MEMORANDUM
OF UNDERSTANDING
Between
the
NATIONAL
PARK SERVICE,
BUREAU
OF LAND MANAGEMENT
and
WILD
HORSE FOUNDATION
This
Agreement is made and entered into between Wild Horse Foundation, a not for
profit Corporation chartered in the State of Texas, the United States of
America, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) and Bureau
of Land Management (BLM).
Article
I. Purposes
Whereas,
Title V of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, P.L. 103-433, October
31, 1994 established the Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park
and provided that it shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of
law generally applicable to units of the National Park System;
Whereas,
the January 1999, Strategic Plan for Management of Wild Burros, commits
the NPS and BLM to work collaboratively to
share staff
and resources to manage wild burros in the most effective and cost efficient
manner possible;
Whereas,
16 United States Code, Section 1 Et. Seq. provides that such units shall be
administered in accordance with the purposes for which they were included in the
National Park System;
Whereas,
WHF has demonstrated its desire and ability to provide long-term care for burros
that are to be removed from Federal lands, and is therefore willing to accept
and care for burros removed from lands administered by the NPS;
Whereas,
the BLM maintains facilities to aid in the preparation and transportation of
wild horses and burros removed from publicly administered lands;
Whereas,
the BLM maintains a nationwide network of volunteers willing to assist in
finding homes for wild horses and burros;
Therefore,
it is mutually agreed that the NPS and the BLM will coordinate the preparation
and transportation of burros removed from the NPS lands in Mojave
National Preserve and Death Valley National Park and that WHF will accept
ownership of and full responsibility thereafter for the care, and/or placement
with qualified individuals, of such burros.
Article
II. Authority
NPS
represents that its authority to enter into and perform this agreement derives
from 16 United States Code, Section 1 et.
seq.
The BLM is authorized to enter into the agreement under provisions of the
Federal Land Policy and management Act (43 U.S.C. 1737) and The Wild
Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1331-1340), as amended.
Article
III. Statement of Work
A.
NPS Agrees to:
1.
Gather the burros from NPS lands using the most humane and cost effective
methods available;
2.
Deliver the burros removed from NPS lands in Mojave
National Preserve and Death Valley National Park to the Ridgecrest
Wild Horse and Burro Center in Ridgecrest, CA;
3.
Coordinate with BLM regarding the timing of gathers and estimated numbers
and dates of delivery;
4.
Coordinate and cooperate with the BLM and WHF’s designated key contacts
concerning mutually agreeable gather and delivery schedules;
5.
Make information available to the volunteers for use in promoting the
adoption of burros removed from NPS lands. Such information will include
information about the Parks, photographs and any other materials that will be
helpful for promoting the Parks and the burros;
6.
Coordinate with BLM on issuing press releases and communicating with the
Department of Interior and Congress on initiating the partnership and
implementation progress.
B.
The BLM Agrees to:
1.
Receive animals gathered from NPS lands in Southern California and
prepare them for shipping with all necessary veterinary certificates, including
the results of a Coggins test, and the opinion of a veterinarian that each burro
to be transported is in sufficiently good condition to withstand the stress and
discomfort of the trip;
2.
Coordinate trucking of burros from Ridgecrest, CA, to a location suitable
to the safe and humane transfer of the animals to the possession of WHF;
3.
Coordinate and cooperate with the NPS and WHF’s designated key contacts
concerning mutually agreeable gather and delivery schedules;
4.
Coordinate with WHF regarding the number of animals to be delivered at
any one time with the total not to exceed 100 animals in a calendar year.
5.
Continue to seek additional partners willing to assist with finding homes
for burros removed from NPS lands in Southern California;
6.
Serve as the primary point of contact with the volunteers;
7.
Serve as the lead in issuing press releases and communicating with the
Department of the Interior and Congress on initiating the partnership and
implementation progress.
C.
WHF Agrees to:
1.
Accept ownership of burros gathered from NPS lands in Southern
California;
2.
Accept up to 100 burros in any one year;
3.
Either provide a long-term permanent home for the burros or make the
animals available for adoption to the public;
4.
Establish procedures necessary to ensure that animals adopted to the
public are provided humane care, are not used for commercial purposes or
recreational roping, and will not be sold for slaughter;
5.
Notify NPS and BLM regarding any animals that die during transportation
or handling and, if such information is available, veterinary reports concerning
animals that die due health complications;
6.
Provide NPS and BLM with information regarding where the burros are
adopted;
7.
Coordinate and cooperate with the NPS and the BLM’s designated key
contacts concerning mutually agreeable delivery schedules;
8.
Notify BLM regarding communication with the media or any congressional
contact in regard to the partnership.
Article
IV. Termination of Agreement
This
agreement may be terminated upon thirty (30) days written notice by any party to
the others.
Article
V. Term of Agreement
This
Agreement shall go into effect upon the date of the latest signature and shall
expire on September 30, 2005, unless terminated earlier by operation of Article
IV, above.
Article
VI. Key Officials
A.
The key contacts for the NPS with the authority to implement
responsibilities under Article III are:
Larry
Harris
Linda Greene
Mojave
National Preserve
Death Valley National Park
National
Park Service
National Park Service
222
East Main Street, Suite 202
California State Highway 190
Barstow,
California 92311
P.O. Box 579
(760)
255-8840
Death Valley, CA 92328
(760)
786-3256
B.
The key contacts for the BLM with the authority to implement its
responsibilities under Article III are:
Dave
Sjaastad
Tom Pogacnik
Ridgecrest
Field Office California
State Office
Bureau
of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
300
So. Richmond Road
2800 Cottage Way W-1834
Ridgecrest,
CA 93555
Sacramento, CA 95825
(760)
384-5430
(916) 978-4637
C.
The key contacts for the WHF with the authority to implement its
responsibilities under Article III is:
Gilbert
R. "Ray" Field
Executive
Director - Co-Founder
Wild
Horse Foundation
P. O.
Box 692
Franklin,
Texas 77856
(979)
328-3927
Article VII. Authorizing Signatures
IN
WITNESS HEREOF, the parties hereto have signed their names and executed this
Agreement:
SIGNED
SIGNED
______________________________
_______________________________
Mary
G. Martin
(date)
JT Reynolds
(date)
Superintendent,
Mojave National Park
Superintendent, Death Valley National Park
National
Park Service
National Park Service
222
East Main Street, Suite 202
California State Highway 190
Barstow,
California 92311
P.O. Box 579
(760)
255-8815
Death Valley, CA 92328
(760) 786-3256
SIGNED
SIGNED
______________________________
________________________________
Linda
Hansen
(date)
Gilbert R. "Ray" Field
(date)
Manager,
California Desert District
Executive Director -Co-Founder
Bureau
of Land Management
Wild Horse Foundation
22835
Calle San Juan de los Lagos
P. O. Box 692
Moreno,
Valley 92553
Franklin, Texas 77856
(909)
697-5200
(979) 828-3927
(all signature on file here at the Wild Horse Foundation and can be inspected here on site any time)