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Cloud’s Pryor Mountain Herd families to be broken up by BLM 2015

Posted by on April 14, 2015

Enough is Enough

As a general rule, it is a very big mistake for me to start running my mouth off online when I am overly emotional.  The problem with that is that we are only 1/3 of the way into an emotional year that feels like it is just going to keep building and building until everything spirals out of control.  When you are faced with such a time, it seems logical to get it all out in the open while you still have the chance.

Because the fact of the matter is, we were snookered folks.  And the most ridiculous part, is that we were conned by the same people that con us over and over again without remorse.  It’s almost like an abusive relationship.  You tell yourself that this time it will be different, things will get better.

Nye

Spoiler Alert:  IT NEVER DOES

A couple months ago I made an offhand comment in a blog that the BLM’s new proposed EA for the Pryor Mountains made it possible for them to only allow one offspring per mare on the range.  I quickly brushed that aside by saying that I did not think that was the BLM’s intentions, only that it would be possible.   Well, guess what?  It turns out that is exactly what they intend to do, and it probably was what they wanted right from the get go.

Today the Billing’s field office released a scoping notice (link here) to explain their intentions to remove 30 horses aged 1-3 from the Pryor Mountain horse herd.  The comments on this are due by 4:30 p.m. MST on Friday, April 24, 2015.

Meriweather

And the truth is that I feel helpless, and even a little hopeless.  I’ve been spending the past year with a constant knot in my gut over White Mountain and what is planned for that herd, and it just feels like too much.  There is not much that I can do, and I know that.  But at the very least, I can do what I am good at and help break this down for everybody.

Currently there are 49 horses that fall under the 1-3 year old category… maybe.  This number is assuming all of the 2014 foals survived.  It is a little bit questionable, especially in the case of one particular mare/foal pair, but we need a starting point.

If thirty horses were removed, this would account for 61% of the horses in that age range.  So how would the BLM choose the unlucky thirty?

Ojai

For this we go back to the Environmental Assessment.  Under the new rules, a mare is put back on infertility control (PZP) so long as she has one offspring over the age of one year that is alive and in the wild.  The BLM specifically  notes that they are allowed to remove all a mare’s offspring, save one.

So in other words, the goal of this roundup is to take as many mares as possible down to one offspring.  This will let the BLM put that mare back on PZP for good, and there will be nothing we can do to stop it because that is how they wrote the rules.

Okomi

There are a few problems with this.  First of all, the BLM cannot remove 30 horses without breaking their own rules.  If they took thirty, three mares would be left with zero offspring on the range.  As it is, taking 27 horses would leave 26 mares with one and only one offspring left in the wild.

Don’t believe me?  Let’s drill down by splitting the 1-3 year olds into three categories.

DSC_0098

We will start with the horses who have a sibling/half-sibling that is 4 years or older.  The older sibling is safe from removal.  In order to hit the BLM’s proposed number, every single horse in this category would have to be removed.  In parentheses is the name of the horses dam and the offspring that could not be removed.

Horses With at Least 1 Sibling 4+ Years Old

Mato (Cecelia – Inniq)

Mesa (Cascade – Jewel, Lobo)

Navigator  (Felicity – Ingrid)

Moenkopi, Nye (Galena – Jack)

Meriweather (Madonna – Gringo, Lariat)

Marlene, Norma Jean, Orlando (Greta – Johan)

Mato Ska, Encore, Onhanzee (Feldspar – Jasper)

Moorcroft (Brumby – Gabrielle)

Nina (Bakken – Issaquah, Chief Joseph)

Norte, Orion (Waif – Blizzard, Halo, Icara, Jewel)

Nahwa, Ojai (Washakie – Morning Star, Sequoyah, Bacardi)

Oregon (Sacajawea – Bakken, Fiero, Hidatsa, Kemmerer)

So in this group, all 19 horses would have to be removed, leaving 6 of the 12 mares with only one offspring on the range.

Of particular note in the group is Navigator, Custer’s only still wild offspring.  It is very unlikely that this will matter one whit to the BLM, since the EA only cares about the mares representation, and not the stallions.

Navigator

I would also point out the challenges of taking all three of Greta’s offspring.  Johan is quite the horse, but he lives in the stallion heavy Dryhead, where mares are few and far between and competition is fierce.  The BLM taking even more Dryhead mares will not help this.

Marlene & Orlando

In the next group we will look at horses whose existing wild lines all fall within the 1-3 year old range.  In this group, the BLM could take all but one offspring per mare on the list.

Horses who have siblings in the 1-3 range

Morgana, Ogalala (Icara)

Montana, Oak (Fresia)

McKeahnie, Naara (Gabrielle)

Miguel, Nomad, Olivia (Halcyon)

Maelstrom, Niobrara, Okomi (Firestorm)

Naolin, Odakota (Graciana)

Navajo, Outlaw (Hopi)

So in this group, 8 horses out of 14 would be removed.   All 7 mares would be left with exactly one offspring left in the wild over the age of one.  That is, they all would go back on PZP.

This brings the total number of horses to 27, the number I listed earlier.  As you can see, removing 27 is extreme.  Too extreme.

Nova

The final group of 14 horses are those that have no siblings.  So taking any of them would mean taking that mare’s only offspring from the range.  Hypothetically this would not be allowed, but let’s be real, the BLM does not hesitate to remove a mare’s only-foal.  Remember in 2012 when they said that Gaelic Princess and High Noon were young and would have other foals?  How did that work out for them?  Oh right, they’re being put back on PZP this year despite having no living offspring on the range, something that could have been prevented if the BLM had not taken their first foals.

Horses w/ no Siblings

Mercuria

Maia

Missoula

Morning Dove

Mandan

Nova

Oceana

Niyaha

Nighthawk

Orielle

Oro

Oklahoma

Okiotak

Oracle

Navigator & Morning Dove

So there’s your facts kids.  Now let’s all go forth and raise a big stink.  I mean, sure the BLM never listens and we don’t have any actual power to stop them despite the fact that they hypothetically work for the American people.  And yeah, last time there was a ruckus the BLM doubled the number they planned to remove.  But hey, it’s better than doing nothing and some day it has to work, right?  Maybe someday is today.

McKeahnie & Missoula

And yeah, maybe that is a terrible way to end a blog post.  I’m supposed to be the plucky one in our ragtag band of wild horse lovers, after all.  I guess even the spunky one gets tired now and then.  Taking so many horse would decimate the Pryor herd, especially now that 90% of the mares are going to be kept on PZP at all times.

What is more, what happens to the horses who are removed?  After 2012 does anybody really think that enough people will magically pop out of the woodwork to give 30 horses homes?  And call me selfish, but what does that mean for the White Mountain horses?  If the White Mountain roundup cannot be stopped, is anybody going to even notice while Encore is stuck in the Britton Springs corrals waiting for her day at auction?  I think of Leo’s brother getting removed, our one last bastion of Custer and it kills me.  If that happens, I can’t save him.  I will have to sit back and watch while he heads off to God knows where.  Odds are good that for some of these horses it will be a long ride to a short-term holding pen in another state after they aren’t adopted.

The BLM put their stupid, ridiculous, extreme rules in place by claiming that they were doing it so we would severely reduce the number of removals.  They don’t get to turn around less than a month later and keep on with the same party BS they always pull, wanting to torch to range by taking the last solid foal crops we will ever have.

Except they do.  Because the BLM wrote the rules, and they wrote them specifically so they could pull the fuster cluck.  It’s getting so, so old, my friends.

Ohanzee realizes this is an idiotic idea, so why can't the BLM?

  1. It is a sad and sorry time for all wild horses. I am hoping to make it to the Pryor Mts. this summer, to see some of the horses my son saw there in 2013, and that are on my Pryor Mts. calendar here at home, but now I fear it will be a trip that will make me cry. I admire all of you who follow the horses and try so hard to protect them. I wonder what it would take to make the BLM change their methods? It seems no one ever really listens or cares. I sign every petition that comes my way. I wrote to one of my state senators and her reply was very disheartening. For every step forward there are ten steps back. I can only hope that something will happen to change the plans of the BLM this time.

    Lucy

    • puller9 says:

      Lucy, don’t write once and don’t take ‘no’. Please, write weekly. Be a THORN in your Member’s side or posterior. Put a bumper sticker on your car (I put mine on magnetic material so I can change out or remove). You’d be surprised how many people stop to read them at traffic lights. 😉 Get friends and family to WRITE, to complain. And then find out who is running against your member and who might be more receptive to sharing this earth with wild horses and vote for them. We need to get rid of the ‘old boy network’ if we are going to get anywhere.

  2. Really excellent post Rachel, thank you so much for breaking this down so we can clearly see the writing on the wall. I am sharing this widely. Beware any agreement or understanding you THINK you have with the BLM – it will come back to bite you when you least expect it.

  3. Nancy Bosch says:

    I so admire your commitment and knowledge of these beautiful creatures. You know every one by name and family of origin. That is amazing. You would think the BLM would benefit by consulting with people like you, who actually know the horses, their habits, families and so forth. I sign every petition that comes my way. I feel helpless to make a difference and heartbroken for what is happening to these wonderful horses. Thank you for all you are doing and I will pray that it will somehow cause a breakthrough in consciousness amongst the BLM and other people in charge. Keep at it, keep up your courage and commitment. There will be a breakthrough for the horses someday and I hope it is soon enough to save them.

  4. Carol Grover says:

    This is a terrible loss to our Nations Heritage. These wild horses are a national treasure to our country. It is time for the wild creatures of these reserves are left alone to live their lives naturally.

  5. Nora Suppers says:

    same story over and over again … we are duped, have no control or say in the matter and are witness to the devastation of our wild horses and their environment by our own government … Rachel, thanks for putting this shame in simple terms so we understand the deception and for caring enough to inform us of the BLM fraud, lies, corruption and inhumanity

    • puller9 says:

      If you live near your Congressman/woman’s state office – GO. Go personally. You will initially meet with a staff member. It is not painful. It can be civilized. But GO – NOW. Be polite, explain why you feel it is important to accomodate these wild horses. Write a script and stick to it. The meeting only last about 15 minutes. But when people start showing up in Members offices to complain. THEY LISTEN. Tell them, you felt that their response was unsatisfactory and you want them to know that it is IMPORTANT TO YOU. I can not emphasize enough how important these meeting are. You will get their attention.

  6. Anne says:

    This is enough to make anyone sit down and cry.. Is this really the proposal The Cloud Foundation were just celebrating as a victory????

  7. tammy rupp says:

    I WANT TO ASK WHY?? why?? W~h~Y?? Does the HATERs OF *our* “MOTHER” *NATURE* {and they KNOW who they ARE} continually MASE Her,DeFace Her,Disgrace Her,When she has Laced,This Base with the love, the spirit, the strength,the Heart,the beauty,{and i could go on} of Her Children of every Race! She has proved her Case time after time,let her Horses

  8. Lenny Lunden says:

    What can we do about it?

    Thanks

    Lenny Lunden

    • puller9 says:

      Meet with your Congressman/woman. Find out what Committees they are on. If you preface your meeting with, ‘I know you work on XYZ Committee’….they may squirm and tell you that all decisions are made by ‘Appropriations’ not ‘Environment’….they are going to know you are LOOKING AT THEM AND WHAT THEY DO. If 10 people make 10 appointments and show up to discuss wild horses. This will make them sweat. They will start shifting. If 20 people make appointments to talk about wild horses….you will slowly start turning the head of the giant.

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