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BLM Giving Free Wild Horse Removal To Ranchers Who Request It

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The Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars is Mind-Boggling

written by Steven Long, Author and Editor/Publisher of “Horseback Magazine“

Enemies of the Wild Horses all in one shot. Left Senator Harry Reid, center Ken Salazar right Bob Abby - BLM file photo

HOUSTON , (Horseback) – The federal Bureau of Land Management acknowledged today that it charges private ranchers nothing for wild horse removal from their property – horses that are removed by the thousands at taxpayer expense.

“If they stray on to private land, the landowner has the right to request BLM to come and remove the animals,” said spokeswoman JoLynn Worley of the agency’s Nevada office in response to a query by Horseback Magazine.

“The BLM does not charge the landowner to remove wild horses or burros from their private property,” Worley acknowledged.

Horseback Magazine has repeatedly sought an interview with director Bob Abbey to discuss such policies, rules and actions that have sparked growing protests from coast to coast as well as a petition drive that has reached the White House.

Many ranchers in the West consider wild horses a nuisance. They see the animals, living off the land as they have for centuries, as competition for scarce grazing land. The taxpayer owned property is leased at the rock bottom rate of $1.35 per animal unit per month.

Thousands of acres of private land abut the public land BLM administers, The agency plans to remove vast numbers of wild horses. Inevitably, those horses will stray onto the private property – and inevitably the BLM will be asked to remove the horses at no charge to the landowner.

More than a million head of cattle graze on BLM land, compared to about 30,000 or fewer wild horses.

“The BLM’s business acumen is mind boggling,” said John Holland, a Virginia technology consultant and founder of the Chicago based Equine Welfare Alliance.

“They pay millions of dollars to sweep healthy horses off private and public land so they can pay more millions to warehouse them and then rent the cleared land to cattle raisers for a loss of 80 cents on the dollar in administrative costs.”

Tens of thousands of horses are held in giant pens across the West in pastures owned by private interests while the agency administers 260 million acres, most of it vacant.

Holland charges this government “privatization” or the warehousing of horses that once roamed and grazed their natural habitat at no cost to the taxpayer is welfare for the ranchers who receive lucrative government contracts.

“Ironically, the BLM is doing this with “stimulus” funds,” Holland continued.  “Apparently they are under the assumption they are supposed to be stimulating the national debt.”

Landowner, Greg Foster, who owns property in the Calico Mountains of Northern Nevada is cooperating with BLM on its current “gather” there. The agency claims the wild horses it is stampeding with a low flying helicopter are in mountainous terrain.

Spokesmen say that the bureau is only setting up a holding pen and storing equipment on Foster’s property. Since press and public have been barred from witnessing the roundup except during tightly controlled “media days,” there is no way to independently determine if the BLM is herding wild horses found on the landowner’s property.

Horseback Magazine has learned that during a recent flyover of the Calico “gather” area where thousands of wild horses are alleged by the BLM to live, only nine were counted.

Activists claim the BLM is also using birth control drugs to make the remaining herds genetically bankrupt and unable to propogate. They claim there will be no wild horses roaming free unless the BLM roundups and activities are stopped.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) La., has called for a revamp of the agency from top to bottom.

Worley, the BLM spokeswoman, claims the government has taken no horses on Foster’s land, yet there have been no witnesses allowed to watch and confirm the veracity of the agency’s claims.

The agency claims the horses are driven from the Nevada highlands into the pen set up on Foster’s property.

The BLM has refused to release any more information about the landowner other than his name.

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13 replies »

  1. I thought that mustangs come down in the winter, go up to the higher elevations in the summer…..????

    I guess it depends on the geography and range.

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  2. and while we are paying the government to round up the horses on private land, how much are we paying for the cattoor’s & friends to stay at the bed & breakfast at soldier meadows (where some of this roundup is taking place)???
    from soldier meadows (home page http://www.soldiermeadows.com)
    here’s more of what we are paying private landowners for (be sure to read the paragraph that starts “although these horses have gone wild….”

    http://www.soldiermeadows.com/html/history.html

    The Ranch was recently acquired by the Kudrna Family/Kudrna Nevada, LLC. The Kudrnas’ love the area and are dedicated to returning the Soldier Meadows area to once again be one of the finest Ranches in the State of Nevada. They are making many repairs and improvements throughout the private property and at specific locations on the surrounding range. They will raise quality beef cattle, and other livestock for food and also raise horses, cattle dogs and hunting dogs. The Soldier Meadows staff are dedicated to bringing back the area’s natural wildlife and to do so they realize they must repair the numerous damaged water resources and other resources of the range. They are also renewing the irrigation and restarting the farming of hay, alfalfa, and other crops at the Ranch. Soon, with cooperation from various Government Agencies, they will be able to repair and protect the Ranch’s many springs and other water resources. After their repair, the range waters will provide needed support for all the native fish, waterfowl, mule deer, antelope, big horn sheep, feral horses, burros and other wildlife and the relatively few domestic livestock allowed to roam this idyllic northwestern region of the great State of Nevada.

    HELP NEEDED
    You may not realize that thousands of ferrel horses have been breeding unchecked for many years increasing in numbers as they roam the area basically unmanaged. It is important for all to understand that severe damage has been inflicted upon many of the springs in the region. This damage is the direct result of the springs surfaces having beeen compacted by thousands of feral horses.
    Although these horses have gone wild, these horses are not native to the region. They are for the most part akin to unwanted dogs, cats and other pets which many of us care for in shelters and some of us adopt. However, if no one adopts a specific dog, cat, or other animal, after a reasonable period of time, unwanted animals are kindly put down. [DID YOU READ THIS PARAGRAPH??? jb]
    At Soldier Meadows we love the horses, however the sheer numbers of non-native-feral horses in the region have and continue to significantly damaged critical desert water resources, These resources must be repaired for the benefit of people, ALL wildlife and our livestock. Even though the spring repairs will be a lot of work, even with the use of modern equipment, the challenge is not the spring repairs. Instead the real challenge in the modern world is: gaining cooperation from government agencies and variuos special interest groups to establish simple procedures to allow the repair and protection of the spring heads themselves from the herds of horses so they “free flow” after repair.
    The natural springs of this region have flowed freely for thousands of years as is evidenced by the geography of the area. However, in recent years special interest groups led by those who like “WILD” horses have tied the hands of good public and private managers in such a way that they have been forced to allow the high desert water resources (especially the natural springs) to be severly damaged.
    If the damages are not repaired and the Wild Horses are left to roam and breed unchecked, it will lead to the demise and extinction of not just the “WILD” horses but also the demise and extinction of most other wildlife species in this region.
    Please help your own senators and representatives understand the damaged springs in the west. If you do not understand the problem come to the Ranch for a private tour which we will extend to you.
    Your Senators and Representatives can direct the BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service and other agencies to establish policies to better manage the feral horses and to fund repairs badly needed immediately at the springs which are damaged.
    Together, with your help, all the wildlife can be saved from this disaster in the making.

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    • I doubt that we are paying them anything. Catoor is doing them a great service: I knew that “Soldier Meadows” sounded familiar. And then I remembered that it was the transcript from the 2008 Soldier Meadows Grazing permit applications, that was so telling. . .
      http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/americas-wild-horses-buried/
      The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place quite nicely for Soldier Meadows–Catoor and the BLM are bowing to their needs to restore that BLM grazing land–a sweet deal!

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    • Hi jo bunny, great info.

      Qustion though, IS BLM or any other gov agency paying roundup crews expenses on top of the contracted amount? Do we know this for sure? That would be highly unusual. Contractors, as far as I know, get only the contract amount, within which they are responsible for all thier expenses.

      Of course, how many government contracts actully come in at contract – not many, as they always have contengency clauses for “unknowns”, but they can’t just call them unknowns they are supposed to “prove” the need. Sice all of this is public record -pretty had to decieve (unless they tamper with the books – not likely GAO would not notice that.

      Someone should take them up on their private tour offer – for free of course, or do they charge an arm and and a leg for this – but waite wild horse advocates and rscues are RICH – NOT! And you proably have to sign something ahead saying that you will not say anything negative, etc. I’d love to see someone investigate this undercover!

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      • I am not following this “contengency clauses for ‘unknowns'” and “‘prove’ the need” stuff. What is this all about?

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      • theandbetween,

        For example I’ll suppose (don’t really know Cattors contract, it is on-line) Cattor contracted for so many horses, to set up so many capture sites over a particular amount of time – 1 year,etc. Weather (or lawsuits) can postpone portions of the schedule, that means they will work past the original contracted time, since they will most likely alrady be contracted for another job starting when this one ends, they will have to double crews and lease more equipment etc – they do that without writing another contract, they do an adendum – a change order, as the original contract allows them to do within a contengency clause. In the world I’m most familar with, a good example, say I’m contracted to build a huge porject over several years, the city I’m bulding in as immedialty banned sheetrock from China, that particular sheetrock was specified by the architect thus was in my original contract, so I can now turn in a change order for a diferent sheetrock, probably, in this case at a much higher price, because I can’t send back the sheet rock I already bought in bulk, and now have to buy a smaller amount of another sheetrock, and all the overhead to get all these changes -called a “change order” by adendum to the contract, allowed by the contengeny clause built into the contract for “unknowns”. Sheetrock not the best example perhaps, but understandable due to what is occuring today. Or the owner decides they don’t want 12 x 12 ceramic tiles in the bathrooms, they want to change to slate or hand made designed tiles = “change order” by addendum, rather than writing a new contract.

        Hope that helps

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  3. so…feral? wild?? they can’t seem to make up their minds.

    and did they mention the damage caused by their cattle on the land??? hmmmm???? or did they say how much we taxpayers are paying for THEM to have all these “improvements” made to the land?

    anyone up for a private tour???

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    • This is such a long and pleading message as if the horses are totally out of control and the springs damaged by none other. Since cattle will wallow and plug ad muddy a spring and horses will paw and release water this seems like BLM strategic misinformation. Of course it is because they want help that they may not legally deserve. But with BLM friends they may get it. Sick. Thanks Jo Bunny… mar

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  4. If I wasnt so far away I would be up for their “private tour” for sure, it would be interesting to hear and see how misinformed they actually are when we all bombard them with relevant questions that they probably wont be able to answer because they are ignorant of the facts.

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