The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public comments on a request by the NuLegacy Gold Corporation to expand exploration/drilling activities in the Rocky Hills Herd Management Area (HMA) in Nevada. The Proposed Action will increase disturbance to a crucial habitat area that is heavily used by wild horses. It’s also in close proximity to the horses’ only reliable water source and smack in the middle of the corridor used by the horses to access it. The BLM acknowledges that the cumulative impacts of the project could restrict the wild horses’ free-roaming behaviors as well as have a negative impact on their use of the habitat and their genetic health. Increased activity could possibly also result in orphaned or abandoned foals due to human presence in critical areas during foaling season.
Across the West, America’s remaining wild horse and burro populations are under pressure from wide-scale livestock grazing and the increasing industrialization of our public lands. Please take this opportunity to urge the BLM to reject this request for expansion of gold exploration activities in the Rocky Hills HMA. If the project does proceed, your comments can help to ensure that necessary protections for wild horses are strengthened significantly beyond what is currently proposed. Please take action below.
A new low has been reached when the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) refuses to help find homes for horses – something that is mandatory of their job.
On October 17th, we were able to attend the one-day only public tour of the Broken Arrow Holding Facility where 2,744 wild horses and burros are held captive. On that day, we took as many photos as we could and tried to capture the tag numbers of each horse photographed.
Later, we used social networking to begin finding homes for the horses we saw – successfully. Our efforts were even featured on Wild Horse Education’s website where you can find the names of the 4 women who took the lead on the adoption efforts (one of them was our director.)
Please, click on the short video below to see and hear what Denise documented on the day of the tour. You simply will not believe it.
Now, here is the truly awful part: after finding so many adopters, the facility manger, John Neill, refused to provide a simple list of the horses and tag #s that were adopted through our efforts. We had to file a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) application and are still awaiting a response.
Even worse, a few days later, Mr. Neill told 2 of the women who were helping to post pictures that they needed to stop posting pictures because it was causing too much work for his guys.
The bottom line: These 4 women found somewhere between 20-30 adopters in 2 weeks! Last year the entire BLM only adopted out 282 horses and burros.
I haven’t forgotten the horses and burros at Broken Arrow and I refuse to. Please help us to fight this by helping us do what we do best: raising awareness! Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement!
The Mustang Gals were able to go see the petroglyphs and also the wild horses in Cold Creek because of supporters like you! It is the good times like that that keep us going through the hard times like this.
If we don’t rescue these horses they will be sent to the slaughter auction.
Last week we told you about Bond (the stallion pictured below), his family and the other Virginia Range mustangs needing help — they have found their forever homes! Now we are focused on placing the remaining 10 horses (three, small family bands) … some out-of-state rescue groups have offered to take some of the horses but they need us to purchase and deliver them.
These wild horse families were captured and removed from their homes on the range last month by the Nevada Department of Agriculture. Under the auspices of our parent organization, Return to Freedom, we have a cooperative agreement that allows us to purchase captured Virginia Range mustangs directly from the NDA to prevent them from being shipped to the slaughter auction.
Last week, we told you about Bond, the proud stallion pictured at right, who was captured with his family from their home on the Virginia Range by the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA). The fate of hundreds of Virginia Range horses, just like Bond and his family, hang in the balance. They could fall victim to the same inhumane state practice of capturing and removing horses instead of humanely managing them on the range.
As you know, AWHPC has been working to secure a public/private partnership agreement to humanely manage the Virginia Range wild horses and prevent more horses from being captured. In the last week, nearly 10,000 of you have faxed Nevada Governor Sandoval urging him to prioritize our proposal.
….On-the-range projects, such as fencing construction and/or repair that will keep horses safely out of roadways and residential developments. Numerous projects can be implemented NOW with cooperation from private property owners ahead of the cooperative agreement with the state.
…..Care, training and placement of 23 Virginia Range horses rescued after their capture by the NDA last year. These horses — including Blackjack (left) and his lovely family — are in temporary quarters awaiting their forever homes.
….Our vital work with the Governor’s office and local organizations to secure the cooperative agreement. Once in place, our coalition can begin to implement a fertility control program and other range management measures (including diversionary feeding) — which are currently prohibited — to keep horses out of harm’s way and prevent their capture.
We know you care about these horses … this is a real a opportunity to keep wild horses wild.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) routinely exempts land from leasing for oil and gas development for a multitude of reasons, including protecting sensitive plant and animal species as well as objections from ranchers. Please help wild horses get equal protection — submit comments today on the BLM Ely, Nevada District’s draft Environmental Assessment for 24 land parcels that have been nominated for auction for oil and gas development leases. Twelve of the parcels reside within the Antelope Valley Herd Management Area (HMA), which is currently home to over 700 wild horses. Please take action today to request the BLM to exclude the parcels within wild horse habitat areas from auction for oil and gas development leases.
The following update is from a petition on Change.org.
This situation is now critical and cause for alarm. The number of tagged/castrated donkeys is alarming. The castration and euthanizing of our donkeys needs to stop NOW if we have any hope of saving them and preserving our natural and cultural heritage; nearly 500 years our donkeys have been with our people!
Please, people of Bonaire, now is the time for us to act! Call our government, email our Commisioners, or call our friends who can help make this stop…tell them to stop the abuse of our culture and the elimination of our donkeys!
There is no longer time to waste. Please do your part, take 5 minutes and help make this stop – the future of our donkeys and their health depend on us!
As we write this email, helicopters are scouring the beautiful Red Desert, chasing and capturing every last horse in a more than one-million-square-mile area known as the Wyoming Checkerboard. Today is expected to be the last day of this devastating Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup in which more than 1,200 wild horses will lose their freedom and families.
At least 13 wild horses have died in this unnecessary roundup, including young colts who crashed into panels and broke their necks, and elderly, arthritic and injured horses who were forced to run in pain and terror for miles in a traumatic helicopter chase before being “euthanized” by a bullet to the head.
These are just some of the tragedies … all the wild horses were unnecessarily victimized by this rancher-driven roundup.
In the end, the BLM removed 50 percent more wild horses than originally planned. This devastating action contradicts Americans’ strong support for wild horses and violates legal requirements for actions on public lands.
First we fought in court against the backroom deal the Wyoming ranchers cut with the BLM. Then we fought to stop this roundup. The District Court denied our injunction request. We strongly believe that decision was wrong. We need to prepare to appeal the Judge’s final ruling, which, based on her decision on our injunction motion, does not look good for the horses.
We cannot let this travesty go unchallenged. If the BLM gets away with this in Wyoming we can expect more of these illegal actions against the wild horses in other western states. Would you please join us in this last stand for Wyoming’s wild horses?
Many of you are experiencing compassion fatigue after speaking out time and time again for the horses and burros to seemingly deaf ears – me too! This week the Bureau of Land Mangement (BLM) began rounding up wild horses in Wyoming. The BLM will remove 800-950 wild horses. They want to zero-out the area, no wild horses are allowed on that land because it is “checker-boarded” with public and private land intermingled. It breaks my heart.
How could this deal have been made that strips the land of the horses? The BLM is adamant and so are the courts that due to a previous ruling (2013 Consent Decree between the BLM and the Rock Springs Grazing Association) the horses must be removed.
I am here to tell you: Never get tired of doing good. Momentum is building. More and more people are finding out about this.
Here is a great way to raise awareness for the cause. In a challenge issued by The Cloud Foundation, they asked us (and you) to tweet the Department of Interior about the BLM with the hashtag: #Justice4Mustangs.
Here is another way: attend your local Regional Area Council (RAC) meetings. Laura Leigh of Wild Horse Edcuation suggested this in a recent post and we are listening. Leigh says, “RACs are often very vocal in recommendations to land use planning, where the WH&B Advisory Board is not. Land use planning, and the subsequent documents, literally create the legal framework that specific actions are based on, including wild horse and burro roundups.”
With your support, we will attend the RAC Meeting in Las Vegas tomorrow. The last time I attended a BLM staffer suggested that I apply for the Wild Horse and Burro Specialist position. (Not within the BLM but within the RAC). I am considering “throwing my hat in” and I wonder what you think about it? Should I persue a volunteer position with my RAC?
Yes, I am just a kid. But I have a big passion. I will not stop speaking out for wild horses and burros until there are “management options” that make sense and until corruption is rooted-out from the program.
This week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) begins its assault on the beautiful wild horses of the Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek and Divide Basin Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Wyoming. The helicopter roundup will remove over 800 wild horses from their homes on the range to appease the Rock Springs Grazing Association, whose members want wild horses from gone from all the land – public and private – in this area known as the Wyoming Checkerboard.
At the same time, BLM holding facilities for captured mustangs are near capacity, and the BLM has been forced to relocate thousands of warehoused horses from holding facilities that are closing. (Most recently, the Utah Department of Corrections gave the BLM a 30-day eviction notice for nearly 1,200 wild horses incarcerated at a prison in Gunnison.) At least 80 mares died in one such relocation of 1,400 wild horses from a long-term pasture to a feedlot in Kansas where they continue to languish.
Yet the roundups continue, driven by special livestock interests that view wild horses as competition for cheap, taxpayer-subsidized grazing on our public lands. It’s time to let our government know that the public lands belong to all Americans! Join us in seeking #justice4mustangs by signing the petition, sharing your photo with the hashtag #justice4mustangs, and making a phone call – please click below!
Although we will continue to pursue the case on its strong merits, the roundup will begin in the next few days. As the helicopters descend on the beautiful horses of Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek and Divide Basin, please help us launch a massive grassroots uprising.
Here’s what we need you to do.
1. Call Secretary Jewel at 202-208-7351 and email her by clicking here.
Here is a sample of what you can say: “I oppose the massive wild horse roundup about to take place in Wyoming. The BLM did not provide any opportunity for the public to participate in the decision. Nearly 1,000 wild horses will lose their freedom to appease ranchers who graze their livestock on our public lands. The American public opposes this roundup. Please stop the Wyoming wild horse wipeout. Our public lands belong to all Americans.”
Update (12:12 pm EST): Secretary Jewell’s office is being inundated with calls and is now sending calls directly to voice mail. Please do leave a message for her. As well, you can send a short email byclicking here. Be sure to personalize your message so it will get individual attention!
Public lands 4 all Americans: Stop WY wild horse wipeout. #justice4mustangs
3. Post this message below (just by copying and pasting) on the Interior Department’s Facebook page:
It’s time the Interior Department manage public lands for all Americans. Stop the Wyoming wild horse wipeout. #justice4mustangs
Our hashtag is trending – please help us get it out there!
The setback at the Appellate Court is disappointing, but we continue to fight for these magnificent horses. While we cannot stop the roundup, we can pursue our lawsuit with the goal of establishing a precedent that will prevent the BLM from doing this again and hopefully obtain some relief for the Wyoming wild horses, including possibly forcing BLM to return to the range some of the horses captured during the roundup.
Please stay with us, stand with the horses, help us build momentum and keep up the fight!
We have some very bad news to deliver today. We just received word that the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied our motion for an injunction to block the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from rounding up more than 800 wild horses in Wyoming.
Despite the herculean efforts of our attorneys and coalition partners, we were not able to stop the roundup. However, it’s important to remember that the Court of Appeals simply issued a one sentence cursory and did not address any of the BLM’s blatant legal violations. While disappointing, the court’s ruling is not unexpected, because the standards for obtaining an emergency injunction are extremely high and the cards are generally stacked against us
So many of you have pitched in to support our efforts to defend Wyoming’s wild horses in federal court and we can assure you that the merits of our case remain very strong. While we cannot stop the roundup, we can pursue our lawsuit with the goal of establishing a precedent that will prevent BLM from running roughshod over public opinion and federal law in the future and with the hope of obtaining some relief for the Wyoming wild horses, including possibly forcing BLM to return to the range some of the horses captured during the roundup.
Meanwhile, we need to protest this assault on Wyoming’s wild horses loud and clear. Here are two things that you can do right now:
Manage public lands for all Americans. Stop the Wyoming wild horse wipeout. #justice4mustangs
Tomorrow we’ll send another email asking you to call the Interior Department.
These things take just moments of your time, but together we can create a lasting impression on the minds of policy makers that citizens from all walks of life are taking a stand against the injustice our wild horses and burros are suffering at the hands of the ranchers and the BLM.
Winners of the Ariat “Champions Win A Grant” Program Announced
Thanks to Ariat International and the dedication of three volunteers in the Champion Equine Service program, three well-deserving charities devoted to horse welfare and the horse-human bond have received grants to put towards their programs. Heroes on Horseback, which aids children with mental and physical disabilities through equine therapy, was awarded $2,500. Free Rein Therapeutic Riding received $1,500. Finally, Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue, which provides treatment, rehabilitation, and adoption services for horses that have been abandoned or abused, was given $1,000.
Sales Sector Increases Support for TAA
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) reports that it has received significantly increased support from buyers and consignors at North American Thoroughbred auctions, with voluntary contributions totaling more than a quarter million dollars. Sales revenue is one element of TAA’s goal to establish a broad-based, automatic funding mechanism at every point in a Thoroughbred’s life. “We are grateful to see a growing number of buyers and consignors equally invested in promoting and supporting our mission,” said TAA Executive Director, James Hastie.
Horses of a Different Color
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino has announced Horses of a Different Color, a public art event that will take place at Gulfstream Park early next year. Two dozen life-sized fiberglass horses, hand painted by local and national artists, will be displayed throughout Gulfstream Park and auctioned off at select events over the course of the 2015 racing year. Proceeds will go to several charities, including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
Teen Rider Competes Rescue Horse at International Event
Last month, novice teen rider, Taylor Long, and her rescue horse, Heartbreaker, competed against over 1,000 competitors at the prestigious National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championships. When Long received Heartbreaker two years ago, he weighed only 200 pounds and was incredibly skittish. But with time and patience, Long has given her diamond in the rough the opportunity to shine on the international stage.
Heart of Horse Sense Helps Children and Veterans
Shannon Knapp, founder of Heart of Horse Sense, has been busy conducting free equine therapy for at-risk children and veterans throughout the summer. Participants get to groom and feed the horses and, if they want to, ride. In addition, all the horses at Heart of Horse Sense have been rescued and rehabilitated. “They all have a story,” Knapp says. “A lot like out clients. And they need a lot of love.”
Paso Robles Group Pairs Kids and Horses in Need
Since 2003, the Equine Alliance Youth Foundation has paired local youth–specifically those who have experienced neglect, physical and emotional abuse, and abandonment–with horses to train and care for. The majority of the 12 horses who live on the small ranch are rescues who have also suffered abuse and neglect. Together, the kids and the horses who participate in the program learn trust and gain self-confidence. “When kids and horses work together, the youth begin to show affection, empathy, gain understanding and self-control,” said the program’s executive director, Lori Harmon.
New Mexico Program Allows Inmates to Help Horses
A new rehabilitation program launched by the New Mexico Department of Corrections lets prisoners at the Springer Correctional Center care for rescued horses. Through the program, inmates benefit from the soothing company of their equine partners, while the previously neglected or abused horses benefit from daily care and attention. And while the goal of the program is to teach inmates personal and professional skills that could lead to jobs after their release, it also aims to rehabilitate and re-home each horse.
A Home for Every Horse Announces Second “Equine Comeback Challenge”
A Home for Every Horse (AHFEH) will host its second Equine Comeback Challenge at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in October. AHFEH has given 10 trainers 90 days to work with their assigned rescue horses in preparation for the showcase. Following the event, each horse will be listed on Equine.com and sold privately through their trainers to approved homes. “With a competition like the Equine Comeback Challenge, rescue horses are given that much-needed opportunity to showcase their abilities and potential. Ninety days is all many of these horses need to find their forever home,” said Mariah Hammerschmidt, Project Coordinator for AHFEH.
TheHorse.com Rescue Poll
In a recent poll, TheHorse.com asked their readers: “Have you ever rescued a horse?”
Of the 575 total respondents, 450 (78%) reported that they had. Respondents also left encouraging comments about their experiences rescuing horses and offered advice to those interested in the process.
Rescue Group Prepares for Microchipping Clinic
In September, Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue, in conjuction with the Equine Rescue Network (ERN), will host its first microchipping clinic. After Hurricane Katrina, microchipping gained popularity among horse owners, but more recently it has caught on with the equine rescue community. ERN volunteers scan horses at auctions and, if a microchip is found, contact the registered owner of the horse. In addition, the ERN hosts a 24-hour hotline and Facebook page to connect owners with horses who have been lost or stolen. Dr. Stacey Golub, founder of Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue, predicts that microchipping will become the norm with horse owners as they begin to see “the numerous benefits and the potential ‘safety net’ protection it offers as more at-risk horses are scanned.”
Hay Assistance Program in California
Because of the damage caused by the drought in the West, SAFER North Counties Horse Rescue, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding homes for displaced horses and educating the public concerning horse welfare, is offering temporary assistance to horse owners who cannot currently afford to feed their horses.
I have been invited to audition for a casting call for a reality TV show about kids who are making a difference in the world! Now I need your help to show producers we have an audience of people who want to see kids making a positive difference and support our efforts to save horses and burros.
I think that this couldn’t have come at a more crucial time because of what is happening to the burros! We have an opportunity right now to reach in the hearts and homes of America and to expose the sinister plans of the organizations charged with protecting our wild horses and burros.
Every click of support (whether watching, sharing, or donating) not only encourages our youth but also shows producers that America wants to see kids with horses and the differences they make for each other.
Here’s how you can help us help the burros (and horses).
– Sign (the petition is to TV producers showing your support for kids and horses and taking a stand against sending burros to Guatemala)
– Give (no amount is to small or too great)
Its thanks to you that we are still going strong and making noise for horses! Its thanks to you that myself and my friends have a brighter future! Its thanks to you that the voiceless equines have a chance to be heard.
Sincerely,
Robin Warren
Thank you to everyone that is helping us continue our mission.
The Youths’ Equine Alliance has posted a photo series of their time at the Wild Horse Faire in Virginia City. Below is an excerpt, but check on the full entry on their website here!
We are loading up the car as you read this, heading out for the “Wild Horse Faire” festivities. I get to be on a parade float! There’s a pancake breakfast, a parade, and at the end of the day there is a benefit concert too – I do hope you will come say hi and celebrate the horses with us tomorrow.
But my heart is very heavy today. I am overwhelmed by all the sadness the horses are facing. Sometimes, I feel like its hard to have a good time, knowing how much they suffer.
We have been marching in the advocacy ranks for years now and we have seen many promises come and go…but never have we seen so many horses in such great distress.
30 mustangs stolen in Colorado 75 mustangs dead in Kansas 800 mustangs scheduled to be removed in Wyoming 3000 corralled mustangs and burros without shelter Nevada
Its alarming! This article by Steven Tendo of The Garden City Telegram is a must read – the photos, and the comments validate our concerns.
They keep bringing more and more horses in but they had half as many adoption events this year as last year! How can the BLM expect to find homes for horses if they don’t have adoption events? They spend a lot of money on promotional marketing items about the adoptions. Pens, posters, and magnets are meaningless without the events to back them up.
So, you can understand another reason why I am kind of blue today, after working so hard on raising awareness about adopting the wonderful mustangs and burros this year I feel like I had a bad lab partner and got an “F.”
Urgent donations will be used on our trip as we travel our great state. With your help, I’ve already traveled 3,500 miles in 2014 for horses and I’d travel a million more if it means saving them. How many stops we are able to make on this tour depends on help from our supporters like you.
The winner will be announced August 25th. We have a very important urgent messages to deliver to the BLM Advisory Board on that day.
I don’t know if I will be able to attend in person, but here is my open letter to the BLM and I have something more to say than what is written below but we will all have to wait until that day to find out what!
It’s something that no one else has covered but that you have made possible for me to uncover through researching things we care about. You make it possible for us to direct our attention in areas that are very important for kids.
This year we have introduced youth to domestic and wild horses and burros, attended a roundup, attended both BLM advisory board meetings, sponsored petition campaigns, raised awareness though public platforms and media outreach , inspired adoptions, and more all thanks to our friends and supporters like you. Thanks for making this possible and a special thanks to our monthly partners. Donations will be used for our urgent travel needs and to continue our mission.
On July 18, 2014, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it would bypass the National Environmental Policy Act and the requirements of its own land use plans to roundup nearly 1,000 wild horses from the Great Divide Basin, Adobe Town and Salt Wells Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Wyoming. The proposed roundup is Step #2 in the agency’s devastating plan to eliminate wild horses from two million acres of land known as the Wyoming Checkerboard in the southwestern part of the state.
The BLM is taking this action solely to appease the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA), whose members profit from taxpayer subsidized livestock grazing on the public lands where wild horses live. Tens of thousands of citizens have submitted comment letters opposing the BLM’s plan to wipeout wild horses from the Wyoming Checkerboard. Instead of listening to the public, the BLM is marching to the orders of a for-profit grazing association…. and sticking taxpayers with the bill for millions of dollars in tax subsidies for RSGA members as well as the costs to roundup, remove and stockpile wild horses.
Take A Stand For American Taxpayers And Our Wild Horses Today.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is requesting public comments on the renewal of several grazing permits for livestock allotments within the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area (HMA), home to the largest wild horse population remaining in California. The BLM wants to hear from citizens about potential issues and conflicts with these permit renewals.
Now is the time to tell the BLM that its practice of allocating the majority of forage resources in designated HMAs to privately owned livestock instead of to federally protected wild horses and burros is an area of conflict that must come to an end. Please tell the BLM that the American public overwhelming supports protecting wild horses and burros, and these animals must be given a fairer share of resources on the lands specifically designated for their use. Our public lands must be managed for all Americans!
Many of you know that I lost my father when I was 4 years old. I think of him every day but especially today. I think he would be especially proud of me this week and I hope you are too!
I stopped by the Governor’s office and I was shocked to find that he has burro-art in front of his Las Vegas office. The receptionist was very nice and she reminded me to also send the request for a “Burro Day” proclamation online and also to request an audience with Gov. Brian Sandoval. I hope to hear back from his office soon.
Also, I couldn’t believe it myself how big of a deal it was to finally file the Wild Horse and Burro Initiative with the Secretary of State Ross Miller. This is what I have been working towards since I was 9 years old – an official petition! My goal is 110,000 signatures and then the petition will appear on Nevada’s 2016 ballot!
I cannot do this without your help. Time is of the essence. To meet my goal I need to collect almost 1000 signatures a day and I have to do it the old-fashioned way – in ink and in-person, by registered Nevada voters.
Thank you for your help. If you are over 18, live in Nevada, and you can help collect signatures please contact us. If you don’t live in Nevada and you still want to show your support please give today.
eding help — they have found their forever homes! Now we are focused on placing the remaining 10 horses (three, small family bands) … some out-of-state rescue groups have offered to take some of the horses but they need us to purchase and deliver them.