One of the BLM’s key responsibilities
under the 1971 law is to determine the “appropriate
management level” (AML) of wild horses and burros on the
public rangelands. These animals have virtually no
natural predators and their herd sizes can double about
every four years. As a result, about 31,000 wild horses
and burros roam BLM-managed lands in 10 Western states, a
population that exceeds by about 3,500 the number that can
exist in balance with other public rangeland resources and
uses.
To help restore the balance, the BLM gathers some wild
horses and burros and offers them for
adoption or
sale to those individuals and groups willing and able to
provide humane, long-term care.
"Under the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming
Horses and Burros Act, BLM is required to manage horses and
burros only in those areas (Herd Areas) where they were
found in 1971. Through land use planning, BLM evaluates each
herd area to determine if it has adequate food, water,
cover and space to sustain healthy and diverse wild horse
and burro populations over the long term. The areas which
meet these criteria are then designated as Herd Management
Areas (HMAs).
Today, nearly half of the Nation's wild
horses and burros live on Nevada rangelands managed by the
Bureau of Land Management. The current population is about
13,665 wild horses and 998 burros. These Living Legends move
with the seasons within 102 Herd Management Areas comprising
nearly 16 million acres of public land."
As of spring 2008,
The BLM says unless Congress
gives them some more money they can not do any gathers this
year unless it is an emergency because they are spending all
of their money just feeding the 30,000 plus horses in the
short and long term facilities. Costing them over $50,000 a
day.
2. What is the History of Wild
Horses in North America?The BLM says, "Although horses evolved in North America, there are
many different opinions as to why no horses or burros existed on
this continent at the time of European exploration. Spanish
explorers reintroduced horses to North America beginning in the late
fifteenth century and Native Americans helped spread horses
throughout the Great Plains and the West. Until as recently as the
mid-twentieth century, horses continued to be released onto public
lands by the U.S. cavalry, farmers, ranchers, and miners."
Some people believe that, at one
time, there were millions of wild horses in the west. If that had
been true when the white man came west, wouldn't the Indians have
been riding horses? We challenge anyone interested in the facts to
check the history of the wild horses or burros in each HMA (herd
management area). They will find the herds most often came from the
ranchers that homesteaded or settled the land. When the
1971 law was passed, only a small percent of the millions of acres
of BLM-managed land had wild horses or burros. These areas were the
areas that were later made into herd management areas.
The BLM Web site explains, "Under
the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, BLM is required to
manage horses and burros only in those areas (Herd Areas) where they
were found in 1971. Through land use planning, BLM evaluates each herd
area to determine if it has adequate food, water, cover and space to
sustain healthy and diverse wild horse and burro populations over the
long term. The areas which meet these criteria are then designated as
Herd Management Areas (HMAs)."
When the west was settled, was common
practice for ranchers to pasture their cattle and horses on the open
range. The United States Cavalry used horses for mounts until
1942. They supplied the ranchers across the west with
thoroughbred studs to run with the ranchers' bands of mares in order
to raise horses for the army. Introducing well-bred stallions
into the herds helped prevent inbreeding and improved the herds. Neither the ranchers or the
cavalry routinely used mares as riding stock, so the mares ran in
"stud bands" on the open range. These bands consisted of
perhaps up to 20 mares led by a dominant mare and herded and bred by
a stallion. Young male horses are pushed out of a band by the
herd stallion. The young males try to capture some mares of
their own or challenge an older stallion for his band.
Ranchers gathered the horses they
needed for their own use and that of the army. During this time, the horse herds increased.
According to the BLM, horse populations on the open range will
increase 15 to 20 percent a year. After the army was no longer using horses
and travel became mechanized, the
ranchers still gathered the best of the range horses for their own use,
but since there was less demand for the horses, the herds increased
and many more became wild. In most places, the
wild horse and burro herds have kept increasing since the wild horse and
burro law was passed in 1971 because the ranchers were no longer
allowed to gather and use the horses and because horses and burros have few natural
predators.
 2A.
What is the History
of Wild Burros in North America?
The Spanish brought donkeys,
called "burros" in Spanish, to North America beginning beginning in
1495. They were prized for their hardiness in arid country and
became the preferred beast of burden of early miners and gold
prospectors during the 1800s in the Southwest United States.
They were used for carrying tools, supplies, and ore. Their sociable
disposition and fondness for human companionship often allowed the
miners to lead their donkeys without ropes. They simply followed
behind their master. With the introduction of the steam train to the
west, these donkeys lost their jobs and many were turned loose into
the American deserts. The wild burros on the western
rangelands descend from animals that ran away, were abandoned, or
were freed. BLM estimates about 2800 burros range on their
management areas today. 3. What makes a successful
humane wild horse roundup?
First, a trap site must be selected.
Preliminary scouting is done to find the natural routes horses
travel. The capture site needs to be close to the animals and somewhere that they would naturally go,
so they do not have to be forced but will travel there more or less
on their own. Proper pens and wings must be built that are
constructed of materials and in a manner that will not harm the
horses and that will make gathering, handling, and sorting easy for
animals and workers alike.Second, the
helicopter pilot must be experienced and understand
livestock. He needs to know how they will travel and when to
speed up and when to slow down. He must also be very skilled
and very patient. Then the wranglers
must work quietly together. They also must be very patient,
understand and care
about the animals.
4. Is the BLM, because of
pressure from the ranchers, trying to remove all of the wild horses
and burros from the range?
Absolutely not. First of all
the ranchers are not asking to have all the wild horses or burros
removed. The ranchers love to see healthy wild horses and burros out
on the range just like you and I do. They are just asking that the BLM be able to manage the herds at the numbers set at
“appropriate management level,”
AML. This is
the number of wild horses and burros the BLM has - after studying
and monitoring the range - determined can survive along with the
optimum determined numbers of livestock and wildlife so that there is plenty
of food and water for everything. We just finished a wild horse
roundup and the area permittee came and watched and would point out
horses that were descendents of ones they use to ride. He also had
favorite ones that he watched out on the range. This is typical of
all of the ranchers in the west.
Today, nearly half of the Nation's
wild horses and burros live on Nevada rangelands managed by the
Bureau of Land Management. The current Nevada population is
about 13,665 wild horses and 998 burros. Nevada's 102 Herd Management Areas comprise
nearly 16 million acres of public land.
5.
Do you run the wild horses?
A good pilot does not run
the wild horses or burros during a wild
horse roundup. The animals
are gathered and then herded much like you would herd cattle.
Horses travel naturally from place to place at a trot or faster
gait. On the public lands where we typically gather, horses
routinely travel 10 or 15 miles one way to water every day. The
animals travel at their own speed to the trap and unless they need
to be turned the helicopter backs
way off and just follows the
animals. If the animals in the lead start to run, they can be turned
back into the herd to slow the herd down so most of the time even
mares with very small foals can keep up. Only as the herd gets
close to the wings of the trap does the pilot have to put more
pressure on the animals to assure they will follow the domestic
"pilot horse"
into the trap. Most pictures taken of wild horse roundups are taken
right at the trap so it appears that the helicopter runs
the animals. That is not the case.
6.  Why are helicopters used
to gather wild horses and burros instead of just driving them
with saddle horses or corral-trapping them using water or food?
Helicopter roundups are the most
efficient way to gather wild horses and burros. But more
importantly they are the most humane way to gather. We can say
this because we have gathered wild horses and burros using both
methods. In the fifties and sixties and even after the law was
passed until the use of helicopters was allowed, we captured wild
horses using only saddle horses. When you gather wild horses
and burros horseback you locate the animals and run
them and hope to maybe get them to a trap. With a helicopter
you can start your drive and then back off and let the animals
travel at their own speed. You can not do this horseback
because you have to stay close to be able to handle or turn
then. Therefore, the animals will run and often the mares will
run off and leave the foals behind, especially if they are
small. This is what had happened before the helicopter gather
that was done on the Sheldon in June of 2006. A contractor had
been gathering horseback as we arrived to do the helicopter
gather. After we were finished, there were, I believe, three
foals found that were not with their mothers. We went back with
the helicopter to locate and rescue the foals. Because of
their weakened condition, it was obvious they had been bummed by
the earlier horseback operation and not by the helicopter operation.
 When doing a helicopter gather, you
can turn the front of the herd back so the rest can catch up and
you can easily cut off a mare and a small foal to leave, if
necessary. You can keep track of any animal that should get
tired and drop behind until the wranglers can reach it. The
pilot will back way off and let the wild horses or burros travel
at their own speed to the trap. This is the same technique
used on many large cattle ranches to herd cattle.
When doing horseback gathers,
often the animals have to be run and are
followed until they are sore footed and tired enough to go where
you want them to. You cause lots and lots of extra stress by
chasing, instead of driving the animals. And
this method is very hard on saddle horses also since they have
to carry the extra weight of their rider. You will have
more injuries to the wild horses and you will have injuries to
the saddle horses. We have used a helicopter to drive wild
horses and burros to a trap in all kinds of terrain and very
seldom is there ever even a minor injury. We do not have very
many injuries but almost all occur after the animals are in the
trap or in the holding facilities. Anyone who would say or even
think that a horseback gather of wild horses or burros is more
humane than a helicopter gather with a qualified animal herding
pilot has obviously never watched or been involved in either
one.
In a few isolated areas bait or
water trapping can be successful. This would be in an area
where there is say only one water source or where the animals
aren't very wild. But the animals and the area must be
carefully studied. Because sometimes when a water source is
disturbed with a trap the animals will try to go somewhere else
or just stay away from water until they are so dehydrated that,
when they do finally come in the trap, they will drink and they
collapse and can die. Because there are so very few places
where this will work, the numbers could never be managed this
way.
 7. Things that we do to assure
the welfare of foals.
Several horse interest groups in their
zealous attempts to stop helicopter wild horse roundups have made it
appear like our organization, CLR, has no regard for what happens to
foals during a wild horse roundup. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Our concern starts with the pilot when he first spots a
band of wild horses or burros that he will herd to the trap. The
pilot will follow the herd and allow even very tiny foals to travel
with the herd. Under certain circumstances, such as a mare with a
very young foal, the pilot will cut the mare and colt off from the
others and leave them out on the range. If the pilot sees the foal
or even a weak or old animal is getting tired, he radios the
wranglers at the trap and they go out with saddle horses and a horse
trailer and load and transport the foal or other animal to the
trap. We have even on occasion put a young foal in the helicopter
and brought it in to the trap.
Once the animals are captured, the gates
are shut. When it is safe for the wranglers, they start to remove any
small or weak animals from the others in order to prevent any injuries. We
have an alley with gates and carefully sort the foals i nto a
separate pen. The foals and any weak or very old animals are always
hauled separately. Once at the holding facility, the wet mares and
foals are marked and put into the same pen. We closely monitor this
pen and make sure the mares and foals are paired up. We always have
Foalac (milk supplement) available and will separate and hand feed a foal that maybe
has a young mother with no milk or one that has already lost it's
mother out on the range before the gather or on a very rare occasion
a mare will be so wild she won't settle down and let the foal
nurse. We pride ourselves on the care of foals during capture,
processing and transporting.
8. What could be done to make
things better for the wild horses and burros out on the range and to
assure that there will always be healthy animals there?
We get asked this question a lot.
The United States Government spends a great deal of time, research,
and money to insure the best possible program for the free-roaming
wild horses and burros. All
of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Specialists we work with in the
field are just trying to do their job and manage herds of healthy
wild horses and burros out on the range. But they are really
hampered by special interest group criticism, politics, and funding.
The BLM Web site states, "In Fiscal
Year 2007, the BLM spent $38.8 million on its wild horse and burro
program. The cost for holding wild horses and burros in short- and
long-term facilities was $21.9 million, meaning holding costs
accounted for more than half of what the BLM spent in FY 2007 on its
total wild horse and burro program."
If all
of the special interest groups would back off and leave the
government employees alone and let
them do their job, they would have a lot more time to look after and
monitor the wild horses and burros on the range. Then the wild
horses that are on welfare in the sanctuaries - the ones no one
wants - should be offered to these special interest groups and the public and
if they do not want them then they should be put down. Once
they are captured and go thru the adoption system and are not
adopted and end up in the sanctuaries, they are no longer wild
horses. The
money used to maintain unwanted and unusable horses could be used to manage the wild horses and burros that do run
free out on the range. Then we will always have lots of
really healthy, happy wild horses and burros roaming free on the
range. And isn't that what we all want?
9. How can you watch a wild horse
roundup?
Some of the lies being circulated on the
internet this summer contain statements that say the contractors and BLM do not want and sometimes do not allow people to watch wild
horse roundups. As contractors, we always work with the BLM to accommodate visitors
and photographers. We find a place where they can see and be safe
and not interfere with the gather operations. On one Colorado wild
horse roundup in September 2007, there were over 30 visitors observing and
taking pictures. Just send us an E-Mail at clr@wildhorseroundups.com
and we will let you know where our next
wild horse roundup will be and how to contact the local BLM to make
arrangements to come out.10.
Water Development
 In a high
desert climate, water is life. In many areas of Nevada, water, not
feed, is the limiting factor for wildlife and livestock throughout
much of the year.
Many mountain ranges and valleys in Nevada are covered in feed that
is never touched by animals, but wildlife is very limited. The
reason is obvious, it is a desert, it can be many miles or tens of
miles between the nearest permanent water sources.
The greatest boon to water development for the direct benefit of
wildlife and wild horses throughout the State of Nevada over the
last century and a half has been our ranchers and herders.
Water developments were installed by cattle ranchers and sheepmen to
the mutual benefit of their herds and the local wildlife. The many
thousands of water troughs, spring boxes, water tanks, and other
water developments installed by ranchers never cost the taxpayer
anything, and yet our wildlife flourished as a direct result of
these efforts.
Where ranchers develop the water, they have developed it in multiple
locations throughout an area, usually no more than five miles apart,
as opposed to the usual single guzzler wildlife organizations
establish within a large area. For ranchers this makes sense, as it
allows the use of a large portion of the range while minimizing
weight-losing travel for their animals to water.
Installing a single water source in an area with no alternatives
creates a perfect environment for predators, especially mountain
lions, to prey upon animals using this single water source.
The majority of old water developments, windmills, and "spring
boxes" were all installed by ranchers over the years. In modern
days, with reduced grazing allotments and a negative attitude
towards grazers by the federal government and state wildlife
agencies, many of the ranchers are not able to use the grazing land
and these water improvements are not being repaired or maintained
and have dried up. All over the deserts of Nevada there are dry
tanks and water troughs where once water was funneled into tanks
during spring runoff, or pumped with windmills or gas pumps. These
old wells are dry, and wildlife and wild horses are going thirsty.
When the ranchers leave, the water dries up and the wildlife either
goes elsewhere or dies.
11. What are the effects of the horse
slaughter ban on wild horses?
According to the Animal Welfare Council, "An increased supply of
low-value horses due to a processing ban will also create direct
competition with the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) National Wild
Horse and Burro Adoption Program. The BLM has been working
diligently to create a viable adoption program for BLM horses
removed from national public lands. The BLM program will be
negatively impacted by the increased competition for adoption
placement between BLM horses and unwanted horses that would have
otherwise been processed. This will increase the cost of the BLM
program if they have a larger inventory of BLM horses to maintain
due to lower adoption rates. The BLM enforces strict standards of
care for horses in their control, whereas there are few, if any,
governmental regulations in place specifically for
rescue/adoption/retirement facilities." See their Web
site for more complete information.
12.
Problems Inherent in
the Passage of the ROAM Act: The United Organizations of
the Horse Points Out the Problems Inherent in the Passage of the
ROAM Act:
"In a
surprise move that was apparently designed to keep lawmakers in D.C.
for votes on other critical issues, H.R. 1018
to amend the Wild
Horse and Burro Act, passed the House on Friday, the 17th of July,
2009.
Because of the sudden nature of this vote, the United
Organizations of the Horse believes that many lawmakers cast their
vote without realizing the true ramifications of the legislation.
The United Organizations of the Horse is a new organization that represents the horse owners of the United States based on a set of
Core Principles that includes the proper management of wild
horses. Central to this position is the idea that wild horse
populations on public lands should be strictly controlled to
ensure sustainable habitat for horses, wildlife, and livestock.
Included in the Core Principle on Wild Horses is that the
recommendations of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild
Horse and Burro Advisory Committee should be implemented. Excess
horses removed from public ranges should be disposed of either
through sale or adoption. If the horses cannot be disposed of they
should be humanely euthanized and processed and the meat and
useful byproducts provided to the disadvantaged, or marketed and
the proceeds reinvested in habitat enhancement and better
management of wild herds. No wild horse should be held off of
public land at taxpayer expense for longer than 90 days.
The
Government Accounting Office (GAO) has published a report that
clearly indicates that the methodology used to count wild horses is
flawed, and undercounts population. (Bureau of Land Management:
Effective Long-Term Options Needed to Manage Unadoptable Wild
Horses-Oct. 9, 2008.) Actual experience in tragedies like Trail
Springs in Nevada, where hundreds of horses died from thirst and
starvation in a Horse Management Area where the BLM methodology
estimated around 300 horses, and when they gathered the area after
the disaster was discovered, they gathered over 1,100 animals not
counting the ones that had already died. These indications and the
fact that informal Google Earth photo counts indicate well over
100,000 wild horses on public range that can sustainably carry
27,000, and which is already overstocked with the 36,000 that BLM's flawed methodology indicates are on the land.
The ROAM Act
exacerbates and intensifies the destruction of our public lands
from too many animals, and offers no realistic solution to the
problem. Without the ability to control populations, BLM's hands are
tied, and we are left with a $700 million dollar welfare program
for old horses at a time of dire circumstances in this Nation.
The ROAM Act as passed by the House does not have a companion bill
in the Senate, and it is our hope and intention to make sure that
it does not progress. Included in several of it's provisions is
the ability of the federal government to preempt any multi-use of
government land to establish single species sanctuaries that would
allow every wild horse to live out its 30+ years of natural life
without any ability to control the population. The United
Organizations of the Horse will continue to work with other
livestock organizations, tribal governments, and public lands
stakeholders to educate Senators and Congress on the pitfalls of
this very dangerous piece of legislation. To learn more visit
their website,
http://www.UnitedOrgsoftheHorse.org" The American Veterinary Medical
Association Web site offers some insightful
answers to the difficult problem of unwanted horses
http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/unwanted_horses_faq.asp
13. Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Roundup - September, 2009
We just finished this very controversial wild horse roundup of
the Pryor Mountain Mustangs. We (us as the contractor and the BLM)
got kind of beat up by Ginger Kathrens, and others with The Cloud
Foundation and Elyse Gardner the self appointed “Independent Humane
Observer” . I am going to just state a few facts here on our web
site. But first I want to ask anyone reading this one question. Do
you consider wild horses to be people, pets, wildlife, or livestock?
I believe they still fall under the livestock category and that
means they must be managed.
1. We captured 146 wild horses. There were no deaths and the only
injuries were a couple of minor scraps that the animals got in the
chute or holding pens. There was a vet there that observed each band
right after they came into the trap and this vet did examine and
care for two young foals that were lame. I believe these foals,
along with their mothers, are still being cared for at Britton
Springs. Yes I have seen Ginger’s video of the wild horses following
their release. It shows one more lame foal. The other horses appear
to me to be just fine.
2. Our pilot, as always, did a wonderful job moving these wild
horses. First he brought wild horses from the low land areas to the
trap at Britton Springs. These wild horses are so use to vehicles
and people that they just walked ahead of the helicopter. We had a
couple of Wranglers go help the helicopter move these wild horses to
the trap. Next he herded the wild horses living on the Forest
Service land to a trap located up on the mountain on that Forest
Service land. Then he brought the rest of the horses off the
mountain and into the trap at Britton Springs. Our pilot is very
patience and certainly did not run or stampede the wild horses. He
herds them and drives them much like you would cattle. You can read
more about this in the information part of this web site. Because
these bands of wild horses were to be returned to the range as
bands, minus the ones targeted for removal, our pilot tried to bring
the animals in band by band so they could be easily identified and
sorted. A couple of times he had more than one band. Then the
animals were put in one big pen and they separated themselves. He
did separate one mare with a small foal from one of the bands and
leave them behind because he felt that was the best thing to do. He
took hours bringing the animals down from the top of the mountains.
All foals came in with the bands. It is 10.8 miles from the trap
site to the very back end of the designated wild horse area but the
animals were not that far away from the trap.
2. All of the BLM people and our wranglers did an excellent job
of processing these wild horses. Everyone worked together and when
something happened like the one animals that pushed out of the chute
or one that reared up in the chute they responded and handled each
situation correctly to keep the animals and workers safe. One day
there was some problems with the chute. It is hydraulic and a couple
of horses pushed on the front and got out. They were moved back
around and brought back through. The BLM wrangler that did the
freeze branding and etc. is an expert, having worked with wild
horses for a number of years in this capacity. He hardly ever uses
the neck rope and almost all wild horses stand more or less still
for the branding, etc. This is a much less stressful method for the
wild horses. But because one wild horse put his head out of the
door, and even though it was then released and brought back around,
pictures appeared that indicated we were not doing the job
correctly. So after that the neck rope was used. It is another
method and works well but it is more stressful on the animals. But
the observers who do not really understand seemed to think this was
better.
3. Most of the designated Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is low
desert where there is very little feed. The two mountain meadows on
top are way overgrazed. Please remember that there is no
cattle grazing allowed in this wild horse range. While most
of the wild horses appeared to be in good shape ( the ones living on
the Forest Service were in the best shape) there were a few that
appeared to be on the thin side and there were at least three foals
that had what I call the leppy look (unhealthy looking shaggy long
hair). This happens when a foal loses it’s mother and is making it
on it’s own - hence the term leppy. Or a foal that has a mother but
she is not producing adequate milk, as is the case here.
4. The older horses ( Grumpy, Conquistador, and the others)
captured that are being offered for adoption were gathered from
adjoining Forest Service land where they have been living and
grazing illegally. You and I could not just turn our horses out on
the Forest Service land to graze and neither can the BLM. These wild
horses were trespassing. They can not just be released back on the
wild horse range because they will immediately return to the Forest
Service range.
5. These older wild horses, if not adopted to good homes, will
probably go to some non profit group or groups who have pastures for
them, maybe even room for all of them to go to the same place. That
is what the BLM and the Pryor Mountain Mustang Center is trying to
do. Nothing bad is going to happen to them.
4. We did remove young animals from some of the bands, including
Cloud’s, to get the numbers on the range to within AML (appropriate
management level). I believe 3 were removed from Cloud’s band. Two
of them were his own daughters that he would breed and that would
produce more inbred foals. The third one Image is a foal from
Cloud’s other daughter. This mare was given the PZP and released
with the band. The hope is when she comes back in ready to breed she
will have been picked up by another stallion. I am not a vet but
Image is not a very healthy foal. It is the job of the BLM to manage
and protect the wild horses and this what they are trying to do.
5. There is an article in the Billings Gazette titled “Noted
Geneticist gives his two bits on significance of Pryor Mountain
mustangs “. Anyone interested in the genetics of this herd needs to
read this article. You can find it on their web site
www.billingsgazette.com under Pryor Mountain Wild Horses. These
wild horses are not genetically pure. Other horses have been
introduced over the years.
6. Please also talk with Matt Dillion or his father Don about
these Pryor Mountain Wild Horses. Matt heads the non profit Pryor
Mountain Mustang Center right there in Lovell, Wyoming. These two
individuals and their group are the ones that have really studied
these wild horses. They are the ones who have taken pictures of each
and every one of them. They are the ones who have named and
cataloged each and every one of them. Don takes people up on the
mountain on tours to observe and photograph the wild horses. They
watch these wild horses all year round and they know each one
personally. This group worked closely with the BLM on this roundup
and on choosing which wild horses should be removed and which wild
horses should stay so there would be no inbreeding and so the
genetics of the herd could be maintained. Their web site is
www.pryormustangs.org.
7. Anyone interested in this roundup and these Pryor Mountain
Wild Horses should also contact Ken McNabb. He took video pictures
of the entire roundup and processing and of the range conditions and
etc. His web site is
www.kenmcnabb.com.
8. Anyone reading this also needs to know that Jared Bybee and
the Billings BLM have proposed to install 15 guzzlers to be placed
all over the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. With these guzzlers,
the wild horses would be able to utilize the feed on that range.
Ginger Kathrens and The Cloud Foundation has protested this plan.
Does that make sense?
9. One last fact. Jim Sharp and the Billings BLM and our
organization, my husband, my son, myself, and our wranglers tried
very hard to accommodate all the public that wanted to photograph
and watch this roundup. I personally escorted Elyse Gardner close to
the pens so she could see close up some of the bands that had been
brought in. Dave found two sites so they could watch and photograph
the wild horses being herded into the trap Sites where everyone
could see but still be safe and not be in the way or spook the wild
horses. There was also a site that was really very close to the
processing where anyone could observe the processing activities. The BLM conducted tours of the corrals. The public got to walk along
inside the pens and take pictures or whatever. The public was
invited to follow and photograph the horses being released. Troy and
Dave made sure the public had a place to watch and photograph up on
the mountain. I’ll just end by saying that when you are looking for
something bad you can always find something bad. And if you are
looking for something good you can always find something good.
Sue Cattoor
14. Was Dave Cattoor convicted of a felony?
Some individuals and interest groups are
attacking Cattoor Livestock Roundup and Dave Cattoor personally,
saying he has a felony conviction for capturing wild horses and
therefore should not be allowed to have a government contract. The
real story is in August of 1990, Cliff Heaverne and Dave signed a
contract with the Western Shoshone National Council to capture
horses for the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe. The Tribe claimed these
horses as Indian horses that were just running on BLM and Indian
Lands. The horses were captured on the Duckwater Reservation but
some did come from adjoining BLM land. The government declared the
horses to be free roaming wild horses and charged Cliff and Dave and
four others from the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe with count one,
conspiracy, and count two, use of aircraft to capture wild horses
and aiding and abetting. On the advice of their lawyer, Cliff and
Dave plead guilty to the count two charge. This charge was a
misdemeanor and they paid a $500 fine and were on probation for one
year. The Indians decided to go to trial and were found not guilty.
Had Cliff and Dave waited and gone to trial with the Shoshone
Indians they probably would not have been found guilty either. If
you are interested in seeing any of the documents from the courts
and the lawyers or the contract with the Shoshone Tribe, please
contact us. Click here to
read a PDF file containing a
Letter from BLM explaining the 1992 Duckwater
Indian Tribe Horse Gather
15. JOINT PRESS RELEASE REGARDING THE CALICO
COMPLEX WILD HORSE GATHER
Date: January 14, 2010
Contact Name &
Title: Jeremy Drew, President
Organization Name:
Northern Nevada Chapter of Safari Club
International
Phone: (775) 843-9109
Email:
nnsci@aol.com
Contact Name &
Title: Shaaron Netherton, Executive Director
Organization Name:
Friends of Nevada Wilderness
Phone:
(775) 324-7667
Email:
shaaron@nevadawilderness.org
Contact Name & Title: Tina
Nappe, Wildlife Co-Chair
Organization Name:
Toiyabe Chapter of Sierra Club
Phone: (775) 786-1178
Contact Name & Title: Larry Johnson, President
Organization Name:
Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife
Phone: (775) 359-6600
Email:
ljohnson@blackeagleconsulting.com
The above listed groups (Calico
Coalition) have produced this joint press release regarding the
Calico Complex horse gather that is currently ongoing in Northern
Nevada. Members and leaders from all four groups made on-the ground
observations of the problems associated with the overpopulation of
horses within the Complex well before the gather was scheduled. The
groups have, and continue to, publically support the gather to get
horse populations within appropriate management levels.
The Calico Coalition fully supports the
presence of horse on public lands. However, active management of
horse and burro herds must be conducted in accordance with the 1971
Wild Horse and Burro Act. The Act requires that the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) manage horses in a “thriving ecological balance”
and in accordance with other multiple use mandates. This includes
keeping an inventory of horse populations on public lands and
immediate removal of excess animals.
A recent ruling
against an injunction on the Calico gather reaffirmed the BLMs
authority and duty to gather excess horses. Since the ruling there
has been a very well orchestrated public campaign to halt the gather
despite its accordance with applicable laws and reaffirmation by a
Federal District Court. The subsequent media campaign has produced a
public outcry that has not always been based on factual information.
Furthermore, the debate has wrongly been narrowed and framed as a
clash between the horse advocates and public lands rancher.
The Calico Coalition was formed to assert what
we believe matters most in this debate! That is the health and
long-term sustainability of the native wildlife and ecosystems
within the Calico Complex. These four groups have united in
order to call everyone’s attention to doing what is best for our
public lands that we collectively treasure. Please review the
attached information and contact any of the listed individuals for
further information.
Attachments: Statements from each of the
above listed groups, photos of native wildlife and ecosystems of
concern, opinion denying motion for preliminary injunction of the
Calico Gather- see links below.
Coalition for NVs Wildlife FNL Statement 01-14-2010.pdf
Friend of NV Wilderness FNL Statement 01-14-2010.pdf
N NV Chapter Safari Club FNL Statement 01-14-2010.pdf
Opinion_Denying_Motion_for_PI.pdf
Photos of Native Wildlife and Ecosystems of Concern.pdf
Toiyabe Chapter Sierra Club FNL Statement 01-14-2010.pdf
Joint Press Release Final 01-14-2010.pdf
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Most
of the wild horses in the west range on land managed by the
Bureau of Land Management, (BLM.) We quote from the
