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>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!!

BLM and National Cattlemen's Beef Association Partner to dispose of Wild Horses!!!

"In what could be its most absurd and cynical move yet, the Bureau of Land
Management is partnering with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association,
the American Sheep Industry and the Association of National Grasslands
(represented by the Public Lands Council), in a campaign that promotes the
purchase of wild horses and burros by public lands ranchers. View their
joint press release at Beef USA


The very people who lobby tirelessly to remove wild horses from our public
lands at taxpayers’ expense are now urged to purchase these same horses at
bargain basement prices. Ranchers did not want to share their public land
allotments with these horses in the first place; do we really think they
are now going to let them graze these same allotments out of the goodness
of their hearts? Who better than the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
to funnel wild horses to slaughter? In fact, it is disturbing that this
announcement should come on the heels of the USDA's decision to allow horse
slaughter to continue despite Congress overwhelmingly passing an amendment
banning such practice for one fiscal year; the horse slaughter ban was
vehemently opposed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Without independent oversight and incentives to ensure the ranchers will
provide long-term care for these horses, we can’t help but see something
sinister at play and need your help to fight another attempt by the BLM to
dispose of our wild horses by any means available. PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW
to protest this latest maneuver by the BLM and the cattle lobby: voice your
concern and outrage to Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, Department
of the Interior,1849 C Street, N.W., Washington DC 20240 - fax:
202.208.5048.

We are in the process of investigating all the implications of BLM’s new
campaign. Be sure to check the News Briefs section of the AWHPC site for
further information as we uncover it.

On behalf of the horses, thank you for your support.

The AWHPC Team.
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign "

All I can say is....WTH?!?!

Investigative Report - "Stampede To Oblivion"

The Las Vegas I-Team and veteran reporter George Knapp's Special Investigative Report, "Stampede To Oblivion", is now available on line with a link to the show in its entirety.

http://www.americanherds.blogspot.com/

PLEASE URGE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO WATCH THIS TIMELY AND IN DEPTH REPORT ON THE CURRENT STATE OF THE WILD HORSE & BURRO PROGRAM!

ALSO

*BLM's Sally Spencer responds to questions about National Wild Horse Adoption Day.

Her response, as well as an Anonymous Rebuttal, has been posted at the bottom of the 10/03/09 post, "National Wild Horse Adoption Day".

Take the Survey - How Best to Help Our Wild Horses

Recently ran into the following survey at the Save Our Wild Horses website and thought it was a good idea. Maybe you may want to stop by too and give them your thoughts on how to best help our wild ones or just pass it along! This is the header on the survey....
"With the much publicized Pryor Mountain herd roundup in the news it becomes even more important for advocates to band together to get the word out to the public about the issues relating to our wild horses and burros. With the planned removals of wild horses and burros being stepped up we are attempting to learn how we can be more effective. Please take a moment to fill in the survey in the link below so we can better understand how to relate wild horse and burro news."
Save Our Wild Horses Survey

Hey!! I got a Letter from Senator Boxer!!

Dear Ms. Lawrence:

Thank you for writing to me regarding the management of the wild horse population on our public lands. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), there are more than 36,000 wild horses and burros on the range and more than 31,000 in holding facilities, where many are offered for adoption. Citing increasing costs and low adoption rates, BLM officials say that budgetary constraints make it difficult to properly care for horses in excess of its target "appropriate management level" of 26,600.

The BLM has considered various options in its effort to minimize costs and control the increasing wild horse and burro population. Among these controversial options are the use of euthanasia on healthy animals and the unconditional sale of older horses that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption. Unfortunately, the sale of horses without limitations could lead to horse slaughter.

As a long-time supporter of wildlife conservation, I believe that destroying these magnificent animals is never a viable management option. The BLM should more seriously consider alternative, more humane solutions such as improving the adoption program, exploring the use of contraceptives or sterilization to reduce herd sizes, or securing additional funds for a more effective program.

I am pleased to report that the Senate Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 would provide $67.5 million for the Wild Horse and Burro Management Program, a $26.9 million increase from FY2009. I strongly support providing this funding for the program to ensure the proper care of these animals.

I also support legislation to expand the range where wild horses could roam freely, enhance the adoption program, encourage the use of non-lethal methods to reduce herd size, reduce the time a horse spends in a holding pen, and prohibit the euthanization or sale for slaughter of wild horses. On July 17, 2009, the House passed the Restore Our Wild Mustangs (ROAM) Act (H.R.1018), which would accomplish all of these goals. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

In addition, I believe strongly in a permanent ban on horse slaughter. That is why I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (S.727) to prohibit the transport, export, or sale of any horse to be slaughtered for human consumption.

I have consistently supported legislation to protect horses, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the ROAM Act and the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act and to see both of these important bills signed into law.

Thank you again for contacting me about this important issue. Rest assured that I will continue to support efforts to maintain the integrity of wild horse and burro populations on our public lands.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator


Please do not respond to this message. If you would like to comment on legislation, please visit my website and use the correspondence form at https://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm

I'm sure five million trillion other people got the same letter, but hey, it's good to know where she stands on these issues!

Shame on the BLM!! (But you knew that....)

"Dear Director Abbey,

Following is the U Tube connection link to the recent Pryor Mt gather.

Explain exactly WHO is responsible for this gather? What tail is wagging this dog??

16 USC 1332 c defines range as the amount of land necessary to sustain an existing herd or herds of wild free roaming horses and burros, which doesn't not exceed their known territorial limits and which is devoted principally to their welfare but not necessarily exclusively, in keeping with the multiple use management concept for the public lands.

Isn't this the same principle as an ACEC?

Clearly the agency does not do this to other free roaming wild life.

Are we to be our lying eyes or BLM spokesman Tom Gorey who stated “The Cloud Foundation is not a credible source for information.”

Please reply.

Yours truly,

Kathleen Hayden

PO Box 236

Santa Ysabel, Ca. 92070"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eH6g4x4CKs

The Big Story Click Here for More Breaking News Video Shows Cloud Limping, Foals Possibly Vulnerable to Lion Attack Film Maker Release New Footage of Injured Mustangs By Steven Long HOUSTON, (HORSEBACK) - Despite repeated denials by the federal Bureau of Land Management, horses including the iconic mustang Cloud, were injured in a hasty Labor Day weekend round-up. Video evidence shot by Emmy award winning PBS filmmaker Ginger Kathrens show graphic images of horses limping, including Cloud, immediately after their release back into the wild. “All of the babies are clearly footsore,” Kathrens told Horseback Magazine late Saturday. “Some of the adults seem to me as if they are really tired and are a bit foot sore.” Kathrens returned to her ranch from Montana Friday after observing the horses on the mountain Thursday night. The foal most footsore was Cloud’s offspring filly Jasmine, she said. The horse is a baby. “She was really hobbling,” Kathrens said. Some members of the Cloud herd were not allowed to leave BLM pens to return to Pryor Mountain and will be sold on September 26. The herd’s normal grazing area is 5,000 feet above the pens which they were stampeded to by a low flying helicopter. Repeated queries by Horseback Magazine have all received the same answer from the agency which manages the nation’s wild horses on public lands. “There were no injuries or deaths resulting from the gather, to the best of my knowledge,” said BLM Washington spokesman Tom Gorey late Friday when he disputed Kathrens veracity saying, “The Cloud Foundation is not a credible source for information.” Observers from the foundations and press were not allowed at the upper elevations during the chase to the base of the mountain at Britton Springs. Jim Sparks, the BLM field manager of the Billings, Montana office also told Horseback that no horses were injured as they were chased into a trap and then herded into pens. Sparks conceptualized and spearheaded the Pryor Mountains "gather." He acknowledged it was his decision alone to capture and thin the herd because he believes there aren't enough natural resources on the mountain to sustain the horses through winter. Currently the horses all appear to be fat and healthy. Pryor Mountains mustangs have lived through hundreds of Montana winters. Kathrens has spent much of the last decade chronicling the wild horses of Montana’s mountains, a line of animals that is believed to be genetically pure dating back to the 15th century. The next installment of the “Nature” series featuring Cloud and the horses of Montana’s Pryor range will be shown on PBS, October 25, 2009. The special is titled “Cloud Challenges the Stallion.” Two horses featured in the new film are now held in the BLM adoption pen. Makendra Silverman, assistant to Kathrens said some of the horses are now vulnerable to predators because of their inability to move rapidly to escape attack. “When you have foals run for 10 to 15 miles they are much more prone to mountain lion attack.” Kathrens said that during the run down the mountain the Pryor Mustangs may have burned up much needed fat that would help them make it through the fierce Montana winter. In the video all of the animals appear well fed and healthy. Silverman said it is doubtful older horses such as Cloud, bachelor stallions, and mares would fall victim to cougar attacks but very young horses are at risk. Kathrens says she has left messages for BLM director Bob Abbey but has yet to hear from him. Abbey also declined an interview with Horseback.