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Breaking News: BLM Backs Off Plan to Castrate Wyoming Wild Horses

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BLM Won’t Practice “Frankenstein” Experiment on National Icons

The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and Western Watershed Project have announced that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has backed off on its plan to castrate hundreds of wild stallions in southwestern Wyoming.

The BLM had planned to round up and castrate nearly 900 wild horses from the White Mountain/Little Colorado herd management areas between Rock Springs and La Barge starting this month. The agency has said it’s concerned about overpopulation of horses damaging rangeland.

Environmentalists filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., last week to try to block the roundup.

Suzanne Roy of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign says the BLM announced Tuesday during a status conference on the lawsuit that it was abandoning the plan and would announce a new plan later.

The removal and deadly harassment of hundreds of the wild horses will more than likely continue.

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42 replies »

  1. It shows the BLM has no science to back their management. Now is the time to press to find out how the come up with the numbers of allowing 400 horses to be left on a million acre range with 50,000 cattle.

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    • Exactly. Spot on. There was no reason for this diabolical plan in the first place. But I also believe they are throwing us a bone so that we will be happy with removals without castration or whatever they decide short of castration.

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  2. While maintaining a positive attitude about this, I still have a sense of this being a “bone” thrown out to divert attention from all they other stuff they are doing. We need to continue to keep the pressure on them till we stop ALL of them so-called “management” and get the public lands and our horses out from under any aspect of their control – including the ones “warehoused” around the country that are showing up on trailers going to slaughter.

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  6. Tomorrow I will be stomping mad that this was ever a plan. But today I am euprhoric with joy that my friends won’t have to meet such a horrible fate. The BLM must have known they had no case – that this went completely against the Wild Horse & Burro Act – why else would this get taken all the way to court before they finally back off?

    At least we know this: minimally reproducing and non-reproducing herds are off the table, and the BLM will remember this before they try that crap again. This is a victory!

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  8. Hmmm…I agree this is probably just a bone to quiet those that have been calling and emailing madly. I believe when the debt crisis was going on the BLM felt that they were out of the spotlight. Now that this debt crisis will be discussed on another day, they may be able to hear all of our voices. This just shows what IDIOTS THAT THEY really are. They don’t have a clue regarding the management of our beautiful horses. I would like to see BLM removed from the picture almost entirely. Let them manage the parks. It would seem more profitable and logical to allow the Mustangs and Burros to be managed by a group made up of American citizens, those who are striving to protect them. Its time for the good ol’ boys to take a hike. The gravy train is nearing an end. We must really put the pressure on Congress and the President to move this to a priority position. I have been trying the White House for 2 days now and the switchboard has been jammed! This is what we need to do. Again, if anyone in Illinois wants to meet at Senator Kirk’s office in downtown Chicago, I have scheduled a meeting with his assistant – Thursday, August 11th at 10 am. I plan to gather all the information that I can and present it to her. I wish it was the Senator, but sometimes you have to take the next best thing. She also said that she he has received some information from the Cloud Foundation. Rt, if there are any pertinent documents that I should bring please advise on the blog. The roundups must STOP!

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  9. The BLM has backed off this horrid plan to castrate the mustangs due to the heavy opposition from very credible plaintiffs, and the public scrutiny that this legal action will engender. They are up against strong science and are no way equipped to answer this lawsuit. All they have is dumb, outdated arguments, they lack intelligence but they have the power through their monied supporters, which walk the halls of congress. The BLM is devious and dirty they will be doing what they can under the radar, and this is the serious issue.

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  10. Kind of like having Western Watersheds sign up on these lawsuits! They do have a good record against the BLM.

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  11. So last year 54 Congressmen signed a letter urging BLM to stop the roundups–and this year 64 signed a letter strongly urging BLM to cease until the NAS has finished its work. If the federal govt. can’t get one of its own agencies to comply–well we’re in serious trouble. NAS better get people out on the range while there are still a few horses to study. So right Louie–armed truce. BLM will simply apply its new normal extermination methods somewhere else–out of sight. Let’s talk about manhood–or lack of….

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  12. The BLM could have lost that suit. That is why they backed out. Better to run than to lose. Losing there would have spelled more losses. They want the horses removed and will do what they can to maintain that goal. We did not stop them. They have and will continue to do terrible things to our wild ones as long as they are in control. We lost an opportunity to stop them. That is what happened.

    I am sorry BLM would not stand and fight. The possibility of losing was too big.

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      • I think it is very unfortunate they ran. They did this to RT also on the West Douglas suit to be heard in NY state. They can afford to run and sometimes to even lose. But if we have the right combination on them they will not stand and fight as it is less costly and so much easier to just walk and change the date. They fear a sure thing. We need a sure thing.

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  13. The Federal Government created the Department of the Interior with its sub-agency the BLM to act as stewards over the public lands who, in-turn, confiscate lands that are protected by Constitutional Law and Treaty and then sell them to private parties and/or corporations. In practice they are killing off wild horse herds and burros using similar tactics, these magnificent animals hold no value. They view animals only as nuisance property to be taken off the land, sold off to slaughter houses, making profit. Nobody knows how many horses are in holding. This is side-stepping and subverting the Constitution which is not only criminal it is treason against this nation at large. The feds know what this agency does.
    Due to the amount of subversion going on for years, driving the mustang to extinction, the BP Gulf of Mexico eco disaster, confiscation of lands, and other issues too numerous to mention.. A class action suit (there would be huge numbers that would join,) would be a great way to bring it all out, however no one sues the feds. Very discouraging, but a win is necessary.

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  14. Did you see that the interior department would like to mine the Grand Canyon for uranium. I just signed a petition online. The Sierra Club has the petition. How about putting some petitions online regarding the round-ups?

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    • Uranium mining on the rim has been going on and fought and closed and reopened for decades. This is pressure from China. It is a very highly polluting mining operation. It is bad for the tribes right there, the river and tourism at the canyon. It causes the obscurity of the sunlight by dust. We keep fighting it. I hope you will join.

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      • I understood that Grijalva’s letters were from members of the House, speaking on behalf of HOR …not Senate, ergo no Senator Landrieu or Kirk (supporters of equines) signatures.

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  17. From Congressman Grijalva’s letter:

    Given the current methods employed, we have serious doubts about BLM’s ability to provide an accurate census of the wild horse and burros. Despite pressure from outside groups for a state-of the-art multispectral camera census using unmanned aircraft- currently in use by Homeland Security, NASA, and the Department of Defense- it appears no real effort has been made to explore this option. The potential for partnership with other Federal Agencies with access to this technology exists. A partnership between NASA and the US Forest Service has resulted in the use of the unmanned aircraft to spot forest fires. Customs and Border Protection has unmanned
    aircraft at our Northern and Southern Borders that could be engaged for accurate wildlife census in the Western states.

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  19. Many have said it, they backed off because the didn’t have the legal grounds to DO IT.

    Don’t know if I read this in earlier posts, but can’t the plaintiffs proceed? Just because DOI withdrew this proposal doesn’t mean they won’t use it again either overtly or covertly. Wouldn’t the precedent be critical?

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    • What I am trying to say that is a “management” tool of DOI/USDA that they intend on trotting out again, and again.

      Can’t the lawsuit proceed because the issue is about this sterilization concept, regardless of location for employment? The idea stinks, but they will roll it out time and time again until told it is illegal.

      Also, I believe DOI/USDA didn’t want to set precedent….all the more to go for it…if possible. I don’t care that they pulled this obscene plan; I care that they think it is a management tool in the first place.

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  20. Even though it sounds good, is it?? For how long? Until they, the BLM, think no one is watching or paying attention?? And, what goes on behind our backs, no one will ever know. I still don’t understand how they can be so determined & obsessed to attack & pursue one species of animal, our American wild equines, with such vengeance & hatred. Maybe, they are the mirror opposites of us?? They have already, & continue constantly, to alter, interfere with, & cause damage to nature, that damage has already been done, & can not be undone. We must continue to stop them from their rampage, never let our guards down, & use WHATEVER means possible to end this brutality!! Maybe we should try giving them some of their own “medicine”, that is, if they can break the laws, why can’t we?? Their “poop” doesn’t smell any better than ours! 🙂

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  21. There were many forces that came together to stop this ridicules decision. The BLM may have been testing the waters to see if they could get away with this. Meanwhile while most of us were distracted, the BLM had two unannounced roundups. Let’s not forget that. Whether it counts for anything or not, we could report to the DOI IG! Justice DEPT.

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    • I wouldn’t waste one breath or speak spittle on DOI IG OR DOJ…DOJ are the lawyers consulting with DOIs extermination plan.

      As to whom to spend the time is more difficult…Congress?…White House?…media…judicial?

      p.s. Government inaction, in action re: food poisoning and the ground turkey salmonella…….. USDA STILL won’t identify the source. HAH!!!!! Either can’t or WON’T. More incompetence as with our public lands and wild equines.

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      • BINGO…we finally have a winner! Cargill is at fault for the turkey salmonella….and the recall is “voluntary”.

        New there was some BIG Ag HAG behind the delay in public notification and recall.

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      • Interesting don’t you think that the responisble company was kept hush-hush…
        Things are getting worse….one of these days this country will implode as a result of the corruption…sad.

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  22. From the Appalachian Journal, a pro-sustainable environmental bi-monthly paper August September, “Bison: The Heslthier, More Sustainable Meat (2011,10).
    In addition to the health benefits, bison provide friendly alternatives to the environmental impacts that cattle farming have on the land.
    ” Bison are anlotmeasiermon the land because they don’t eat as much,” said Nelson. “It took about five times as much feed for my cows than it does to feed my bison. They also don’t tear up the land as bad. I used to be knee deep in mud with my cows, not with my bison.”. For more info, visit nelsonknollfsrms.com.

    There is also an article here about using horses to log on small sustainable forests to avoid clear cutting. Article on Draftwood Horse Logging. Ibis, (14-15, 17).

    Another article in this same issue, “Theats to the Lamd: Nitrate Pollution Poses Severe Health Risks” (20) discusses the amount of fertilizers used by large scale industrial farming, “Nitrogen contents in water will end up somewhere, generally in st reams and lakes,” said Dr. Ariel SZofi, research soil scientist at the U.S. Agricultural Research Service.”

    The article goes on to describe the negative effects of nitrates Most of the information in the article comes from groups that are interested in Best Practices for farming—and lend support to whatnwe all know about the BLM.

    I believe the discussion about how cows use water in a side bar within the above article lends even more credence to the WWP and other groups concerned about our riparian areas, “Farmers don’t have the right buffers in place to fence livestock out,” said George Santucci, executive director of the National Committee for the New River. “it is a huge problem with erosion, and E. Coli often poses a serious health threat.”
    Santucci blames historic farming practice and says it is a challenge and expense to farmers to install appropriate drinking systems that keep cattle from polluting water sources.”

    Now it seems that there are plenty of scientists, agriculture specialists, river keeper groups that are doing research into best practices for agriculture. Although a food number of them are possibly based in the East. The point is, since there are groups researching Best Practices in soil, agriculture, and land management, and what they suggest is inconsistent with the way the BLM manages land, cattle, wild horses, etc.,..

    I believe nownis the time to gather the large body of evidence that exists about the BLM’s failure to preserve our land, water, wild horses and other natural resources. Since good science is available to make the argument with the public, particularly the agrarian public that does not have the luxury to abus the land and have then tax payer fix it, now is the time to make a much broader argument for doing away with the Bureau of Land Management entirely.

    We are spending a fortune as a nation supporting an agency employing a group of 1940’s era cowboys who want to manage our land as if we were still living in the 1940’s. Well, hello, BLM this is 2012 and we are headed to the next century, and unless you can do (sorry, all done with words and promises) the job you have been given and manage our land, our horses, and other resources, we will not be taking you with us.

    We want our horses protected and BLM as it exists is incapable of protecting and preserving our national icons. I propose a public/private partnership throughout our HMA’s and the elimination of any BLM management for our wild horses.

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  25. More bad news for the White Mountain/ Little Colorado herds, the Rock Springs Grazing Association has filed a lawsuit seeking to make the BLM remove ALL the wild horses from these two hma’s. If the BLM does not fight this we stand to lose several thousand wild ones on the open range. I wonder if the BLM knew about this lawsuit and that was why they backed off on the spaying and gelding. http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_3f272138-bd32-11e0-998f-001cc4c03286.html If you have a Pacer account the lawsuit can be viewed there. It sure would be nice if we could get a lawyer to intervene for the wild ones.

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    • I have to think BLM knew about this as it surely works to their advantage.. The Rock Springs Grazing Association is using the services of Coffey Engineering/ Land Survey to assist in the mapping and management of the lands for grazing operations in the area. Highly likely BLM knew about this. Possible the RSGA might have other projects aside from grazing in their plans.

      Forces will have to be put in place to stop this !

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