Is the wild horse family trapped by fencing in the wildfire?

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Today Grandma Gregg wrote to us with the following news:

Twin Peaks HMA Rush Fire on Rye Patch Road August 18, 2012 (Photo by BLM)

She said her daughter contacted Jeff Fontana, BLM public affairs officer, to tell the BLM the location where the wild horse family, known as Magic’s Band, lives. She expressed her concern they would be trapped in the fire due to the extensive livestock fencing and cross fencing throughout the area.

Here is Magic and his family living in harmony before the fire.

Magic – grey stallion – son and look-alike of the great herd stallion BraveHeart, who was captured with his family in the 2010 roundup.

Hope – Magic’s mare and true love as you can see in the pic

Harley – Hope’s 2 or 3 year old colt

Curley and Shiney, two bay bachelor stallions and great buddies (not pictured)

The BLM official assured Grandma’s family that the horses would be able to get out through the gates because the ranchers and firemen had been instructed to leave them open.

Grandma’s family is very concerned that the wild horse family will not see the open gates in the smoke and concerned they could get stuck in the unsafe cattle guards. Many people are concerned Magic’s family would have been trapped by fencing while the fire rushed through the area.

She shared photos with us showing exactly where Magic and his family (eight horses total) lived before the fire went through the area this week.

Grandma took these photos last year standing in the same place at the top of the fenced “pasture” but looking in different directions. She noticed fences everywhere in every direction–a trap.

View #1

There is no fencing in this photograph – this would be looking the direction (south) that the fire would have come up toward them – fences are behind and right and left – good pic that shows where the fire would have come from -wildfires normally burn fast UP hills so the fire would have back them right up to the fences.

View #2

View #3

Here is observation peak – per the fire maps this is ALL burned now.

View #4

View #5

As of Saturday night Grandma has not heard back from Fontana about the welfare of Magic’s band.

Outrageous! BLM Gives themselves permission to remove Desatoya wild horses for 10 years

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Federal agency pushes ahead with Salazar Plan to wipe out mustangs despite several years of public and celebrity opposition

How many foals will die in another helicopter roundup?

After the helicopter stampedes and captures of Desatoya free roaming wild horses–the Bureau of Land Management will be allowed to bait trap for another 10 years.

Who will they hire for the bait trapping? The local land owners with blatant conflicts of interest? Will they trap America’s wild horses on private land to prevent advocates from watchdogging?

If you don’t like this then contact your elected officials and ask them for a moratorium on roundups, a Congressional investigation of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burros program because the BLM has a conflict of interest and should not be managing America’s indigenous horses.

You can spread awareness. Have a peaceful protest in your community to inform the public about what is happening on public land in the West.

Adopt a wild horse or two ~ Save a living legend

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Mustangs make great partners

Protect Mustangs . org & Photo © Taylor James

Jackson Mountain wild horses for adoption (Photo © Taylor James)

Sadly these wild horses have lost their homes and their families. They need to find good people to adopt them. Mustangs are quick to learn and train.

We have adopted wild horses and would be happy to share our experience as well as some resources such as gentle trainers. We welcome you to email us at Contact@ProtectMustangs.org with your questions. Please include your phone number for us to call you back.

We encourage people to adopt a wild horse or two to keep them safe. It’s direct action you can take to save the mustangs.

If you know of someone who might adopt a mustang please forward this on to them.

Living legends at risk

Once wild horses are shipped out to long term holding their fate is unknown. The public and advocates can’t keep track of them . . . They can be purchased by the lots of 100 horses or more. Who buys 100 wild horses at a time? Where do they go?

These wild horses are located at the Palomino Valley Center near Reno, Nevada. They need homes quickly before they are shipped out to long-term holding.

Thank you for doing what you can do to save a wild mustang’s life.

Mustang Monday™ ~ Share to get the word out

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Go out to the Jackson Mountain roundup ~ Be a witness

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Information about attending the Jackson Mountain Wild Horse Roundup

Good things to bring with you:

Layered clothes

Closed-toed sturdy shoes or boots

Gloves and a hat

Sunscreen

Food and lots of water

Binoculars

Camera with zoom lens, several memory cards and extra batteries

Video camera and tripod if you want to capture video

bandana scarf

Kleenex

4 wheel drive and a spare tire

A full tank of gas when you leave the meeting point to go out on the range

The Bureau of Land Management Information about the Jackson Mountain Roundup

“At this point the viewing location is approximately 400 ft but may have to be relocated if we have a number of visitors due to openness of area,” says Alan Shepard, BLM’s wild horse and burro specialist on June 9, 2012.

So bring a long lens and good binoculars to see the action.

BLM says:

When to meet: The meeting time is 5 a.m. at this time. The meeting time may change throughout the roundup, so visitors are encouraged to call the Wild Horse Roundup Info Line at (775) 623-1541 for an update on the next day’s roundup activities, meeting times and location, or to leave a message if you plan to visit the roundup. Note: Roundup operations are dependent on the weather and could change with little or no notice.

Where to meet: Meet BLM personnel at the Winnemucca District Office, located at 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445 (Phone: 775-623-1500). There will be a short briefing for the day and introductions. We will then caravan out to the roundup site of the day and stay until roundup operations are completed. We may not know the exact location of these sites until the day before.

Transportation: All visitors must have their own transportation – we cannot take people in government vehicles except in an emergency. The temporary holding corrals/sites will move around to several locations and the roads can get very rough in and around the Jackson Mountains Herd Management Area. Vehicles must have a 4-wheel drive with high clearance. Gas and full services are available in Winnemucca. Cell phones are also a good idea if you get stranded, though coverage cannot be guaranteed. We will travel together to and from the gather. Head lights must be on and if any vehicle has mechanical problems and/or flat tires, we all stop.

Driving Directions: to Winnemucca, Nevada from Reno and to the Winnemucca District Office: From Reno, NV, follow I-80 east and drive approximately 160 miles. Merge onto W Winnemucca Blvd/I-80-BL E/NV-289 N/US-95 N via EXIT 176 toward Winnemucca Downtown West.

Travel northeast on Winnemucca Blvd. through town about a mile and then turn right on East Winnemucca Blvd. If you hit the entrance to I-80, you’ve gone too far. Travel about one mile on East Winnemucca Blvd. You’ll pass: Maverick gas station on your left; the Forest Service Bldg on your right, and the BLM office is just past the car dealership on the right.

Weather conditions: Lows of about 50 and highs in the high 80s.

Evening news interview: BLM Nevada jeopardizing public process, privacy and free speech

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Stallion & Sweaty Mustangs Trapped at Calico Roundup (Photo © Cat Kindsfather)

Hear the report about the Nevada BLM jeopardizing public process, privacy and free speech and the call for the public to weigh in by faxing the BLM in Washington at 202-208-5242 .

The interview aired on KPFA, KPFB Evening News Berkeley, as well as on KFCF Fresno, KPFK Los Angeles, WBAI New York, KPFT Houston, WPFW Washington, DC.

Listen here: http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/81120 at 22:35

Ask your friends to fax in requests for BLM to have a public helicopter hearing in Nevada with 30 days notice.

Thank you for doing what you can to save America’s wild horses and burros.

Breaking News: Invasion of privacy suppresses free speech

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

BLM places outrageous conditions on public comment

For immediate release:

WASHINGTON (May 31, 2012)—Protect Mustangs, a Bay Area-based preservation group, asks the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to revise their conditions for receiving written comment that requires personal identifying information that BLM says they can not safeguard. What started as an issue jeopardizing public process for people who want helicopters roundups to stop has mushroomed into a free speech issue for all Americans.

“This in an invasion of privacy—a restriction of our rights of free speech,” states Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs. “It will stifle public participation.”

Due to the BLM’s lack of public notice for a public hearing, the preservation group released an alert titled: Government transparency and public process jeopardized. They gathered comments requesting the Nevada public hearing be rescheduled with 30 days notice and comments against using helicopters and motorized vehicles for roundups and management. Early Tuesday morning the group sent the comments to the Director of BLM in Washington requesting he intervene and reschedule the public hearing. Wild horse photographer, Cat Kindsfather, hand delivered the comments to BLM officials at the hearing.

As a result of Protect Mustangs’ grassroots efforts and the public rallying for their right to comment, the BLM released the press release announcing they will extend only the written comment period for the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles for roundups and management in Nevada.

BLM also states:

Comments submitted to BLM must include your address, phone number, email, or other personal identifying information in your comment. Please be aware your entire comment–including your personal identifying information–may be made publicly available at any time. While you may request we withhold your personal information from public view, we cannot guarantee we will be able to do so.

The preservation group opposes BLM’s terms for public comment for 2 reasons:

1.) The controversial Nevada public hearing regarding using helicopters and other motorized vehicles for roundups and management, must be held with 30 days notice so the American public may attend and give oral comment as well as written comment.

2.) The BLM must accept written comments and protect personal identifying information if the commenter has requested their information be withheld from public view. Requested personal identifying information should not be excessive.

“Any person who requests that their personal information be safeguarded should have that right to privacy—especially by a government agency,” states Kerry Becklund, director of outreach for Protect Mustangs.

Refusing to keep personal identifying information confidential, stifles the public process because anyone can get a copy of the comments according to BLM protocol. The public wants to know their rights to privacy are ensured.

“Are the BLM’s new written comment conditions intended to suppress public comment?” asks Novak. “It’s a no-brainer that this is going to discourage people. What’s happening to America’s public process and our rights to free speech?”

# # #

Media Contacts:

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

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

Contact Protect Mustangs for interviews, photos or video

Links of interest:

Reno NBC affiliate News 4 reports: Wild horse advocates say the BLM jeopardized public process http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/Wild-horse-advocates-say-the-BLM-jeopardized/a8kN1TVKZ0WLiaEBaISvDA.cspx

BLM press release with comment guidelines requiring personal identifying information that will not be safeguarded:

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/may/carson_city__blm_nevada.html

Protect Mustangs press release: Government transparency and public process jeopardizedhttp://protectmustangs.org/?p=1416

Video of helicopter roundup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_dhnqCijOk&feature=player_embedded

Freedom of speech in the U.S.A: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_United_States

Protect Mustangs website: http://protectmustangs.org/

Photo © Cynthia Smalley, all rights reserved.

Comment period extended but Nevada public hearing a sham

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Yesterday we took your comments to the hearing, requesting BLM reschedule the Carson City helicopter hearing with adequate public notice and comments against helicopter roundups, etc. Photographer and honorary board member, Cat Kindsfather, hand delivered them and spoke on behalf of Protect Mustangs as well as the American public.

Kindsfather brought up the fact that people across the country wanted to participate in the public process but there was not enough notice given.

At the meeting, BLM announced they would extend the comment period. Comments can be received no later than June 12, 2012. Only comments sent to the address, email or fax number identified below will be accepted and “considered”.

Comments may be sent by mail or fax:

BLM Carson City District Office

5665 Morgan Mill Road

Carson City, NV 89701

Attn: WHB Motorized Hearing.

FAX: 775-885-6147.

Comments may also be sent by email:

ccfoweb@blm.gov, Attn: WHB Motorized.

Comments submitted to BLM must include your address, phone number, email, or other personal identifying information in your comment.

Please be aware your entire comment–including your personal identifying information–may be made publicly available at any time. While you may request we withhold your personal information from public view, we cannot guarantee we will be able to do so.

Please copy us on all the comments you send the BLM so we can keep a record of the comments received to watchdog this faulty process.

We will send the Carson City District Office all the comments on your behalf that you have sent us after 7 a.m. May 29, 2012 to ensure your comments are received.

We continue to ask for the Carson City hearing to be rescheduled to allow oral comments and for the public to be given 30 days notice for any other BLM public hearings.

Denying the public their right to be present and comment at a public hearing shows the BLM has no intention of engaging the American public nor do they want to be transparent.

The NBC affiliate, KRNV Reno News 4, attended the public hearing and reported on wild horse advocates say BLM jeopardized public process.

Thank you for sending in your comments. Now tell your friends about what is going on and invite them to send in comments against the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles as well.

Stop the Roundups!

Links of interest:

KRNV Reports on wild horse advocates say BLM jeopardized public process. http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/Wild-horse-advocates-say-the-BLM-jeopardized/a8kN1TVKZ0WLiaEBaISvDA.cspx

Protect Mustangs news release: Government transparency and public process jeopardized: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=1416

Protect Mustangs letter requesting BLM give the public 30 days notice for helicopter use hearing: http://protectmustangs.org/?p=1409

BLM press release announcing they will extend comments: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/may/carson_city__blm_nevada.html

BLM press release on hearing: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/may/blm_to_hold_public.html

Comments due today to stop 3 northern California mustang roundups

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Please send comments today to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), who “manages” our wild horses and burros. Email them at CBCwildhorses@blm.gov with “Cancel Buckhorn, Coppersmith and Carter Roundups” in the subject line.

In your comments ask them to cancel the three roundups (Buckhorn, Coppersmith and Carter Reservoir) on the northern California-Nevada border because there is no proof that the indigenous wild horses are ruining the thriving natural ecological balance. There is no exact head count and therefore no “excess” wild horses.

Let them know you don’t like the BLM wasting taxpayer dollars on animal cruelty, nor for the government to spend money on environmental assessments for roundups when, according to the PEER report, the livestock is causing range damage.

Also mention the government should not remove native wild horses to warehouse them at a cost of $1.30 a day ($39 a month) when livestock grazing permittees pay only $1.35 a cow/calf pair per month to graze on public land.

Remind them that removing wild horses puts them at risk of going to slaughter after only 3 adoption attempts. Also, if they are over 10 years old they can be sold without limitation according to BLM regulations.

If you have seen them and enjoy taking photos of them, tell the BLM that removing the wild horses and burros will affect you negatively, and let them know how it will.

Remind them at the last National Academy of Science public meeting it was proven that mountain lions are hunting a lot of foals and are managing the population as nature intended so the drug PZP and other forms of contraception are probably not necessary. We all know darting isn’t going to work–the roundups will continue in order to give wild horses and burros contraceptives.

And how many are really out there?

These animals are being managed to extinction. Cancel the roundups! We don’t have many wild horses and burros left in California.

Ask them to respond to you in writing with the questions you have about why they would justify a roundup and ask for their scientific proof to back up all their claims.

Do you want to know what “multiple use” BLM serves on the Buckhorn, Coppersmith and Carter Reservoir Herd Management Areas (HMAs)? Who is getting permits for these HMA’s? Do you have questions about lease sales, energy development, water rights and grazing issues for the three HMA’s?

Please don’t copy and paste this because then the BLM won’t count your letter. It’s better if you write your own email–even if it is a one-liner.

Anyone can comment. Comments are due by midnight P.S.T. tonight. Please share this with your friends so they can send in a comment too.

Feel free to cc us on your comments or forward a copy separately to us at Contact@ProtectMustangs.org so we can keep track of comments.

Thank you for taking any action you can to save our wild horses and burros!

Below is the BLM Scoping Notice which requires your comment to them:

BLM Extends Scoping Period on Wild Horse Roundup Environmental Assessment

The U. S. Bureau of Land Management is extending the issue scoping period for receiving public comments on issues that should be addressed in an environmental assessment (EA) for a proposed roundup of excess wild horses in northeast California and northwest Nevada.The BLM Surprise Field Office in Cedarville, Calif. is considering roundups for the Buckhorn and Coppersmith herd management areas (HMA) in November 2012 and for the Carter Reservoir HMA in July 2013.Issue “scoping” comments should be sent to Bureau of Land Management, PO Box 460, Cedarville, CA, 96104, or sent by email toCBCwildhorses@blm.gov. While scoping comments will be accepted well into the development process for the EA, they would be most helpful if received by May 24, 2012.The Buckhorn and Coppersmith HMAs are in Lassen County, Calif., and Washoe County, Nev. The Carter Reservoir HMA is in Modoc County, Calif. and Washoe County.The EA will analyze the environmental effects of gathering excess wild horses and consider the effects of several management alternatives, including not gathering the animals. The EA will not establish population levels, called appropriate management levels (AML), for these HMAs. These were established in the Surprise Field Office Resource Management Plan completed in 2008. The plan is available at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/surprise/propRMP-FEIS.html.The roundups are being considered to bring the wild herd populations to levels that the rangelands can sustain in balance with other authorized users including wildlife and permitted livestock.The appropriate management level for the Buckhorn HMA is 59-85 wild horses; the BLM estimates the current population at 172. The AML for the Coopersmith HMA is 50 to 75 wild horses, with the current population estimated at 75. At Carter Reservoir, the AML is 25-35 wild horses, with the current population estimated at 55. Additionally, there are an estimated 123 wild horses roaming outside of the HMA near the Carter HMA.The BLM will consider public comments in development of the EA which will be released for public comments this summer.

# # #

BLM Scoping Notice: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/04/NC1256_whbscoping.html

Matthew Rockwell painting of Elizabeth Taylor ~ A fundraiser for outreach work

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Protect Mustangs

Fundraiser for Protect Mustangs ~ Matthew Rockwell portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, signed 1964.

We are pleased to announce the stunning Matthew Rockwell portrait of Elizabeth Taylor was donated to Protect Mustangs to fundraise for our outreach work educating the public about the mustang crisis. It is signed by the artist, the nephew of Norman Rockwell, and dated 1964. Please contact us if you would like additional information about the painting or information about the requested donation. You may also email us at Contact@ProtectMustangs.org .

Protect Mustangs™

Forever wild and free™

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