by Debbie Coffey Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved.
While many taxpaying Americans think that it’s ludicrous for the BLM to round up even 1 of the few remaining wild horses and burros off of PUBLIC lands, the Iron County Commissioners (Utah) have their panties in a twist because the BLM is only rounding up 200 wild horses. They say this is “a joke.”
In an article written by Traci Sullivan (thespectrum.com) on 5/20/14, it states “Angry over the most recent announcement by the Bureau of Land Management to only gather 200 wild horses off the range in 2014, Iron County Commissioners issued a statement Tuesday calling it a ‘slap in the face.‘”
“The 200 wild horses being offered up by the BLM is a joke, seen by the county commissioners as a way the Washington D.C. officials hope to appease local government, wildlife and sportsmen advocates,” the statement read. (You can read the story HERE.)
Apparently, neighboring Beaver County Commissioners are on board with this. Both Iron and Beaver County Commissions are giving BLM a deadline of July 1st or they’re threatening to take matters into their own hands (again). (Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower supports this.) This would be in violation of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses & Burros Act of 1971.
Isn’t breaking a federal law considered a criminal activity?
On uslegal.com it states, as a legal definition of conspiracy: “Conspiracy is a separate offense, by which someone conspires or agrees with someone else to do something which, if actually carried out, would amount to another federal crime or offense. It is an agreement or a kind of partnership for criminal purposes in which each member becomes the agent or partner of every other member. It is not necessary to prove that the criminal plan actually was accomplished or that the conspirator was involved in all stages of the planning or knew all of the details involved.
The main elements that need to be proven are a voluntary agreement to participate and some overt act by one of the conspirators in furtherance of the criminal plan. If a person has an understanding of the unlawful nature of a plan and knowingly and willfully joins in that plan on one occasion, that is sufficient to convict him for conspiracy even though he had not participated before and even though he played only a minor part. A conspiracy may exist when the parties use legal means to accomplish an illegal result, or to use illegal means to achieve something that in itself is lawful.”
I hope the BLM has issued written notices to both county commissions of the monetary fines and jail terms that will be meted out for violating federal law.
The BLM should also immediately notify people who talk about shooting wild horses at public meetings (a big shout out to the Experimental Stewardship Program meetings in northeastern California) that this is against federal law, and also immediately notify them of the penalties. If the BLM is silent, could it be perceived that they might be in agreement with unlawful actions?
This is part of the law protecting wild horses & burros:
(a) Violations; penalties; trial
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Am I being sensitive, or is this behavior getting WAY out of hand?
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It’s been way out of hand for far too long. Furthermore, rounding up 200 wild horses are 200 too many …. they should be left to roam free, as the Wild Free – Roaming Horses & Burro Act of 1971 had intended.
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Debby thank you for this. I commented at that other site that I’d boycott anything and everything coming from Utah. I said that I wouldn’t have issues if some young father was hauled off if he broke the law. Someone wrote back with a VERY snarky unkind reply.
For a bunch of law abiding Mormons–this sure does more than anger me. I have to wonder how every Sunday they can partake of the sacrament KNOWING they are conspiring to break federal law. I wonder how many of them hold Temple Recommends–those priceless pieces of paper that allows one to enter the Temple. You have to have all your ducks in a row, keep the commandments, obey the law (federal and state), sustain and support the leadership of the Church, obey the Word of Wisdom, and pay your tithing.
The Church is VERY patriarchal. I mean WAY BEYOND patriarchal. If you don’t have the male appendage a lot of men in leadership roles get very abusive of women.
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Margaret, great idea to boycott anything coming from Utah.
There sure seems to be blatant discrimination in the way the BLM treats ranchers and the way they treat wild horse and burro advocates. For one thing, the BLM calls wild horse & burro advocates “animal activists.” If ranchers are advocating for cows (and cows are animals, too, right?) shouldn’t BLM also call ranchers “animal activists?” Or, at the very least, “cattle activists?”
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Drought: Some Utah ranchers want elk dead for cows
http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2014/05/19/drought-some-utah-ranchers-want-elk-dead-for-cows/
Group asks increase in elk permits so public land cows can continue during drought-
This extraordinary request does not seem to be faring well in the Tribune’s public comment section, but then the state’s cattle and livestock politicians have their own calculus.
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Wild Horses and Burros. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, 16 U.S.C. secs. 1331-1340, imposes a criminal fine up to US$100,000 and one year imprisonment on any person who causes the death or harassment of a wild horse or burro, who processes such a horse or burro into a commercial product, who willfully removes a horse or burro from nacec.federal lands, or who sells a wild horse or burro caught on private lands.
http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal2a/us17.htm
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The Big Rip-Off: How Our Public Lands are Really Being Used
Click to access Jones_Salvo_Mortgaging_Natural_Heritage.pdf
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This “domestic livestock for private/corporate profit” mentality is illegal when used in opposition to the law – and when used in conjunction against wild horses and burros living on their legally designated and our publically owned land. BLM is not in the cattle and sheep business and is not authorized to be promoting private for-profit ranchers.
The 1971 Congressional Wild Horse and Burro Act states that the land where wild horses and burros were found at the time of the passing of the Act, is to be devoted PRINCIPALLY but not exclusively to the wild horses’ and wild burros’ welfare in keeping with the multiple-use management concept of public lands.
As made clear by the Wild Horse and Burro Act’s implementing regulations, the BLM “may close appropriate areas of the public lands to grazing use by all or a particular kind of livestock . . . If necessary to provide habitat for wild horses or burros, to implement herd management actions, or to protect wild horses or burros from disease, harassment or injury.” 43 C.F.R. § 4710.5(a).
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Iron County Commissioners are a joke!
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This is what I commented on this article, and it was a good article.
So the permitees have to “put up with recreationists (people who would like to enjoy our PUBLIC LANDS) predators(who have been almost eradicated) and insecure forage (which has been destroyed by cattle). BUT they only pay $1.35 per cow/calf pair a month – somehow I think that should make up for the inconvenience of sharing the PUBLIC LAND with the taxpayers and the wild animals that live there. Its about time the BLM dealt with these ranchers who feel they have a right – not a privilege to the public lands – and treat them like they treat the animal advocates. And boy do these wild animals NEED advocates!
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If the BLM sits back and does nothing then they are accomplices in a federal crime and should each be punished as well to the fullest extent of the law. They are supposed to be upholding the law but as I see it, they are breaking it as well. If that commissioner wants to try and do something to the horses, then he should also be prosecuted and penalized to the fullest extent of the law to be made a public example of to let people out there know that the government isn’t just a big bag of wind. Thanks again Debby and RT
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