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Action Alert: Comments to BLM on Colorado Zero out wild horses

Posted by on February 10, 2015

Press Release:  For immediate release

BLM Targets Colorado Wild Horse Herds

Plans include Zeroing-Out West Douglas Herd Area and Roundup of Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. (Feb. 10, 2015) – On January 30, 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) White River Field Office issued a scoping document calling for the removal of all wild horses within the West Douglas Herd Area (WDHA), as well as the removal of 167 wild horses from Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area (PEDHMA) in order to reach an “appropriate” management level (AML).

“This is the just the latest BLM assault on wild horse herds living on our public lands,” states Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation (TCF). “BLM bristles at being accused of managing wild horses to extinction, but how else would one characterize the zeroing out of an entire herd?”

BLM’s website states, “The BLM protects, manages, and controls wild horses and burros on public lands to ensure that healthy herds thrive on healthy rangelands.” However, their actions paint a different picture.  In 1971, 339 wild horse and burro herds were identified for protection on 53.8 million acres of public land. Today, only 179 herds remain and they are managed on fewer than 26 million acres (not including the zeroing out of 1263 mustangs living on 1.2 million acres of Wyoming checkerboard lands in Sept. 2014).

The BLM scoping document states: “wild horse removals are necessary to protect rangelands from the impacts on Sage Grouse.”  No mention is made of the degraded state of the range due to thousands of head of privately-owned livestock in these areas. BLM states that reduction of livestock would not be “in conformance with the existing land use plan, is contrary to the BLM’s multiple-use mission as outlined in the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and would be inconsistent with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro’s Act (WFRHBA) . . .”

“Livestock grazing is privilege, not a right and permits can be reduced or revoked per BLM Regulations (43 CFR § 4710.5) states Kathrens. “To assert that reducing the number of welfare livestock, which cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year, in some way violates FLPMA and the Wild Horse and Burro Act is ridiculous.”

The Cloud Foundation, Toni and Don Moore and numerous advocate groups and individuals have been fighting to preserve the West Douglas Herd on Colorado’s Western Slope for decades. “We’ve been keeping BLM in check from repeated attempts to zero out the West Douglas Herd though a series of petitions and legal actions beginning in the early 1990’s,” states TCF Board Member, Toni Moore.

In the most recent court ruling in 2009 when BLM attempted to zero out the West Douglas herd, U.S District Court Judge Collyer enjoined BLM from removing any wild horses from the herd.

“Mustangs have roamed the area long before Colorado was even a territory, let alone a state,” says Toni Moore. She has traced the history of wild horses in WDHA back to the 1600’s when the horses were brought here from settlements in New Mexico and Old Mexico by the Ute Tribe.  The narrative of the journey of the priest explorers, Fathers Dominquez and Escalante in 1776 indicates they were met by mounted Utes in the area of the Canyon Pintado Historical Area, which is partially located in the West Douglas Herd Area.“

“It would be so sad to lose this rich chapter of Colorado history,” says Dr. Don Moore, who grew up in nearby Rangely, CO and has visited the West Douglas Herd since he was five years-old.  “Wild horse herds are the legacy of the American people, and we have a responsibility to protect them for future generations.”

Comments regarding the proposals are due on February 14, 2015 and can be mailed to Melissa Kindall, WRFO, 220 E. Market Street, Meeker, CO 81641 or submitted via email to mkindall@blm.gov

###

Links:

BLM Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Gather Plan

Proposed West Douglas Herd Area Roundup

Proposed Roundup, Piceance-East DouglasHerd Management Areas

Public Notice of Removals

Total Removal of Historic Colorado Mustang Herd Denied

Wild Horse Groups File Preemptive“Motion for Stay” to Stop Possible Back-Door BLM Roundup

Media Contacts:

Paula Todd King

The Cloud Foundation

843-592-0720

paula@thecloudfoundation.org

The Cloud Foundation (TCF) is a Colorado based 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of wild horses and burros on our western public lands.

 


Dearest Melissa and BLM,

Please do not eliminate the wild horses and burros of the
wild horses in areas managed by the BLM White River Field Office.

These wild horses have the government’s permission to live on this land
and not be eliminated and managed to extinction.

As a taxpayer, I request that the BLM protect these horses and burros
and not reduce the wild herds to an unhealthy number and the zeroing out plan.

Please reduce the thousands of head of privately-owned welfare livestock in these areas.
The cattle are more distressing to the land and the sage grouse than the wild horses.

The wild horses have a longer history in this area then the cattle.
Please take these comments into consideration
so that the wild horse will not be eliminated from our public lands
and that future generations will be able to visit your state as tourists and American citizens
and not just see the wild mustangs and burros in the movies.

They must be allowed to remain free with their families in the west and on our public lands
as the law states they have the right to and
that the BLM is responsible to protect them as viable herds and not zero out the wild horse
and wild burros.

I plan to visit your state as a tourist some day in hopes to see the wild horses.
I hope I am not disappointed on your management of elimination of this American icon
So it is not too late to protect them forever.

Thank you!

Denise Brown

 

 

Release Date: 01/30/15
Contacts: Christopher Joyner, BLM Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 210-2126

BLM seeks public comment on proposed gather plan

MEEKER, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management is now seeking public comments concerning proposed gathers of excess wild horses in areas managed by the BLM White River Field Office.The BLM conducts gathers to sustain healthy public lands and healthy populations of wild horses. Maintaining healthy herd populations is a key aspect in the BLM’s mission to manage public lands for a variety of natural resources and uses.

The field office is proposing to gather excess wild horses in the West Douglas Herd Area and the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area. The Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area currently has 377 wild horses, and its appropriate management level is between 135 and 235 wild horses. The West Douglas Herd Area currently has 365 wild horses but is not intended to be managed for wild horse populations. The BLM is considering gathering up to 167 wild horses in these areas.

The BLM is seeking public input on any additional alternatives or issues that should be considered when evaluating the proposed gather operations in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

The documents outlining identified issues and gather operations will be available at the White River Field Office at 220 E Market Street and online at: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/wrfo.html. Public comments will be most helpful to the BLM if received by Feb. 14, 2015. Written comments can be mailed to the White River Field Office, 220 E. Market Street, Meeker, CO 81641 or submitted via email to mkindall@blm.gov. The BLM will provide another opportunity for public review and comment on relevant preliminary NEPA documents in the spring. General questions can be directed to Melissa Kindall at 970-878-3842.

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or any other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While individuals may request BLM to withhold personal identifying information from public view, the BLM cannot guarantee it will be able to do so.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.
–BLM–

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