Wild Burros

What the BLM didn’t tell the public about a BLM National Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board member

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(photo: harrisondaily.com)

Fred T. Woehl, Jr. was re-appointed to the “public interest” position on the BLM’s National Wild Horse & Burro Advisory Board.  Mr. Woehl is the Chairman of this Advisory Board.

However, in two successive announcements regarding his appointments to this Advisory Board, the BLM did not inform the public that Mr. Woehl has been an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for approximately 37 years, with the Farmers Home Administration and Farm Service Agency.  The USDA’s Farm Service Agency gives loans to farming and ranching operations.

Although government employees can serve on Advisory Boards, the BLM continues to show a lack transparency when it does not inform the public of  important facts.

Mr. Woehl is a driving force in facilitating the wishes of livestock grazing interests (and the BLM) to kill all of the wild horses & burros.

The 2014 BLM announcement on the appointment of Fred T. Woehl, Jr. stated:

“Mr. Woehl has been involved in the horse community for more than 40 years as a trainer, natural horsemanship clinician, and educator. He is actively involved with the Equine Science Department at the University of Arkansas and taught Equine Science at North Arkansas College. He has served as a volunteer for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program for 10 years, conducting demonstrations of wild horse versatility and assisting with adoptions. Mr. Woehl worked as a senior agricultural adviser for the U.S. State Department from October 2008 to November 2009 in Iraq, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of agricultural programs and policy for the Ninewa Province.”

The 2017 BLM announcement on re-appointing Fred T. Woehl, Jr., stated:

“Mr. Woehl has been involved in the horse community for over 43 years as a trainer, natural horsemanship clinician and educator. He has been involved with the Equine Science Department at the University of Arkansas and taught Equine Science at North Arkansas College. He has served as a volunteer for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program for ten years, conducting demonstrations of wild horse versatility and assisting with adoptions. Additionally, Mr. Woehl worked as a senior agricultural adviser for the U.S. State Department from October 2008 to November 2009 in Iraq, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of agricultural programs and policy for the Ninewa Province. From November 2009 to March, 2011, he worked in the Kingdom of Jordan, for the Department of Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program, where he developed policies for horse use and trained the local Bedouin tribesmen in humane methods of training and in the use of horses at the Archeological Park of Petra. Mr. Woehl currently has four BLM mustangs that are used for demonstrations in Branson, Missouri, and good-will visits at nursing homes, schools and churches.”

There is no mention that Mr. Woehl is a career employee of the USDA.   However, the American public might want to be aware of this fact so that they can consider – is Mr. Woehl serving the “public interest” or the “government interest” on this Advisory Board?

Other sources:

https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Fred-Woehl/1159983730

http://harrisondaily.com/fred-woehl-resume/article_78a2c600-11b4-11e3-be20-0019bb2963f4.html

http://listings.findthecompany.com/l/25334594/Usda-Rural-Development

https://www.manta.com/c/mm5ppwk/usda-rural-development

http://listings.findthecompany.com/l/25334594/Usda-Rural-Development

 

Categories: Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs

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7 replies »

  2. You know the whole I have in horses 40 years was started by me. I got tired of proslaughters acting like everyone they were against bought a horse yesterday so I let them know were 4 generations of trainers and I’m in the Industry showing, training etc for 40 plus yrs. What’s funny when a guy like this States 40 years in horses…the misrepresentation is that he was a gold star horse trainer for 40 years but when you really dig into a background you find interesting data. I always ask if you have a full time job then how much Actual time are you really out in the arena riding and training and how much EXPIRIENCE have you really achieved in those years? I’ve met more braggerds than I can count. The fact is whether he has 40 years or not it doesn’t mean it’s the Right or complete exoirience. Plus the commission of the USDA or ranch affiliations. The fact is these folks are believing the Bundy garbage of a land steal from public lands by states. I don’t think it will happen, but they are preparing for it. Insider information I have tells me that the Ranchers believe If they force All wild Horses off the Range killing them of course, no mention of adoptions….but then without Advocates or horses and wild horse and Burro acts tying up land they think they can clear away the red tape and get the public lands for themselves. The Bundy clan is their toehold they think. The insider said their living a pipe dream. The BLM just wants to kill the horses and sell off public lands to the highest bidder having less to control but remaining in control. Now I think my insider is right on the Money personally.

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  3. Fred Woehl was awarded a government contract and paid $17,800 from the US federal government. 9/10/10 – 2/15/11. The principal category was Goat Farming and principal agency was the Department of the Interior. The performance he provided is listed as “education and training services: vocational/technical” and the location the service was provided is listed as District of Columbia.
    Does it seem strange to anyone that this person lives in Arkansas and yet the US government paid him $17,800 to provide goat farming training in Washington DC?
    http://government-contracts.insidegov.com/d/d/Fred-Woehl

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    • USDA contracts for services all over the place, for all kinds of reasons, so this isn’t a surprise to me. The USDA and the DOI are separate agencies, with different mandates, so this overlap raises questions.

      I’m curious why the DOI contracted for farming education, as this is a bit outside their public lands purview. Goat herds are used for weed and vegetation control on some public lands (and a lot of private lands), but these are private businesses and the goats are more or less the employees, so this isn’t really “farming.” Local extension offices have the best local information for farmers in their distinct locations, and are funded through land grant university programs, so the need for a special “goat farmer” from Arkansas to teach in DC is also questionable. I guess there are a lot of old goats in Congress, though, so maybe this was the focus?

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  5. I signed the petition(‘s) as I always do, and share the news on the BLM and their misdeeds all the time. But I also write to the President. Anytime I receive a “Poll Survey” from his administration, I always fill in the comment section asking him to stand up for our AMERICAN WILD HORSES AND BURROS. I make sure to remind him that it is US Tax payers paying for these lands for them to be free on. Mustangs belong to America, not the BLM. They are supposed to be the “care-takers” of them for us. But all they are doing is killing them, rounding them up, separating their herd pulling families apart, causing pain and stress by doing this, even deaths! All for what? Greed, supporting cattle ranchers, stealing the public land? Not what this land is designated for! Please everyone when you sign a petition, also write the President, your state Reps, Senators, and Congressmen. Copy, Paste, and have their emails at the ready. God Bless and Protect our horses.

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