Story by contributing guest writer Maureen Harmonay, National Equine Advocacy Examiner
BLM is Exterminating Elder Mares at an Alarming Rate
During yet another weekend of captivity at the BLM’s leased Indian Lakes Road feedlot near Fallon, Nevada, the wild horses from the Calico Mountain Complex continued to lose revered herd elders. With the euthanasia of a 25-year-old mare and a 25-year-old stallion who “were unable to maintain body condition,” and a 10-year-old stallion who was put down because he was suffering from hyperlipemia and metabolic failure, at least 71 of these precious horses have been lost. Only about 1850 remain.
A disturbing pattern has emerged in the last few weeks, since the start of the processing operations on February 18th. Of the 35 horses who have died under the BLM’s auspices during the month of February, 23 (66%) have been fillies and mares. The pace of euthanasia of older mares (ages 20 and older) has quickened alarmingly since February 22nd. Seven senior mares have been put down in just the last two weeks, and one has to wonder whether there is now a systematic effort to eliminate these elder females because the BLM does not perceive them as likely candidates for adoption. If that is the case, it is an outrage.
And speaking of outrages, it appears that the furor that has erupted in response to reports of the BLM’s planned online auction of captive mustangs, beginning on March 10th, may have caused the agency to literally pull the plug on this misguided effort. The “Wild Horse and Burro Internet Adoption” website was down at the time of this writing.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Also the older horses in these herds are the animals who teach the younger animals how to live, just the same way that older elephants actually keep life peaceful among young bull elephant herds. What better way to destroy their survival by removing the elders from the herds. Older animals DO play a big part in the life cycle of any animal “community”. BLM are nothing but bastards every one of them!
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The sad “deterioration” or call it planned murder of these innocents is a testimony how BLM “manages” our mustangs. Of course it is a predestined fate imposed on these horses by the arrogance of power – this must be stopped. Please keep exposing this RT, thank you.
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There’s no valid reason the BLM could not tuen these horses over to rescues BEFORE they reach a crisis point. I believe the vast majority that have failed to thrive could have been saved (many in a short period of time) with individualized attention and proper care. If they truly could not have been saved, at least they wouldn’t have died in fear on the cold, wet ground.
As we (and the BLM) know, the older horses undoubtedly will be sold in unlimited numbers for as little as $5 each. So why won’t the BLM sell them to the rescues for $5, and take them off their inventory. BLM – WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? Not only are you destroying the very wild ones you are sworn to protect and profess to care about, but you are missing an ENORMOUS PUBLIC RELATIONS OPPORTUNITY! And you wonder why we question your policies, methods, and agenda.
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Come to think of it, the horses have a place to go. Salazaar openly stated that he will work with Pickens. So adoption is really not the issue. If you only leave younger horses, that’s another way to say that the range was scarce and the horses were not doing well.
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They should have been released. Why were none released? BLM says the horses are not being zeroed out then they play a numbers game and take all they can find and release none. They have no use for older horses except to deny them freedom because their intent IS to zero them out and this Is a Death Sentence and BLM is carrying that out right now.
Stop killing the older horses and release them. mar
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Bad news guys. I just clicked on the BLM’s internet adoption site and it is up, with the clock counting down to bidding time. I assume this means they are going through with it despite public outrage? Oh, what was I thinking…that is standard operating procedure with them.
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great point about the age of the mares as a proof that not only the range is healthy, but so are the horses. This might actually be one of the reasons they are getting rid of them. They would be great silent witnesses for the trial to come. Eager to prove their point, it is far more convenient to state that they needed euthanasia.
I’ve got a stomach ache now too.
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You think thats bad guess what guess they are going back to Wyoming again this year. Read this http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=134170&catid=339
Cloud and the rest might be in trouble again. Poor Horses there won’t be any left soon.
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More canned BLM language & slanted info. Back in the day (I worked for a newpaper for a while), our reporters did acutual research, and our editors demanded they provide multiple sources before ANYTHING was published.
Is the comment about open-range fencing correct? Open range or not, alot of ranchers fence to keep wild horses AND other wildlife out. It’s also more convenient for gathering their herds. But how much fencing over how many acres is allowed on the open range and public lands allotments, and how often is it inspected by the BLM?
Hi, Chuck!
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Western Watershed Project may know something about that.
Yes, news is mostly press releases and no research. I was a journalist in NM in the 80s and I am amazed at what gets into print with no other side to it… mar
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Mar..WWP is getting involved in the Ruby pipeline project..Thank god, I believe that project has an immediate and long term impact on the welfare and removal of the Calico horses and all other HMAs that border that pipeline..thru Wyo, utah, nev, ore, and california..You see those HMAs being decimated by roundups while HMAs located away from the pipeline not being reduced so heavily-and we should be making a legal intervention on that cause of action..plus they plan to restore that land that they tear up in the process..with “vegation, not suitable for the wild horses such as sagebrush and yarrow, so that they will stay away from those many hundreds of miles where that pipeline will exist..that grazing will be lost forever to the horses
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Great news, Sandra…mar
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About yarrow. It’s an EXTREMELY invasive goundcover. I have it in my backyard. It spreads pervasively both by seed and runners, has a deep, matted roots, and has choked out much of my little patch of lawn, along with the weeds and anything else that tries to get in its way. Also, it survives and thrives in just about any type of soil and amount of rainfall.
I’m actually thinking of surrendering the grass and letting the yarrow take over. It uses alot less water and greens up pretty well. If you get the low-growing variety, you can mow it and keep it looking pretty good. Our water bills have skyrocketed due to all the development in this area, and I’d rather have a plant “xeriscape” than a rock “zeroscape”.
Is yarrow native to the Ruby Pipeline area? If so, is the type of yarrow they’re planning to seed native? If not, they’re asking for a whole lot of trouble!
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Yarrow is native to the Northern Hemisphere–grows all over. It is astringent and was/is to stop blood flow from wounds. I don’t think a horse would want to eat it unless it was a last resort.
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/y/yarrow02.html
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Linda, They passed some laws way back saying that native species must be planted on areas disturbed by big projects. I think these are Federal, too. mar
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These Older Horses used to not be captured at all or they would be released. That is what should have been done before bringing any of them as far as the Fallon facility. This was deliberate and not usual. They should still be released right now to prevent any further deaths. That BLM has hid behind their lies and BS insisting they are saving horses lives by removing them would likely prevent them from ever doing such a reasonable thing. But the lives of these horses in the wild are invaluable to the bands knowledge and success. The presence of so many older horses only strengthens the facts behind the observation of the range being in good to excellent shape.
Let the Older Horses Free Now and Stop killing them with your constraints and the wrong feed! mar
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If the BLM said there were 2,787 wild horses on the Calico Complex in December , there were 2,787 wild horses on the Calico Complex in December. That’s the base number to bid the contract. Then it comes down to price per head x 2,787.
If the capture contract for 2,787 was $1.7 million, that would have been about $610/horse; for 1922 actually removed it comes to about $885/horse – the contractor profits over 30% per horse he originally bid. That’s $527,580 pure profit to the contractor (with a wink and a nod)! Savvy bidders know how to work the system, especially if they’re given the inside track.
The BLM projects herd growth mathematically – 20-25% growth per year (depending on which propaganda you read). As I remember, The NIS projects 10-15%(?), but that’s an inconvient number, so it’s tossed out. The average, say 15%, is equally inconvenient. By using the highest multiplier it can possibly get away with, the BLM justifies it’s projections, budgets & requested increases.
If government agencies want to retain and grow their budgets, they have to prove they had very little or no carryover from the previous year. If they really want to push for increases, they figure out a way to prove they ran in the red, and the redder the better. That’s why the BLM uses the highest possible numbers and costs, and buries whatever overage it might have at the end of a FY.
My grandfather had personal experience with this. He was a City Clerk for 28 years, and ran an extremely efficient operation with considerable savings each FY. Every year he tried to turn back the savings to the General Fund, and every year was advised to spend his entire budget, or risk having it cut. HE HATED IT, but that’s how government works.
Multiply the BLM times time how many government agencies? WHAT A COUNTRY!
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This is how it works.. When I worked for the state and had a budget for my teaching labs I was told I had to spend all of it or I would get less next time. I am going to save this and post it around. Thanks, Linda
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I really believe that the BLM took the older horses as their true intentions are to zero the Calico Complex horses out. mar
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This is all just so heartbreaking. Something has got to give soon. I also have a stomach ache just thinking about these poor souls, they have survived for 20 plus years and have ended their lives in terror and pain. It just makes me sick.
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We, as a Nation have become nothing less or more than the Nazis that quibbled, edjudicated and rationalized the death of any living being, theft of rights, property or excuse making with the the removal and death of same. And folks, this is PUBLIC PROPERTY! To add, many Nations sat by while the same level of abuse was allowed to exist. When it started creeping on their own patch of grass, THEN they became concerned. SICK!
That’s right US Government…with these horses/burros you are now in the company of Fascists ( I could throw in wolves, Native Americans, bison and so many others). Fascists that many US and other volunteers fought (and died for) to defeat are now the same mindsets that are now part of the type of government that sanctions ABUSE with excuse.
I’m sick of it. I’m sick and tired of our reps. They stink. They quibble. They delay. They take contributions that in the end sanction the abuse of animals AND humans.
Now I suppose I’m on the FBI watch list. I don’t sanction violence or the demise of my government…I want them to do their jobs and not pick and choose what they prosecute or inspect, no matter the lack of funding.
I’m sick of this. I’m sick of the litigating, delay on the behalf of the cruel perps of abuse and disrespedct.
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I totally agree. I’m past disgust.
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ditto to “D”, mar
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Exterminating mares, stallions, high miscarriage rates, no independent review or oversight???? And we, the folks that want the best for the mustangs and burros and our land are surprised because?
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I just received this email from SavingAmericasHorses.org:
Rep. Jim Sacia says he has the votes to repeal the ban on horse slaughter in Illinois!
They intend to slaughter horses from across the country. For those who reside outside of IL, let them know that this is a NATIONAL ISSUE!
Horse slaughter is a license for insidious cruelty and corruption. Please help stop the return of horse slaughter plants in the US. Take action now!
Your calls are needed now.
Contact IL State Representatives at:
http://www.ilga.gov/house/default.asp
Learn more at:
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1138%20
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D. Masters I’ll join you anytime on that list.I’ve called this a holocaust from the beginng and that makes the BLM nazis in every sense!!
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Ellieroo and ‘D’, come by FOLM; lightprint1949@earthlink.net mar
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I call it equicide.
What I don’t understand is WHY an organization like HSUS (with tons of bucks) doesn’t demand access and monitoring at Indian Lakes or ANY holding facility for that matter.
I want someone there with the knowledge, resources and expertise to monitor this mess on a daily basis. DOI and state agencies don’t count.
Why aren’t they DEMANDING daily access? Why aren’t orginizations like HSUS there? Who is there FOR the equines? Who? Because it certainly ISN’T BLM or the Cattoor’s. Where are the equine advocates that can afford to muster a team, validate BLM reports and file their own reports? Where in the hell are they?
Sue for immediate access….NOW!
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I’m with you D. Masters… Every bit of what you said. Let me repeat “What I don’t understand is WHY an organization like HSUS (with tons of bucks) doesn’t demand access and monitoring at Indian Lakes or ANY holding facility for that matter.
I want someone there with the knowledge, resources and expertise to monitor this mess on a daily basis. DOI and state agencies don’t count.
Why aren’t they DEMANDING daily access? Why aren’t orginizations like HSUS there? Who is there FOR the equines? Who? Because it certainly ISN’T BLM or the Cattoor’s. Where are the equine advocates that can afford to muster a team, validate BLM reports and file their own reports? Where in the hell are they?
Sue for immediate access….NOW!”
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I agree. The HSUS can have enormous impact. After their expose on downed cows they got the Hallmark Meat packing plant shut down overnight. I don’t know why the downed foals with missing hooves has not prompted them to act. Overcrowding and sick animals at puppy mills? The HSUS is there. But Fallon or the round ups? Nope. I am also very disappointed in the Nevada Director of the HSUS. Where is her staff? Why do none of them ever show up at Fallon to monitor? She says they are too busy.
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Both HSUS and Madeleine have been perplexing in their choice of path. They have been slow to emerge and still have not simply stepped up and done these things.
Madeleine, You have the ability to do so much. Take more steps!!
HSUS, get out there and make statements and express more support. Be decisive on the side of the public and the wild ones. We are waiting for further news from you and action. Give some up. All the ‘efforts behind the scenes’ are again avoiding transparency. BLM does not need to be handed control. Why handle them with kid gloves when you need boxing gloves and an arena? mar
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Both Madeleine and HSUS have been trying to work with the BLM and Salazar. Need I say more?
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mar- I agree, if there are thousands of “sale-authority” horses in long term warehousing, why can’t Madeleine (or any other group for that matter) buy them and start their own sanctuary? Why do they have to wait on the BLM to make some kind of decision? Is Salazar holding out for something? Perhaps waiting for the path to be cleared that will ultimately allow the (outright) slaughter of our horses?
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The thing that really worries me is that with the Canadian laws and European laws changing about horses being slaughtered for human consumption and the banned substances that domestic horses have been exposed to, the Mustangs straight off the land are free of any of these substances, so would be ideal candidates for slaughter. How do we know what they are or arent giving these horses at Fallon for instance? I know this sounds terrible but what is to stop these people from having a hidden agenda for all of the horses in captivity?
Does this sound neurotic?
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Lori-This has been my fear all along. I hate to think the BLM is rounding up our horses to send them to slaughter. But what are we to think when they hide procedures, sneak and lie? They say part of the “processing” includes de-worming, surely ivermectin is a banned substance. Ultimately, there is no way to stop them if they really have an agenda for slaughter. Somebody will make BIG BUCKS, and greed wins again!
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Why are we not all, together, taking BLM down in Public? mar
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As I watch all this there is only One conculsion Really BIG money holds everyone hostage. That includes the Govt. I realize it sounds like a conspiracy theory but it is the only thing that makes sense. As I watched a Discovery show on the massive amounts of gold underneath Nevada that has recently been detected plus the many other mineral deposits thru out the west the horses don’t stand a chance.
HSUS has some 90 million in their warchest plus all the “big” names supposedly fighting for the horses have a great deal of resources/clot that could be used to enhance the fight and that is what it will take to purchase the land plus a huge outcry by the public like the one that saved the redwoods! As I talk to the public am always amazed that ‘they” don’t even have a clue as to what is happening to the wild west let alone the mustangs!
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Ellieroo, One thing I have been surprised at in the past year is the lack of .orgs like the Wilderness Society and even Environmental Defense Fund who are normally at the forefront with petitions, info and EIS to get people active on the places chosen for pipelines and the mining. I have been hearing about these huge projects from the wild horse campaign and none of the allies I am accustomed to are there. This has put these actions away from the public and is sending us the message that we have no voice now and we must get that back. We do have a voice and a choice. When the Government circumvents the public and crams projects we pay for with our taxes down our gullets we have the right to say ‘no’ and stand in their way. We have been losing our methods to communicate with and influence the outcome of projects which has been in place and operating for decades. It was fair and we could fight and affect the outcome as is our right. This has been denied us again and again. There are still channels to fight but even the information is withheld as if BLM/DOI and the Bush administration have stayed on and won against the people this outrageous power over us. This is not a Democracy or how one operates. Not these days. mar
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Does anyone realize the TREMENDOUS amount of WATER it takes to process gold from anything but a pure vein? Water for the Ruby Pipeline, water for goldmines, water for Las Vegas, water for Reno, water from the SE Nevada Aquifer headed south through a pipeline. Re-allocation and re-direction of water resouces is the real enemy.
Nevada ranchers, and ranchers, farmers and citizens across the West, please speak to this issue. Eliminating the American wild horse is just the tip of the iceberg. Unless you plan to sell out to these interests, you’re also in danger. Your way of life and generations on the land may be numbered.
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Not to mention the amount of water needed for the “wind farms”. They need water to keep the turbines cool!!!!! There is always something isnt there, so much for clean energy!
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Lori-actually wind turbines do NOT need water to cool them,they are oil lubricated…there is no loss of water on the land, and are actually very compatible with wildlife, the only interference is that they have to be checked and maintained for any problems.
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Hmmm thanks for setting me straight on the water thing, just goes to show, will try to find where I read that they do. Might be an idea to set them straight too.
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Quartz, tin, copper, silver, aluminum, sulfur, sphalerite . . . probably more are minerals in CELL PHONES. Today’s disposable mentality and the demand for more and more resources, the Wild West and its’ people have no chance against ‘progress’.
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Yes, and the largest gold deposit in the WORLD lays right there on the edge of the calico complex 30+ miles north E of elko nevada, where the Shoshone Defense Fund has managed to get a temp injunction to stop them from blowing up Mt. Tebon to extract it and destroing 50 water springs and seeps and 1 perinnial stream …forever for a 10 year project..We should be supporting their lawsuit, as this will greatly impact water resources…after all didn’t the BLM say forage was not the problem for the Calicos-but drought and a lack of water for the horses..The Cortez/Barrick gold mine is a canadian corporation-not even american-and expects to make billions from this project.
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I love our Canadian brothers and sisters… but… go mine gold in your own country. Surely there is gold somewhere in the huge expanse of Canada’s wilderness?
PS in this day and age, why can’t we come up with a “clean” way to mine/drill for minerals, coal and natural gas? Where are the scientists? Come on people!
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PS I just googled Barrick Cortez Gold Mines. They say the average salary is $62,434, and they have many job openings. Very hard to argue with that.
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Yeah, well Barrick was so sure of themselves that they went ahead and built the infrastructure, and hired 600 people to work there…I didn’t even realise this was going on…research on the wild horses led me to this..or I’d still be in the dark. Imagine how much crap is going on that I don’t know about..yet
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Evidently Salazar has also decided the Sage Grouse don’t need protection.
Just hand their lands over to corporate extraction and delivery interests.
Way to go, Kenny! First you defy Congress at the Grand Canyon, and now you’re discounting the EPA/ESA. You are truly a piece of work!
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/no-esa-for-sage-grouse
I guess we should all check out the “High Country News”. Lots of articles about the 11 Western States. Only found two about wild horses. One is a touching story about two NM horses, the other on the Native American push for slaughter plants on reservations.
Economics trump everything!
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Linda, High Country News will write more about the horses if we would suggest it. They have been writing about BLM for years and have stood up to them. They did a cover story on wild horses last year but by an older editor very critical of the wild ones and I think they need to do another as this has changed pace and involves so many. If people write or call them and ask for an in depth investigative piece we amy get one. This is what they are good at. They cover Western water issues and BLM/DOI all the time. Google them at HighCountryNews.org and look them over. They just did a wolf issue, too. I have read them for 39 of their 40 years and learned more from them than any other source. They are Western Watershed Project of Newspapers. mar
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I see we’re up and at it like little “Energizer Bunnies”. Are those alkaline bunnies or LITHIUM bunnies? More about that later.
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Okay, MUCH MORE about the “Bunnies”. Sorry, but there’s alot to say.
First a little background information:
There’s the Great Basin (formed in pre-history by the Inland Sea), and the Great Basin Desert – 190,000 square miles of largely untapped mineral wealth. Ground Zero – Nevada. There’s a whole lot of geology I won’t go in to, but suffice it to say, Nevada is sitting on a goldmine, silver mine, uranium mine, whatever-you-can-name-except-diamond mine.
The Great Basin Desert, like most of the Great Basin, has no outflow. It’s landlocked, and many minerals concentrate through eveporation and leach into the ground through surface water. Some even flow down fractures to the scarce and precious aquifers.
The North American crust is thinnest in Nevada, making it a prime candidate for strip mining. Blow it up, dig it out, process it, and move on. Maybe the corporation will restore the land (it’s in their contracts), but when they can get away with it, not so much.
I looked up the USGS Chart on the Value of Mineral Production by State (Avg. 1992-2005), Nevada was second only to California, and was climbung at a steady rate. I would imagine in the past 5 years it’s grown to top the list.
Anyway, back to the “Bunnies”.
While we’re all concentrating on gold, silver, and uranium, we may be overlooking the biggest player of all – Lithium.
Poor Lithium doesn’t even rate a blue word link on Wikipedia, but make no mistake – it’s coming on strong. Why? It’s a major component in Lithium batteries. Not the little household ones, the great big ones that store power in Hybrid cars! Got the picture? And corporations are out to prove Nevada is sitting on hundreds of thousands of tons of brine Lithium.
So while we’re distracted by other things, Quaterra Alaska, a Subsidiary of Sub Quaterra Resources, headquartered in – wait for it – Vancouver, Canada (You know, that nice place where they just welcomed the world, including us, to the Winter Olympics), is busily and stealthily making plans to extract huge quantities of Lithium from their Kings River site.
The Quaterra Kings River Environmental Impact Statements were submitted in late 2008. I believe they’re under final review, and the corporation anticipates acceptance and kickoff this spring. They may already be underway. Want to bet the BLM found “no significant impact”? Google “New Lithium Projects US” and you’ll find a whole lot more corporations are planning Lithium sites in Nevada and elsewhere for 2010 and beyond.
When you look up Kings River, Nevada, on Google Maps, things may seem strangely familiar. Hey, it’s Humboldt County. There’s Winnemucca – what a surprise! Isn’t the Calico Complex right down the road? Wonder if there’s Lithium under the HMA? We’d best go and find out. And when you zoom in on that green patch, it looks like Kings may be a perennial river. Wonder if they’ll pollute that, not to mention the groundwater? Well, I’ll be damned!
AND SO WILL OUR WILD HORSES! Enormous strip-mines, miles of roads and fences, round-the-clock operations, HUGE trucks moving in and out. So those pesky, inconvenient, “feral” horses will have to go – they’re standing in the way of America’s energy independence!
The gold and other precious metal mines have a limited lifespan. One Barrick mine is slated to close in 2023. 13 years left to get the goodies out. Many more are in the works. No one knows how much Lithium awaits exploitation, but mining corporations are scrambling to find out. I’m sure Lithium is being “fast-tracked”.
Then there’s the plan to ship Nuclear Waste for burial in Nevada. If they’re not careful, they may top another list – the Nation’s largest Superfund cleanup site.
And all this is brought to you courtesy of Mr. Ken Salaczar, the very same man who defied Congress and allowed mineral resource exploration at the GRAND CANYON (in 2005[?] – hello, Bush administration.). I swear there’s a hard hat under that Stetson!
For those few who don’t already know, Salaczar was originally a Cheney (puppet master) / Bush (puppet) man. And the puppet master is still out there pulling a lot of strings. Obama’s sin is that he fell and continues to fall for Salaczar’s bull.
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Linda, great info, thanks. While this is all revving up we got lied to and the public is avoided in general. The press has been reduced as papers folded and mass communications go down the tubes and illegal monopolies loom. Without investigation and due process the corporate world just makes plans that no one challenges but the likes of Western Watershed Project. Maybe we need a Western Ecosystems Project to champion wildlife including wild horses, a sister .org to WWP. When research is carried out diligently, information can go straight to court. They have shown us it can be done on a small budget.
If DOI/BLM were not such liars we could have saved everyone time and many horses lives by finding other solutions that it seems nearly too late to even consider. Transparency would have given everyone the clearest picture and found the best path for our wild ones to be on safely. Is it too late for this now?? Would we ever be able to bring everyone up to date and deal with this Big Picture?? We were denied this opportunity as was the public. Looking at this now, I think that the transparency is owed us and we may be able to save the wild ones if we have the proper tools and information.
Bureaucrats cannot be expected to deal with living creatures and ecosystems and their choices reflect that. Can there be a recovery of the wild horses and burros and protection at places of agreement? What lands can we have for them and what lands are lost? Bottom line. Give us all the information and let us make the plans and save all the horses and burros we can from the indignity of removal to recovery on their or equivalent lands. Come on DOI/BLM, otherwise the fight goes on and on. mar
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I know, This Obama’s responsibility and he is letting this happen. He is weak on many fronts and there are those taking advantage of that right now. mar
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No President has ever had the power most think comes with the office.The true power in Wash DC is the senate they can be there for a life time and all the negociated favors come with IOUs and money money money. If we the voting public want any control over what happens to us and what we value, we need to vote out each and everyone of the members of congress til they understand They work for us!
I have never voted a straight ticket in my life I vote issues Always and now I will no longer vote for any incombant they are all way too incompetent!
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The House passed a year-long moratorium on “Earmarks”, but the Senate recently refused to do the same. John McCain wants a moritorium until the Federal Budget is balanced (and the National Debt retired?).
They’re the flies in the ointment at all levels, including committees. Do they think they’re “The House of Lords”? Didn’t we fight a revolution to get away from all that?
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Born Free USA has joined the fight against the wild horse and burro roundups. I just received an email with a link to a letter that can be emailed to your Senators calling for an end to the roundups and asking them to support the ROAM Act. The letter can be edited so you can ask them to enforce the Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 as well.
https://secure3.convio.net/bfusa/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=521
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Unfortunately, the language exists in the ROAM bill that allows the BLM to continue on its path to purchase land to remove the horses and relocate them..That bill does not stop that..we should not support ROAM until the language is changed, or we will give them legal right to do it, and as it stands right now, BLM does NOT have the right to use taxpayer funds to do so, and can be stopped by congress or a lawsuit from doing so.
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This is being changed. i have reliable word that it will be ready and able to protect all the horses…
Sandra, have Laura Leigh forward some of the emails from me and Carla to you. Much happening the past few days.. mar
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We need to be starting lawsuits ahead of these problems instead of waiting until they are upon us..Briggs firm has said “we cannot keep filing lawsuits” I say bullcrap..get another lawfirm..Abbey has said “we are not afaid of lawsuits,bring em on we will not be deterred”..I say follow Jon Marvels model with the WWP…sue the A-holes every chance you get..he has won time and again against the BLM…and they are most definately afraid of him..and they only have 1200 members and a 1 million donation fund..We need to organise around his effective model..We need a legal fund and firm devoted to the most effective means to leverage the BLM..we need a lobbing firm in DC to represent our interests…we need direction and organization..we are getting information out…now we need a club..the kind you carry in your hand.
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IMO, every single round up needs a lawsuit. The 2010 schedule is out. Every single one scheduled needs to have a pending lawsuit against it.
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Another thing…We need to start hitting the “media” blogs..just because the mainstream is not bringing it up doesn’t mean we can’t introduce the subject on any blog..we should be informing the public to get to most people who have no idea what is going on and how millions in tax dollars are being wasted and how public lands are being devastated in the process..HERE-we are preaching to the choir..we get our info here and share ideas and solutions..but we need to spred them to a broader public who is unaware
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Huffington Post has been a good place to work… I do not have time, wish people would do this… mar
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am I missing something or was it part of the Burns amendement? As far as I know BLM protocol for rounding up horses is supposed to be to let the old ones back out as they are not adoption material. It is stated in their round up proceedures, so why are they still bringing horses in and shooting them due to their age. Ditto on the metabolic problems. They didn’t have those on the range if those horses cannot adjust to domestic feed it’s time we demand they be relocated in the wild rather than shot!
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They (say) they have to round them all up in order to do a head count of the elder horses. I think they have ‘ruined’ them by running them half to death, now they can’t release a herd of crippled horses back to their mountain homes? No horse is going to adapt to any radical change in diet when they are constantly under stress! Why don’t they let rescues have the horses in need of medical care? I don’t think the BLM wants the horses to survive. Dead horses don’t need to be fed at all.
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And how are they going to adopt out crippled horses..or horses that have terminal and permanent diarrea?
HYPERLIPEMIA- definition..a forked tounge that leads to a split lip
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I do so agree. I know that Willis has stated there are problems with that but they are not insurmountable. Death sure is. Let the older and less adapted horses go. Now. Some who die are not having obvious problems but when they colic they have no help and once down what chance do they have?? They are found dead. Who are we fooling here?
BLM let the horses go HOME. All of them. You have enough adoption horses to last 10 years and get them all trained professionally. You do not need another horse off of our ranges, anywhere. mar
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My point about HSUS is that they have the funds AND the staff (remember they have another branch that is strictly legislative/lobbying).
That they don’t sue for immediate access is more about their sense of priorities AND expending political capital (favors, connections, etc).
I don’t expect smaller foundations to sue for access, I expect HSUS or maybe ASPCA, although they do spend tons on shelters and enforcement versus HSUS.
Heck, I don’t know why AWI doesn’t sue for access and pay for one of the smaller foundations to field teams.
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Seems BLM is taking 2 guys to court for shooting 6 wild horses in Nevada. HSUS is helping out BLM. Kinda of ironic—
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2010/03/074.shtml
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My thoughts exactly. Whenever I read about the BLM offering rewards for information on wild horse killers, it makes me want to call the “Wild Horse TIPS Hotline” and turn the “mass serial murderers” in.
So the BLM IS enforcing this part of the WFRH&B ACT as it selectively interprets the rest … sounds like a plan to me. Cover the rotten underpinnings with a veneer of good works. They can be HEROES!
Oh, and GOOD MORNING everyone. Are you up early to grab that latte as you head for the subway? Or perhaps to feed those hungry horses puttin’ up a rukus in your barnyard? I’ve been up since 4 MT reading your comments and sucking down good ol’ REGULAR coffee.
Whoever you are and whatever you’re doing, bless you for being here!
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I need you guys to do some word search and further study, but it is my understanding hyperlipemia is VERY RARE in full size horses, is almost always preceded by OBESITY and is most prevalent in ponies and miniatures IN LATE STAGE PREGNANCY AND LACTATION. It is almost unheard of in breeding stallions or geldings, and yet, here at the Calico Captivity Center we have horses dropping dead left and right from this disease. And it is most often diagnosed with a blood serum test; I simply can’t picture this poor ol’ all-by-his-lonesome vet doing serum tests on all the afflicted animals. I think it is more likely that Vet hit upon this particular disorder in his Merck Manual and remembered how to spell it.
I submit to my learned colleagues that this here is another Nugget of Bulls**t from the Annals of the Bureau. Are there any records of necropsies? Have necropsies been attended by Observers? Or are we simply expected to buy this along with all the other misinformation coming from Fallon?
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The vet that Laura and RT challenged refuses to show his credentials, has no private practice and only works for BLM. The other vet on call I don’t know about. I am calling a local vet. be back. Sounds like BLM Care, and Diagnosis to me… mar
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Vet clinics here are agreeing with Lisa!! This is not likely; hyperlipemia. hat is most likely; colic and complications. mar
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the other rare occurance is a massive amount of late term abortions.
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I agree, Sandra. I hate waxin’ all Conspiracy Theory but the initial miscarriages weren’t surprising. Tragic, yes, but that kind of physical stress on late term mares is going to have consequences.
It’s the ones AFTER the stress levels dropped – when the Girls were close to each other and relatively comfortable – that made me sit up and think ‘What the Hell?’
Many moons ago, when I was but a wee scudder I worked at a ranch during foaling season. In one evening, we had three girls going at once. There was some brief discussion of the possibility that maybe amniotic fluid on my shoes or hands may have gotten the other mares going.
BUT – to have all those Captive mares
lose their infants so close together leaves me believing something stinky was afoot: perhaps a dose of pitocin, darted or injected, and suddenly there’s 30 less horses to have to contend with.
This of course would have to be a dark, evil plan perpetrated by a dark, evil entity.
So I’m left to wonder which would be a more credible scenario – that even with the comfort of their sisters, they’d still abort; the scent or chemical signal of amniotic fluid somehow absorbed; or that there are Black Hearted beasts in among the mares.
I’m not a nut. I’m just free-associating.
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Mold in the hay will do this. i used to have to shake out the hay for the late term mares as mold does cause abortion then. If you could pull the hay and check it I bet that is what would be found. But who will let us and even if we could would they replace that hay? mar
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Female, stressed, and obese donkeys are at highest risk of developing hyperlipemia regardless of pregnancy status. Hyperlipemia is most commonly seen in the winter and spring.
Clinical Findings:
Signs are nonspecific, variable, and may not relate to loss of liver function. They include lethargy, weakness, inappetence, decreased water intake, and diarrhea. Often, there is a history of prolonged anorexia, rapid weight loss, and previous obesity. Emaciation, ventral edema, colic, and trembling may be seen.
Unfortunately there are no studies of wild horses that have been literally run to death to find comparable data..Uniformly it is stated that it is stress caused, and horses must be tube fed to survive and IVed..none of wich is happening..no doubt..mostly occurs in the winter and spring..it is called helicopter disease…
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YEP! ABSOLUTELY! AMEN….STINKS TO ME! YOU GOT IT! CORRECTAMUNDO! I SMELL SOMETHING ROTTEN IN DENMARK AND IT AIN’T THE CHEESE.
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D! Dude! Whaddya tryin’ to say??! Don’t hold back on our account! Tell us whatchya REALLY mean!!
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Certainly it is either colic from poor nutrition choices (alfalfa, etc although it seems BLM has released press releases that say grass hay recently), immobility and stressors, etc.
The BLM is killing these horses with their kindness management practices. I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of the euth’d horses are being euth’d due to injury from round-up/processing AND partially retained placenta. Can you see Cattoor and his henchmen out there collecting afterbirth and making sure all the pieces are there?!?! Yeah, right! And chickens have teeth and pigs can fly.
I thought BLM released info that said they had 1 USDA vet out there?
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I am not sure if the one vet is Dr. Kane… I think Laura L knows.
I hope we can find strong cause to get an investigation started and/or HSUS team in there. mar
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So, like a big, dumb boob I went on the BLM Adoption web site. Can anybody here loan me about $6275.00? And a horse trailer? And maybe 280 acres in Palomino Valley?
I’ll pay ya back, I swear…
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There are some bloodwork LAB reports on the very bottem of that PDF file that was posted of the Vets reports. have to scroll all the way down.
I’m no Vet but I have worked for and with Vets for many years. When the BLM over runs the mustangs, they are very dehydrated. I don’t think the BLM is very good about even making sure water is given right after their roundup over-run. plus the horses are upset and may not even take a drink for another day or 2 out of fear.
so these mustangs arrive at the holding pens so dehydrated they never bounce back. feeding alf hay is just plain crazy.. but any hay draws gallons of water into the gut as a normal part of digestion. really crazy of the BLM to treat dehydrated horses like they do.
The BLM roundups first ‘problem’ is the DISTANCE they run those horses. second problem is the speed. and their third problem is their care from the second they are captured.
in my opinion if the BLM corrected their defective round-up methods they could have very few IF ANY deaths. (or injuries)
I don’t think they have experience in actually treating the mustangs. take a look at the bloodwork. take a look at the lenght of time the BLM Vet does NOTHING except report something like “horse was depressed for a week and labored breathing” then bloodwork/culture report shows a lung infection that is easy to treat with a common antibiotic.
If there are so many deaths with a round-up under the public eyes…just imagine how those round-ups were in past years. how many died. omg someone has to restructure the BLM, the entire thing before it’s to late.
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I’m starting to wonder if “azorturia” (sp?)/ “tying up” isn’t a big problem. Happens with racers who are typically lean, dehydrated and stressed.
Any necropsies being done? Yeah, sure….right after USDA and DOI get done counting the chickens with teeth and the reports of flying pigs.
Just sad.
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Just finding, with all restraint and politeness the proper way to say I agree (with a ton of smartass included because I have no doubt in my simple little mind that DOI/BLM reads this blog with more than daily regularity)…astute observations Lisa, very astute. 😉
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You are cracking me up! But sadly, what you write…ain’t it the freaking truth?!
I honestly believe BLM doesn’t care about adoptions. They just plain want then gone. Not sure?…check out Mustang Man Meduna’s story. And he is just one player in the dump and disappear mustang/burro game.
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The BLM needs to leave the wild horses alone they do just fine roaming free like they’re suppose to be doing.It’s to bad we can’t put a arrest all the members of the BLM as they should be brought up on charges and spend the rest of their days penned up and starved and not allowed to run free and open graze like they’re used to.I watched the video about the Calico roundup and all and it made me sick to my stomach that a human being can be so cruel and inhumane heartless towards a poor defenceless animals.And flying that helicopter so close to those wild horses,that is insane and cruel.The BlM are stealing from us,with taking the wild horses off the public land that is theirs not the cattlemen or the oil and gas people or God knows who the BLM is letting to use the land that the wild horses call their home,besides they’re getting paid quite well for what they’re doing to theses horses,it’s the same as embezzlement I would think.Cause they lie about the horses and say they’re not good for the land and etc.if anything they inrich the land.Anyone that sides with the BLM is just as bad as they are in my way of thinking.Because the BLM doesn’t think about nothing except destroying the wild horses and burro’s and do it as fast as they can.They wouldn’t be thinking that if they were back in Lincoln’s day.Horses played a major role in the building of this country and they still are a very important part of this country.So Blm get lost go somewhere where they don’t care about their animals,where you cruel heartless people would fit in cause you certainly don’t belong here!!!We need to prosecute everyone of the BLM to the extent of the law as they’re breaking laws daily the way they’re doing these horses.
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One more thing they need to stop killing the older horses,mares,stallions and just turn them lose and let them run free like they’re suppose to and live out their lives as God so intended them to They just need to turn all the horses lose and let them free roam all the days of thier lives.To breed and multiply their bands as God intended for them to do.they don’t need the BLM to regulate them,the weather,the preditors(mountain lions)and old age pretty well takes care of the regulating of the size of bands.Thats why God made prey and preditors in all the animals that roam the land.
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Here’s the latest on the Sage Grouse. $16 MILLION MORE FOR RANCHERS!!! Wyoming has applied for $3 million, but wants people to be able to continue hunting them. All of this is such CRAP! I’m too disgusted to say more, just read the damn thing.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14664783
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just a note: according to my research; “according to a Vet. report on Hay Analysis
the mustangs are fed “orchard grass / rye grass mix ” from the floor of the pens for the first “2-4 weeks of being @ Fallon…
then after 2 – 4 wks. on “orchard grass / rye grass mix; the Mustangs get “Alfalfa:
prob.: if Rye grass gets wet; the grass gets a fungus called Ergot Rey grass fungsu
this fungus is “notorious…for causing late term miscarriages; scientific speaking;(i wrote the BLm about this in Jan. but hey dr. “sandpit Sanford rules !
(i call SAnford “Sandpit because sandford “leaves sick mustangs in sand pits to perish; anyone can see this; just look at “The Calico Colt video avail. on the web;
some people thing deer are the problem; some people thing pigeons are the problem; some think Mustangs are the problem; some think its’ wolves or bears; but I know what the problem is: the problem is “people have lost their relationship with the animals and they do not follow the teachings of Noah and King Solomon who wrote;
“A Righteous Man regards with care the lives of his animals”; Holy Bible/ Proverbs
ps recall this: Solomon is named : The wiset man who ever lived; not Dr. Sanford !
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The reason, in my opinion, BLM is exterminating older mares at Indian Lakes in greater proprotion to stallions is this: in the event BLM is forced to return the horses from Calico back to the range due to such public outrage, BLM is establishing the gender re-apportionment that it has been adovcating as a possible management tool on the range. This changing of the male to female ratios in the herds as propsed by BLM officials always favors fewer mares to more stallions, or even geldings. Not to mention that BLM is constantly destroying the genetics and stamina that older mares pass to their progeny–it is more of the systematic, step-by-step, turn-key process of eradicating everything that is keeping these horses in existence and trying to discredit the heritage and DNA these horse have.
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It seems as though the legislature that favors slaughter are the puppets of animal agribusiness campaign contributers. It is rumored that Sue’s United Organization of the Horse is funded by Belgian and French interests. Also, I believe that there is a pending lawsuit against Sue. As the founder of the UOH, there exists a conflict of interest. With all that said, the Wyoming legislature is against the Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503. Let’s turn this around. I sign online petitions. I have contacted the sponsors and cosponsors of H.R, 503. I assert that the Wyoming legislature does not represent the opinion of many Wyomingites. We are making progress. Please help the cause by making your opinion known. Ken Salizar is currently proposing methods of management of wild herds. Slaughter is not an option. The ‘humane’ slaughter of ‘unwanted’ horses is born out of ignorance, cowardice, and greed. Equine ‘processing’ is in no way humane. Responsible horse owners humanely ‘put down’ their horses. Most humans are conscious of the ultimate demise of work or pleasure animals. Responsible animal owners do not concern themselves with cash for a carcass.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Ghandi
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