by Cindy MacDonald of American Herds
The BLM is accepting public comments through Monday, July 19, 2010, for the planned removal of the entire West Douglas wild horse population. Click Here to review the Preliminary Environmental Assessment.
Having briefly scanned BLMs long list of arguments, reasons and legal citations regarding why they are authorized to decimate the West Douglas herds, I am still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor as I noticed BLM omitted one, tiny little significant fact about their authority to do so;
On August 5, 2009, United States District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ruled BLM had overstepped their authority by issuing a zero AML for the West Douglas herds and declaring ALL wild horses as “excessive”, in direct defiance of both intent and law as clearly spelled out in the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act. Click Here to read Judge Collyer’s decision.
Yet, here we are, one year later, with BLM citing their authority as the only authority and completely failing to mention the Judge’s ruling as they continue to charge onward with nary a thought or concern.
With that in mind, its kind of hard to advocate for submitting public comments for BLM to “consider” about zeroing out the West Douglas herds if they don’t give a rats ass about what a federal judge had to say.
However, given the circumstances, obviously BLM is going to find themselves talking to the judge again to explain why they don’t care what she had to say last year about their “authority”, why they don’t believe they are bound by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act, and how the BLM has decided the West Douglas Herd Area is great habitat for livestock grazing, oil and gas, elk, bighorn sheep and other wildlife species – just not wild horses.
Therefore, having public comments on file about how insanely out of control this agency has become might be helpful when the judge is looking at BLMs lawyers and asking them why she has to decide on a case she has already decided on.
If you’d like to add your voice in protest of BLMs continued defiance of both law and judge, please submit comments by:
MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010
4:30 p.m. m.s.t.
Bureau of Land Management
White River Field Office
Attention: Melissa Kindall
220 E. Meeker, CO 81641
Phone: 970-878-3842
FAX: 970-878-3805
E-Mail: melissa_kindall@blm.gov
Also, please be aware that submitting comments to the BLM becomes part of the public record and as such, all personally identifying information may be available for public review. While you can request BLM withhold this information, BLM may not be able to, depending on the circumstances of some requests.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Take Action on West Douglas Zeroing-Out Plan by 7/19 (thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com)
- BLM manipulating wild herd counts and resource data (ppjg.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I had a chat with the head wrangler over at palomino Valley not long ago, and I asked him why some herds were zeroed out and then cattle leases were given for the same HMA area. He said that could not be true, as it is illegal for them to zero out a herd.
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And how many herds have been and will “zeroed out” by the end of the 2010 Schedule? How many left with so few wild horses and burros that inbreeding will be all but guaranteed?
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Should read “will be ‘zeroed out'”. I’m only on my second cup of coffee.
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Thank you Cindy and RT.
The reason I thought this was important was because the judge ruled in favor of anything but BLM….and BLM still can’t pull up their pants, wipe and flush properly.
Talk about slow learners.
Cindy, you are in the handful of advocate warriors that knows about everything wild equine. WOW…you are amazing! Annie would be proud.
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typical BLM
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I agree. Talk about SMARTS. Cindy’s got ’em! Just try to keep up with her.
Wouldn’t that put them in “contempt of court”?
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Thank you for posting this. These last several times besides a email I phoned the Phone: 970-878-3842
and left a detailed voicemail. Of course they are not answering the phones!!
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Cindy, The arrogance is what will stop them. They are so unaware of how they are perceived. look at all they spend on Public Relations. Who do we all hear from the most?? Wild horse and burro specialists?? Heavens, no. We hear from the PR people all the time as they have to try to save their imagine and clean up after BLM. Someone else might make sense. Only PR can deliver lies and like this and not blink. mar
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Their arrogance knows no bounds……
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OMG is this the same HMA that the judge decided on last year???? Isn’t this like thumbing your nose at the judge??? I don’t think she’ll like it.
‘We need to start writing Senator Landrieu. She is a big friend to the horses. If enough of us write her and tell her what is going on–maybe she pull the carpet out from under Salazoo and his co-hort Bobby.
This is appalling.
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