Save Our Mustangs! Salazar is in the cattlemens pockets

Could you betray these faces of innocence?

The current wild horse “gather” taking place in the Calico complex in northern Nevada needs to be placed in context with the overall BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program.  Secretary Salazar’s announcement calls for major geographic relocation of wild horses and reforms to this Program.

There is no proposed reform for day to day management of wild horses, except to broaden the use of sterilization to control herd size.  Sterilizing thousands of mares will not bring short term relief plaguing the wild horse program as it currently stands.  Rather, it raises serious questions on the intent of the Secretaries’ reform.  If the BLM continues to gather horses at this frightening and unprecedented rate, while dramatically reducing acreage for these protected animals while increasing   sterilization, the genetic viability of our wild horse population will surely be at risk.  Will the ability of the remaining wild horses to survive after having been so drastically “managed” still be plausible? Is the current agency’s approach based on scientific methods that will guarantee the wild horses will survive, as well as their genetic health?  Or, are we on a path to witness the extinction of our Nation’s last wild horses?

BLM current projections are to gather 10,000 to 13,000 horses this year.  These gathers will take place while the BLM has over 33,000 wild horses in captivity awaiting adoption or disposal to clear out the holding facilities which are needed for this year’s horse gathers.  Where will the agency put 46,000 captive horses, and at what cost to horses and taxpayers? Common sense begs us to consider leaving the wild horses on their designated rangelands, as opposed to stuffing them into unsanitary, overcrowded feedlots until a practical and humane alternative is operational.

In 2008 BLM received a pioneering alternative management approach to the current wild horse warehousing procedures.  This approach is a cooperative agreement for private/public land wild horse sanctuaries which provide open space and protection for the thousands of warehoused wild horses.  These horses would be relocated to their native rangelands in their native western states.  The BLM would pay the non-profit Foundations a stipend to cover annual operational cost.  These cooperative sanctuaries over the next 20 years will save hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars.  To help implement this alternative for some of these horses a Foundation was created by Madeleine Pickens, whereby she would buy a large ranch controlling approximately ½ million acres in northern Nevada, using private dollars for the purchase.  Her offer is still being evaluation by the BLM!

The Secretary of Interior has proposed yet another approach which requires shipping western wild horses to unfamiliar country in Midwest or Eastern States.  He is going to ask Congress for $96 million dollars to buy two tracts of land which can sustain only 7000 wild horses.  Additionally, he hopes private funding for other “preserves” in Eastern States will be forthcoming for the balance of the horses he wants moved East.  If it takes 96 million to support 7000 horses in a Midwest or Eastern State, the Secretary is hoping for nearly 500 million dollars in private contributions to implement the balance of his approach.

The BLM is evaluating at least three options: continue with their current inhumane “snatch and stack” program, to-opt for the eastern preserves approach (which most likely will have funding difficulty given the financial climate of 2010), or choose the environmentally and economically viable Pickens alternative. The ONLY plan which leverages private dollars to create a eco-sanctuary where all Americans would be able to come and experience these majestic wild roaming horses in their natural setting.  In making their choice, the agency should keep in mind they will be gathering up to 13,000 horses this year, with only feedlots for relocation.  Also, there is insufficient money in the current Wild Horse and Burro Program budget to feed the 33,000 wild horses they currently have in holding pens across the country.

Another management predicament the BLM faces is their administration of 22,000 horses currently in long term holding.   A Federal judge recently called into question the legality of placing wild horses in long term holding.  He asked the involved parties to come back to his Court to present evidence supporting the use of long term holding.  This Federal judge also suggested the BLM might consider suspending the Calico gather until the Court had time to review additional evidence.  Irrespective to this suggestion, the BLM is forging ahead this winter to gather wild horses from the Calico complex.

Madeleine Pickens, founder of the non-profit Saving America’s Mustangs initiative, went to northern Nevada January 12-14, 2010 to tour the Calico gather and holding facilities.  She went to witness the gather first hand.  She was accompanied by several reporters and they requested information on: accuracy of the current census of wild horses, including wild horses count in the Calico complex; how Appropriate Management Level for wild horses in Nevada and elsewhere is determined; and agency allotment management objectives for responsibly reducing wild horse numbers.  Questions regarding permanent reduction in livestock numbers when resource protection is essential will also expect logical explanation.

Hopefully, the agency some day, with a functional and operational program can demonstrate to the American public that we are protecting and preserving our wild horses for future generations, as mandated in the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act.

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