By Debbie Coffey ~ Director of Wild Horse Affairs for Wild Horse Freedom Federation
from the pages of the PPJ Gazette
If there isn’t enough water for wild horses, why is there enough water for geothermal exploration?
It seems while the BLM was in a Nevada Federal Court recently claiming a drought “emergency” as the reason they needed to remove wild horses from the federally protected Jackson HMA (Herd Management Area), the BLM may have omitted telling Judge McKibben about their big geothermal lease sale just 6 short months ago, in which they sold thousands of acres in/around southern Jackson HMA for about $2 an acre for geothermal exploration. BLM listed parcels for more than 17,500 acres, including and just around the southern portion of the Jackson HMA.
If the BLM did omit revealing this recent geothermal sale lease information to Judge McKibben in their big “drought” sob story in his courtroom, it seems they may have withheld relevant information. Just one geothermal exploration can use hundreds of gallons per minute (GPM) of water. Geothermal exploration also uses fracking (hydraulic fracturing), which has well publicized risks of contamination to water and aquifers.
On June 7, 2012, the BLM issued a press release stating that Gene Seidlitz, District Manager of BLM Winnemucca District in Nevada, claimed the BLM needed to do an “emergency” roundup of the wild horses in the Jackson HMA.
BLM rounded up horses from the southern Jackson HMA from June 8-22, and even though Judge McKibben enjoined the roundup in the northern area of Jackson HMA because of foaling season, the BLM was to resume the roundup July 1st.
If there isn’t enough water for wild horses, why is there enough water for geothermal exploration? Why doesn’t the BLM declare a drought “emergency” to stop the geothermal exploration?
Bye bye horses, Hello Ormat
Looking at the results of the January 24, 2012 Geothermal Lease Sale, in the south area of the Jackson HMA, Ormat Nevada bought about 15,275 acres (parcels 9,10,11 & 12) for about $30,552. Allied Nevada Gold Corp. bought 2,411 acres (parcel 13) for about $4,822.
The BLM sold out the wild horses, and their federally protected Herd Management Area, for $35,374. Most of Nevada has geothermal potential, so there are other public lands, that don’t include HMAs, that are available for geothermal exploration.
In the January 2012 Geothermal Lease, the BLM offered a total of 33 parcels totaling 94,829 acres of public lands, but sold only 8 parcels (27,834 acres). 5 of the 8 parcels sold were in the area of the southern Jackson HMA.
Geothermal leases are for a 10-year period. Annual rental for a competitive lease is $2 per acre for the first year, and $3 per acre for lease years 2-10. Annual rental for a noncompetitive lease is $1 per acre for lease years 1-10.
After the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the BLM and Forest Service prepared a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Geothermal Leasing in the Western United States in October, 2008.
In the January 2012 geothermal lease sale in Nevada, the BLM got caught with their hands in the sage grouse cookie jar, and had to cough up some of the acres they were planning to sell to protect the little critter. But there has been no protection for wild horses, even on their own federally protected HMA, as the BLM continues their stampede to extinction.
Attempts at conversation or dialogue with this agency that claims transparency, but only spins inaccurate data, will only turn our heads to look in the wrong direction. If there is a water “emergency,” it is being created, in large part, by BLM’s mismanagement of public lands.
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SOURCES:
http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/june/winnemucca__blm_to.html
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/minerals/geothermal/leasesales.Par.42262.File.dat/20120124_Geo_Sale_Parcel_List.pdf
http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/january/state_office__geothermal.html
http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/january/blm_defers_parcels.html
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/minerals/geothermal/leasesales.Par.2009.File.dat/Mar2011.competitve.geo.sale.results.pdf
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/minerals/geothermal/leasesales.Par.45698.File.dat/20120124_Geo_Sale_Results_Noncompetitive.pdf
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/minerals/geothermal/projects.Par.77901.File.dat/geothermal_energy_projects_table.pdf
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/MINERALS__REALTY__AND_RESOURCE_PROTECTION_/energy/geothermal_eis/final_programmatic.Par.95063.File.dat/Geothermal_PEIS_final.pdf
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_11001835
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1475015/
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2012/06/22/court-ruling-continues-wild-horse-roundup/
Related articles
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- Wild Horse Advocates Level Another Legal Blow Against BLM’s Bogus Emergency Gather (rtfitchauthor.com)
- BLM Backdoors More BS Against West Douglas Wild Horse Herd (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Wild Mares Giving Birth to Litters?(according to BLM population estimates, they do) (rtfitchauthor.com)
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
For what it is worth, I contacted the Romney Ohio Campaign Office yesterday. Furnished the web sites of the organizations, for all of the information on the abuse, roundups.
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Thank you Jane.
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I am receiving numerous emails from the Obama campaign asking for my help to get him re-elected. I responded that because of Mr. Obama’s inability to stop this agency and its abusive treatment of mustangs, while misleading the courts and in effect, selling out to corporations, I was unable to help in his campaign until such time as he stepped up to the plate, practiced what he preaches, and do something about this traviisty.
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Go after Congress, they are the ones who need to revisit The WH&B Act and the terrible decision to put our wild ones in the hands of the BLM. If Congress takes all the loopholes out (like Burns, may he rot), BLM will have to fish or cut bait.
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Why has this NOT been relayed to the judge? There’s no way he can be THAT blind.. How can they get away with lying to the court? Why has nobody brought this to the judge’s attention?
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what makes you think the judge does not know about it? The corruption in our government is rampant and that includes are judicial system!!!
What our government needs is a Good old American Passive-Aggressive A$$ Whoopin!
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The sage grouse is non-native species but hunters seem to have sway with the BLM to protect it. It would be interesting to see a list of investors/owners of Ormat & Allied NV Gold Corp. How many politicians & gov employees hold interests in these companies? I consider this theft of my PUBLIC land and MY HORSES. This country is so corrupt it’s disgusting. I will not be celebrating “America” tomorrow, as there is nothing to celebrate. Freedom, liberty, and justice for all – ha! what a hypocritical joke.
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I agree with you, Lisa. I don’t feel much like celebrating either. This is Owyhee all over again.
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Thanks RT for putting this together. I’m going to pass it along. I wish the people who blame Obama or hope that Romney can do something about this, would understand that the horses aren’t as important as many other national issues. We need to get Congress more educated and involved.
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KB I agree. We can’t get 25,000 people to sign one anti-slaughter petition. Just because we are passionate about these wild treasures does not mean that everyone else is or is even aware of their plight. But there are animal lovers in Congress like Moran, Landrieu, Grijalva, Lindsey Graham, & others (I won’t try to recite all the names) who need us to drum up more voices to pressure the rest of Congress to fix the shameful mess the BLM has made of the well-intentioned WH&B Act.
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I would like to know how the BLM gets away with this crap?
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THE BLM HAS BEEN DOING THIS TYPE OF UNDERHANDED SELL OUTS ALL OVER THE WEST AND OTHER PLACES ON PUBLIC LAND. I THNIK I SAVED A COUPLE OF THE ARTICLES WHERE THEY WERE SUED AND LOST. WHEN I FIND THE ARTICLES I WILL SEND TO YOU RT. THEY ARE ALSO SELLING PUBLIC LAND IN THE WEST TO THE CHINESE TO MAKE UP FOR THE MONEY THE US OWES THEM. HOWEVER, THIS INFORMATION IS ONLY NOTED IN NOTED IN NOT WELL READ MAGAZINES NEVER IN THE NEWS.
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BLM knows quite well that this Jackson Mt. (and other HMA “emergency” captures) is nothing more than a pre-planned maneuver to rid the Wild Horses and Burros from their designated and legal land and to further the water use designation to other “multiple uses”. Resource competition is HUGE on our public lands and we the people and our land and our water and our Wild Horses and Burros are being abused and violated at the hands of our government agencies. This is not a new issue but it has excellerated to the point of “managing for extinction” is becoming a REAL reality right before our eyes.
BLM ignores another scientific study that states, “Given that water can be a limiting resource in many areas, and in light of the growth in competing water use demands, care must be taken to assure geothermal development takes place in ways in which this resource competition is adequately taken into account.”
Click to access 1748-9326_6_3_034023.pdf
What is Drought?
Drought Occurs When Human Demand for Water Exceeds the Available Supply (excerpts).
Say “drought,” and most people think of a period of hot, dry weather with too little rain. While that condition can be present during a drought, the definition of drought is really more subtle and complex. Drought is not purely a physical phenomenon that can be defined by the weather. Rather, at its most essential level, drought is defined by the delicate balance between water supply and demand. Whenever human demands for water exceed the natural availability of water, the result is drought. http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/whatisdrought.htm
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this situation existed, regardless of cause and that there was a situation in the identical area in 2007. The case was not about why the situation existed but how they were operating. The place for the public to get involved to make sure damages are mitigated for wild horses is in RMP’s and scoping letters. The Jackson case set precedent to unjustified removal and the constant bashing of the case is very unbecoming to the cause.
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Connie, not sure why you would think this is “bashing” a case – just uncovering more information about other “uses” of Winnemucca BLM District in the Jackson HMA.
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Connie, not sure why you’d think this article is “bashing” a case – it’s simply uncovering information about the Jackson HMA and other “uses” not disclosed by the BLM while declaring a drought “emergency.”
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looks like most of management for ormat are israeli: http://www.ormat.com/management
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Ormat is a member of NV Nature Conservancy, how wonderful: In Nevada, the Conservancy works in two key ways: first, in this the most arid state in the nation, we focus on safeguarding and restoring our freshwater systems. Second, in a state where more than 80% of the land is in public ownership, we must find ways to influence and participate in the way(s) our public lands are managed.
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The Nature Conservancy is not really about conserving nature…it is a big land grab organization – read more about it here:
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2012/05/01/federal-horse-rustlers-the-agenda-21-hustle/
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At the national level Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, & Audobon consider our Wild Horses & Burros non-native escaped domestic animals, not wildlife. They are happy to win points with BLM and side against our wild ones. If it ever came to rolling back any of the WH&B Act, they’d support it. IMO, giving them money or support is like stabbing a wild horse in the back.
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SEC list of owners (headquarters in Reno & Tel Aviv) ….insider trading?….: http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/own-disp?action=getissuer&CIK=0001296445
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Is this it…the one with Senator Harry Reid?
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/nevada/contact/index.htm
Nevada Board of Trustees
Chair:
Walter M. Higgins III, Reno
Vice Chair:
Joanne Hall, Minden
Susan Antinori, Incline Village
Michael J. Brown, Washington, D.C.
William Coulthard, Las Vegas
Ken Creighton, Reno
William Douglass, Reno
Greg Ferraro, Reno
Arthur Hall, Minden
Ronald Krump, Reno
Joel Laub, Las Vegas
Reynaldo Martinez, Incline Village
Maureen Mullarkey, Reno
Thomas G. Warden, Las Vegas
Emeritus Trustees:
J. Robert Anderson, Incline Village
Joseph W. Brown, Las Vegas
Fred Gibson, Las Vegas
Gary Goodheart, Las Vegas
Michael Melarkey, Reno
Brad Pederson, Las Vegas
Bill Wright, Elko
Honorary Trustees:
Senator Paul Laxalt
Senator Harry Reid
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Of course it is…Sen. Harry Reid is no friend to the wild horses and burros. Remember he’s the one behind Conrad Burn’s writing the Burn’s Amendment.
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Looks as though they are selling the state of Nevada right out from underneath the voters, too? Wonder how many of them are aware of that?
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Removals and stockpiling continue with no intelligent or economically viable alternatives for wild horses to remain on their range or to be moved to other suitable range. The cattle get more land as the horses go and now these leases will use water that has not been considered already partially in use by the herds. Sold out all the way to nothingness. Sold out all of us, too. ‘Brilliant’ monopolies of resources displaying the greed and disregard for the natural ecology of the region the BLM/DOI are so well known for.
Private reserves would be a blessing after all of this. But these horses need to kept in tact and not processed as if they were no longer ‘qualified’ to be free. They need another chance and we are not in a position to give it to them because we are being hoodwinked and mislead by projects that do not address the fact we need to be prepared for intervening and possessing these horses to give them that second chance.
The advocacy remains impotent in creative answers and funds to carry anything out. Why? We have too many fence sitters and too many gone off in unproductive directions that suck up all the available funding in a ‘wait and see and maybe we can win’ direction.
We need certainty and we need lots of help. Wake up folks. The end of an era is here and we have to save wild bands from the maw of limbo and looming death. None of this is legal and alternatives are needed now. We need tons of money and land and horse professionals not amateur impostors to lead the way.
We knew this could happen and it is no longer acceptable that the advocacy is still engaged in tunnel vision concerning the self promotion of a scam artist who is an impostor claiming to be hated and slandered by those of us who see through the rouse. How many times will you listen to her cry “Wolf” ? Stop the division of the advocacy by the paranoia and greed of one person.
Now we have the unfortunate responsibility of turning this wagon around and heading away from the self consuming threat of a cult like presence stuck on ego and greed as bad any displayed by the suits at BLM and DOI.
Stop waiting for promised miracles and work for practical and realistic alternatives while the gullible sit on the fence. Our wild horses need all of you with your minds sharp and your goals realistic! Stop dreaming someone else will save the day. YOU can save the day if you want to.
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Spot on and it proves the point that the American people are sick and tired of a few abusively vocal, special interest driven politicians attempting to shove their distorted and whacked agendas up our collective behinds without even the courtesy of asking us to bend over, enough is enough.
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BLM stands for Butt Licking Mothers. What can we do to stop this charade? I don’t want to piss and moan about it. I want to know what rights, we the people, have in this issue. If we have none then we better start looking for somewhere to put those horses or they we end up as dinner in Japan. The burros also.
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The BLM has the support of Congress – the people do not. Mar Wargo assessment is accurate all the way.
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I think i just heard a voice in the wilderness! Thanks Yvon, I realize I do not preach to the entrenched choir here but to those who have better sense!
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Mar – Yes – a more realistic awakening is needed more than ever. It is a tough call for many to realize that the judicial system/politicians are not coming to the rescue, so that means we ourselves are the rescuers. Legal remedies are not forthcoming to save the remaining herds, there is no time to wait for that remote possiblity. The oposition is not going to intervene in such scale as to defeat their own purposes.
These herds must be rescued by other venues. Funds must be focussed on lifesaving efforts now. land is needed with horse professionals at the helm.
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We are lucky to have a few people enlarging and improving private sanctuaries. But we need many more and we need a central working place to create a data bank and to help co-ordinate interventions and rescues and the adoption and purchase of removed horses. We are so ill equipped and not funded at all. We desperately need an advocate driven .org that will grow and fund itself through grants and create the bridge to continued survival and a strong presence of these herds in the West. Some of us have seen this as an alternative for a long time. Preferably it would be poetic justice to remove BLM from the stewardship and keep enough lands that we could introduce reserve design and allow a natural life for the herds to continue. But we have no traction in court to dissolve this relationship without legislation. Corporate presence is creating disillusionment all over and this is hopeful. Nothing remains the same. If we let things slip we can recover. It is up to all of us, not one person, to get his work done. It is a huge challenge. I hope there will be much more emphasis on this in the immediate future. There are answers and where there is a will there is a way if only we can get all of us on the same page once more!
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All these Lies, all this Corruption, all the Stealing, done by the ” Brutal-Lawbreaking-Mismanagement”, the ” B-L-M”. . All the injustices !!, This has to stop !!!!! Why can’t WE, , the people of this Country, get ALL togethe. We have had and still have large Demonstrations, for all different Issues. , important Issue .So, now we have again an important issue, that involves ALL of us, because, it concerns a part of Our lives, .From THEN, for NOW, and for the Future, ” our Children.”. The Issue?:,. “To save the Wild Horses,”. The Horses , who are part of the American History, The Wild Horses, who do belong to the American PEOPLE “Don’t we have a say??” Now, what about it… All Organizations, with their Activist’s, their Members, we can be in the THOUSANDS!!! the HSUS, Peta, Wildlife,, and all the others, “Where are you???” Something DRASTIC has to be don .”The danger of the extinction of OUR Wild HORSES” , we CAN NOT and MAY NOT let this happen, ,
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