Monthly Archives: December 2016

Dec 31 2016

Top Wild Horse Article of 2016

Forward by R.T. Fitch, article by Debbie Coffey

“Happy New Year to everyone, it is our most sincere hope (and plan) to make a real difference for the wild horses and burros in 2017 and we are thinking out of the box and have a few things in the works at Wild Horse Freedom Federation that no one else has ever tried before so stay tuned, it is going to get interesting.

I planned to put up the most popular article of 2016 for your reading enjoyment (and should do it soon before I get too deep into an industrial sized mug of Wrangler Iced Tea) but as it turns out, the number one and most popular article in 2016 is one that Debbie Coffey wrote and published in January of 2015…the stats are unbelievable. On an average the article is viewed, at a minimum of an astounding 4,000 times a week with a total of 221,312 views in 2016 and 274,450 times in 2015.  Jaw-dropping!

The article is about Ree Drummond and her husband who make millions off the backs of captured horses while they warehouse and use them as a backdrop for her cooking show and products.  It obviously touched a nerve among the mindless and uninformed as Deb and I receive hate mail on a regular basis but it IS the truth and they ARE wealthy due to your tax money and the mismanagement of the wild horses by the BLM.  Deb and I have thick skin so the hate does not dissuade us but instead motivates us to dig into this situation even deeper and again, 2017 might be quite an interesting year.

Please take a few moments and read the article and form your own opinion as the information is as valid today as it was two years ago.

Again, Happy New Year and be sure to hug all of your critters, be they in the pasture or in the house…the future is ours.!” ~ R.T.

Multi-Millionaire Cowpoke Ladd Drummond, whose little “missus” is Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), rakes in Taxpayer Dollars

by Debbie Coffey                      Copyright 2015                   All Rights Reserved.

It has been 2 1/2 years since the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last gave the public a tour of any BLM Long Term Holding Pastures, which are used to warehouse once wild horses that were rounded up by helicopters used by BLM contractors and permanently removed from America’s public lands.  So much for the BLM’s claim of transparency.

Millions of readers follow Ree Drummond as she blogs about ranch life, her children, and her husband, whom she calls Marlboro Man. Photograph by Sylvia Plachy.   Millions of readers follow Ree Drummond as she blogs about ranch life, her children, and her husband, whom she calls Marlboro Man. Photograph by Sylvia Plachy. (Source: The New Yorker)

Ladd Drumond, his brother Tim and their dad, Charles, are partners in Drummond Land and Cattle, which has a BLM contract for Long Term Holding pastures for our wild horses.  Ladd is married to “The Pioneer Woman,” Ree Drummond, a Food Network cooking show host/blogger/photographer/cookbook author who writes folksy blogs about her life on their ranch in Oklahoma.  Kind of like she’s a pioneer woman.  Except in real life, Ree is wealthy and has both a house and a nice lodge on her ranch.  (Nothing like the real pioneers, who had to trod across the plains in a covered wagon.)

In a 2013 article on Modern Farmer about America’s 100 Top Landowners (“The who’s who of modern American land moguls”) the Drummond family was listed as #17 (the 17th largest landowner in the U.S.), with “433,000 acres.”

While some of this land may belong to other Drummond family members, Ladd and the little missus are getting by.

It was estimated that Ree’s blogsite income was about a million dollars or more per year just from display advertisement alone.  She also makes dough from her Food Network cooking show, her cookbooks,  her book, the movie option based on her book “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels,” based on her life (and persona) as “The Pioneer Woman.”…(CONTINUED)

Please click, below or above, to view the original article and the hundreds of comments!

https://rtfitchauthor.com/2015/01/30/multi-millionaire-cowpoke-ladd-drummond-whose-little-missus-is-ree-drummond-the-pioneer-woman-rakes-in-taxpayer-dollars/

Dec 30 2016

What a Bunch of BLM Bull-Puckey!

Forward by Grandma Gregg

This decision “should” have been appealed!

Take a look at Appendix “G” of the Research EA Final where the BLM ignores all public comments … including:

Public comment 15. Individual

“Per the DOI/BLM herd stats the Frisco HMA wild horse population jumped to 67% in the last year and the Conger HMA wild horse population jumped to 83% last year! See chart below “(in the comment letter).

BLM spreading more propaganda and false news

BLM spreading more propaganda and false news

It is biologically impossible since mares give birth to only one foal per year at the MOST and stallions and foals (up to reproductive age of about 3 years) do not provide foals and therefore do not add to the annual population. As I stated, this annual population increase is physically unattainable in the wild.”

Part of the BLM response to above (BLM did NOT respond to the 67% and the 83% population increases!):

 “The BLM utilizes well established scientific methods in the field of range monitoring, inventory and carrying capacity allocations, following approved methods outlined in official technical references and BLM handbooks and manuals. The CCFO and FFO have extensive vegetative trend, utilization, precipitation, actual use, riparian, and rangeland health studies which are contained in the Conger and Frisco HMAs and allotment monitoring files (4120 and 4710 files). Only the most current pertinent information has been summarized within this EA to show that excess wild horses occur within and outside, but adjacent to the HMAs. BLM use population growth rate not Birth Rate. The population inventory that was conducted in February of 2016 used simultaneous double-count method. Photos were taken of each band of horses that were observed. Photos, GPS coordinates and time of recorded observance were used to eliminate from the data any horses or bands that were double counted.”
—– Forwarded Message —–
From: “Reid, Lisa” <lreid@blm.gov>
To:
Sent: Friday, December 30, 2016 10:04 AM
Subject: Fwd: BLM News Release: BLM to Begin Frisco Wild Horse Gather, Removal and Research Public Welcome to Observe Gather Operations
For public information.  Thanks, Lisa
News Release
 Utah State Office, Utah
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              Contact:  Lisa Reid (435) 743-3128 Dec. 30, 2016
BLM to Begin Frisco Wild Horse Gather, Removal and Research
Public Welcome to Observe Gather Operations
CEDAR CITY,Utah—The Bureau of Land Management Cedar City Field Office will soon be gathering and removing excess wild horses from within and outside the Frisco Wild Horse Herd Management Area (HMA) in western Utah.
The BLM will gather approximately 150 and remove 90 excess wild horses from the Frisco HMA to achieve a research population of an estimated 100 animals on the HMA.  Some horses will be fitted with tracking devices and returned to the range as part of a research project.  This will provide data on free-roaming horse locations and movement to help the BLM improve understanding of herd behavior.
Helicopter drive-trapping operations are scheduled to begin Friday, Jan. 6.  Members of the public are welcome to view the daily gather operations, provided the safety of the animals, staff and observers are not jeopardized and operations are not disrupted.
The BLM will conduct escorted public tours to gather observation sites.  Details will be announced daily on the BLM gather hotline, (801) 539-4050.
Those interested in participating should meet at the KB Express Convenience Store/Subway at 238 South Main in Milford, Utah, where tours will depart at 6:30 a.m. MST.
Participants must provide their own transportation, water and food.  The BLM recommends footwear and clothing suitable for harsh winter field conditions.  Binoculars and four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicles are also strongly recommended.  Please note that no public restrooms will be available once the tour begins.
Public lands will remain open unless closures are deemed necessary due to safety concerns.  Outdoor recreationists and visitors to the gather area should be aware that there will be low flying helicopters and should avoid recreational use of drones near the Frisco Mountain area.  Brief road closures may also be needed to allow movement of horses during gather operations.
Gather updates and information will be posted at:  http://bit.ly/CongerFriscoGat her .  Anyone interested can get updates on Twitter by following @BLMUtah or searching #CongerFriscoGather.
Animals removed from the range will be made available for adoption through the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program.  Those that are not adopted will be cared for on off-range pastures, where they retain their protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

Details on the EA and the gather can be found on the BLM’s planning documents website: https://goo.gl/pNIggw .      More information on the population control research project is available from the BLM’s Fillmore Field Office at (435) 743-3100.

To learn more about the wild horse and burro program or to obtain an adoption application, visit the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro website at:  http://on.doi.gov/2h11lDS .
For additional information on participating in public observation days, contact Lisa Reid, public affairs specialist, at (435)743-3128 or lreid@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for Lisa Reid.  The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.  In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.
 
-BLM-
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr @BLMUtah
To download file click (HERE)
Dec 30 2016

Horse, possum and donkey meat on menu under South Australian food safety changes

Source:  The Guardian

Proposal, which has been opposed by the Animal Justice party, would be implemented by September if adopted

4600

 South Australia could be the second jurisdiction to allow for the local production and sale of horse meat, after Western Australia adopted the broader national standards in 2009. Photograph: Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images

Horse, possum, camel and donkey will be available for sale from South Australian butchers from September next year if recommended changes to food safety regulations are adopted.

The SA government, which has to update the regulations by 1 September 2017, has suggested the state should adopt the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards code definition of “game meat”, which governs what wild animals may be sold commercially for human consumption.

The proposed change would broaden the range of animals available at butchers to include wild horses and donkeys, as well as wild buffalo, camel, deer, pig and possum.

Domestic horses, like racehorses, would still not be allowed to be sold for human consumption. Eggs, foetuses and pouch young are still off the list.

Wild goats, rabbits, hare, kangaroo, wallaby and any bird that may be legally hunted can already be slaughtered and sold for human consumption in SA.

A spokeswoman from SA Health said the proposed changes would not change the laws around hunting or culling protected species.

“Any South Australians wanting to hunt protected species in SA would need a permit as per the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 legislation,” she said

The move would make SA only the second jurisdiction to allow for the local production and sale of horse meat, after Western Australia adopted the broader national standards in 2009. The proposed change has been opposed by the Animal Justice party.

“The newly proposed game industries are particularly obnoxious because they produce meats that people don’t even like,” convenor Geoff Russell told the Advertiser.

According to the Humane Society, about 100,000 horses are slaughtered annually in Australia.

Of those about 8,400 are processed through one of two abattoirs licensed to slaughter horses for export – Samex Peterborough in South Australia and Meramist in Caboolture, Queensland. The rest are processed by one of 33 knackeries and sold as pet meat.

Read the rest of this story HERE.

Dec 30 2016

BLM teams with AZ locals to fence off wild burros from sources of water

“The fence is meant to keep the burros out.”

Locals Involved in Arizona Wild Sheep Conservation Effort

Source:  Rapid City Journal

5862ab1a89dc3-image

The crew that built the guzzler.

HOT SPRINGS – The Wild Sheep Foundation’s (WSF) Midwest Chapter earlier this year sent a crew to Arizona to learn how to build a guzzler – a device designed to collect and hold water for wildlife.

Hot Springs’ Matt Rippentrop, Billy Morrow, Tyler Morrow, Teejay Atwood and Sam Simunek were part of the team, and according to an article by Ryan Brock, in WSF’s magazine “Wild Sheep,” this experience taught everyone involved some larger lessons.

Organizations working together can truly accomplish more work and impact more wildlife, writes Brock, while at the same time having a tremendous impact on young people who are learning about conservation.

In March, a coordinated effort by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, WSF’s Midwest Chapter, the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, the Arizona Bureau of Land Management and a little help in funding from the Wild Sheep Foundation along with Cabelas led to another successful year for youth getting involved in building a guzzler.

Eleven students and five chaperones from the Midwest Chapter, including the Hot Springs crew, flew to Nevada to tour Hoover Dam, then they continued on to Fort Mohave, Arizona, where they spent two days building a guzzler with the Silver Peak project.

The build involved shuttling youth and other workers up the steep terrain by helicopter – the guzzler was built on a saddle between two ridges.

“It was the best experiences I have ever had in my whole life,” said Tyler Morrow.

One of his most memorable things was the flight on to the mountainside where the work was being done. This was Morrow’s first memorable flight – he flew at a year old, but doesn’t remember it – and he recalled how the helicopter said Grand Canyon on it, how he got to sit in passenger seat.

As soon at the crew arrived in their camp, Sam Simunek, Teejay Atwood and Morrow began to explore the area.

Morrow described his chores for the project: “As a group, we dug fence holes to keep the wild burros out of the area where the guzzler was,” Morrow said. “The helicopter brought the materials for everything on to the mountain. We had to measure the height of the horizontal bars on the fence. This will keep the burros out, but still allow the sheep to get in.”

“When we got there, there was already a hole for the basin that holds the water for the sheep,” Morrow said. “The watering hole was gravity fed. A few people filled in the spaces between the three storage tanks. When we left the area, the project drain wasn’t complete, but some other people stayed behind to finish the drain.”

Morrow thanked all of the volunteers on this “awesome” trip, with a big thank you for Rippentrop, the Arizona Game and Fish, the volunteers on this trip, and the Wild Sheep Foundation’s Midwest Chapter.

Atwood also had great memories of the trip.

“I was very excited to participate in the Arizona guzzler project,” Atwood said, recalling the long ride to the Minneapolis airport and the unexpected Hoover Dam tour, the “biggest substation I have ever seen… covered with power lines.”

“We stayed in a camp at the work site and I got to meet a lot of interesting people,” Atwood continued. “I learned guzzlers function through a rain-fed gravity tarp system. My main job was digging fence post holes. I also mixed and poured concrete. The fence is meant to keep the burros out.”

Read the rest of this story HERE.

Dec 30 2016

BLM planning for non-viable wild horse herds in Wyoming

12carolwalker0031-300x185
Antelope Hills Roundup in Wyoming, Fall 2011 (photo by Carol Walker)
Be sure to read the BLM’s scoping notice HERE.
Notice that the numbers for all HMAs but one are far less than the 130-150BREEDING AGE ADULTS that Equine Geneticist Dr. Gus Cothran states is needed for a VIABLE HERD.  AND, as a special bonus to developers gobbling up the dirt cheap oil & gas leases on these HMAs, not only will the BLM leave horses at the low AML (a non-viable number) they also plan to give fertility control to the mares.  BLM continues to manage to extinction.
BLM Seeks Input on Proposed Wild Horse Gather in North Lander Complex
The Bureau of Land Management Lander Field Office is requesting public input prior to analyzing a
proposed wild horse gather in the North Lander Wild Horse Complex.
The North Lander Complex is located in southeast Fremont County and is made up of the Conant Creek, Dishpan Butte, Muskrat Basin and Rock Creek Mountain herd management areas.
Population surveys conducted in August 2016 found approximately 1,026 horses within the
North Lander Complex.  The appropriate management level (AML) of the complex, which is the
population that can be supported by the public land in balance with other multiple uses of those lands,
is 320-535 horses.
The proposed operation would include gathering wild horses and conducting fertility control treatments to
bring the population of the complex back to its AML.  The anticipated date of the gather has not yet been
determined.
Public input is valuable early in the process and will enable the BLM to develop a well-informed
environmental assessment.  Comments should be received by January 31, 2017, and may be emailed to
WY_North_Lander_Gather@blm.gov or mailed to Clay Stott, BLM Lander Field Office, 1335 Main
Street, Lander, WY 82520.
Before including your address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying
information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
For more information, including a map of the complex, visit http://bit.ly/2017_North_Lander_Gather, or
contact BLM Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Clay Stott at 307-332-8400.
Dec 28 2016

BLM Double-Talk Targets CO West Douglas Wild Horses, Again.

“The few remaining wild horses in Colorado just can’t catch a break.  For years we fought via lawsuits to stop the assault and efforts of the BLM to zero out the few horses in the area (in favor of cattle and extraction interests).  But even after they managed to decimate the herd and break apart the families of wild horses, last year, they still launch propaganda and a mush-mash of bogus numbers and misstatements to ramp up ire towards the equines while they contradict themselves through-out this mainstream media mouthpiece.  It is all truly unbelievable…if we, as advocates, pushed forward such tripe and BS we would be flogged and assailed by the powers that manipulate the press to the point that we would never be relevant again.

False News at it’s finest, or should we say lowest?” ~ R.T.

Unedited story by By Gary Harmon as published on The Daily Sentinel

Wild horse herd reduced a year ago is already growing again

A mare watches as she and her foal walk through the sagebrush in the Texas Mountain area west of Colorado Highway 139 south of Rangely in August 2015.

A mare watches as she and her foal walk through the sagebrush in the Texas Mountain area west of Colorado Highway 139 south of Rangely in August 2015.

A year after the Bureau of Land Management removed 167 horses from the lands around Texas Mountain west of Colorado Highway 139, the herd has grown, possibly to as many as 212 horses.

The agency conducted a horse gather in September 2015 for the 167 horses, an effort that left about 200 horses in the 128,000-acre West Douglas Herd Area, which is not managed for horses.

BLM officials conducted a count five months later using a helicopter and made a direct count of 177 individual horses.

Factoring in reproduction brings the estimate to 212 horses on land that the BLM deems suitable for a maximum of 30 horses.

“If anything it’s probably an underestimate,” BLM spokesman David Boyd said. “In country like West Douglas, you probably don’t see them all.”

In theory, there ought not be any horses in the rugged West Douglas area for the lack of summer range in the rough-and-tumble territory, but the lack of predators for wild horses leaves man to deal with their populations.

The natural predators of horses — dire wolves, short-faced bears, American lions — all died out in the Eocene Epoch, which ended 39 million years ago, along with the horses of that time. Once horses were reintroduced to North America, there were no predators to control their populations.

“What’s controlled these wild horse populations has been people all along,” Boyd said. Wild horses “are not part of this natural ecosystem.”

No more gathers are scheduled in the West Douglas areas, but the BLM hopes eventually to gather all the wild horses in the West Douglas Herd Area, along with an estimated 100 outside any territory associated with wild horses, and place them in the 161,300-acre Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area.

“We want to bring the population inside the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area to within the population range of 135 to 235,” Boyd said.

Piceance-East Douglas is now estimated to have 458 wild horses.

West Douglas and Piceance East Douglas are separated by Colorado Highway 139, and more significantly, miles of fencing along the roadway. Wild horses won’t jump fences, which means the horses won’t leave West Douglas without human help.

To keep the existing herd on the Piceance-East Douglas area, the BLM plans to reconstruct nearly a mile of four-strand barbed wire near Duck Creek to keep the herd inside and to redevelop a spring on the north side of the management area to provide a reliable source of water in wet and dry years.

Dec 27 2016

Breaking News: BLM Soliciting Nominations for Wild Horse and Burro Slaughter Advisory Board

reported by R.T. Fitch

“We were attempting to keep only good news and articles flowing during the holiday season but this announcement just broke, today.

Currently Ginger Kathrens is the only qualified person serving on the present board and she is, likewise, the only member to vote against butchering tens of thousands of wild horses that the BLM has illegally captured and currently  confines at taxpayer expense.

Ginger is the token advocate, while the rest are all special interest, per-screened appointees that are interested in only horse slaughter, welfare ranching, hunting and personal affirmation.

If you could recommend anyone to stand with Ginger, fat chance, who would you pick…we can play this exercise, again.

Brainstorm away….” ~ R.T.

Banner from America’s Wild Horse Advocates (AWHA) with Melissa Ohlsson, Vice President of AWHA as artist

Banner from America’s Wild Horse Advocates (AWHA) with Melissa Ohlsson, Vice President of AWHA as artist

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95177-95178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31216]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWO260000.L10600000PC0000.17X.LXSIADVSBD0.241A]


Call for Nominations for the National Wild Horse and Burro 
Advisory Board

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to solicit public nominations 
for three positions on the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board (Board) 
that will become vacant on April 3, 2017. The Board provides advice 
concerning the management, protection, and control of wild free-roaming 
horses and burros on public lands administered by the Department of the 
Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the 
Department of Agriculture, through the U.S. Forest Service.

DATES: Nominations must be post marked or submitted to the address 
listed below no later than February 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: All mail sent via the U.S. Postal Service should be sent as 
follows: Division of Wild Horses and Burros, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street NW., Room 2134 LM, 
Attn: Dorothea Boothe, WO-260, Washington, DC 20240. All mail and 
packages that are sent via FedEx or UPS should be addressed as follows: 
Wild Horse and Burro Division, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau 
of Land Management, 20 M Street SE., Room 2134 LM, Attn: Dorothea 
Boothe, Washington, DC 20003. You may also email PDF documents to Ms. 
Boothe at dboothe@blm.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dorothea Boothe, Acting Wild Horse and 
Burro Program Specialist, 202-912-7654. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal 
business hours. The Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 
You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Members of the Board serve without 
compensation. However, while away from their homes or regular places of 
business, Board and subcommittee members engaged in Board or 
subcommittee business, approved by the Designated Federal Official 
(DFO), may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in 
government service under Section 5703 of Title 5 of the United States 
Code. Nominations for a term of three years are needed to represent the 
following categories of interest:

Natural Resource Management
Wild Horse and Burro Research
Public Interest (Equine behavior)

    The Board will meet one to four times annually. The DFO may call 
additional meetings in connection with special needs for advice. 
Individuals may nominate themselves or others. An individual serving on 
another resource advisory council is not eligible to serve concurrently 
on the Board. Any individual or organization may nominate one or more 
persons to serve on the Board. Nominations will not be accepted without 
a complete resume. The following information must accompany all 
nominations for the individual to be considered for a position:
    1. The position(s) for which the individual wishes to be 
considered;
    2. The individual's first, middle, and last name;
    3. Business address and phone number;
    4. Home address and phone number;
    5. Email address;
    6. Present occupation/title and employer;
    7. Education (colleges, degrees, major field of study);
    8. Career Highlights: Significant related experience, civic and 
professional activities, elected offices (include prior advisory 
committee experience or career achievements related to the interest to 
be represented). Attach additional pages, if necessary;
    9. Qualifications: Education, training, and experience that qualify 
you to serve on the Board;
    10. Experience or knowledge of wild horse and burro management;
    11. Experience or knowledge of horses or burros (Equine health, 
training, and management);
    12. Experience in working with disparate groups to achieve 
collaborative solutions (e.g., civic organizations, planning 
commissions, school boards, etc.);
    13. Identification of any BLM permits, leases, or licenses held by 
the individual or his or her employer;
    14. Indication of whether the individual is a federally registered 
lobbyist; and
    15. Explanation of interest in serving on the Board.
    All nominations must be accompanied by at least one letter of

[[Page 95178]]

reference sent from special interests or organizations the individual 
may represent, including, but not limited to, business associates, 
friends, co-workers, local, State, and/or Federal government 
representatives, or members of Congress as well as any other 
information that is relevant to the individual's qualifications.
    As appropriate, certain Board members may be appointed as special 
government employees. Special government employees serve on the Board 
without compensation, and are subject to financial disclosure 
requirements in the Ethics in Government Act and 5 CFR 2634. 
Nominations are to be sent to the address listed under the ADDRESSES 
section above.
    Privacy Act Statement: The authority to request this information is 
contained in 5 U.S.C. 301, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 
and 43 CFR part 1784. The appointment officer uses this information to 
determine education, training, and experience related to possible 
service on a BLM advisory council. If you are appointed as an advisor, 
the information will be retained by the appointing official for as long 
as you serve. Otherwise, it will be destroyed 2 years after termination 
of your membership or returned (if requested) following announcement of 
the Board's appointments. Submittal of this information is voluntary. 
However, failure to complete any or all items will inhibit fair 
evaluation of your qualifications, and could result in you not 
receiving full consideration for appointment.
    Membership Selection: Individuals shall qualify to serve on the 
Board because of their education, training, or experience that enables 
them to give informed and objective advice regarding the interest they 
represent. They should demonstrate experience or knowledge of the area 
of their expertise and a commitment to collaborate in seeking solutions 
to resource management issues. The Board is structured to provide fair 
membership and balance, both geographic and interest specific, in terms 
of the functions to be performed and points of view to be represented. 
Members are selected with the objective of providing representative 
counsel and advice about public land and resource planning. No person 
is to be denied an opportunity to serve because of race, age, sex, 
religion, or national origin. The Obama Administration prohibits 
individuals who are currently federally registered lobbyists to serve 
on all FACA and non-FACA boards, committees or councils. Pursuant to 
Section 7 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, members of 
the Board cannot be employed by either Federal or State governments.

(Authority: 43 CFR 1784.4-1, 43 CFR 1784.6-1)

Kristin Bail,
Assistant Director, Resources and Planning.
[FR Doc. 2016-31216 Filed 12-23-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?granuleId=2016-31216&packageId=FR-2016-12-27&acCode=FR&collectionCode=FR
Dec 26 2016

New saddle under the Christmas tree? You need this free fitting guide!

From Horse Talk

“A well-designed and correctly fitted saddle is vital to the performance of both horse and rider.”

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/12/27/new-saddle-christmas-free-fitting-guide/#ixzz4U02mu9N4 Reuse: Interested in sharing with your readers? You are welcome to use three or four paragraphs, with a link back to the article on Horsetalk. Follow us: @HorsetalkNZ on Twitter | Horsetalk on Facebook Measuring the 3-dimensional shape of the horse’s back with the Arc Device™.Measuring the 3-dimensional shape of the horse’s back with the Arc Device™.

Were you so good this year that there was a new saddle under your Christmas tree? It may make you very happy, but you need to be sure that your horse is happy, too. Master saddle Jochen Schleese provides some advice – and a free guide on saddle fit.

The art of fitting a saddle to both horse and rider is something which is not explained in a few sentences; indeed something new can be learned every day, as each client brings with him or herself something different to consider. It’s not rocket science, but it is a science, combined with the artistry of actually building the saddle. It is important to work closely with veterinarians and physiotherapists and other equine professionals to constantly ensure the most optimal combination of horse, rider and saddle.

Anatomical considerations of both horse and rider are a key determinant in how to choose the correct saddle. If your generous benefactor got you a saddle for Christmas I hope they involved both you and your horse and didn’t just choose a ‘pretty saddle’. (Which I have to say – unfortunately many of them are, including one really high-end prestigious company whose saddles are not really all that equine-friendly at the end of the day!)

The proper way to measure the seat size of an English saddle is diagonally from either saddle nail, on the side of the pommel, to the centre of the cantle. Adult seat sizes vary from 16″ to 19″, with 17″ to 17 1/2″ being the most common – but even these are variable, as the position of these nails can be pretty arbitrary, depending on the mood of the saddler on any given day…(CONTINUED)

saddle-fit-eguideClick (HERE) to download free Saddle Fit eGuied

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/12/27/new-saddle-christmas-free-fitting-guide/#axzz4TzqEfXq3

Dec 25 2016

A Personal Christmas Message from R.T. Fitch

by R.T. Fitch ~ co-founder and president of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

“We miss you Harley!”

“Christmas is so very personal in multiple ways; it is a central book mark in our lives.  Bitter sweet is the flavor of the day but it is what we make of it that builds precious memories for the future.  It is key that we embrace the good moments with the knowledge that we are living a future memory that will bring us great joy and happiness as we age and look back at this journey that we call life.

With that thought in mind, I share with you a personal building block of happiness that I was allowed to experience only last year as I played Santa Claus along with some very fine people to thousands of children in a rural town in south central China.  It is an experience that none of us will ever forget as we passed out reflective safety wristbands and special hair clips to the small children of Nanba in 2015.  We brought our culture and traditions to a closed nation that is steeped in traditions of their own, we only hope that we gave them a moment of entertainment, fun and insight.  It truly was a highlight in all of our lives.

This passion and this love is what drives us forward with the advocacy.  It is not just the glow of the heart knowing that it is the right thing to do but it is also the awareness that your efforts could and will forever change the future lives of not only the horses and burros but future generations of humans who will be able to experience their beauty and grace due to your efforts.  That realization gives one not only great conviction but endearing warmth during this most special season.

It is my most sincere hope that you are living a very special memory that you shall cherish for the rest of your life.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, both 2 and 4 legged…we are so truly blessed.

Peace on.” ~ R.T.

Dec 24 2016

A Former Wild Stallion’s Letter to Santa

By “ACE’ one of the last Wild Stallions of Twin Peaks

Dear Santa-

img_0453

Recent photo of Ace (right) taken by Jamie Joling

I am an old wild stallion. I am told that I am one of the last Twin Peaks stallions. I have had a wonderful life as Mother Nature planned for me from the very day I was born. I lived the first 22 years free and wild and learned from my sire and dam and siblings and family what was good for me to eat and where to find the fresh water springs that are hidden in the hills. I romped and played with the young colts and fillies in my extended family. Under the watchful protection of our family members, we young horses frolicked in the snow and creeks and rested in the shade of the old Juniper trees in the heat of the summer. Life was very good. I later grew to be a healthy, robust and compassionate herd stallion with beautiful loyal mares and amusing vigorous offspring. Although I now have a good “retirement” life in a home with other displaced animals, my life in the wild was perfect for a wild one like me!

Although I live for today, I often warmly think about the “good old days” when hundreds of we wild ones roamed free. Where are my wild friends that I knew those many years? Where are my mares and foals today? Why was our family torn from each other and our peaceful and natural world destroyed? I have over-heard humans say that our life in the wild was traded for money. Santa, what is money? Could it possibly be more important than our wild hearts and lives and families and land?

I know you are very busy Santa, but today I am asking you to help all creatures that have not been as lucky as me. I have heard that there are fewer and fewer wild horses and burros that are allowed to live wild and free.   I do not understand this but I do know it is wrong. What I am asking from you is for you to watch over and protect all animals and help them to be able to live their lives as Mother Nature intended for them. Do not allow them to be chased and trapped and caged and starved and abused and killed.

Santa, I will continue to dream of my days gone by but I am asking you today to watch over all creatures great and small and to teach all human beings to think with their hearts.

Thank you, Santa.

– “ACE”

http://www.sacredspirit.org/about