Protect Mustangs, the California based conservation group, officially called for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to put a freeze on roundups and return all wild horses and burros, in government funded holding, to herd management areas in the West. They cited the current climate of federal economic instability as putting captive wild horses and burros at risk. As of April 7th, Protect Mustangs has not received a response from BLM officials.
“It’s fiscal folly to roundup more wild horses and burros than they can adopt out,” explains Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “The roundups need to stop now. We are calling for the more than 50,000 stockpiled native wild horses and historic burros to be returned immediately to public land. We are concerned the government won’t be able to pay for their feed and care during the federal fiscal crisis. We need to be proactive to ensure their safety. If a government shutdown occurs, their only chance of survival is in the wild.”
Protect Mustangs™ spurs inquiry into dead horses at Palomino Valley
(Photo © Anne Novak, all rights reserved.)
On Friday April 12, Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs™, asked a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee a simple facility question. She wanted to know the mortality rate of captured wild horses at the Palomino Valley facility since January 1, 2013.
Rather than provide an easy transparent answer, the employee dismissed her request and told Novak to contact the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office.
Novak copied many advocates and members of the media on her second and third request for mortality rate information. She is concerned about the obvious lack of transparency in the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program.
The wild horse and burro advocate community now wants to know how many have died at the facility since the beginning of the year. Several advocates have sent the BLM employee emails as a result of his refusal to share basic facility information.
Esteemed advocates and members of the public have contacted their elected officials to request government transparency and an answer to Novak’s question.
Members of the greater public are wondering why the BLM is hiding the mortality rate. The big questions are spreading on social media: “What is the BLM hiding? How many died at Palomino Valley since January 1, 2013?”
Below is Novak’s third request:
April 17, 2013
Dear Jeb,
Kindly provide a written response to my simple question from April 12th. You will find the whole email stream on our website as well as below:
How many horses died at the facility since Jan 1, 2013?
Thank you for your prompt assistance.
Sincerely,
Anne Novak
CC list includes Stacy Peters, Palomino Valley employee and others
BC list undisclosed
Anne Novak
Executive Director
Protect Mustangs™
San Francisco Bay Area
Tel./Text: 415.531.8454
Read about native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562
Protect Mustangs™ on Facebook
Protect Mustangs™ on Twitter
Protect Mustangs™ on YouTube
Protect Mustangs™ in the News
Donate to help Protect Mustangs™
Protect Mustangs™ is devoted to protecting native wild horses. Our mission is to educate the public about the native wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.
Read Animals Angels’ FOIA report revealing discrepancies in mortality records from January 1, 2010 to May 31, 2012: http://www.animalsangels.org/the-issues/horse-slaughter/foia-requests/497-blm-nevada-mortality-records-a-nevada-rendering-animals-angels-foia-request-reveals-discrepancies.html
Sequester prompts call for wild horses and burros to be returned to the wild
Wild horse mares in holding (Photo © Anne Novak, all rights reserved.)
Conservation group requests a freeze on roundups
WASHINGTON (April 8, 2013)–Last week Protect Mustangs, the California based conservation group, officially called for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to put a freeze on roundups and return all wild horses and burros, in government funded holding, to herd management areas in the West. They cited the current climate of federal economic instability as putting captive wild horses and burros at risk. As of April 7th, Protect Mustangs has not received a response from from BLM officials.
“It’s fiscal folly to roundup more wild horses and burros than they can adopt out,” explains Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “The roundups need to stop now. We are calling for the more than 50,000 stockpiled native wild horses and historic burros to be returned immediately to public land. We are concerned the government won’t be able to pay for their feed and care during the federal fiscal crisis. We need to be proactive to ensure their safety. If a government shutdown occurs, their only chance of survival is in the wild.”
The Weekly Standard broke the story on BLM’s $6 Mil helicopter contract for the wild horse and burro program after the sequester went into effect.
Roundups increased dramatically in 2009–the same year BLM started fast tracking energy projects with the Stimulus Act in full force. The deadly Calico Roundup and others popped up all along the Ruby Pipeline natural gas route. Protect Mustangs believes wild horses and burros are being removed from 26 million acres to avoid environmental mitigation and costly delays for the extractive industry.
Last month, in response to the BLM’s request for comments on the controversial Continental Divide-Cresta natural gas development project, Protect Mustangs called for a $50 Mil fund to mitigate environmental distress and removal of Wyoming’s wild horses.
In 2012, Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board member, Callie Hendrickson, suggested slaughtering native wild horses as a solution for the government’s holding crisis. Protect Mustangs is concerned the pro-kill faction of the BLM will jump on current federal economic instability to spin a death or slaughter sentence for captured wild horses and burros.
“Native wild horses should not be made to suffer further because of the BLM’s fiscal irresponsibility,” states Kerry Becklund, outreach director for Protect Mustangs. “Killing them is wrong. Now it’s time to return them to their wild lands. All the captive males have already been castrated so they won’t be reproducing. Overpopulation is a myth anyways.”
The BLM justifies using fertility control drugs because of the overpopulation myth. Yet cattle outnumbers wild horses at least 50 to 1 and is the source of most range damage. EPA approved “limited use pesticides” such as SpayVac®, GonaCon™ and ZonaStat-H appear to be risky forms of fertility control. Currently the BLM is using these drugs on wild horses and burros on the range. Protect Mustangs is against using pesticides on native wild horses–especially the nonviable herds.
“Why aren’t these drugs FDA approved for domestic horses if they aren’t harmful?” asks Novak. “We are against using these drugs on mares being released back into the wild. It’s dangerous to use these drugs on nonviable herds. If the herd numbers drop then inbreeding occurs and that’s bad.”
Wild horses are a native species. The horse evolved in America millions of years ago. There were 2 million roaming in freedom in 1900. Today they are underpopulated on the range. Advocates estimate there are less than 20,000 left in the wild. They can fill their niche in the ecosystem and be managed using holistic methods to reduce wildfire fuel, reseed the land, create biodiversity and reverse desertification.
“We are asking for a proactive solution to avoid disaster,” adds Novak. “It’s simple. Return wild horses and burros to the range and save more than $50 Mil taxpayer dollars annually.”
# # #
Below is a copy of the official email sent to Ms. Guilfoyle, Division Chief of Wild Horses & Burros. It was copied to the BLM Acting Director and other staff:
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Calling for a Freeze on Roundups & Return to HMAs
From: <anne@protectmustangs.org>
Date: Mon, April 01, 2013 1:02 pm
To: jguilfoy@blm.gov
Cc: dbolstad@blm.gov, nkornze@blm.gov, jconnell@blm.gov
Joan Guilfoyle, Division Chief
Division of Wild Horses and Burros
20 M Street, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
Main Contact Number: 202-912-7260
Dear Ms. Guilfoyle,
In this climate of federal economic instability, including the possibility of government shutdown, we request that all wild horses and burros in government funded holding be returned to the herd management areas immediately. We call for a freeze on all wild horse and burro roundups to prevent the equids from being caught up in an uncertain fate.
Sincerely,
Anne Novak
Anne Novak
Executive Director
Protect Mustangs
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:
$6 Mil helicopter contract during sequester: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/feds-sign-6m-helicopter-contract-wild-horse-and-burro_714436.html
Sequester affects wild horse adoption center near Reno: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020634912_apnvbudgetbattlewildhorses1stldwritethru.html
Ruby pipeline and wild horse roundups? http://www.8newsnow.com/story/12769788/i-team-bp-connected-to-wild-horse-roundups
Protect Mustangs calls for $50 Mil Wyoming mitigation fund for wild horses http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/20979 and http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3954
Callie Hendrickson, pro-slaughter appointee: http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/03/callie_hendrickson_wild_horse_board_slaughter.php
GonaCon press release spins wild horse overpopulation myths: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2013/02/horse_vaccine_approval.shtml
ZonaStat-H EPA Pesticide Fact Sheet: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/pending/fs_PC-176603_01-Jan-12.pdf
Cloud Foundation report: Observations of PZP contraceptive us in the Pryors http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3901
Cloud Foundation paper: PZP-22 . . . Do unintended side effects outweigh benefits? http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3270
Native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562
Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218
Protect Mustangs is devoted to protecting native wild horses. Our mission is to educate the public about the native wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.
Saved from government holding, 2 long yearlings get a second chance
“Follow your heart. Adopt a pair of mustangs. Gentle them with love.” ~Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs
Both wild yearlings, Blondie and Tibet, had 2-Strikes from failed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adoptions. Protect Mustangs stepped in to prevent a 3rd Strike and save them from sale ($10 each by the truckload) and probable slaughter.
Blondie is the soon to be 2 year old palomino filly from California’s Fox Hog herd.
Tibet is the 18 months old gelding with a blaze from the Continental Divide in Wyoming.
Blondie arrived untamed from the Litchfield BLM Holding Corral in December 2012 and Tibet arrived from the Wyoming Corral in February 2013 thanks to our village of supporters.
Now both wild horses are gentled. They have been exposed to cars, trucks, helicopters, people riding horses, kids, dogs, cats, kids on scooters, tarps and more. They can be haltered, pick up their feet and be lead. This is their second turnout in the main arena at the training facility. Anne Novak has donated their training.
Protect Mustangs is an all volunteer organization and are very grateful for your help. Please donate towards board and care for the wild horse Ambassadors. Protect Mustangs is also raising money for a used truck and trailer to facilitate adoptions by bringing wild horses down from the BLM corrals near Reno and Susanville, once the mustangs have been adopted. The organization will use the truck and trailer for community outreach and education work as well. Please help by donating here: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=701
No treats were used during this training session.
All images © Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs.org, all rights reserved.
Raychelle McDonald speaks on behalf of Protect Mustangs at national Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board Meeting
Raychelle McDonald, Protect Mustangs’ Spokeswoman, with Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation outside the Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board Meeting in Oklahoma City. March 4, 2013
The Message
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board my name is Raychelle McDonald. I am an Oklahoma actor and the Former Miss Black Oklahoma USA. I am here today to represent Anne Novak the Executive Director of Protect Mustangs who was unable to travel from San Francisco to Oklahoma City for today’s meeting.
Protect Mustangs is devoted to protecting native wild horses. Our mission is to educate the public about the native wild horse, protect and research American wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom.
Anne Novak and Protect Mustangs would like to go on the record for the following:
We request you acknowledge publicly and on your website that all the wild horses on public lands or who are captive in short and long-term holding are native. There is scientific information proving wild horses are native located on our website. Just click on the button titled “Native Wild Horses“.
We request you return all the 50,000 native wild horses and historic burros in short and long term holding to the Herd Management Areas in the ten western states–as designated in 1971, Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act that protects these equids.
Wild horses are natives not pests as certain interest groups would like you to believe. Pesticides must NEVER be used on native species and current science proves wild horses are natives. The mustangers are working at the BLM these days–hiding behind inflated population guesstimates and feral beliefs. Meanwhile they are selling truckloads of native wild horses to alleged kill buyers like Tom Davis who bought at least 1,700.
We ask you to stop experimenting on wild horses also.
We request you NEVER sterilize nor put these native animals at risk of sterilization while in your care. Field sterilization is dangerous and inhumane and we ask that you toss that proposal in the garbage where it belongs.
We request you never kill native wild horses or burros as a means of “disposal”. Your agency has made fiscally irresponsible decisions to roundup and remove more wild horses than you are able to adopt out.
Today there is no alleged overpopulation. Witnesses have documented a sharp decline of native wild horses on public land. We are concerned they are being managed to extinction.
We request you use good science not junk science to manage native wild horses who create biodiversity on their native land.
We ask you to implement Range Design as the central management system regarding native wild horses and historic burros. Craig Downer is an expert in Range Design and we request you consult with him.
We would like the BLM to discover healthy holistic grazing programs for livestock to heal the land instead of ruin it. That might mean working with the Savory Institute.
We request you improve your adoption program by improving the marketing and customer service as well as have local gentling clinics for people to learn about native wild horses and perhaps adopt one.
We request you improve your transportation to adopters. For decades you delivered truckloads of native wild horses to alleged kill buyers. It’s time to improve transportation to legitimate adopters.
We ask that the BLM immediately teach and require all wranglers and personel working with native wild horses and burros to follow protocol written by a well respected natural horsemanship trainer to reduce the trauma to all equids in your care.
[The allotted 3 minutes was up and she was asked to stop. She closed with the following line.]
All Americans love native wild horses and want to see them protected.
Thank you.”
Daryl Hannah and Michael Blake speak out about toxic drilling, wild horses & burros on Valentines Day
For immediate release
Make LOVE not Roundups™ launches to stop the war against native wild horses and historic burros
WASHINGTON (February 14, 2013)–Daryl Hannah, who was arrested yesterday at the Keystone XL Pipeline Protest, and Oscar-winner Michael Blake (Dances with Wolves) speak out to protect America’s indigenous horses, historic burros and public land. The celebrities join Protect Mustangs’ Make LOVE Not Roundups™ native wild horse awareness campaign. Mustangs and burros are being cleared off public land to minimize environmental restrictions for toxic drilling.
“Wild horses and burros absolutely thrive on public lands but they are being unceremoniously eviscerated to make room for private cattle grazing leases and toxic drilling operations,” explains Daryl Hannah. “The BLM has increasingly become the BLMM–Bureau of Land Mis-Mangement. Let them live free!”
“Roundups are like a war on our native horses,” states Anne Novak, executive director for Protect Mustangs. “We want to focus on the public’s love for wild horses to protect them. Right now they are being wiped out and many go to slaughter. We need to return all the mustangs and burros stockpiled in holding to their legal range land. As a native species, wild horses will help create biodiversity and reverse desertification.”
“We go to America for vacations and love photographing the families of wild horses and adorable burros,” shares Barbie Hardrock European singer and spokeswoman for Protect Mustangs. “Please help save these magnificent animals!”
Michael Blake, author of Dances with Wolves says, “Loving horses is essential for human life on this planet. For millions of years, horses assisted humanity but after cars were invented in America, America has fully destroyed them and continues. Though humanity is similar to all animals in terms of no full perception, the killing of them all is moving the earth to destruction. If we only kill those who attack us, humanity will keep the earth real for humans who follow us. Like humanity, every horse is different but I have loved them most and have never killed one all my life.”
Recently, beef in the EU has been contaminated with toxic horse meat. Horse lovers and health enthusiasts are concerned the same scandal will happen in the U.S.A. if horse slaughter isn’t stopped.
Native wild horses are at-risk of going to slaughter for human consumption abroad now that Oklahoma’s elected officials appear to be supporting horse slaughter for human consumption in foreign countries.
Protect Mustangs wants the cruel roundups to stop now. They are asking for all wild horses and burros “stockpiled” in government holding to be returned to the protected zones of public land specified in the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971, called Herd Management Areas.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Anne Novak, 415-531-8454 Anne@ProtectMustangs.org
Kerry Becklund, 510-502-1913 Kerry@ProtectMustangs.org
Links of interest:
Daryl Hannah arrested at White House: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/arma-virumque-cano-police-arrest-keystone-protesters/
Daryl Hannah bio: http://movies.nytimes.com/person/93354/Daryl-Hannah/biography
Michael Blake bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Blake_(author)
Anne Novak bio: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=2
Barbie Hardrock & Roquette: http://rocquette.com/
Native wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=562
The Salazar Plan to wipe out wild horses: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3686
Proposed Wyoming oil field will be the largest on the planet: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3709
Citizen investigation exposes evidence of BLM wild horses sold to probable slaughter: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=3567
Bill to legalize horse slaughter in Oklahoma http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20130213_16_A1_CUTLIN438547
Oklahomans Against Horse Slaughter: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oklahomans-Against-Horse-Slaughter-in-2012-and-Beyond/160171540747135
European wild horses are slaughtered: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4787786/Nabbed-stabbed-and-beaten-wild-horses-to-go-in-our-beef.html
European horse meat scandal: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130211/API/1302110559?p=1&tc=pg
Petition to Defund & Stop the Wild Horse Roundups: http://www.change.org/petitions/defund-and-stop-the-wild-horse-burro-roundups
Protect Mustangs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs
Link to Protect Mustangs’ press releases: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=125
Protect Mustangs in the news: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=218
Protect Mustangs is a California-based preservation group whose mission is to educate the public about the native wild horse, protect and research wild horses on the range and help those who have lost their freedom. www.ProtectMustangs.org
Sierra Club supports wild horse roundup in Nevada (2010)
January 16, 2010
By MARTIN GRIFFITH Associated Press Writer
RENO (AP) — Two environmental groups are joining ranchers in an unusual coalition supporting the government’s contentious removal of about 2,500 wild horses from the range north of Reno.
The Sierra Club and Friends of Nevada Wilderness, which have been at odds with ranchers on past issues, agree with the need for the ongoing roundup of mustangs in the Calico Mountain Complex.
The organizations, in a joint news release with the sportsmen groups Safari Club International and Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife, said an over-population of mustangs is harming native wildlife and the range itself.
Sierra Club spokeswoman Tina Nappe of Reno said a mustang can consume up to 26 pounds of forage a day and arid rangelands can’t produce enough food for them.
“They are successful competitors and will consume available vegetation, thereby ensuring the loss of wildlife diversity and populations which also depend on the same plants,” she said.
Mustangs have been observed chasing and harassing pronghorn antelope near water sources, the organizations said, and have been identified as a risk factor for critical sage grouse habitat. The bird has been petitioned for protection as an endangered species.
Bighorn sheep and mule deer also compete for food and water with mustangs, the groups said, and their populations are down.
“When horse numbers reach unsustainable levels, the health of our sagebrush community suffers along with our native wildlife,” said Shaaron Netherton, executive director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness.
Jeremy Drew, president of the Safari Club’s northern Nevada chapter, criticized various celebrities for suggesting the roundup is threatening the Calico herd with extinction. He noted at least 572 horses will be left in the herd.
Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Bill Maher, Lily Tomlin an Ed Harris are among celebrities who have come out against the roundup.
“Much of the hysteria has been based on manipulated or false information,” Drew said, adding the groups agree mustangs have a place on public lands in proper numbers.
Wildlife ecologist Craig Downer of Nevada, who unsuccessfully sued to stop the roundup along with California-based In Defense of Animals, disputed the groups’ statements.
He said the romantic symbols of the American West don’t harm the range because they graze over a wider area, and their scat fertilizes the soil.
“They do not appreciate the wild horse as a returned native and for all the positive benefits that it contributes to an ecosystem,” said Downer, who earlier quit the Sierra Club over its stance on the issue.
“Wild horses are being used as scapegoats and targets because they don’t suit the interests of those who want to make it (Calico complex) a hunter’s paradise,” he added.
Ranchers have complained the horses are hurting the range, native wildlife and livestock because they can double in population every four years.
The two-month Calico roundup began late last month as part of the government’s plans to remove as many as 25,000 mustangs from the range and ship them to pastures in the Midwest and East.
The government says the number of wild horses and burros on public lands in the West stands at nearly 37,000, about half of them in Nevada. It believes the number that can be supported on the range is about 26,600.
An additional 34,000 wild horses already live away from the range in federal-run corrals and pastures.
Link to the article in the Reno Gazette Journal: http://www.rgj.com/print/article/20100116/NEWS/1001160 /Sierra-Club-supports-wild-horse-round-up… 1/19/2010
Proposed Wyoming gas field would be one of the largest on the planet
Posted on January 31st, 2013 by The Wyoming Outdoor Council
This GoogleEarth image shows the heart of the Jonah Field, which, compared to this proposed project had roughly one-third the number of wells approved. While the Jonah has more well pads relative to wells (on roughly 30,000 acres), the Continental Divide-Creston project will cover more than 1 million acres.
Let’s speak up before March 6 to help protect residents, workers, and the environment
By Bruce Pendery
The Bureau of Land Management is analyzing a mammoth, 9,000-well natural gas drilling project proposed in south-central Wyoming near Wamsutter.
Called the Continental Divide-Creston project, it would be one of the largest single natural gas field developments in the United States.
We are asking for your help to reduce the environmental impacts of this project as much as possible. Please send your comments to the BLM by March 6! (See below)
Our biggest concern—and what we are focusing on the most—is making sure this project is done right relative to air quality. This development needs to be conducted in such a way that residents and workers are safe and can breathe clean air, and that the air, land, and wildlife, stays healthy in the future.
This Proposed Project Will Be Bigger than Rhode Island
The BLM would allow BP America Production Company and other operators to drill up to 8,950 new wells. The project area would include 1.1 million acres—or more than 1,600 square miles—much of which would be in what’s known as the “railroad checkerboard.” And much of this proposed project would involve “infill” of existing natural gas fields where 4,400 wells have already been drilled.
The Wyoming Outdoor Council does not oppose development in this area outright because it is not located in one our “heritage landscapes” (iconic areas where we believe any energy development is inappropriate) and it is largely an “infill” project where there is already a lot of existing disturbance.
However, although much of this area is far from pristine, we need to do everything we can to ensure that companies “do it right” at every stage of this project’s development. Therefore, we believe the BLM should require careful, effective, environmentally protective measures as conditions to the development in order to protect residents, workers, air quality, and remaining wildlife habitats.
How to Make a Difference
The BLM has prepared a draft environmental analysis, called an “environmental impact statement” for this project. It considers five alternative development options but it does not specify a “preferred alternative.”
The BLM is now accepting comments on this draft analysis. The comment deadline is March 6. It would be very helpful if you could offer your input on the draft. This could help improve the project, and help ensure that we “do it right” in the face of this massive level of development.
Here are some issues you might consider raising in your comments:
- While much of this project is in the “railroad checkerboard”—where the BLM’s ability to protect the environment is reduced because of the intervening privately owned sections of land—the project area extends into large, contiguous blocks of public land roughly 20 miles north and south of Interstate 80. You can ask the BLM to provide enhanced protection for these contiguous areas of public lands.
- The Directional Drilling alternative is the most environmentally protective of the current alternatives, so please ask the BLM to adopt it. This alternative would be even more effective if the BLM were to set a limit on the number of well pads that can be developed.
- Directional Drilling has become increasingly common and popular with industry with the horizontal “reach” of these wells becoming ever greater.Having multiple wells drilled from a single well pad with directional drilling to access gas resources at great distances can greatly reduce environmental impacts. You can ask the BLM to maximize the use of directional drilling, and to require the greatest “reach” possible.
Where to Send Comments:
You can submit your comments to the BLM by March 6 by e-mail:Continental_Divide_Creston_WYMail@blm.gov, or fax: 307-328-4224, or by regular mail: Bureau of Land Management, Rawlins Field Office, P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, WY 82301.
You can view the draft environmental impact statement here:http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_offices/Rawlins.html.
Cross-posted from: http://wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/blog/2013/01/31/proposed-wyoming-gas-field-would-be-one-of-the-largest-on-the-planet/