Source: wildhoofbeats.com
Losing the Beautiful Wild Horses of Salt Wells Creek
by Carol J. Walker, Dir. of Field Documentation for Wild Horse Freedom Federation
A grey stallion at dawn
His family
Just after dawn we arrived at Bitter Creek Road, way down Highway 430 in Salt Wells Creek, Wyoming. I was dreading this day when the helicopters would be taking most of the wild horses in this area, within sight of Kinney Rim.
We saw a small family right by the road as we were driving in, and it was sad to see how unafraid the horses were when we got out of our cars to photograph them.
The little family I knew leading the way
On the way to the trap
We drove down the road to a gas pad with a view of the run into the trap and I set up my tripod and camera and lens and waited for the helicopters. This was the closest we had been to the trap. When we saw a line of horses in the distance, I watched as they got closer and I realized it was a huge group of horses. As they came closer, it hit me. This beautiful little family I had spent time with last week with an older Cremello mare, older grey stallion and beautiful palomino yearling were leading the way to the trap. I had hoped that they would be among the lucky ones, and I despaired because those two older horses would not have a chance of being adopted especially if the stallion was sent to Axtell, Utah and the mare possibly sent to Bruneau, Idaho. The BLM does not allow public visitation and adoption at their private facilities.
Another large group coming in
The palomino and cremello stallions rearing up to fight
Running away
In the trap
After this group came in soon afterward, an even larger group approached. Then I saw a Cremello stallion and a Palomino stallion touched noses then reared up, clearly unhappy to have their families close together. I thought that they had much bigger problems, like the helicopter chasing them. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE.
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
BLM & some “nuisance” ranchers deceive American taxpayers
Debbie Coffey
Upon written request from the private landowner to any representative of the Bureau of Land Management, the authorized officer shall remove stray wild horses and burros from private lands as soon as practicable…The request shall indicate the numbers of wild horses or burros, the date(s) the animals were on the land, legal description of the private land, and any special conditions that should be considered in the gathering plan.”
Note that this regulation only authorizes the BLM to remove wild horses from private lands, NOT to then remove the wild horses from an HMA forever.
“In Fallini v. Hodel, the court ruled that §4 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act does not impose a duty on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to prevent wild horses from straying onto private lands. The court rules that §4 of the Act does not impose a ministerial duty on BLM to prevent wild horses from straying onto private lands. The plain language of the section creates no express duty and the court finds no implied duty. Congress clearly anticipated in §4 the possibility of wild horses straying onto private land, but it rejected the use of intensive management techniques.”
Since removing “nuisance” horses that are on private property is now becoming so widely talked about, and since the BLM is facilitating this, it now seems that this is an “intensive management technique.”
Even if the BLM removes wild horses from a private property, on what does the BLM assume it has authorization to completely remove those wild horses from the HMA?
When the BLM cites a “need” to roundup wild horses because they wandered onto private property, or are somehow a danger to the public, or because of drought, the BLM is grasping at straws for reasons to roundup wild horses and remove them to cater to their Most Special Interest.
A November 2012 PEER report concluded that “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.”
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2014/10/27/blm-some-nuisance-ranchers-deceive-american-taxpayers/
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And the BLM will manufacture AMLs to support these removals as well. We need to insist the data and the calculations have public input, are changeable, and include comparisons with livestock AMLS in all the remaining legal HMAs. As the law directs, wild horses and burros were granted principle use of survival resources in these areas — and are not allowed to live elsewhere as livestock are. It is cynically unfair to blame wild horses for trying to survive under such ham-handed management practices, and to continue this proves the BLM is a captured agency.
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BLM and Ranchers tell America why wild horses are in your way. Tell the truth you think the land is yours it is not it belongs to Americans. It belongs to our horses and burros and all animals . Our wolves and bears are in the way too. God please help protect our animals now amen.
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Reblogged this on hocuspocus13 and commented:
jinxx❤xoxo
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I would like to know why these private lands aren’t fenced ? If the owner don’t want the wild horses on their lands put a fence up . But no they can’t do that, they wouldn’t be able to use the public lands for their cow’s and livestock . Why not , Let them out and close the gate ! There will come a time when we will need these animals again and they will be all gone !
Wild Freedom Federation
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Wyoming is a “fence out” state but take a look at the land ownership patterns in these areas, which give the Checkerboard its name. Alternating square miles of land are publicly and privately owned, which the private owners insist is too costly and inefficient to fence, and would never easily tolerate their current numbers of grazing livestock. Another less evident reason is the limited forage and even more limited waterholes. A better answer might be to consolidate some larger areas with enough food and water, some being only public lands with no or limited livestock grazing, and some being only private, but so far this idea has received little attention. Ask yourselves why.
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The private landowners certainly don’t mind using our public lands, but don’t want to share or play fair.
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Wild horses & burros being removed for Richfield Tar Sands plan
by Grandma Gregg
The document goes so far as to say, “the management of wild horse and burro herds is not compatible within those portions of commercial tar sands lease areas”. How much clearer can it be. They want the wild ones GONE.
Proof: http://www.riversimulator.org/Resources/BLM/OSTSdeis/OSTSfinal.pdf
TABLE 3.1.3-1 Wild Horse Herd Management Areas within the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Study Area (page 3-167)
WYOMING
Salt Wells
Little Colorado
White Mountain
Adobe Town
Colorado
Piceance-East Douglas
Utah
Canyonlands
Muddy Creek
Range Creek
Sinbad
[PLUS Herd Areas which are not discussed in this report – such as the West Douglas HA]
More Richfield tar sands information:
Click to access UT33-RichfieldFinalPlan.pdf
https://rtfitchauthor.com/2016/01/07/wild-horses-burros-being-removed-for-richfield-tar-sands-plan/
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BLM TO OFFER 45 PARCELS IN DECEMBER OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE
CHEYENNE, Wyo.
The Bureau of Land Management will offer 45 parcels totaling 72,843.75 acres in the High Desert District at its December quarterly oil and gas lease sale. The BLM will hold the lease sale online via http://www.energynet.com.
Bidding will begin at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2017. The BLM will offer three parcels in Laramie County, seven parcels in Sweetwater County, four parcels in Uinta County, and 31 parcels in Lincoln County.
The lease sale’s environmental assessments, lists and maps of the parcels, and the attached stipulations are online at http://bit.ly/2gd4YGY.
https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-offer-45-parcels-december-oil-and-gas-lease-sale
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https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46060689&nid=148&title=blm-ruffles-feathers-and-earns-praise-on-sage-grouse-action. Zinke at it some more.
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One of the comments in favor of mining & drilling on sage grouse areas was: its not the mining or drilling that’s the problem: It’s the lack of water, meadows, bugs and springs! Now just think about it – the amount of water that is used (& wasted) by mining & drilling may possibly be responsible for the “lack of water etc etc etc!!!!!
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