We Can All Kiss our Asses Good-bye!

This is so sad......

"Dear Supervisor Mitzenfelt

You may remember me from the small group that brought the RS 2477 resolution before Supervisor Postmas when you were on his staff and my subsequent testimony before the US House Resources committee.

Please read the plea below and this suggestion to declare San Bernardino's Heritage Herd of wild burros that date back to mining by the Spanish before statehood.

San Bernardino County could declare the Mojave Burros a local and National Heritage Herd and set aside their herd areas as Heritage Herd Areas for their maintenance. This is consistent with existing law. The skewed management plans resulting from The Desert Protection Act and management agreements between the Desert Managers Group are responsible for the destruction of our National Heritage.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kathleen Hayden

Coyote Canyon Caballos d' Anza Inc.

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: end of the California wild burros
From: "Chrys Anderson" <chrysteen@tds.net>
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Chrys is an officer in the California Donkey and Mule Association.

I have been making calls to the BLM and literally sat and cried this
afternoon. There is no plan to save any of the California desert herds of
donkeys. Between the BLM, National Park Service, California Desert
Protection Act, etc., business lobbyists got everything they wanted. The
last 40 burros at Clark Mountain will be removed to make way for a solar
farm. The National Park Service is adamant that all burros will be
removed or shot. The BLM doesn't control enough desert land in California
to save a burro gene pool even if they wanted to, which they don't.

They will leave 108 burros on the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation and 121
burros at the Chocolate Mule Mountains near the Colorado River. They will
leave some burros at Big Bear, but that is not a desert environment. The
unique genetic qualities that were the result of natural selection will be
gone forever. They say elections matter, and I believe eliminating burros
on public land was a Republican agenda. I don't know if it is possible to
force the NPS or BLM to set aside an area to preserve a least one group of
California desert donkeys, but it is worth a try. I have been writing
letters on behalf of the wild burros for years and have always been
disappointed. My only other possible suggestion is for CADMAN to form a
registry for California Wild Burros. Rescue groups don't breed and 350
Mojave burros will soon be shipped back east to genetic oblivion. Four
hundred Death Valley burros were shot and most of the rest were removed
and dispersed 10 years ago. If the unique qualities of the desert donkeys
are going to be preserved for future generations of donkey people,
something will have to be done soon. It is unfortunate that people who
care about burros tend not to be wealthy or politically savy. Wild horses
have more fans and get more publicity and even they are headed for genetic
extinction on public lands.

I don't have a clue what we can do.
Chrys "

Any fans of the wild burros out there?!?!? Time to make your voices heard!!

Letter to Protest Wild Burro Gather

RE: Wild Burros Gather Hearing

All,
Please accept the following comments regarding the Barstow meeting and burro gather plan. Please forward also to Hector Villalobos, and the Palm Springs BLM office.
In addition to the West Douglas decision and in light of Dr. Kings notations below the Mojave Burro gathers must stop pending resolutions of the legal questions raised. Quote from BLM "The decision to not manage for a herd area is NEPA document which is subject to change should new, prevailing data become available, As such through NEPA"
Additionally the deficiencies in the management plan that zeroed out herds of free roaming wild horses and burros must be immediately corrected to restore the herds to genetic viability on lands where they existed in 1971 that were inventoried, and omitted in the inventories. Some of these heritage herds are extinct in the wild NOW, pending redesignation of OCCUPIED historic herd areas.

Please enter these comments into the record.

Thank you,
Kathleen Hayden
Coyote Canyon Caballos d'Anza
POB 236
Santa Ysabel, Ca. 92070

Wild Horse West Douglas Decision

In a letter to the BLM Wild Horse and Burros Managers, Kathleen Hayden of Coyote Canyon Caballos d'Anza writes:

"Dear BLM Wild Horse and Burro Managers and interested parties,

By now you have probably reviewed the attached West Douglas decision/ conclusions.

Please compare similarities between the Douglans case issues with removal of non excess Mojave burros and Coyote Canyon herds.

We were pleased that the court addressed the basic intent of the Wild Horse and Burro Act based on preservation and believe this decision can be helpful in saving and restoring our local heritage herds with your help.

AS a member of multiple organizations and personally, I am requesting initiation of emergency ACTION on the following issues.

Some members of the Wild Horse Advisory Board have personally voiced support in this particular matter.

Particularly we would appreciate and welcome comments and statements from you (receiving this email) that could support correction of the deficiencies that removed these free roaming heritage herds such as:

1. redefine the deficient 1971 Coyote Canyon herd area boundaries based on additional Beauty Mt area information

2. determine that the zeroed out herd areas removed animals that were not in excess.

3. examine and correct deficiencies in the management plans inconsistent with the Congressional intent of the free roaming wild horse and burro Act.

Not addressed in the attached litigation but necessary and imperative in reviewing the management plans used to remove the southern Ca. herds :

Issues of NEPA, NHPA Sec 106 , forage evaluations, AMLs for genetically viable herds, compliance with ESA distinct population segments (comparable with Peninsular Bighorn), and consultation with county governments etc.

This is a time sensitive issue. We are requesting that burro gathers be halted until these issues are corrected. Your anticipated assistance is greatly appreciated.

Kathleen Hayden

(representing following organizations)

Coyote Canyon Caballos d'Anza INC.

Ca.Equestrian Trails and Land Coalition

CCCDA of Ca.State Horsemen's Assoc.

bcc, groups

p.s Note;

The BLM was required to identify the areas "presently occupied" at the passage of the Act to be recorded and preserved as Herd Areas and thereby included as federally protected habitat and populations in conformance with the federal mandates of PL 92-195. The case study for inquiry and pursuit of this line of thinking for the Beauty Mt. Allotment is taken from the lead direction provided in 2004 Resource Management Plan for the Nevada Wild Horse Range (NWHR).

The original acreage was dedicated due to a cooperative agreement by then BLM State Director and the Commander of Nellis as the nations "first" wild horse range in 1962 with acreage revision done in 1965 - 6 years before the passage of the Act. Acreage ballpark of 400K, maybe a little more or less.

After the passage of the Act, the NWHR became absorbed into the general WH&B Program and all cooperative agreements were dissolved in 1972 (approximately) and re-established through new agreements. And so, BLM managed the NWHR for the next 35 years.

According to BLM in their 2004 Resource Management Plan, they completely came out of left field and stated that the original Herd Area was never properly identified for the NWHR at the passage of the Act and 30 years later, they were attempting to remedy this error.

After an interpretation of data that had everyone involved in the RMP up in arms, BLM went ahead and expanded the NWHR acreage to 1.3 million acres based on this new assessment (this is three times what the original Range was established at and twice as much as what the National Program Office statistics cited)

One of BLMs leading arguments for this massive increase in acreage was, just because WH&Bs had not been documented in the areas did not mean that they weren't there when the Act was passed.

This assertion was approved despite a Protest filed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife and "Viola!" 33 years after the passage of PL 92-195, BLM went back in and finally identified the original HA acreage and it legally stands now at 1.3 million acres; a more accurate assessment of the true territory of the WH&B populations in 1971 .

So this is the premise and the precedence for the idea behind the Beauty Mt. Allotment. There is precedence established that BLM did not always accurately record HAs as was required but that it is "never too late" for them to remedy their previous errors.

Evidence has been found to support Beauty Mountain Herd Area (as used to justify the NWHR), and the argument is applicable to that same argument already used and approved that, if BLM failed to properly identify the HA at the passage of the Act and with evidence in hand to show WHs did occupy the area, then by law, BLM would have to "revisit" their Coyote Canyon HA designation.

Evidence that WHs were identified in the allotment in 1971 or before, changes the ball game with respect to the CC HMA usurped by State Parks. Now its back in BLMs jurisdiction and as such, they are required to go through the motions as required by law of preserving and protecting WH&B habitat as identified as occupied in 1971."

BLM Plans Public Hearing on Pending Wild Burro Gathers

Release Date: 07/31/09
Contacts: David Briery , 951-697-5220
Stephen Razo , 951-697-5217
News Release No. CA CDD-09-61

BLM Plans Public Hearing on Pending Wild Burro Gathers

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Ridgecrest Field Office will hold a public hearing to present information on the roundup of wild burros in the BLM’s California Desert District that would include the use of a helicopter. Herd areas where burros most likely would be gathered through December 2009 include the Panamint, Centennial, and Slate Range.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 19 at the BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road (California Route 247), in Barstow, beginning at 6 p.m. A BLM wild horse and burro specialist will explain the BLM’s plans to gather the burros, as well as answer questions.

Documents associated with planned gathers will be available at the meeting. For more information on the public hearing or questions about the BLM’s wild horse and burro program, please contact the Ridgecrest Field Office, (760) 384-5434 or David Briery, BLM Public Affairs, (951) 697-5220.



--BLM--

California Desert District 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553