For All to See and Please Send your appeal to the BLM Today. Remember to Contact your Senator and Congressman and YOUR VOICE does matter.

The BLM sent out letters in response to gathering horses and this is one of the letters from a respondent and by far the most detail and accurate I've seen.  Please take the time to read this and understand our fight to keep the right of the Wild Horse FREE and the government from ruining these wild lands for the mighty dollar for the cattleman.

Bureau of Land Management

White River Field Office

Melissa Kindall

220 East Market Street

Meeker, CO 81641

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 1 of 16

The legal validity of free-roaming wild horses and burros on public lands has been upheld since 1976

as set forth in Kleppe vs New Mexico when it was affirmed that the Secretary of the Interior has been

“directed to protect and manage [the animals] as components of the public lands….in a manner that

is designed to achieve and maintain a thriving ecological balance on public lands”.

Neither the White River Field Office, the BLM Director nor the Secretary of the Interior have been

granted the power or authority to override the laws of our Nation, rulings by the Interior Board of

Land Appeals or the BLMs own regulations established for the maintenance, management and

protection of free-roaming wild horses and burros.

In summary, while there are obvious attempts to implement a proposal that seeks to act above the

law, there is no legal authority to do so.

The intent of the Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act was to preserve and protect wild horses

and burros as a natural component of the public lands systems. If it were not the intent of the United

States Congress to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to preserve and

protect free-roaming wild horses and burros and their habitat, then they would not have established a

federal law that mandates the Department of the Interior or the BLM to do so.

The authority granted to the Secretary of the Interior through the BLM authorizing the removal of

wild horses and burros from public lands is of a very limited nature and scope requiring strict

adherence to established standards, which specifically are - the BLM may not remove them unless

they are deemed “excessive” in relation to the thriving ecological balance.

This authority clearly establishes a relationship value to other multiple use authorizations within their

habitat and prohibits management actions that favor exclusive use of public resources to the

detriment of the American people.

Issuing management proposals that cause the irrevocable loss of protected resources legally affirmed

as contributing to the diversity of life forms within our Nation, to enriching the cultural and aesthetic

values of our people and were to be managed to preserve and protect them for future generations is a

violation of that authority and as such, invalidates any management actions that seek to institute

unlawful actions regarding the illegal taking of property belonging to the people of the United States.

BLM regulation 43 CFR 4700.0-1 outlines the purpose of BLM regulations in regards to wild freeroaming

horses and burros and that purpose is defined as, “The purpose of these regulations is to

implement the laws relating to the protection, management, and control of wild horses and burros

under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management.”

Therefore, the BLM is allowed to manage and control them in relation to the thriving ecological

balance but BLM must also protect them, not eradicate them for exclusive use of public resources.

Additionally, 43 CFR 4700.0-2 states, “The objectives of these regulations are management of wild

horses and burros as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands under the principle of

multiple use; protection of wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment

or death; and humane care and treatment of wild horses and burros.”

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 2 of 16

In other words, the BLM has the authority to manage them but management actions must include the

objective of maintaining them as an integral part of the natural system of public lands. This proposal

fails to do that.

The BLM must also issue proposals and decisions in relation to multiple-use. The current

management is attempting to institute exclusive use of public lands and resources through allowing

the sole authorization of heavy livestock grazing within the protected habitat of wild horses as they

have continued to authorize at least 3,900 head of cattle and 11,500 Animal Unit Months (AUM) in

the Twin Buttes grazing allotment within the West Douglas Herd Management Area while

simultaneously maintaining that none of these resources are available for wild horse use.

In order for the White River Field Office to be legally authorized to remove all wild horses from the

West Douglas Herd Management Area, the following steps must be taken prior to issuing a decision

of this magnitude. These include adherence too:

1) 43 4700.0-6 (a), “Wild horses and burros shall be managed as self-sustaining populations of

healthy animals in balance with other uses and the productive capacity of their habitat.”

2) 43 4700.0-6 (b) “Wild horses and burros shall be considered comparably with other resource

values in the formulation of land use plans.”

3) 43 4700.0-6 (c) “Management activities affecting wild horses and burros shall be undertaken

with the goal of maintaining free-roaming behavior.”

4) 43 CFR 4710.3-1, “Herd management areas shall be established for the maintenance of wild

horse and burro herds. In delineating each herd management area, the authorized officer shall

consider the appropriate management level for the herd, the habitat requirements of the

animals, the relationships with other uses of the public and adjacent private lands, and the

constraints contained in §4710.4. The authorized officer shall prepare a herd management area

plan, which may cover one or more herd management areas.”

In the State of Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management has authorized 573,918 Animal Unit

Months (AUM) of forage for the purpose of livestock consumption, which equates to 219,664 head

being approved of on an annual basis.

Conversely, the approved population within the entire state of Colorado for wild horses is a paltry

812 with merely 9,744 AUMs set aside for their survival, less than 2% of the available resources.

The White River Field Office alone has authorized over 118k AUMs for exclusive livestock

consumption while determining any population that exceeded the previously approved population of

60 wild horses consuming 720 AUMs of forage in the West Douglas Herd Management was

“excessive”.

While BLM pretends that livestock authorizations protect the range from undue degradation due to

controlled cycles of seasonal use, rest and pasture rotations while asserting wild horses graze yearround

in an “uncontrolled” manner, the state of Colorado is also home to a 2007 estimated freeroaming

elk population of 250,000 to 260,000, known to be 10-15% over statewide population

objectives for at least twenty years.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 3 of 16

There doesn’t seem to be a problem with free-roaming elk herds at this current population level, even

though elk, native or not, have known habitat destruction issues that parallel wild horses when either

population become excessive.

The BLM White River Field Office has recently re-authorized at least 11,500 AUMs for exclusive

livestock use in the Twin Buttes livestock allotment currently running over 3,900 head of cattle

annually with the majority of the allotment falling within the boundaries of the West Douglas Herd

Management Area.

Obviously, the habitat is productive enough to sustain a population of healthy wild horses if the BLM

believes there is sufficient forage to maintain resource integrity and prevent rangeland degradation

through the authorization at least 11,500 AUMs for cattle in just this one livestock allotment in the

HMA.

What is also very obvious is that prior management plans have failed to consider the necessary

mandate of wild horse management being balanced with other uses as well as failing to consider wild

horses comparable to other resource values in the formulation of their land use plans or their

relationship to other uses of the public and adjacent private lands.

These obvious factors clearly establish the first strike that BLM has failed to comply with their own

regulations outlining how wild horses are to be deemed “excessive” in relation to the thriving

ecological balance, as their administration has failed to conform to the foundational requirements of

wild horse and burro management on public lands.

Additionally, in relation to 43 4700.0-6(c), prior management activities affecting wild horses and

burros shall be undertaken with the goal of maintaining free-roaming behavior. This is not a

regulation set forth for merely aesthetic purposes but a necessary requirement in preserving rangeland

integrity to prevent undue degradation through the entrapment of free-roaming populations that

prevent proper dispersal of their foraging activities.

Just within the Twin Buttes allotment alone, BLM has established 7 different areas cattle are grazed

with pasture control established through fencing prohibiting wild horses from naturally dispersing

their own grazing pressures due to this entrapment known as “livestock management”.

Furthermore, BLM has set forth regulations that conform and comply to the WFRHBA’s mandates

to preserve and protect them by considering them the priority species in management considerations

as set forth in 43 CFR 4710.5(a), which clearly states, “If necessary to provide habitat for wild horses

or burros, to implement herd management actions, or to protect wild horses or burros from disease,

This regulation cannot get any clearer in terms of BLMs responsibilities and priorities in public lands

management regarding the protection of wild horses and burros and their habitat. The West Douglas

Herd Management Area must be closed to livestock grazing before BLM can determine a wild horse

population at any level in their 128k-acre protected HMA is still excessive and posing risks to public

rangelands, resources and the thriving ecological balance.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 4 of 16

Why is this regulation established in terms of the priority management consideration? Because both

livestock and wildlife have significantly greater latitude on public lands than wild horses and burros

and because of this, within their designated and protected habitat, they are the priority management

consideration because they exist no where else!

This is strike two regarding the legality of the proposed action, as BLM has obviously not closed the

area to livestock grazing to protect wild horses and their habitat.

While it is glaringly apparent that the productive capacity of their habitat is sufficient to support a

self-sustaining population if the BLM had not attempted to institute exclusive use of public lands to

livestock grazing, in relation to balanced multiple-use management proposals, a further consideration

that BLM is attempting to totally ignore is the recent ruling by IBLA, 172 IBLA 128, which has

affirmed that if the appropriate level of wild horse use to protect the thriving ecological balance is

deemed to be insufficient to support a genetically viable herd, the BLM may supplement those herds

through the occasional introduction of wild horses to preserve our herds on public lands.

In addition to all the other glaringly apparent management of malfeasance behind this proposal,

which should not even make the introduction of IBLAs ruling necessary, IBLA has again affirmed

that the intent of Public Law 92-195 is to preserve and protect wild horses and burros on public lands

and if BLM must supplement wild herds to accomplish this in order to protect both equids and

rangeland integrity alike, then BLM must take the necessary steps, even something as radical as this, to

preserve them!

The evidence strongly suggests that implementing this radical approach is completely unnecessary in

the West Douglas HMA as more than ample resources are available to support a scientifically

established genetically viable herd of 150-200 requiring a mere 2,400 AUMs of forage, less than 25%

of what is being doled out for livestock grazing within the Twin Butte allotment alone. The facts of

the matter remain they are merely not allowing sufficient resources to be allocated to preserve them

even though BLM is required by law, which continues to be affirmed repeatedly, that they are to

preserve and protect America’s wild horses and burros and their habitat!

IBLA issued this ruling on August 2, 2007, a full two months before the BLM Director dismissed the

Protest of the eradication of the West Douglas herds. The failure of the Director to incorporate

IBLAs ruling, which binds the actions of the DOI, is unconscionable and counts as strike three.

To reiterate, the Department of the Interior through the BLM does not have the authority to remove

these wild horses because they have failed to implement and institute the necessary and legally

required mandates of wild horse and burro management on public lands. Therefore, they cannot be

deemed excessive in relation to the thriving ecological balance and if they are not excessive through

posing risks to environmental integrity, BLM has no authority to remove them.

Because the Department of the Interior through BLM has chosen to operate outside the laws

governing public lands stewardship of our resources by attempting to unlawfully seize and destroy

public property owned by the citizens of the United States of America, the public has a right and an

obligation to demand accountability if the Department and the Bureau continue to pursue this course

of action.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 5 of 16

While no other discourse on the removal proposal is truly necessary due to the myriad of failed legal

compliances as outlined above, the sheer grossness of inhumane treatment and standards BLM is

attempting to authorize for the West Douglas wild horses demands comment.

The BLM has outlined specific operating procedures in regards to helicopter driving of wild horses in

the West Douglas HMA. These have been cited as,

“These wild horses are especially difficult to gather due to rugged terrain and a coniferous canopy

throughout much of the area.”

“If horses are moved too far by helicopter or too quickly there is a possibility of increased upper

respiratory problems.”

“Mitigation: For winter gathers, distances to trap sites will be reduced to a maximum of five miles

when snow depth is greater than one foot. Animals will be moved slower when snow depth hinders

their natural movement. Wild horses will be monitored by the contracting officer representative

(COR) after the first couple of runs to ensure that they are not sweating excessively. If wild horses are

sweating excessively, the speed and/or distance to the trap will be reduced further. When

temperatures are less than ten degrees below zero, wild horses will not be gathered by helicopter, and

will not be pushed across icy terrain where sharp turns could cause injuries.”

The issue of using helicopters to drive wild horses and burros continues to be a source of controversy

and concern for many members of the public, even after all these years. There must be some merit to

the reasons for this concern since the use of fixed wing aircraft to “hunt and chase” wild horses was

the first law ever established toward the goal of humane treatment and protection of wild horses.

Because of Nevada BLMs failure to take these concerns seriously, the entire affair became

members of the National Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board as well as both state and federal

legislators.

In this report, a large amount of evidence was presented including eye-witness testimony and

photographs of helicopter conducted removals graphically showing less than humane removal

methods.

Among the concerns cited were eye-witness testimony of no traps set up with wild horses, including

foals, being run straight into trailers, being left in the trailers all day with no water after being driven

by the helicopters when temperatures exceeded 90 degrees, wild horses being trapped in panels that

broke their legs and necks, failure to properly separate stallions, foals and mares causing severe

injuries and death both during the on-site capture operations as well as during transport, rope injuries

sustained around necks that collapsed breathing abilities and were left untreated by contractors and

personnel resulting in death, a high degree of rope burns and deep cuts, foals being unable to keep up

and being lost, some dying out on the range, others being found and hog tied for hours in high

temperatures, while others still were estimated as being orphaned on the range for up to 3-4 days,

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 6 of 16

foals sustaining excessive hoof wear, limb swelling, elevated muscle enzymes consistent with severe

over-exertion, one recorded case of a foal suffering from internal injuries that included neurological

brain damage leading to death, testimony from concerned citizens that veterinarians had stated horses

and burros not conditions to run long distances can be harmed by helicopter driving and may result in

abortion, premature birth, permanent damage to bones, hearts, lungs, joints and death, a wide variety

of reported cases of stangles, an upper respiratory infection/disease that can kick in after a horse is

stressed – or after, for instance, being run too hard during a helicopter round up with reports from

the Animal Welfare Institute that almost every BLM facility had experienced outbreaks of stangles,

leading to confirmed deaths of scores of animals (estimated as occurring between 2004-2006), all

mares losing their foals after the 2003 Coyote Canyon wild horse round up, as well as the serious

safety concern to humans that deeply ingrained psychological terror results from driving wild horses

by helicopters, which then poses hidden danger to future riders and has resulted in at least one known

death of a young girl due to a helicopter “fly by” while riding a helicopter captured wild horse.

BLM is required to provide humane treatment and care for wild horses and burros placed within their

charge as per 43 CFR 4700.0-2, which specifically outlines, “The objectives of these regulations are

management of wild horses and burros as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands….

and humane care and treatment of wild horses and burros” and is further reinforced through 43 CFR

4700.0-5(e)(f), which stipulates, “Humane treatment means handling compatible with animal husbandry

practices accepted in the veterinary community, without causing unnecessary stress or suffering to a

wild horse or burro” and “Inhumane treatment means any intentional or negligent action or failure to act

that causes stress, injury, or undue suffering to a wild horse or burro and is not compatible with

animal husbandry practices accepted in the veterinary community.”

What documented evidence can BLM provide that is in compliance with these mandates, that the

proposed capture plan is in alignment with humane treatment standards, is compatible with accepted

veterinarian practices of animal husbandry, that this plan will not cause unnecessary stress or suffering

such as accredited, independent scientific journals that are not beholden to BLM in some manner?

The Southwest Washington Wildlife Report issued on April 29, 2004 reported losing seven

Columbian White tailed deer due to capture related stress during a transplant operation, an article in

the Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 29, No 2 (Summer 2001) by David A. Jessup titled Reducing

Capture-Related Mortality and Dart Injury centered around whether or not the Federal Animal

Welfare Act applied to captures of free-roaming wildlife through the use of helicopter captures.

The North Dakota Fish & Game Department has issued guidelines for pronghorn antelope captures

in a document titled, Capture & Translocation, that both acknowledges the stress placed on the wild

animals during helicopter driving as well as seeking to alleviate this stress. Recommendations include

temperatures not to exceed 70F (21C) and have noted that temperatures rising later in the day during

transport have had lethal results.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 7 of 16

In regards to the actual helicopter driving itself, it was noted that constant pressure applied by the

helicopter stressed the pronghorn with extended chases increasing mortality. Workers in Wyoming

found mortality rates of animals chased for 40 minutes to be twice as high as those chased for 20

minutes and a maximum chase time was issued not to exceed 20 minutes. Blindfolds were also

recommended for males during transport, even if they had been segregated from other animals to

reduce stress and potential injuries.

Significant and related material included an examination of net-gun techniques, which included an

initial 12 minute hazing limit reduced to 7 minutes due to obvious stress exhibited by the animals

during the intial captures as well as deaths attributed to broken legs, necks and post-capture

myopathy.

“Barrett et al. (1982) concluded pronghorn are captured easily with a net gun; however, considerable

effort may be required to reduce capture myopathy and losses from trauma. Eighteen adult

pronghorn were captured successfully using a 3-barreled netgun during 3 capture operations in

Colorado (Firchow et al. 1986); two of the 20 pronghorn (10%) captured, or pursued for capture,

died; 5 females captured during March and April were pregnant and carried fawns to full term.

Initially the authors used 12 minutes as a cut-off point for hazing animals, but changed to a 7 minute

maximum after signs of stress were noted in animals during the first capture operation. Fifty

pronghorn (16%) died during 311 reported captures in Arizona, more than half from broken necks.

Others were destroyed because of broken legs, and two died about two weeks after capture,

apparently from capture myopathy.”

Pronghorn were cited as “delicate and excitable animals”, as many prey species usually are including

horses. Due to this excitability, broken necks and legs were cited as common occurrences, with

broken legs begin noted when pronghorn were herded at high speed over rough country. A more

subtle form of mortality was also noted, specifically capture myopathy and was associated with the

animal’s concerted and vigorous use of muscles during pursuit and capture, chemical immobilization,

and transportation.

Additionally, signs of capture myopathy were noted also when, “Using drive traps, Chalmers and

Barrett (1977) captured 594 adult pronghorn in Alberta of which 29 succumbed to acute trauma.

Some signs of capture myopathy appeared within an hour of capture, but most symptoms were

delayed until handling or soon after release. A capture myopathy-like syndrome was associated with

an estimated 20 additional deaths as the pronghorn were being processed. Despite the normal

appearance of 32 drive-trapped pronghorn that were radiocollared and released, 6 were found dead or

recumbent within 2-8 days, and within 0.5-5 miles (0.8-8 km) of the trap (Chalmers and Barrett 1977).

Chalmer and Barret (1977) also stated, “Pronghorn are highly susceptible to capture myopathy for a

number of reasons : they have highly insulative coats that hold heat; their capture often involves long

andoccasionally arduous pursuit, which contributes to metabolic acidosis; and their highly excitable

nature appears to predispose them to the psychological stresses of capture.”

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 8 of 16

It went on to say because agency personnel did not have control of the actual helicopter capture

operations, it was important to have a detailed protocol that addressed the critical aspects of animal

treatment. It was suggested that this protocol should include standards for chase time and handling

While the BLM is fond of quoting the percentage of wild horse and burro mortality rates expressed as

nationally combined averages of all helicopter captures at .5 to 1%, most often mortalities are

reported as “non-gather related” with little supporting evidence this assertion. Despite almost 40

years of “managing” wild equid populations via helicopter captures and removals, BLM has produced

little in terms credible studies or research as to the effects of helicopter driving on wild equids,

especially those that may be independently peer-reviewed.

For example, in regards to known reported deaths from individual gather operations, mortality rates

were noted as considerably higher that the reported national average. In September 2006, BLM

captured 178 wild horses from the Nevada Paymaster HMA reporting 21 deaths, almost 12% and all

Mountain HMA, also in Nevada, reported a 5% mortality rate though most deaths were also reported

In February 2005, Alberta Canada adopted Class Protocol #008-Capture of Ungulates, which

outlined specific methods for wild animal capture that included capture operations should be avoided

when ungulates are pregnant, breeding or tending young, not subjecting animals to heat or cold stress

by performing captures during inappropriate seasons or times of day, as well as avoiding areas of

rough terrain, fences, active roads, cliffs, thin ice or deep water, and to generally avoid driving animals

aerially that appear aged, crippled or in poor body condition.

(4)

However, when it comes to wild horses and burros, no such restrictions on methods have yet to be

established. BLM routinely drives wild horses and burros for extended periods of time with full runs

especially noted at the end of the drive, no topographical area is considered “off limits” such as the

steep terrain cited in the West Douglas wild horse removals and BLM routinely drives equids in all

manner of weather through all seasons and include all classes of wild horses/burros including those

tending young, are aged, crippled or in poor body condition with BLM providing little to no follow

up reports on pathology, autopsy’s to determine cause of death, or capture related myopathy.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 9 of 16

Courtesy of Front Range Equine Rescue -

Copyright 2007-All Rights Reserved

The Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology (2005), 2:133-138 from Cambridge University

Press (MS Davis, EC Mckenzie, CM Royer, KK Williamson, M Payton, SL Nelson) submitted an

Abstract with respect to the effects of breathing cold air and strenuous exercise which stated,

“Repeated strenuous exercise while breathing cold air is believed to induce chronic airway

inflammation and hyperreactivity, a condition referred to in humans as ‘ski asthma’. However, the

time course of development and resolution of ski asthma is unknown”. Studies performed on sled

dogs revealed, “In contrast to our hypothesis, our data support the contention that cold weather

exercise-induced airway inflammation can persist through seasonal detraining, but that routine

training does not cause significant worsening of the condition.”

In BLMs Official Newsletter of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, Issue 4, Fall/Winter 2007/2008,

a section titled The Vet’s Corner by Albert J. Kane, CVM, MPVM, PhD, who works for the United

States Department of Agriculture and BLMs main veterinary advisor for the Wild Horse and Burro

Program, provided an article titled “Winterizing Your Wild Horse or Burro”.

In the article, Dr. Kane states, “The hair coat of a mustang or burro is excellent protection from even

the harshest winter elements as long as they can stay dry and out of the wind……When you know

you will be riding or driving often in the winter, it may make sense to partially clip your wild horse or

burro. With hard work, mustangs and burros will sweat even in winter and the hair coat can quickly

become wet. If this is only happening under the saddle or tack it is not a problem as long as you dry

the animal off after your ride and before you turn it out. A rubdown with a towel or clean burlap sack

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 10 of 16

 In addition, blood in the airways has been shown to be an irritant that leads to further bleeding and increases the possibility of inflammatory airway disease and chronic lung damage due to repeated  bleeding. (5)

is a great way to dry them off and fluff up their hair so it can again insulate them from the cold and

generally say thanks for a good ride. If they are getting very sweaty and staying wet during or after

work, they can chill, which can lead to stress, colds, and even pneumonia. To prevent this, consider

clipping horses or burros that do a lot of hard work during the winter.”

Of course, it is clear that the West Douglas wild horses will not have their long winter coats

“clipped”, which Dr. Kane acknowledges can “quickly become wet” during the proposed winter

helicopter driving standards with limits approved to minus 10 degrees below zero, nor is it likely that

BLM will be able to provide a rubdown with a towel or clean burlap sack to fluff up their hair after

being driven, as these are wild animals.

As cited, Dr. Kane’s prognosis indicates the likely results will be “…chill, which can lead to stress,

colds, and even pneumonia.”

While BLM continues to assure the public that every effort is made and all possible solutions

considered for the humane treatment of America’s wild horses and burros, the evidence continues to

mount that this is not the case.

A testament to the lack of standards being applied or general concern for humane handling, reduced

stress and/or mortality rates by BLM for wild horses and burros placed within their care was readily

apparent in the Jackson Mountain wild horses in Nevada throughout the summer and fall of 2007,

which resulted in the known deaths of at least 185 wild horses.

Of course, these deaths were certainly the exception to the rule, as surely BLM will tell us. Why?

Because BLM actually got caught holding the dead bodies, unlike the usual situations where the public

is only allowed in on “approved days”, at “approved locations” during “approved times” when BLM

conducts removals.

Here is a very recent accounting of how wild horses were “managed” by BLM in Winnemucca.

Nevada of wild horses under their jurisdiction and care through the Jackson Mountain Herd

Management Area that ultimately resulted in the deaths of 185 wild horses due to blatant disregard for

the welfare of these same wild horses.

It took months to piece together what really happened in the Jackson Mountain Herd Management

Area and the August gathers. All the following documentation cited in this accounting is presented

under Exhibit I.

An article published on January 21, 2008 by Quarter Horse News and author Linda Hussa titled “185

Wild Horses Dead”, recounts the story of Ron & Ginger Hopkins as they traveled to the Jackson

Mountain area in August where Ron stated, “The basin was full of horses…hundreds of them…the

trough was empty and there were horses standing in it! And all around it”. According to the article,

the Hopkins encounter with hundreds of thin, dead and dying horses was dated August 12, 2007.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 11 of 16

While the Hopkins are telling stories of dead and dying horses all around, at the same time in August

BLM released their Final Environmental Assessment and FONSI dated on August 8, 2007 and signed

by Arlan Hiner on the Jackson Mountain captures. In it, the legally required question was addressed

in Appendix C: 1. Is this an emergency? To which the BLM responded, “No.”

Having personally researched the BLMs Preliminary EA to remove the Jackson Mountain wild

horses, I submitted a 22 page “public comment” on June 25, 2007 that challenged the errors,

omissions and dangers the EA was riddled with – all of which BLM completely ignored.

My research was done before BLM released the results of their new population census conducted in

June, which discovered approximately 700 more wild horses roaming the range than BLM had a clue

about. Having removed 661 wild horses in the Jackson Mountain area in February 2003, BLM did not

report or notice any “excessive utilization” of forage by hundreds of more horses in the area for the

last four years, even as recent as June when they released their Preliminary EA.

Based on BLM reports of what the wild horses would have to endure during helicopter round ups

and because of the distance and extremely rough terrain of the Jackson Mountain area (reported by

both BLM and the Quarter Horse news article), coupled with the well-documented drought, I lobbied

for BLM to utilize water trapping methods to capture the Jackson Mountain wild horses instead of

helicopters and this was before I had any idea what was actually occurring out on the range or with

the Jackson Mountain wild horses themselves. I had assumed they were still healthy!

While it is now reported that hundreds of wild horses were refusing to move from dried out water

sources as early as March and standing in troughs, BLM responded to the public concerns about this

very issue with, "it was not feasible to capture horses with water trapping and that driving them by

helicopter was in the best interest of the horses".

The Quarter Horse News article reports Arlan Hiner, Assistant Renewable Resource Manager for

BLMs Winnecmucca Field Office and authorizing officer who issued the final decision to remove the

Jackson Mountain wild horses (merely reported as “field staff" in the article) as saying, "he drove out

to the Jackson allotment…twice in June to monitor the water" and “Both times, there were horses

standing in the troughs.”

On June 8, 2008, I sent an email to Nevada Wild Horse and Burro Lead, Susie Stokke with copies to

Dean Bolstad of the National Program Office, Nevada State Director Ron Wenker and Battle

Mountain Wild Horse & Burro Specialist Shawna Richardson, with an offer to organize and

coordinate emergency water supplies as well as possibly paying livestock permittees to leave their

wells on for the wild horses and wildlife due to drought.

On June 13, 2008, BLM Director Wenker essentially blew the offer off to help the wild horses by

for wild horses (never mind that all livestock and big game are allowed these luxuries) and this was

justified by citing if these “mitigation measures” (my words, not his) should fail, wild horses and

burros could be “at risk”. Copies of Director Wenkers response to me were also sent to all Nevada

Field Offices, including the Winnemucca Field Office that oversees the Jackson Mountain wild

horses.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 12 of 16

While I can’t say that due to the magnitude of what was occurring out on the range, the offer to

provide help with water would have been significant enough to make a difference in what happened, I

can say with absolute certainty that BLM completely failed to consider utilizing this offer for help –

even when they knew as early as March that conditions were risky, even in June when Arlan Hiner

was reported as observing wild horses standing in troughs and received a copy of BLMs response to

this offer during the exact same time frame, and still two more months went by with the wild horses

having to endure these range conditions before being driven by the helicopters to the gather pens.

While BLM stated that there was no emergency and no need to consider water trapping, 185 wild

horses eventually died at the Palomino Valley Facility due to salmonella that was able to take hold due

to the extreme stress placed on their systems through months of drought conditions, lack of water

and forage and being driven by the helicopters in their already weakened condition. The Hopkins

stated that wild horses were already dying or dead out on the range during their visit to the area on

August 12, 2008 but removals didn’t begin until August 28, over two weeks later.

“185 Wild Horses Dead” continues with Nevada Wild Horse & Burro Lead, Susie Stokkes

explanation for what happened:

“Here’s a good example of the old adage that ‘hindsight is better than foresight,’ ” Stokke said.

“Here’s what happened, when we gathered that Horse Management Area (HMA) in January 2003, we

didn’t get to Animal Management Level (AML). Ideally, we would have censused the Jackson

Mountains last year and then we would have realized that we had a lot more horses out there than we

thought we had. Once we realized we had 1,000 horses there we geared up to haul water.”

In fact, though BLM is reporting they went through the process of getting bids and were preparing to

haul water out to the Jackson Mountain wild horses, they didn’t “because the field staff determined

they had enough water”.

Though the troughs were known to be empty a full two months prior to when the decision was issued

to drive these same wild horses, the troughs continued to stay empty and BLM approved driving

them over very rough terrain with helicopters anyway in their already well-documented weakened

conditions.

185 Wild Horses Dead also reports that Hedi Hopkins, the Winnemucca Field Offices designated

Wild Horse & Burro Specialist is no longer working for the BLM.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 13 of 16

So based on past evidence of a very recent “wild horse management catastrophe”, the following

conclusions are reasonably logical:

The BLM was NOT monitoring resources properly or adequately, which resulted in extreme

hardship, undue suffering, injury and death to the Jackson Mountain wild horses both on and

off the range.

BLM possibly put personnel in charge of wild horses and burros that was not sufficiently

qualified to adequately judge wild horse needs, requirements or habitat conditions.

The BLM did not provide critical habitat requirements despite knowing they were

immediately necessary to prevent the wild horses from continuing to die.

The contractor, Cattoor Livestock Round Ups, though cited by BLM as very knowledgeable

and experienced in wild horse and burro removals, either was unable to properly assess the

catastrophic loss of life that would occur or failed to sufficiently care as to the net result

because as long as the wild horses reached the pens, the contractors get paid.

The BLM covered the whole thing up by refusing to acknowledge in their EA and FONSI

that an emergency was occurring, refused to consider using a trapping method that was both

feasible and would have most likely resulted in considerably less physical stress that may have

saved lives, and has “promised to do better next time” despite failing to describe just how

exactly that will occur.

The relationship to the West Douglas wild horse removal proposal is that past evidence has proven

that BLM would not acknowledge emergency conditions publicly, did not concern themselves

sufficiently with the condition of the wild horses they chose to drive by helicopter, the helicopter

contractor was obviously also insufficiently concerned with the condition of the wild horses they were

driving, and at no time, until wild horses started dropping dead, did the issue of just what a terrible

condition the wild horses were actually in come to the public’s attention.

And still the BLM continues to deny they had anything to do with any of this – the wild horses just

“magically dropped dead” due to range conditions (they knew about), lack of water (they not only

knew about but refused help for), highly weakened body conditions that were already causing death

(they knew about), refused to haul water to possible sustain them (their exclusive call), allowing

helicopter driving instead of water luring methods (still didn’t see a problem with the helicopter

capture method because it is efficient), over very rugged terrain as cited in the West Douglas capture

plan (rugged mountain terrain wasn’t considered a problem to BLM in the Jackson Mountain range

either), still didn’t report it publicly until several horses had already died and it was declared a human

public safety hazard, continued to deny their responsibility in the Quarter Horse News article in

January 2008 and followed up by a public statement from Wild Horse & Burro Division Chief Don

Glen still denying that BLM did anything improper.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 14 of 16

As for the contractors themselves, questions have been raised as to BLMs procedures for securing

helicopter contractors for gather operations. These questions include possible no-bid contracts being

awarded preventing competitive pricing as well as awarding these same no-bid contracts to

contractors that have a history of questionable criminal activity related specifically to the harassment

and deaths of wild horses through being hired privately for the sole purpose of removing wild horses

to commercially process them for horsemeat.

When questions were posed to BLM last year about Cattoor Livestock Round Ups history of criminal

activities regarding wild horse captures, BLMs response indicated it was a minor transgression that

had been appropriately accounted for. However, further research indicated it was considerably more

than minor and that much of the restitution paid was a result of complicated and hidden court

proceedings that include over 1,600 pages of legal documentation on the issue – hardly a “minor”

situation at all.

Furthermore, the obvious inappropriateness of BLM continuing to award contracts to someone with

such a questionable history in relation to wild horse captures for commercial processing continues to

be completely unacceptable and implies abuse of both government ethics considerations as well as a

betrayal of the public trust.

Additionally, the use of Cattoor Livestock Round Ups is no longer appropriate. Prior history of

criminal activities regarding private contracts to capture wild horses for commercial processing, being

the contractor responsible for the well-documented footage of wild horse and foal deaths occurring in

the Sheldon Wildlife Refuge in June 2006 as well as being the contractor that oversaw the Jackson

Mountain wild horse gathers in August 2007, provides ample historical evidence and clear indications

that humane handling and accurate assessments of wild horse needs are not being sufficiently

incorporated or placed as a priority with this contractor.

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 15 of 16

While it is understood that BLM has the authority to euthanize wild horses/burros due to specific

health conditions, concern is growing as to the validity of BLMs assertions that it is necessary to

euthanize X amount of wild horses/burros due to “unrelated” issues from helicopter driving

methods.

Conditions cited in prior removal operations that resulted in euthanasia of wild horses/burros include

Henneke body class conditions of unacceptable ratings, deformities, prior injuries unrelated to

helicopter driving methods, and age classifications determining a wild horse is no longer capable of

surviving either in the wild or in captivity.

It is suggested that BLM begin to actually document these conditions through photographic evidence

that these euthanasia’s are indeed warranted by the conditions cited as well as providing evidence that

these wild horse/burro deaths are indeed non-gather related.

Please incorporate the stipulation that all euthanized wild horses will be photographed before and

after euthanasia’s and available for public inspection to determine the appropriateness of these

management activities to public resources.

Additionally, a qualified veterinarian should be the only individual authorized to determine if a

condition is untreatable and requires BLM to put a wild horse/burro down and this stipulation should

also be incorporated within the removal proposals SOP’s.

References:

pdf

(2) Silver Peak/Paymaster Final Gather, Letter from Tonopah Field Office, 10/16/06.

(3)BLM Final Gather & Removal Report, Augusta Mountain HMA, November 2007, Courtesy of

Nevada Wild Horse & Burro Lead Susie Stokke.

(4) Alberta Canada Wildlife Research Guidelines for Research Protocol 008, Ungulates,

http://srd.alberta.ca/fishwildlife/guidelinesresearch/pdf/protocol/ungulate_net_gunning_class_prot

ocol_008.pdf

(5) Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage http://www.flairstrips.com/li-EIPH.htm

West Douglas Wild Horse Removals – EA# CO-110-2008-052 Page 16 of 16

http://quarterhorsenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=671&Itemid=92

Written by Linda Hussa

On a bright day in mid-August 2007, Ron and Ginger Hopkins went for a drive in Nevada’s high

desert. Someone told them that if they turned north off the road to the Sulphur gold mine on the

eastern edge of the Black Rock Desert, they could find sulphur crystals the size of hen’s eggs. As

previous managers of cow outfits in the desert, they know livestock and they know the country in all

its many faces from bitter to benevolent. But this outing was not about anything more than getting

away from the phone and spending the night 50 miles from the nearest electric light. They were

looking for peace. But they found tragedy instead.

On that summer afternoon, they drove north past mining shacks and crossed the railroad tracks.

The road wound up a hill and soon the truck was pushing powdery dirt. The desert country around

Sulphur, that expects no more than 4 or 6 inches of precipitation a year, knows how to live with less.

In 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists Nevada, the driest state in the

Union, as having the second-warmest July on record, while through the winter of 2006-2007, it set a

new record low for precipitation. The local people didn’t have to be told that. March looked like July,

and by August, the brush on the flats appeared to have been hit with a blowtorch.

The Hopkins were prepared to make a dry camp. Jugs of water were tied to the handles of the cold

box in the back of their pickup and, with thoughts of finding saffron-colored crystals, they pushed on

toward Trail Springs at the southeast edge of the Jackson Mountains. When they topped the hill, they

were looking into a big open basin that ran north about three or four miles, and west into the stark

emptiness of the Black Rock Desert. In the bottom of the basin, there was a round, metal trough, the

kind that will hold about 2,500 gallons of water – if it’s full. Ron stopped the truck.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he tells me later at my kitchen table. Normally, he is full of

funny stories and gossip, but today, his jaw is set and he barks with impatience at my questions. He

wants to be rid of the memory of dying horses.

“The basin was full of horses, up on the hills, coming down to the trough, hundreds of them.

The trough was empty and there were horses standing in it! And all around it,” he said.

He spun the empty coffee cup rocking like a top, then grabbed it and set it down gently.

“Up in that basin, you could see stud bunches everywhere you looked, all coming in to water. I

counted 170 head before they blew out of there to the west. It looked like an atom bomb went off.”

He shakes his head remembering how the dust washed up both sides of those hills swirling in a

wave that closed together at the top in a huge apocalyptic cloud.

“That was on Aug. 12; the date was on the pictures we took,” he said.

The glint edge of death is what Ron and Ginger witnessed at Trail Springs. Desperate houndgutted,

hollow-eyed stallions abandoned their mares and foals to fate, and their genetic dominance to

the wind, for the silvery taste of water as they crowded around the pipe, too close to block the lunge

of teeth bared. They kicked and struck. A leg was broken. A mare’s neck was ripped so badly she

could not raise her head. The stallion nearest the pipe pawed frantically, his lips pulled tight against

his teeth to suck water from the concrete slab. Others came from behind and they reared high, legs

flailing, the pop of skin pulling free from teeth. Deafening squeals. Foals flew from the fray. Mares

paced and circled, hoping for a sip. Survival was the only impetus for stud bunches to chance contact.

If not for their need for water, each stallion would keep his band at a distance, and wait his turn. But

these horses could not trust there would be a turn. They had been living this desperation for months

and were helpless with the impulse to stay alive. It went on and on, with no relief, only dull

resignation, another step closer to death.

After the horses left, the Hopkins drove down to the trough to take a better look. Water dripped

out of the pipe, one drop a second. Then they drove a mile up into the basin away from the trough to

camp. Ron fixed their bedroll in the back of the truck. Neither had any appetite for the picnic dinner

Ginger had packed. Instead, Ron took a walk along the pipeline and checked the air vents of the

gravity-flow system to see if something was wrong, but there wasn’t. He could hear the whisper of

water passing by.Up to the north, horses were still coming from every direction on the side hills, or

they were the same horses, circling around to come back to the trough. Their truck plus the smell of

humans kept the wild horses from coming down. But through the night, there was no wind or sounds

to mask the steady shuffle of unshod hooves padding down the spider web of trails a foot deep in

dust toward the trough. They came from every direction like an echo in the dark. Ginger listened in

anguish, asking herself, “What can I do for these horses? I don’t have a water truck to bring water out

here. I don’t have a stack of hay to feed them. What can I do?”

In the morning, Ron found the trough was 4 inches of mud and manure.

“When the horses came back, how many of those hundreds of horses are going to get a drink?” he

said. “Darned sure none of the babies. A cow will leave and go to feed. Horses won’t. They hang

around waiting for the water.”

As soon as they returned home, Ginger telephoned the Winnemucca Bureau of Land Management

(BLM) office. Wild horse specialist Heidi Hopkins (no relation to Ginger and Ron Hopkins) was away

from her desk. Ginger was transferred to her voice mail. Heidi Hopkins never returned Ginger’s call.

From Ron and Ginger’s experience comes a look at what the BLM program can and can’t do for wild

horses.

The BLM’s scheduled gather in the Jackson Mountain allotment began Aug. 28 and ran for two

weeks into September 2007. The Cattoor Livestock Roundup, a contract helicopter company, worked

with BLM employees, bringing horses off of the rugged terrain of the Jackson Mountains. They

started on the southeast side of the mountain. They slowly brought horses out to take pressure off the

water. Then they swung around the mountain. Horses that summered in the high country, where

water and feed were in good supply, were strong enough to be driven to the trap set up in the

northeastern part of the allotment. But all of the horses that Ron and Ginger saw, the ones that had

been living for months under extreme duress in the Trail Springs basin, were in the worst shape. The

gather ended with them, the horses Heidi Hopkins had monitored through the summer. They made

their way to the trap a mile and a half west of the trough on the edge of the Black Rock Desert. One

of the crew said it looked like a death walk.

The Jackson Mountain allotment is approximately 300,000 acres of very rough country that rises

from 4,100 feet elevation on the floor of the Black Rock Desert and laps over one of the highest

mountains, King Lear Peak, at 8,900 feet. The western side is expressed in the kind of fault that

would thrill hang gliders and eagles. The rancher, whose cattle share the range with the horses and

wildlife, uses an airplane to drop salt blocks that draw his cows to isolated feed pockets up on the

mountain. He was born at the base of Lear Peak and knows not to underestimate how quickly

conditions can go from acceptable to tragic. He started pulling his cows out of the Trail Springs

country in July. The decision to bring them home early will cost him money for hay that is currently

running at $150 to $160 a ton and by spring is expected to soar above $200, but considering the range

condition in a drought year, he knew he had to do the prudent thing to take care of his animals.

This gathering of horses was the first to happen on the Jackson Mountain Allotment since January

2003. According to BLM records, at that point, 661 horses were removed, 215 were left. The

prescribed Horse Management Level (HML) for the allotment is between 132-217 head. At the

projected increase of 15 percent to 20 percent per year, the HML was estimated to be at about 377

horses in 2007.

Their estimate was grossly under the actual count when the 2007 gather was completed. The BLM

gathered 1,064 horses off the Jacksons. The breakdown listed that a total of 990 were removed, seven

died or were euthanized in the process, and 70 were released. After the horses were hauled to the

Palomino Valley Facility 25 miles north of Reno, 132 more died. Dave Cattoor, the helicopter pilot

who managed the gather, thought to give the Palomino Valley people a heads-up about the condition

of the horses that were coming their way.

“They were dying poor,” he said. “But then I figured the BLM would be calling them. I guess they

didn’t.”

Indeed, the horses were in such bad shape that 46 more horses died or were euthanized within the

next month. Currently, the number of dead horses from the Jackson Mountain Range is 185, a lot of

the allotment in the pre- or post-gather, but it does reflect the quick count Ron Hopkins made of

horses crowded around the Trail Springs trough on the evening of Aug. 12.

Who is in charge of these 185 dead horses? That would be BLM’s Nevada lead for the Wild Horse

and Burro program, Susie Stokke was in Texas at the Extreme Mustang Makeover event, a

partnership promotion to adopt-out wild horses already gathered from the range. She returned to the

firestorm of Jackson Mountain horses suffering and dying from diarrhea and pneumonia and bacterial

infection. “The Makeover was a pretty exciting event,” she said. “It was a devastating thing to come

home after that and have the situation we had at Palomino Valley. Trust me. Not pleasant.”

Buster Dufurrena is a Nevada brand inspector, and a second-generation rancher in the Jackson

Mountain area. He was the one who was called, since an inspector is required to be on-site for every

gather to make sure there are no domestic horses in the trap. Dufurrena has a lifetime of experience

in the livestock business in Humboldt County, specifically, the entire northwestern corner of Nevada.

“Those Jackson Mountain horses down in the Trail Springs basin were just out of water,” Dufurrena

said, explaining that they had dust pneumonia and they were “damned sure dried out, and really thin.

But the BLM has been underestimating the number of horses on that allotment for years and it

caught up with them.

“I’ve never met Susie Stokke,” Dufurrena said. “I’m just the brand inspector. All I know is just

what I see. I lobbied like hell to get these horses gathered, but the only time they can do anything is

when there’s a crisis. That’s the problem. I don’t know how many they pulled into that bottom trap,

150, maybe 200 head. The mares looked bad because they were giving milk, trying to keep their colts

alive. When you ran your hand over the top of those colts, their hair was like pig bristles.”

Dufurrena told the BLM over and over that they had too many horses on the Jacksons.

“I’m not aware of that,” Stokke said. “That would be a good question for the Winnemucca office.”

Back in March, the livestock rancher in that area told the Winnemucca field staff that he was

concerned about the availability of water and the number of horses that he was seeing. In late May,

reports were coming into Stokke’s office that the water was starting to dry up. As a result, Heidi

Hopkins began to monitor the water weekly.

“Monitoring the population as well as their habitat,” she said, “is part of my job.”

In response to Heidi Hopkins’ reports, Stokke ordered the field office to fly the area on June 21 to

get an accurate population estimate. They got a direct count of 1,017 horses – nearly three times their

estimate.

“The horse has no natural predators,” Sue Cattoor, partner of Cattoor Livestock Roundup Co.,

said, “except in a few areas where there are mountain lions and wolves that will keep the herd down.

But horses are not elk or deer that jump over fences and go to water. They are livestock, and like

cattle, and they have to be managed.”

“Here’s a good example of the old adage that ‘hindsight is better than foresight,’ ” Stokke said.

“Here’s what happened, when we gathered that Horse Management Area (HMA) in January 2003, we

didn’t get to Animal Management Level (AML). Ideally, we would have censused the Jackson

Mountains last year and then we would have realized that we had a lot more horses out there than we

thought we had. Once we realized we had 1,000 horses there we geared up to haul water.”

In fact, they went through the process of getting bids and were preparing to haul water out there,

but didn’t “because the field staff determined they had enough water,” Stokke explained. The

reasoning was based on Heidi Hopkins’ measurement of the flow and calculating the amount for the

horses. “I think we failed to recognize that the horses were tied to that water, and did not move out

to food, or even to other water,” Stokke said.

Historically, water on government land was developed and tended by livestock operators. In the

1980s, the whispered mantra of environmentalist groups, “Cattle Free in ’83” influenced BLM grazing

policy and stirred public perceptions of overgrazing at the hands of ranchers. A vigorous campaign

was mounted to make the motto a reality. As permit after permit was cut, denied, or bought up by

conservancy groups, “water systems fell into disrepair, wind mills were turned off, and horses, as well

as wildlife, have suffered,” Dave Cattoor said.

“There are three key water developments in that part of the world,” Stokke said, “and when the

Winnemucca field office inspected, there was water in the first one. The second and third ones were

dry frequently when they went to check.”

Fifteen miles separate the first trough from the lower trough, called Trail Springs. The three troughs

are positioned about five miles apart. Five miles is an easy distance for a horse to cover but, in this

case, the horses became dependent on even the scant amount of water they could get at trough No. 2

and No. 3, Trail Springs. They stayed with what they knew.

Heidi Hopkins’ Master’s degree in wildlife biology prepared her to observe detailed conditions a

layperson may miss. When she inspected the troughs on her weekly tour of the Jackson Mountain

allotment, the first one was always full. Throughout the summer, she rarely noticed any sign of horses

having been there, no hoofprints leading to it or around it, no piles of manure in the vicinity. Cows

had been there early on, not horses.

“The second and third ones were frequently low,” she said. “There was never a trough that was

completely dry. There were times when there were only very small amounts of water in the trough,

maybe an inch in the bottom, but the amount of water flowing into the trough was always flowing

fairly consistently. Basically, the horses were drinking it as fast as it was coming out.”

Heidi Hopkins was out there at least once a week from March through when the gather occurred,

and there was never a time through the trip to those three troughs when she said she saw “more than

150 to 200 horses. There were several times when I got to Trail Springs there were 50 to 75 horses

hanging around that spring and very little water. I measured the flow, so I knew about how many

gallons each spring was putting out, per day. Using those figures, I could say this trough is putting out

2,000 gallons a day and roughly figure that’s enough for 200 horses.”

The flow of most springs in Nevada decreases during the summer, not unusual in a semiarid to arid

climate. But Trail Springs is less than two miles from The Black Rock Desert, a 400 square-mile, flatas-

a-pancake prehistoric lakebed, with virtually no vegetation or animal habitat.

Horses smell water. They need it and they’ll hang around and wait. The problem is that Trail Springs

is a gravity-flow system that only produces 2 ½ gallons a minute. A mature horse will require

approximately 10-12 gallons of water a day. At the rate of dehydration during drought, it would want

more. But under normal circumstances that may have been enough for 200 head: if they arrive in

small groups; if they are mannerly and take turns; if they are not already stressed from the drought;

and unless they arrive at a trough with only an inch of water in the bottom that other horses have

been standing in and manuring in and they must wait for 2 ½ gallons a minute to fill a 2,500 gallon

trough. Circumstances are an essential factor of the equation. If the needs of mice, chuckars,

butterflies, cows and crows are taken into consideration, Trail Springs couldn’t water 50 horses a day

if they all arrived in a bunch.

“I couldn’t speak to the fact that if we took them off in July, it would have made a difference,” said

Heidi Hopkins, who left the BLM after the Jackson gather to take a position with the Humane Society

of the United States in its quest to find a reliable immunocontraceptive for wild horses. “I’m in love

with horses,” she said, “and I love research, and this project will give me a chance to get my

doctorate.” She paused and then remembered something that occurred during her monitoring of the

springs. “I saw two mares during two different occasions that were thin and had foals. That’s kind of

to be expected after a mare has a foal, they’re thin. I never saw conditions that said to me, ‘Oh, my

gosh, there’s going to be a huge problem here.’ It was a horrible mistake, but you know, I don’t know

if I would have ever done anything differently.”

Arlan Hiner, BLM field staff, drove out to the Jackson allotment with her twice in June to monitor

the water.

“Both times, there were horses standing in the troughs,” he said.

So whether or not this evidence illustrated “a huge problem” is up for debate.

Stokke responded, saying, “There are many opinions about how the BLM does its job, and how the

Horse and Burro Program does its job, and how Susie Stokke does her job. The Horse and Burro

Program is one of the most litigated that BLM manages. I think that the field staff just didn’t

recognize, didn’t realize and part of that is inexperience. You learn those things with time.”

Meanwhile, horses die.

Ron and Ginger returned to Trail Springs soon after the gather. They knew, as soon as they topped

the hill, that the BLM had moved the horses. The trough was full and running over. The basin was

empty of horses, except for two mares and two summer foals that were near the trough.

“The bay mare was down,” Ron said, “She tried to get up, but she was too weak to keep her

balance and she floundered and kept falling down. The sorrel mare was standing with her back to the

truck and she had a little bitty baby. She was about as wide as a 2x4 and was nothing but jerky

stretched over bones. When she heard the pickup, she turned her head like a horse would, and she fell

over. The foals looked worse.”

The mares were too far-gone to recover. Their bodies were depleted from producing milk for their

suckling foals. There was no grass to eat. The water came too late.

“Why were those horses left to die?” Ron asked. “There were BLM people at the gathering. Why

didn’t someone go back and check for horses that were too weak to make it and take care of them the

proper way? Where were all those humane people whose job it is to protect those horses when those

two little mares and their two little foals were suffering? Who took care of the horses they left back to

die?”

From that moment on, mention of the name Trail Springs would never again remind Ron and

Ginger of sulfur crystals but of two foals waiting beside two mares.

After hearing this story, our family fueled up, aired up and went to see Trail Springs for ourselves.

We crossed the tracks, topped that same ridge, and looked down into a moonscape. Like Ron said,

the trough was full and running over. Bones littered the basin, some were from other years, but there

were those with tendons and hide still attached. A horse’s tail was tangled in a greasewood. We took

fecal samples; there was a basin-full to choose from. We carefully transferred dark knobs of manure

to plastic bags.

The lab report came back from Sierra College biologist Charles Dailey with a complete analysis

concluding that the samples were 53 percent sand by weight. Dailey concluded his communication

with this statement: “I don’t know how much sand the black rhino at the San Diego Zoo had in his

gut when he died, but I don’t think it was as high as 53 percent.”

Dailey was referring to a black rhino that was recovering from surgery to reattach the Achilles

tendon to the heel bone. Even with the best of care at the San Diego Zoo and its choice of trees and

shrubs to browse, true to its habit in the wild, “it apparently got so bored standing around with a cast

on its hind foot/lower leg,” Dailey said, “that it nibbled enough dirt off the ground that it filled part

of the intestine to the point that food wouldn’t go through. This impaction idea may not be the

correct explanation of the dead horses, but it is at least a possibility because rhinos [and tapirs] are the

closest living relatives to the equids.”

The reason for the heavy infiltration of sand in the horse manure sample was obvious when the

area was examined. Each frail stem of grass meant a mouthful of sand, walking in powdery dust

behind a long line of horses meant a face full of sand.

“The stress factor weakened those animals,” said Glenn Blodgett, D.V.M., manager of the horse

operation of the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. Dr. Blodgett has had many years of experience managing

large populations of horses, both as a horseman and veterinarian. He went on to say, “If you

concentrate animals around feed and water and confine them, you run the risk of exposing the rest of

them. Salmonella can be found in the intestines of healthy horses, but it becomes a problem when

stress is involved.”

“Jackson Mountain clearly got away from us,” said Dean Bolstad, National Operations Manager for

the Wild Horse and Burro Program from his office in Reno, Nev. “We would have acted sooner had

we recognized what was going on there. But it got the way it was because there were other Jackson

Mountains waiting to be gathered, and the Nevada BLM office has prioritized what they thought was

the most important work to get done. We have too many animals. We’re challenged with money,

we’re challenged with corral space, we have 30,000 animals in captivity. I’m acknowledging we made a

mistake with Jackson Mountain but that’s how Jackson Mountain occurred. We had other places that

had to be done in the eyes of those setting priorities.”

In fact, when the BLM took on the protection of the free-roaming horses and burros in 1971, they

took on an unprecedented challenge in the country’s history: the management of an undomesticated,

feral animal. As Stokke noted, “We didn’t have any expertise; we didn’t know much about horses and

how to handle them. A lot of the early years were learning the hard way. We’ve lost several very

competent people since 2003 to better jobs. It takes a while to find qualified employees, so until then,

we have to keep going along as best we can. I was raised on a ranch. I love horses. Seeing these wild

horses move across the land is poetry in motion. That’s why this is so devastating.”

The question is how do you get there from here? The Nevada desert has a set of rules not taught in

college labs, and over time, people who have the knowledge and experience to give opinions or

evidence about the Jackson Mountain specifically, Nevada public lands in general, have developed a

learned level of reluctance to go on the record. They worry that they or their friends will become the

targets of animal rights groups, and in the end, they will lose their livestock permits and their

livelihood. When livestock comes into competition with free-roaming horses for feed and water

during drought, the answer of special interest groups is to eliminate livestock from government land

entirely and forever. However, it must be remembered that livestock feed and clothe this country, and

bring in revenue through grazing fees. We have all heard the argument that grazing is “subsidized”

through low fees of $1.35 per aum (a cow/calf per month unit) and compare that to an average cost

of grazing at $16 to $25 on private ground (depending on the size of the calf). But it’s apples and

oranges. The private grazing operator offers full care, which generally includes feed, water, salt,

supervised health care, pasture rotation, predator control and perhaps the most glaring difference, the

potential for weight gain at an average of two pounds a day.

Grazing on government land offers sparse seasonal feed, and the care is the total responsibility of

the permittee. The carrying capacity on government land is commonly 50 acres per head, and in some

areas twice that. Private land grazing can be as high as 50 head per acre. On government grazing

leases, the vast expanse of land necessary to supply feed for the season inhibits bulls from finding

cows during estrus resulting in calf crops that may be strung out over many months, reducing the

salability of the cattle on the livestock market. The same issues are true for sheep producers, plus they

incur financial loss due to the constant toll taken on the sheep by coyotes, bobcats, foxes, mountain

lions, and now, wolves. Only the free-roaming horse burdens the taxpayer. Yet, livestock, sheep and

cattle, are the first targeted for elimination from the grazing equation. It is an irony that ranchers,

historically the most prominent partners in the protection of government lands, should be considered

expendable, even in some camps, the enemy.

Meanwhile, the public struggles to understand why it’s so important to get to AML on the range.

“It’s important to get to AML for the reason that healthy rangeland is the foundation for

everything that lives out there,” Stokke said. “Without healthy rangelands, we’re not going to have

good habitat for horses, wildlife, or fish.”

The law requires that the BLM achieve a thriving ecological balance on the range.

“In other words,” she continued, “we are required to maintain the proper number on the range and

assure the horses’ population is in balance with other uses.”

Proven scientific information must be coupled with common sense and experience if management

of the government lands and support for the multiple-use concept is to be achieved. The scientific

fact is that if the wild horse herds are left to multiply without control, they eat up habitat that puts

other wildlife species and livestock at risk, and require an ever-increasing number of sanctuaries to

support their increased population, appropriating tax dollars our children need for education, and all

Americans need for health care. Their survival is quickly coming into conflict with human survival,

and the taxpayer will be forced to make decisions that are not beneficial to wild horses and burros.

“It’s just pure and simple,” Ron said. “There’s a range specialist or range conservationist getting paid

to go out and see what’s going on on this permit. The BLM will tell you to get your cows out of your

allotment if there’s too much pressure on an area, but if they can’t see that there are some horses out

of water and starving to death and know what to do with it, then something’s wrong. It’s about

priorities. Somebody over the top of that range conservationist has priorities for these allotments.

And now, the degraded condition of the Jackson Mountain Range will be blamed on the cows and the

rancher. You watch. It’ll come down to that.”

There are BLM district managers whose actions indicate that the BLM wants to manage the

government lands without cows.

“Even with no cows,” Ron said, “at some point there’ll be too many horses. But if the BLM

continues putting out cow permits, there should be some way to differentiate between the impact of

horses and cattle. Since the 2003 gather of the Jacksons, the BLM has been in violation of their HML

to the tune of about 850 head. That many horses darned sure had an impact on the feed and water. If

the livestock permittee was over the numbers on his permit, he’d be fined and his cows would be

impounded. Was the BLM fined? No. The permittee took his cows out three months early. Why?

Because he’s got an extra 850 head of horses eating his cow feed and drinking his cow water year

’round. The rancher’s cows are only out there six months. The only thing that’s kept in check is the

rancher. That’s kind of a one-way contract, isn’t it? The BLM was, and is, in a state of willful trespass

all over the state of Nevada. What kind of a deal is that?”

Dean Bolstad told us that there are 30,000 head of BLM horses held in sanctuaries awaiting adoption,

and the number increases with every gather that takes place. Susie Stokke is promoting several

programs to increase dwindling interest in adoptions. One is a program where prison inmates work

with the horses. Another is the Extreme Mustang Makeover, a challenge event held in Texas where

contestants are given 90 days to train and prepare an adopted horse for the show ring and sale.

“Let me share a couple of things. There is an increasing demand for horses that are pre-gentled,”

Stokke said. “That’s why we’re so excited about our Warm Springs Prison program, and one of the

reasons we’re partnering with the Mustang Heritage Foundation on the Extreme Mustang Makeover

is to try to increase our adoption market. Also, horses in sanctuaries can be virtually adopted by

people who don’t have the money or the facilities or the space or the time that having an animal

takes. They can donate to care for an animal in long-term holding. We hope to have that program

rolled out next spring. We have more than a million visitors come through the Red Rock visitors

center outside Las Vegas every year and if every one of those people would drop a dollar in the box,

that would be a million dollars to help defray and care for these animals until they die of old age, fat

and happy. Despite the fact that we had this pretty hard lesson on the Jacksons, when I look over

where we’ve come, I’m really proud.”

However, the facts seem to belie Stokke’s comments about the interest in the adoption of BLM

horses. The horse slaughter ban has driven the horse market down a well. There may be a flash of

high-dollar well-bred horses sold here and there, but the mid- to low-range horse market has

bottomed out. Public lands, parks, and country roads are the depository of choice for unwanted

horses and horses that people can no longer afford to feed. Newspapers from coast to coast are

carrying stories about dumped horses. Those horses will join the free-roaming horses and burros that

are supported by public dollars. There is no alternative. As it is, the BLM contracts out with

landowners to take wild horses onto their private land. Those landowners are paid to manage

government horses.

There is a simple argument for forcing the BLM to come to their Area Management Plan (AMP)

numbers and it is grounded in the BLM Mission Statement. “There’s no feed in the Trail Springs

basin,” Ron said. “No feed. It’s not coming back when the first raindrops hit the ground. It’s going to

erode. There’s nothing to keep that from happening. And what happens if we have a cold, dry winter?

“You have to understand. We came into this by accident. We were looking for sulphur crystals and

we come over that hill and, whew! We found this mess,” he said. “In March of this year, everybody

knew they were going to have to take their cows home early. Everybody knew that the waterholes

were dry. Everybody knew that it was a drought year. Everybody knew that. How come the BLM

didn’t know that? Why didn’t they run those horses in March before the foals were born, before the

country burned up? Those horses didn’t die of salmonella. They died of thirst, and they died of

starvation. The BLM was supposed to take care of them. But they didn’t. Don’t forget that.”

Through the eyes of two concerned people, we have all come over that hill together and some will

wonder, if the BLM cannot hire and hold competent employees that are committed to upholding

their mission statement, should they continue, in the words of Susie Stokke, “going along as best we

can?” Do people who support advocacy groups that profess to love horses accept what happened at

Trail Springs? Does the check they tuck into the envelope seal them away from responsibility to

discover truth? Is it unreasonable to expect that a few will write to their representatives and demand

to know if that $1.8 billion that comes out of education and health programs is of valid benefit to the

people of this country? If the BLM has the responsibility to manage and protect the horses, how did

the horses of the Jackson Mountain allotment get so out of control that by the BLM’s admission, they

“ate brush and the manure of other horses to survive.”

“The BLM is being impeded by so-called advocacy groups from making proactive management

decisions and implementing them,” said Boyd Spratling, D.V.M, rancher, and past president of the

Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, “and until we can stop legal action by them, this situation falls

squarely on their shoulders in my mind. The very people that claim to care the most about those

horses were actually the ones driving the death nail in their coffin. They don’t understand what the

consequences are or the dynamics of the resource and what can happen on a drought year. Mother

Nature takes a harvest whether it be through fires and the tough winter that follows, or drought or

whatever the reason, and it’s usually a very ugly situation.”

At the next advisory board meeting, Spratling will highlight to the advocacy groups what happened

on the Jackson Mountain allotment and why it happened. And they have to get past saying, “Well, if it

wasn’t for the cows, everything would have been fine.”

“In this situation, where the horses had very little water, the cows were removed and the horses still

had problems,” he said. “If you care about the free-roaming horse and a healthy band of horses, you

have to be an advocate for keeping the horses at appropriate management levels and that means

harvesting a certain percentage of those horses to maintain the numbers and not let them get out of

control like they did in the Jacksons.”

Nearly 200 horses, and wildlife in numbers we can only guess at, did not survive the summer of

2007. “We have to think about the long-term management,” Spratling said, “and not be bogged down

by threats of lawsuits and those sorts of things that keep us from managing properly. If the BLM had

had the flexibility to gather like the rancher did with his cows to do what was necessary as it was

necessary instead of being delayed in making that decision, we could manage past this stuff. That’s the

problem we on the advisory board face. We have to give the BLM the latitude to manage the horses.

Let us come up with a management plan that is sustainable through good years and bad years.”

The future of the Jackson Mountain herd of wild horses hinges on a collective commitment to resolve

differences. The job must be done correctly, as if by disciples with one arching philosophy.

Management is the key for their survival, which then applies to the management for the whole of all

herds of wild horses. The benefits will radiate out to wildlife, livestock, to the land itself. As it is now,

frustration is the emotion we share. We look into wilderness and are content knowing it exists,

though we may not be able to exist in it. The wild horse lets us touch that wilderness, lets us

experience a life beyond the four walls of industry or office or apartment. We can’t forget the ones

that died at Trail Springs.

“We have made a mistake with the Jackson Mountain horses,” Bolstad said. “We can never let this

happen again, and I think everybody will acknowledge that.”

http://quarterhorsenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1181&Itemid=58

Written by Don Glenn

This letter responds to last month’s article about wild horses in the Jackson Mountains of Nevada (“Wild

quarterhorsenews.com). A quote in the article states that the Bureau of Land Management was supposed to

take care of (these wild horses). But they didn’t. Actually, the BLM is supposed to manage wild horses as

free-roaming wild populations. These animals roam free over millions of acres in 10 Western states, and their

populations increase at 15 to 20 percent each year.

Wild horses often migrate many miles seasonally, and the terrain and vegetation make it hard to count them

from the ground or the air. It is a formidable job and an imprecise science just to account for how many are in

a given area. For 30 years, the BLM has relied on direct counts, monitoring range conditions, and the

experience of its field personnel to estimate how many horses are in a given area, along with how many that

area can sustain. We are diligently researching better census techniques and are close to a recommendation

on more scientifically reliable methods. However, our population estimates are just that – and, for the

reasons stated above, sometimes these estimates are off. Such was the case in the Jackson Mountains.

The accuracy of our population estimates aside, the fact is that there are still far more wild horses in some

herd management areas than the habitat can support. As stated in the article, the scientific fact is that if the

wild horse herds are left to multiply without control, they eat up habitat that puts other wildlife species and

livestock at risks. It is true, as the article states, that the BLM was over its appropriate management level in

the Jackson Mountains by 850 head; not only that, but as recently as 2001, the Bureau was over its

appropriate management level nationally by almost 20,000 animals.

When populations exceed what the habitat can support, and when drought or bad winters occur, Mother

Nature will control the population. That is essentially what happened in the Jackson Mountains. As the BLM

was using its limited funding and personnel resources in other areas that, in our best judgment, were more

critical than the Jackson Mountains, Mother Nature’s cruel hand was dealt as it is, at times, with all wild

animal populations. From 2001 to 2006, the BLM removed more than 10,000 animals per year from public

lands to make progress toward the appropriate management level, which is the level at which horses are in

balance with the land’s capacity to support them, even in dry years. And while some herd management

areas are still significantly over the appropriate management level, the fact is that nationally, as of February

2007, the total wild horse population was within 4 percent of the appropriate management level.

Since wild horse adoption demand has averaged less than 6,000 animals per year, the unadopted animals

that have been removed have been placed on private land sanctuaries (the BLM calls them long-term

holding facilities) under contract to the BLM.

The BLM currently has about 32,000 horses in its holding facilities, costing American taxpayers more than

$23 million last year. We have tried to ease this financial burden by transferring some of these holding costs

to the private sector and by increasing wild horse adoptions. Some of the things we have tried include a pilot

project where landowners were paid a one-time fee to provide long-term pasture for the animals; a $100 per

head incentive payment to nonprofit equine rescue groups to take some of these animals; a direct sales

program for animals more than 10 years old; and various marketing efforts aimed at promoting our adoption

program.

It is easy to say that the BLM should be forced to come to its appropriate management number, but that

costs money, and the agency cannot legally overspend the wild horse and burro budget appropriated by

Congress each year. So where and how many horses are gathered from the range each year must be

prioritized. Feeding and caring for those in our holding facilities is our number one priority, so what is left is

used to manage the free-roaming wild populations through census, monitoring, and gathers. Funding for

management of these free-roaming horses on the public rangeland constitutes less than half of the BLM’s

wild horse and burro budget.

If the BLM were to follow through on what some have called on our agency to do, namely, leave the excess

wild horses on the public range, or even put those in our contract holding facilities back onto the range,

Mother Nature would step in and control the population in her own unforgiving way. But this “natural control”

would occur only after causing severe damage to habitat, resulting in wildlife losses and economic harm to

ranchers and rural communities.

It is difficult for some people to consider how a wild horse’s life usually ends in its natural setting. The BLM’s

statistics show that the number of horses living in the wild that are more than 12 years old is less than 8

percent. After the horses have grazed for 12 or so years on the coarse forage and sandy soils where they

live, their teeth are usually worn down and broken, which makes it hard for them to eat. When winter or

drought comes, they die of starvation and/or hypothermia.

This kind of death is very cruel. First, the animal’s body condition declines, and after a while it appears to be

almost a walking skeleton with its hip bones, back bone, and ribs becoming very prominent. The horse gets

weaker and weaker and eventually lies down. Soon it gets too weak to hold its head up and its nose rests on

the ground. The animal may stay that way for several days, with its nose digging a hole in the ground.

Finally, it dies. Such was the fate of the two mares and their foals that were missed during the gather and

described in your article. A veterinarian I know said that he would rather euthanize a horse a year too early

than a day too late.

Wild horses are truly a living piece of American history and they deserve our respect and compassion. The

purpose of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program is to manage these magnificent animals in the wild for

the enjoyment of the American people, but it must be done in both an ecologically and fiscally responsible

Way. This is an ongoing challenge for the BLM.

Don Glenn, Division Chief

Wild Horse and Burro Program

Bureau of Land Management

Washington, D.C.

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 1:25 PM

Subject: Re: Questions

Dear Susie-

Thank you for your response and information.

Since everyone is aware of the looming potential, I would like to be able to

coordinate and organize a viable solution and plan, if possible, to prevent

"emergency conditions" and the resulting emergency removals that always

follow if not properly planned for.

I have been approached by a group who is interested in funding projects to

keep wild horses wild and on the range versus being captured and joining the

now overburdened adoption system.

One of the options we are considering is paying livestock permittees to keep

their wells running after the livestock is removed. We consider this

"minimum feasible management" in light of the sky rocketing containment

costs of the WH&B program, while still adhering to the intent and main

purpose of the 71 Act - preserving and protecting WILD horses and burros

within their habitat.

This option also does not violate RAC standards of water hauling that wild

horses and burros are excluded from (unlike every other "managed" species on

public lands) nor does it cause unnecessary burden to the permittees

themselves as they are compensated for their help. This is a reasonable

alternative.

So, with this information, I would like BLM to begin identifying what areas

they are most concerned now and provide a cost estimate of what they

reasonably expect payment would be to the livestock operator(s) during this

process.

Since the Battle Mountain HMA's are the ones being postponed, I would

suspect these could be the first to inquire about. Depending on the

estimates provided by BLM, funding could be as small as one well or many

wells.

Also, I believe that the Paymaster HMA's wild horses current "trouble" today

are the result of a livestock operator that had a well running for some time

that caused wild horses to move into the area. Then, when he shut it off,

they were forced to begin drinking from the Tonopah sewer ponds. As a

result, they are being closely monitored and it is my understanding that,

this situation could possibly lead to the permanent removals of these

horses.

Therefore, I would also like to recommend this well and area for

consideration for funding and reimbursement to the permittee.

While I know this solution will take a little coordination, it won't take

that much, and we have plenty of time to implement it.

Hopefully, you will be as excited as I am in being able to offer the

mustangs and burros the assistance they need to keep living free without

causing a burden to anyone.

Looking forward to your response and coordinating a working relationship

that has positive benefits for everyone.

Sincerely,

Cindy MacDonald

“Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the

historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the

Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast

disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses

and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this

they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural

system of public lands.” (emphasis added)

As used in this Act-

“(c) “range” means the amount of land necessary to sustain an existing herd or herds of wild freeroaming

horses or burros, which does not exceed their known territorial limits, and which is

devoted principally but not necessarily exclusively to their welfare in keeping with the multipleuse

concept for the public lands;” (emphasis added)

Jurisdiction; management, ranges, ecological balance objectives, scientific recommendations;

forage allocations adjustments

“All wild free-roaming horses and burros are hereby declared to be under the jurisdiction of the

Secretary for the purposes of management and protection in accordance with the provisions of the

Act. The Secretary is authorized and directed to protect and manage wild free-roaming horses and

burros as components of the public lands, and he may designate and maintain specific ranges on

public lands as sancturaries for their protection and preservation, where the Secretary after

consultation with the wildlife agency of the State wherein any such range is proposed and with the

Advisory Board established in section 1337 of this Act deems such action desirable. The

Secretary shall manage fee-roaming wild horses and burros in a manner designed to achieve and

maintain a thriving natural ecological balance on the public lands. He shall consider the

recommendations of qualified scientists in the field of biology and ecology, some of whom shall

be independent of both Federal and State agencies and may include members of the Advisory

Board established in section 1337 of this Act. All management activities shall be at the minimum

feasible level and shall be carried out in consultation with the wildlife agency of the State wherein

such lands are located in order to protect the natural ecological balance of all wildlife species

which inhabit such lands, particularly endangered wildlife species. Any adjustments in forage

allocations on any such lands shall take into consideration the needs of other wildlife species

which inhabit such lands. (emphasis added)

(iv) such additional information as becomes available to him from time to time, including that

information developed in the research study mandated by this section, or in the absence of the

information contained in (I-iv) above on the basis of all information currently available to him,

that an overpopulation exists on a given area of the public lands and that action is necessary to

remove excess animals, he shall immediately remove excess animals from the range so as to

achieve appropriate management levels. Such action shall be taken, in the following order and

priority, until all excess animals have been removed so as to restore a thriving ecological balance

to the range, and protect the range from the deterioration associated with overpopulation.

(emphasis added)

“The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States that– (b) The policies of this Act

shall become effective only as specific statutory authority for their implementation is enacted by

this Act or by subsequent legislation and shall then be construed as supplemental to and not in

derogation of the purposes for which public lands are administered under other provisions of law.”

(emphasis added)

“The term “multiple use” means the management of the public lands and their various resource

values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs

of the American people; making the most judicious use of the land for some or all of theses

resources or related services over areas large enough to provide sufficient latitude for periodic

adjustments in use to conform to changing needs and conditions; the use of some land for less than

all of the resources; a combination of balanced and diverse resource uses that take into account the

long-term needs of future generations for renewable and non-renewable resources, including, but

not limited to, recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural scenic,

scientific and historical values; and harmonious and coordinated management of the various

resources without permanent impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of the

environment with consideration being given to the relative values of the resources and not

necessarily to the combination of uses that will give the greatest economic return or the greatest

unit output.” (emphasis added)

Title 1, Declaration of Policy, Section 102-(7):

“goals and objectives be established by law as guidelines for public land use planning, and that the

management be on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by

law:” (emphasis added)

“the Congress exercise its constitutional authority to withdraw or otherwise designate or dedicate

Federal lands for specified purposes and that Congress delineate the extent to which the Executive

may withdraw lands without legislative action;” (emphasis added)

“Without altering in any way the meaning of the following terms as used in any other statute,

whether or not such statute is referred to in, or amended by, this Act, as used in this Act-“

“The term “areas of critical environmental concern” means areas within the public lands where

special management attention is required (when such areas are developed or used or where no

development is required) to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural,

or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life

and safety from natural hazards” (emphasis added)

“The Secretary shall prepare and maintain on a continuing basis an inventory of all public lands

and their resource and other values (including but not limited to, outdoor recreation and scenic

values), giving priority to areas of critical environmental concern.”

“The Secretary shall manage the public lands under principles of multiple use and sustained yield,

in accordance with the land use plans developed by him under section 202 of this Act when they

are available, except that where a tract of such public land has been dedicated to specific uses

according to any other provisions of law it shall be managed in accordance with such law.”

(emphasis added)

“Nothing in this Act shall be construed as modifying in any way law existing on the date of

approval of this Act with respect to the creation of right, title, interest or estate in or to public

lands or lands in National Forests by issuance of grazing permits or leases.”

“Nothing in this Act, or in any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed as terminating any

valid lease, permit, patent, right-of-way, or other land use right or authorization existing on the

date of approval of this Act.” (emphasis added)

“Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to repeal any existing law by implication.”

(emphasis added)

“All actions by the Secretary concerned under this Act shall be subject to valid existing rights.”

(emphasis added)

“The purpose of these regulations is to implement the laws relating to the protection, management,

and control of wild horses and burros under the administration of the Bureau of Land

Management.” (emphasis added)

“The objectives of these regulations are management of wild horses and burros as an integral part

of the natural system of the public lands under the principle of multiple use;”

(emphasis added)

“As used in this part, the term:

(d) Herd area means the geographic area identified as having been used by a herd as its habitat in

1971.

(e) Humane treatment means handling compatible with animal husbandry practices accepted in

the veterinary community, without causing unnecessary stress or suffering to a wild horse or

burro.

(f) Inhumane treatment means any intentional or negligent action or failure to act that causes

stress, injury, or undue suffering to a wild horse or burro and is not compatible with animal

husbandry practices accepted in the veterinary community.

(a) Wild horses and burros shall be managed as self-sustaining populations of healthy animals in

balance with other uses and the productive capacity of their habitat. (emphasis added)

(b) Wild horses and burros shall be considered comparably with other resource values in the

formulation of land use plans. (emphasis added)

(c) Management activities affecting wild horses and burros shall be undertaken with the goal of

maintaining free-roaming behavior.

Management activities affecting wild horses and burros, including the establishment of herd

management areas, shall be in accordance with approved land use plans prepared pursuant to part

1600 of this title. (Land Use Plans must be in accordance with laws established in FLMPA)

Herd management areas shall be established for the maintenance of wild horse and burro herds.

In delineating each herd management area, the authorized officer shall consider the appropriate

management level for the herd, the habitat requirements of the animals, the relationships with

other uses of the public and adjacent private lands, and the constraints contained in §4710.4….

(emphasis added)

(a) If necessary to provide habitat for wild horses or burros, to implement herd management

actions, or to protect wild horses or burros from disease, harassment or injury, the authorized

officer may close appropriate areas of the public lands to grazing use by all or a particular kind of

livestock. (emphasis added)

(c) Closure may be temporary or permanent. After appropriate public consultation, a Notice of

Closure shall be issued to affected and interested parties.

The authorized officer may establish conditions for the removal of unauthorized livestock from

public lands adjacent to or within areas occupied by wild horses or burros to prevent undue

harassment of the wild horses or burros. Liability and compensation for damages from

unauthorized use shall be determined in accordance with subpart 4150 of this title.

(emphasis added)

Upon examination of current information and a determination by the authorized officer that an

excess of wild horses or burros exists, the authorized officer shall remove the excess animals

immediately in the following order. (This does not authorize ALL animals being deemed by the

BLM as excessive for exclusive use authorizations.)

(a) Motor vehicles and aircraft may be used by the authorized officer in all phases of the

administration of the Act, except that no motor vehicle or aircraft, other than helicopters, shall be

used for the purpose of herding or chasing wild horses or burros for capture or destruction. All

such use shall be conducted in a humane manner.