Unedited Story by (less headline and byline) as published in The Spectrum
“Ya Just Can’t Polish Cow Dung – Anyway You Cut It, It Still Stinks”
What the BLM and Welfare Ranchers are full of!!!
CEDAR CITY, UTAH – Last week wild horse advocates touted that 35,000 comments had been filed with the Bureau of Land Management opposing the agency’s proposed horse roundup in Iron and Beaver Counties — but officials say that number is about 10,000 off.
And of the 26,723 that were filed — 26,574 of those were a form letter — it was the same wording, just different signatures.
“Generally what happens is that different groups like the Sierra Club will write a letter and then send it out to their constituency to have them sign it. It’s the same wording in each letter and generally it’s all opinion based,” said BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall.
The comments were part of an environmental assessment being conducted by the BLM in order to do a series of roundups that would reduce approximately 700 wild horses from the Bible Spring Complex located in Iron and Beaver Counties.
While the BLM recognizes only 149 comments of the total were individually written Crandall said officials still “value” all of them.
“We take into account that it mattered enough to 27,000 people that they took the time to sign the letter and send in their thoughts,” she said. “But when we sit down to go over the comments it’s the ones address specific concerns and issues as opposed to those that simply express opinions that receive a formal response. These are the most useful to us — the ones that raise specific issues.”
Iron County Commissioner Dave Miller however, argues the comments are made by those who are not educated on the issues.
“These people who sign these letters don’t know anything about the facts. They respond to these because they feel it’s their duty and it’s not based on sound information on the laws,” Miller said…(CONTINUED)
Click (HERE) to read more disrespectful comments from the BLM and Welfare Ranchers
Please remember that American Tax Payer’s comments and concerns DO NOT COUNT!
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Kathleen Clarke, director of the Utah governor’s Public Lands Policy Coordination Office.
Kathleen Clarke, that name sounds familiar. Was she formerly with the BLM? Seems like she was.
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Me again.
It seams obvious, This is the classic case of Big Business and politicians ignoring nature for there own agenda. It will be sad if they succeed.
We must keep the pressure on. There is always election time.
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Terry send Kathleen Clarke this message for me.
We must not decide to eradicate Equines a creature of god merely for human convenience, prejudice or personal gain.
Statement given to me by Mark Keegan N.Y.
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The welfare ranchers need to start paying for the roundups,hit them where it hurts,then they will stop all this nonsense.We the people need to file a suit against the blm like the ranchers do,for using our tax dollars for ranchers private gain.time to fight fire with fire.and just because their state gains from cattle money it puts a huge burden on our country to the tune of fourty million a year for round ups,this is no different from the government bailing out big business again.and those cows and sheep are stripping our ranges and carrying water born illness to any water sourses near they graz’they endanger wild life and the fish,they even endanger the horses ,they say our voices do not count? Time to show them other wise.
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Utah rancher subsidies paid out for things like drought. The reason welfare ranchers need to keep their cattle on public lands is to keep getting those big checks every year –
http://farm.ewg.org/top_recips.php?fips=49000&progcode=totalfarm®ionname=Utah
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What a bunch of BS! Saying that people who sign form letters know nothing about the facts is a complete lie and just another way for the BLM to discredit those who care about wild horses. Do they really want 35,000 letters written in 35,000 different ways all addressing the same concerns? Do you think they would read all of those? Of course not. They don’t even address the concerns written in the hand written letters hey receive now. People are getting tired of writing them over and over and over and never having their voice heard. These issues have been going on for years. People know the facts! If the BLM really thinks they don’t, they are deluding themselves.That’s the reason people are signing form letters. I’ve sat down and typed out thoughtful, well-researched, factual letters and still nothing changes. What a slap in the face to the public. The BLM has been pulling this charade for a long time. They pretend to care what the public thinks, but they really don’t. And the most galling thing of all is they’re saying the wording in the form letters is only opinion, but when they issue pleas from the public about wild horses, they specifically ask for the public’s opinion. Do they really want the “facts” regurgitated to them 35,000 times? Do they think they are fooling anyone?? They’re essentially shifting blame from themselves to the public for their own unethical behavior. What a crock. It is not our job to get it right, it is theirs.
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When ever I am emailed a letter from one of the environmental organizations I subscribe to that will be sent in, some of them you can’t add any of your own thoughts to and others you can, I will add sometimes 3 paragraphs or more to the letter depending on my knowledge of the subject. Sometimes you don’t have much choice as most of important information is already in the letter so all that is needed is hit the send key. What seems to be the case with the BLM is them trying to explain why they ignore most of the complaints they are sent that gets them off the hook. They know they can blow everyone off by doing something like that. This just shows how little respect the BLM has for anyone that objects to the roundups.
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So, how is a signed petition different from casting a ballot in an election? Signatures count. That’s they way a democracy works.
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Does the same reasoning apply in the Iron County when votes are cast for the position of county commissioner?
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This is an interesting discussion about signatures and petitions that took place in Iron County.
Are voters who add their signatures to petitions considered “uneducated on the issues”?
http://thecountyseat.tv/caucuses-and-count-my-vote/
The underlying tenet of our democracy is that everyone has a vote. However, fewer people are turning out to the polls. Some people are beginning to think that the process is to blame. The Count My Vote initiative was started to change Utah to a direct primary state and it has raised quite a stir.
Chad Booth brought together Taylor Morgan, Executive Director of Count My Vote, and David Miller, Iron County Commissioner, to discuss the issue.
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BLM DUCKS COMPLAINT ABOUT SUPPRESSING LIVESTOCK DAMAGE
http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2012/11/29/blm-ducks-complaint-about-suppressing-livestock-damage/
LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENTS IN LIMBO AFTER SCIENTISTS TOLD TO IGNORE LIVESTOCK IMPACTS
Washington, DC — The biggest and most ambitious scientific undertaking in the history of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is languishing after it was revealed the agency directed scientists to exclude livestock grazing as a possible factor in changing landscapes.
The agency has also yet to respond to a scientific integrity complaint filed one year ago by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) charging that the exclusion of livestock data constituted political interference.
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PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)
GRAZING PUNTED FROM FEDERAL STUDY OF LAND CHANGES IN WEST
http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2011/11/30/-grazing-punted-from-federal-study-of-land-changes-in-west-/
Scientists Told to Not Consider Grazing Due to Fear of Lawsuits and Data Gaps
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You can now see and understand, that the BLM makes it own rules,they disrespect our efforts and comments to try to stop them ,just as they disrespect the Mustangs !!!! yes why?????? because they can !! we must change their train of thoughts , we must change can to cant , its only one Letter of the alphabet ….
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Meghan Crandall and Lisa Reid (along with ELizabeth Burghard) were the three BLM officials I asked for the following information (none of which has been supplied):
— Will round-ups entail bait trapping on private land or will it be a helicopter gather or combination?
— What contractor will be used in Utah?
— My understanding is that the excess wild horses (over AMLs) is 1000-1,100 can you confirm the number?
— How many horses total in the HMAs in which roundups are being discussed?
— Are these all in HMAs within Iron and Beaver Counties? Which are included?
— How many cattle are there grazing on these same lands (for basis of comparison)?
(you can include AUMs, but the number of head is what I’m after).
— How many sheep are grazing on these lands (for basis of comparison)?
— Will all horses gathered be permanently removed? Any treated with PZP and released? If so, how many? How many will be put up for adoption?
— What is the estimated cost to round up horses per head?
— What is cost to train and adopt out horses?
— Does the money for roundups come from U.S. Federal tax dollars (U.S. Taxpayers?) — If not, who is paying for the round ups?
It’s time to show the media the BLM’s own numbers and ask how increasing the already 10.6 times as many cattle and sheep as horses on public lands in Iron and Beaver counties constitutes a “thriving ecological balance” embodied in the BLM’s own mission in “managing” the wild horses and burros.
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I love that this BLM mouthpiece is looking for specific issues and concerns and comments based on facts. First though, they need to clean out their ears and maybe learn to read. Then dig back through the mountains of correspondence, emails, petitions, phone messages from advcates who have been trying to wotk with BLM for decades.
Now that the public is waking to the complicit betrayal of the public trust by BLM, the mantra has changed. The wild horses not only eat all the grass, poop in all the water and breed like rabbits – those who demand they be protected from Harrassment and Death don’t know the facts and only speak with opinions. BLM sure do act like bullies and cowards.
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Whats fascinating is….after being Quiet about the BLM for a few days this article oils my engine to get AllFired Up Again! THE OLD WEST IDIOLOGY THEORY THAT IF YOU ARE NOT THEM YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT IS EXTREMELY LUDICRIS! Take for instance, that thereAre people from All walks of life living in all different locations with various degrees in colleges and the school of hard knocks with More Expirience than this group of Hand picked BLM nitwits that continuously Offend the greatest minds of the USA and Abroad. They wouldnt Ever Read All 27,0000 LETTERS even if they were paid too because the ting BLM would have to spend all its time looking up definitions to words like Humane and Adoption….clean water and vet care would stump them as phrases and set the horses free and let them live would make their faces melt off like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark when they finally open the Ark and the truth melted the deceptive. Interesting analogy? The BLM offends people Around the World who are hardworking experts in every field. So according the BLM a nuerosurgeon may have sent a so called form letter to save time and make his voice heard but his voice may not be counted because it was a form letter? What about military serving Our country signing because their schedule is packed saving Us and so that one wouldnt count? What about someone who is a firefighter fighting wildfires and takes a moment between blazes to save homes and lives and sends a letter according to the BLM they dont matter? I am Sick and Tired of the BLM BULL HOCKEY PROPAGANDA! This is more than who showed up at the Bundy ranch writing peaceful protest letters and they show blantant and absolute disrespect for the hardworking and educated people they are offending. Has the BLM no real idea who they are really ? As for my family they are really pissed off the BLM is saying this….we came from the West and we know and we still have family spread out there and are far too well aware of BLM dirty tactics.
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This is the FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact)
As you can see on Page 1 of this document, there WAS significant impact to Wild Horse habitat, due to a BLM land exchange in 2001
Click to access BibleSpringEA2014.pdf
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The Land Exchange Bill That Went “OOPS”…by Jim Stiles
Did a Land Transfer Blessed by Environmentalists Give a Boost to TAR SANDS NATION?
http://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/2013/06/02/the-land-exchange-bill-that-went-oops-by-jim-stiles/
While the exchange showed a slight gain in oil and gas resources for the BLM, it also appears to transfer to SITLA a 31,429 acre parcel of lands with tar sands potential. The Zephyr contacted Lisa Bryant at the Moab BLM office. She replied:
“Of the lands that would be exchanged from BLM to the State of Utah, 31,429 acres have been determined to have potential for tar sands. The EA, on page 20, has a list of the specific parcels considered to have tar sand potential. The estimated acreage is based on mineral reports completed by the and the State of Utah Geological Survey (UGS) completed in December 2009. These reports were further assessed in coordination with the Department of the Interior, Office of Mineral Evaluation (OME) (see EA, pg 29).
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here is my first comment I said “Here is the easiest way to shred the BLM’s latest BS about form letters somehow not being an indicator of the general will of the American people. When you vote yes or no on any ballot issue the language of course is exactly the same for everyone who reads and votes on it. By the BLM ‘s perverse logic, this would mean that no vote would ever reveal what is the general will of the American people because they weren’t individually phrased and hand written ! So much for that BS rationalization by the BLM ! Next ? “
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The underlying tenet of our democracy is that everyone has a vote. Tried. to. post a similar comment, was Rejected as “you have NO access to the page! This is. a direct INSULT to every citizen of the USA !
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I don’t see any place for comments on The Spectrum article.
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At the bottom of the article are links for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and one that says “comment.” Click that to leave a comment.
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Thank you yoshigirl. I don’t have accounts with any of them, so I can’t submit a comment, but I see that base is covered with excellent comments and FACTS.
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I think the reader that posted this comment has it right. This isn’t about the cattle or the ranchers. This is “Stage Two” of clearing the Public Lands for “industrial development”. The taxpaying Public isn’t invited to this party, although, they do get to pick up the tab.
READER COMMENT
But what nobody is pointing out is that the free-range cattle are soon to be gone also… The ranchers are selling their breeding stock because of drought and other economic factors—in numbers higher than ever. Beef production is moving to almost entirely feed-lot maintenance or local, sustainable farming. The days of the range cattle are soon to be gone. This is a last ditch effort to have the ranchers blamed ultimately for the push for illegal removal of the Native Wild Horse. Then, when the horses would be gone and the cattle are also gone, the politicians with their “green earth” massive, bird-roasting solar fields can count the profits they are making from all their efforts in this propaganda BS… Don’t get me wrong, I know the ranchers do and always will hate the wild horses, but it is not them who is getting away w/murder. It is the government, and specifically the politicians who are going to be lining their pockets in this deal. You see, it’s going to be real easy for the politicians to get rid of the cattle ranchers from the public lands after the horses are gone.
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http://blog.nwf.org/2013/07/dont-fence-us-out-of-our-public-lands/
Don’t Fence Us Out of Our Public Lands
from Wildlife Promise
By Kate Zimmerman
Building Fences?
Unfortunately, in the past year, legislatures in seven western states—Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho—have passed, introduced, or explored legislation demanding that the federal government turn over millions of acres of these lands to the states. If successful, these bills would impose an enormous loss on both people and wildlife.
Rather than being managed for the benefit and use of the American public, these lands would instead be managed in whatever way each state wants to use them—which generally means maximizing private profits through mining, drilling, and other resource extraction or selling them off to private developers. Those developers undoubtedly will build fences to keep me and rest of the public out, fences to keep wildlife out as well.
The politicians who support these measures are out of touch with their communities. A significant majority of western voters (67 percent) oppose proposals to sell off public lands or turn them over to the states. Proposition 120, a ballot measure to give Arizona “sovereign and exclusive authority and jurisdiction” over the land, air, water, and wildlife within its boundaries, was resoundingly defeated by a 2-1 margin last November. Still, throughout the 112th and 113th Congresses, federal lawmakers also introduced dozens of bills that sought to sell off or roll back protections for public lands. Seems like they just want to see every acre carved up into separate little fenced-off parcels so that it will be clear what is yours and what is mine, but nothing will be ours — no “open range” left for kids and wildlife and all of us to roam.
Keep Public Lands in Public Hands
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This is why the 501c3 Mustang groups need to manage the Federally-protected Wild Mustangs and Burros, and not the BLM. The WH&B bring tourism dollars to their states, retailers and businesses. The cattle and sheep from the Welfare Ranchers bring nothing except expense and headaches.
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Sadly, the BLM does exactly what it has been bought and paid to do — Round up OUR Wild Horses and Burros by misusing the allotted numbers so as to favor those who have purchased our government agency, the BLM, who was put in charge of the CARE AND OVERSIGHT of our WH&Bs. But it is not only the ratio of permitted livestock of 50 cattle to one of our designated WH&Bs. It is also about the greed of Big Energy for leases to mine and to FRACK.
PUBLIC RESOURCES ARE BEING USED FOR PRIVATE PROFIT.
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