Posts Tagged ‘West Douglas’

Judge Holds BLM’s Decision to Zero-out Colorado’s West Douglas Herd Not Ripe for Review

Posted: September 20, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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West Douglas Wild Horses Dodge Another BLM Bullet

A West Douglas Family Band ~ photo by Toni Moore

DENVER (Sept. 20, 2012)—A Federal court decision handed down last week gave the West Douglas Wild Horse Herd another reprieve. Honorable Judge Collyer held that she could not rule on the issue of whether the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) can zero out the West Douglas herd until BLM issues a decision to round up the horses. Plaintiffs contended that the Court could review and hold illegal BLM’s long-held land use planning decisions issued since the 1970’s and most recently in 2005 to eradicate the herd, especially in light of the fact that BLM has cancelled roundups of the horses once Plaintiffs challenged them in court—a classic example of BLM gamesmanship. The Court held, however, that the issue would not be ripe for judicial review until BLM once again issues a decision to round up the horses.

Judge Collyer’s order explained that the West Douglas Wild Horse Herd Area has been managed for oil and gas extraction, not for wild horses, and that this BLM management strategy is contrary to the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.

In addition, the court saw fit to note that the wild horses of West Douglas are a separate herd from the Piceance/East Douglas herd, a herd on the other side of the Colorado State Highway 139.

“BLM claimed these herds were one and the same, and that removing the horses on the west side of Highway 139 would not jeopardize the ‘herd’ as a whole,” explains Toni Moore, a long time advocate for the preservation of the West Douglas Herd and a plaintiff in the case. “But BLM’s own historic documents concluded these herds were separate herd areas at the time the Act was passed, a fact that Judge Collyer did not miss.”

Lawsuits to protect the West Douglas horses, brought by Colorado Wild Horse & Burro Coalition, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, the Cloud Foundation, advocates Don and Toni Moore with funding and support by the Wild Horse Freedom Federation, have been going on for years. These legal actions have successfully thwarted BLM’s repeated attempts to remove all the horses in the area for a litany of reasons, including the difficulty of managing wild horses in such rugged terrain, to inadequate forage to maintain a viable herd.

“Here is the crux of the issue: BLM wants to manage the area for welfare livestock and oil and gas extraction—not mustangs,” explains Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of the Colorado-based Cloud Foundation. “They forget that a law prevents this from happening. Future attempts to zero out the horses will result in litigation to protect them.”

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Mother Nature Gives West Douglas Herd a 30 Day Reprieve

Posted: August 1, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Update from the Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Rain Rides in to Rescue Wild Horses

A West Douglas Family Band ~ photo by Toni Moore

On July 30th the Colorado division of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) called off the alleged “Emergency” roundup of Colorado’s West Douglas Wild Horse Herd.  Earlier in the month wild horse and burro advocacy groups; Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, Dr. Don and Toni Moore along with the Wild Horse Freedom Federation attempted to block the proposed gather as it appeared to be an attempt to circumvent the current litigation blocking the BLM from zeroing out the unique wild horse herd for almost two decades.

Late in June the groups sent into the HMA qualified investigators that returned with photographic evidence that natural water supplies were prevalent throughout the HMA but on July 3rd U.S. District Judge Rosmary Collyer barred the BLM from removing all horses yet allowed the limited roundup of 50 horses due to the alleged short water supplies.

Wild horse advocates shared deep concerns that removing 50 individuals from the herd would seriously put the genetic viability of the ravaged herd at risk but it appears that mother nature has come to the rescue with ample precipitation and the horse removal operation has been suspended.

The resource conditions that warranted an emergency gather do not presently exist. The area has received rain on and off for the last 10 days. The horses have dispersed themselves throughout the HA and are no longer coming to the water trap. However, these present conditions are likely to change quickly and we could be right back in an emergency situation. The gather activities were placed in a “Suspend Work Order” for the next 30 days.

West Douglas Emergency Wild Horse Gather

Gather Reports

2012 Comments
July 15 Summary:  Construction began on the water trap today. No attempts to gather were made today.

Animals gathered: 0 
Animals shipped: 0 
Gather related animal deaths: 0 
Non-gather related animal deaths: 0 

 July 16 Summary:  Construction of trap completed at 1 p.m. Monitoring of trap area continues. No attempts to gather were made today.

Animals gathered:       0
Animals shipped:     0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 17 Summary:  Monitoring trap area today. No attempts to gather.

Animals gathered:       0
Animals shipped:     0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
 July 18 Summary: Monitoring trap area today. No attempts to gather

Animals gathered:       0
Animals shipped:     0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
 July 19 Summary:  Complete pannel contruction was completed and 10 horses were gathered.

Stallions Captured = 1

Mares Captured = 5

Foals Captured = 4

Animals gathered:   10
Animals shipped:  
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 20 Summary:  Horses gathered without any injury

Foals Captured = 1

Stallions Captured = 1

Mares Captured = 2

Animals gathered:      4
Animals shipped:  
Gather related animal deaths: 0 
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
 July 21 Summary:  Horses gathered without injury.  Transportation to Canon City is scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.

Foals Captured = 1

Stallions Captured = 2

Mares Captured = 2

Animals gathered:      5
Gathered related animal deaths: 0

Non-gather related animal deaths: 0
July 22 Summary: Gathering operations slowed with only one horse gathered.  No injuries to animals during this gather to date.  Animals gathered:       1
Animals shipped:     0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 23 Summary:  No animals were gathered and no attempts at gathering took place today.  Animals were shipped to Canon City withoug incident.

Prior to the gather, one foal was identified as an orphan.  The mare responsible for this orphan was never located or identified.  The BLM  has sent the orphaned animal to foster care.

Animals gathered:       0
Animals shipped to Canon City:     19

Animals shipped for foster care: 1
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 24 Summary:  No animals were gathered and no attempts at gather were made.  Currently, we are collecting usage data with trail cameras.

General Terrain and Weather: 

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
 July 25 Summary:  No animals were gathered and no attempts at gather were made.  Currently, we are collecting usage data with trail cameras.General Terrain and Weather: 

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
 July 26 Summary:  No animals were gathered and no attempts at gather were made.  Currently, we are collecting usage data with trail cameras.General Terrain and Weather: 

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 27 Summary:  Currently, we are collecting usage data with trail cameras. Horses remain in the area and are using water provided to them.  Gathering attempts were unsuccessful.General Terrain and Weather: 

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 28 Summary:  Currently, we are collecting usage data with trail cameras. Horses remain in the area and are using water provided to them.  Gathering attempts were unsuccessful.General Terrain and Weather: 

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 29  Summary:  Currently, we are collecting usage data with trail cameras. Horses remain in the area and are using water provided to them.  Gathering attempts were unsuccessful.

General Terrain and Weather: 

Animals gathered: 0
Animals shipped:  0
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Non-gather related animal deaths:  0
July 30 The resource conditions that warranted an emergency gather do not presently exist. The area has received rain on and off for the last 10 days. The horses have dispersed themselves throughout the HA and are no longer coming to the water trap. However, these present conditions are likely to change quickly and we could be right back in an emergency situation. The gather activities were placed in a “Suspend Work Order” for the next 30 days.

 

20 of the 50 were captured at the time of the roundup suspension, details can be viewed by clicking (HERE).

Further information on this ongoing battle can be viewed at Wild Horse Freedom Federation by clicking (HERE)

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BLM to Remove Up to 50 Wild Horses Due to Alleged Drought

Posted: July 9, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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By on Jul 08, 2012 in Focus

“The condition of these unique horses and the range is paramount to advocates.”

A judge has given permission for federal authorities to remove 40 to 50 horses from a  historic wild horse herd in a drought-hit area of Colorado.

The Cloud Foundation, which contends the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been trying to eliminate the herd for decades, said it was relieved the judge had permitted only partial removal of the horses.

The bureau, responsible for the wild horse herds in the US, has been delivering water to two groups of horses on Texas Mountain in the West Douglas Herd Area, south of Rangely, for several weeks.

It instead sought to remove the horses, saying that continuing to carry in water was unsustainable.

On July 3,  in a telephone meeting with the Federal Court, the bureau got the go-ahead to remove only a portion of the wild horses in the West Douglas Herd on Colorado’s Western Slope. Judge Collyer limited the removals to only 40 to 50 horses.

“We’re relieved that Judge Collyer allowed only a partial removal of a herd the BLM has been trying to eliminate for decades, ” Cloud Foundation executive director Ginger Kathrens said.

“But we’re disappointed that 40 to 50 wild horses will lose their freedom and their families while our Nation is celebrating its independence and freedom.”

Veterinarian Don Moore, who grew up in Rangley and has watched the wild horses in the area for over 50 years, said: “The West Douglas wild horses have endured many droughts in the past. If a drought was going to kill these horses, it would have done so a long time ago.”

He added: ““The condition of these unique horses and the range is paramount to advocates. We’re concerned for their safety and wellbeing during capture and transportation, especially during extremely hot weather.”

Kathrens said the bureau had closed the Texas Mountain area, “so how can advocates monitor the operation and verify that the horses are being treated humanely?”

“Simply saying all is well and the horses are being treated humanely doesn’t fly anymore after the hundreds of horses, including little foals, have died from what BLM characterizes as ‘non-gather related’ injuries.”

Wild horse advocates are continuing with court action to preserve the West Douglas Herd.

In addition to the Cloud Foundation, plaintiffs include Colorado Wild Horse & Burro Coalition, Habitat for Horses, Front Range Equine Rescue, and Don and Toni Moore with the Wild Horse Freedom Federation jointly funding the litigation.

“The West Douglas horses, like all our wild horses, belong to the American public,” Kathrens says. “And Americans should speak up for them now, before these symbols of freedom are gone forever, living on only in history books and romantic memoirs of the ‘good ole days’.”

The roundup is slated to begin on July 10th, 2012.

Click (HERE) to visit HorseTalk and to Comment
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Total Removal of Historic Colorado Mustang Herd Denied

Posted: July 5, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Press Release from the Cloud Foundation

Federal judge allows only partial removals and cautions BLM

A West Douglas Family Band ~ photo by Toni Moore

DENVER, Colo. (July 4, 2012)—Yesterday in a telephone meeting with the Federal Court, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was given the go-ahead to remove only a portion of the wild horses in the West Douglas Herd on Colorado’s Western Slope. BLM’s Environmental Assessment (EA) stated they would remove horses both inside and outside the herd area. The Honorable Judge Collyer limited BLM’s removals to only 40-50 horses. BLM’s environmental documents contended were “in danger,” from drought.

“We’re relieved that Judge Collyer allowed only a partial removal of a herd the BLM has been trying to eliminate for decades, ” states Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation. “But we’re disappointed that 40-50 wild horses will lose their freedom and their families while our Nation is celebrating its independence and freedom.”

“The West Douglas wild horses have endured many droughts in the past,” states Don Moore, DVM, who grew up in Rangely, Colorado, near the West Douglas herd and has watched the wild horses in the area for over 50 years. “If a drought was going to kill these horses, it would have done so a long time ago.”

Dr. Moore adds, “The condition of these unique horses and the range is paramount to advocates.  We’re concerned for their safety and well-being during capture and transportation, especially during extremely hot weather.”

“BLM closed the Texas Mountain area, so how can advocates monitor the operation and verify that the horses are being treated humanely?” questions Kathrens. “Simply saying all is well and the horses are being treated humanely doesn’t fly anymore after the hundreds of horses, including little foals, have died from what BLM characterizes as ‘non-gather related’ injuries.”

In addition to the Cloud Foundation, Plaintiffs include Colorado Wild Horse & Burro Coalition, Habitat for Horses, Front Range Equine Rescue, and Don and Toni Moore. Litigation to protect the remainder of the West Douglas herd continues, as BLM continues their push to remove the entire herd.

“The West Douglas horses, like all our wild horses, belong to the American public,” reminds Kathrens. “And Americans should speak up for them now, before these symbols of freedom are gone forever, living on only in history books and romantic memoirs of the ‘good ole days’.”

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Audio Post: Judge Allows BLM West Douglas Roundup to Take Place, BUT

Posted: July 3, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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BLM Puts Slanted Media Spin on Destroying West Douglas Wild Horse Herd

Posted: July 2, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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By Matthew Berger of the Daily Sentinel

Calculated Response for the BLM to Manipulate Public Opinion and Circumvent the Federal Court

“The Leadership of SFTHH and Wild Horse Freedom Federation are at extreme odds with the distorted perspective of this rogue federal agency”

A West Douglas Family Band ~ photo by Toni Moore

Even wild horses will require extraordinary measures to make it through this year’s drought, it appears.

The Bureau of Land Management is taking the exceptional step of trucking tanks of water to a herd of wild horses, an effort the agency says is necessitated by the area’s springs having dried up, though some advocates continue to question their actions.

Last week, these emergency efforts to provide water went a step further as BLM officials doubled the amount of water being delivered to the bands of horses in the West Douglas Herd Area, a hilly region south of Rangely that is not officially managed for wild horses but which has been home to the herd for decades.

Earlier this month, the springs supplying water to two of the bands of horses within that herd dried up, the BLM says. According to horse experts with the agency, bands of horses there are fairly territorial about their water sources and are unlikely to try to compete with other bands for the use of springs that might still be running.

“It becomes ingrained in these horses that they just have their water,” said Jerome Fox, wild horse specialist with the BLM’s Grand Junction office. “They’ll share resources when there’s plenty, but when there gets to be a shortage, it’s survival of the fittest.”

To get these two waterless bands through the dry summer, then, the agency trucked a 500-gallon tank of water above where the bands congregate on the side of Texas Mountain. The tank empties into a trough, from which water is delivered down to the site of the now-dry springs via pipe.

That 500-gallon tank has had to be replaced about every day and has only been enough to provide water to one of the bands lacking it, BLM officials said. That band consists of about 10 to 20 horses.

ADDITIONAL TANK

Last week, several officials dragged up an additional tank, doubling the amount of water flowing to the horses.

The extra water was delivered via a rubber pipe to the other band of about 20 to 30 horses, which are in a lower part of the area from the first band.

“We were hoping that (tank) would get to the upper and lower bands, but the lower ones just aren’t utilizing it,” Fox said. Still, he said, “they’re staying in relatively good shape, so we’re trying to determine whether they’re sneaking up when the other horses aren’t around. I hope they are.”

Fox said that without this supplemental water, it is believed that within two or three days the horses would be too weak to be able to seek water.

Lauren Wachs, associate director of the Cloud Foundation, which advocates on behalf of wild horses, said she had been out to the West Douglas region two weeks ago and saw seeps and springs that were providing adequate water for the horses.

Fox said he had spoken to Wachs by phone last week but that she said the foundation had decided not to share the GPS coordinates of the springs because of an ongoing court case over the West Douglas horses.

Wachs confirmed that, but said the BLM already knew the location of the springs because they had marked them. When pressed for their locations, she mentioned Wild Rose Spring, which is on the other side of Texas Mountain from the two bands in question.

“Horses (that are) not members of the affected band are already using the Wild Rose Spring,” BLM spokesman Chris Joyner said. “Simply moving off to another water point is not an option for the affected horses … Please remember these are wild animals competing for limited resources.”

“We have and will continue to monitor all water points throughout the herd area,” he added.

In the eyes of the Cloud Foundation, the BLM action is inspired more by a desire to remove the horses than from drought-inspired necessity.

The BLM has been attempting to get permission to round up some of the horses from the West Douglas area, as they see it as lacking adequate summer range and generally unsustainable for supporting horses over the long run.

That action, however, which would involve rounding up some of the horses before putting them up for adoption and moving them to long-term holding pastures, has been held up in court.

“Hauling the water is really a precursor to doing a round-up,” as habituating them to the water source is a step toward that action, Wachs said.

The BLM says it is evaluating the possibility of a roundup but that, for now, it is trying to avoid that through providing the water to get the horses through the drought.

“We will keep bringing water as long as necessary,” Fox said.

He also pointed out the small amount of grass in the area and that, if needed, they would haul hay up to the herd area.

CLOSE MONITORING

Elsewhere, the BLM has turned on an additional well in the Sand Wash Herd Management Area west of Craig and is closely monitoring the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range behind Mount Garfield.

Marty Felix, of Friends of the Mustangs, which works with the BLM to monitor the Little Book Cliffs horses, said there is “always water in the canyons” beyond the Bookcliffs.

“The horses are smart enough to know to get down there,” she said.

The last time water tanks were taken up to the horses there was in 1977, she said, though there are troughs that collect water from springs there for the horses.

Felix said they were “prepared to haul water” but that they were more concerned about the food available to the Book Cliffs horses, though she noted that there is grass available in other places there.

Click (HERE) to visit the Sentinel and to Comment on this crucial case.
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Wild Horse Advocates Level Another Legal Blow Against BLM’s Bogus Emergency Gather

Posted: June 30, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Your Tax Deductible Donations at Work!

Your Support is Making this Possible

BLM’s Wild Horse Harvesting Machine by John Holland

Yesterday, June 29th 2012, with the support of individual wild horse advocates, Colorado Wild Horse & Burro Coalition, Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue, Habitat for Horses, Dr. Don and Toni Moore along with Wild Horse Freedom Federation filed another legal assault against the Bureau of Land Mangement (BLM) in an effort to block the rogue agency from circumventing early actions to save the West Douglas herd by claiming there is a drought emergency and removing the horses from their rightful land.

Last Friday the coalition of equine welfare organizations filed a “Stay Order” in an effort to preempt the BLM from taking the horses without the court’s approval.  The BLM promptly responded, on Monday, denouncing the stay order and urging the court to allow the much contested removal of the horses.  Friday the coalition, with the support of hundreds of individual advocates, filed an answer to the BLM’s response.

“There is a fundamental error in Defendants’ (BLM) briefing that is the flawed basis for virtually all of their arguments in opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for a stay of the once threatened, now promised, illegal “emergency gather” of West Douglas horses (Dkt. 62).” The answer states, “That is, Defendants are simply dead wrong that Plaintiffs’ challenge to the “emergency gather” is not subsumed by the claims in their complaint. Defendants are engaging in another procedural and semantic shell game which the Court should reject, and grant Plaintiffs’ requested relief. Because once again Defendants are trying to split hairs and fool the Court into agreeing that Defendants can simply come up with a post hoc new excuse for the exact action challenged by Plaintiffs in the complaint, and proceed as if this Court is not reviewing the exact action already.”

Toni Moore, one of the plaintiffs in the long standing case to defend the horses, gave an example, in her declaration, of how the removal of this herd would damage her family, forever:

“Defendants’ planned removal of wild horses from the Texas Mountain area of the West Douglas Herd Area causes me unspeakable sadness. My family has camped and visited the Texas Mountain area and we have very special family memories of the encounters we have had with the West Douglas wild horses who inhabit that area. On one occasion, as my husband and three of our young children were sleeping in their tent, they heard wild horses walking right by the tent. My husband awoke from the sound of hoofbeats and he carried the 2 boys out to watch the small band heading down the hill. Even though the children were quite young their excitement of what they had seen has persisted.”

Moore continued;

“If BLM is allowed to remove these horses, this would mean not only the eradication of the wild horses but the marring of those memories forever; this would create such an unspeakable sadness knowing that my grandchildren will never have the opportunity of their parents to witness such an amazing experience.”

“We have the video and photographic documentation to prove that the BLM has fabricated this emergency so that they can accomplish their decades old quest to destroy this unique herd.”  said R.T. Fitch, volunteer president and co-founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation, “It’s obvious that the BLM management is not smart enough to figure out that they are standing on the brink of one of their worse PR debacles to date, which says a lot considering home many times they have stuck their foot into in the past.”

This past week the Cloud Foundation and WHFF put out a public plea for support of their legal challenge and at the time of this writing many taxpaying Americans have stepped forward and now rightfully own a piece of this historic legal battle.

“The first day the cry went out,” said Terry Fitch, co-founder and Sec/Treasurer of WHFF, “we received an influx of donations and we immediately cut a check and whisked the funds off to our legal team to verify our unified commitment to this project.  We would like to thank everyone for their engagement and support in this process.”

Members of the coalition stand firm in their conviction to save this wild horse herd and continue to encourage readers to forward their tax deductible donations to either the Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue or Wild Horse Freedom Federation.  It does not matter which group is selected as the battle and the legal team remain the same and all are in alignment with what the ultimate goal should be…freedom for the horses.

Click (HERE) to read Plaintiff’s answer to the BLM response on the Stay
Click (HERE) to read Toni Moore’s declaration
Click (HERE) to read all legal documents associated to this historic case
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