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Legislation...Politics...Wild Horses...Public Lands
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Above, Reno NV, was one of two billboards displayed in
Nevada in June 1992 by Michael Blake, author of
"Dances with Wolves". |
BLM (Bureau of Land Management),
controlled by politically powerful public lands ranching-livestock
industry, aka in the west as the sagebrush rebellion, thru
the media managed to discredit Michael Blake, author/screen
play of
"Dances
with Wolves", in his effort to
preserve and protect America's wild horses & burros on
public lands thru a legitimate and much needed campaign to
bring public awareness to the plight of America's wild horses
& burros. Mr. Blake was simply
attempting to get BLM to do a credible wild horse &
burro count and for BLM to follow the federal laws in their
decisions to remove "excess" free-roaming wild
horses.
Political Plight of America's Wild
Horses...in a nutshell!!!
Click here.
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February
27, 2002
Regarding an email
received stating, "My
concern is that BLM is going to continue to legitimize
the removal of wild horses and burros by using artificial
numbers, like they have set with this national
"AML" instead of using science and the law to
determine "excess".
Below, are
"tid-bits" of historical information regarding ongoing political
activities and legislation of the public lands ranching industry (sagebrush
rebels)...their war on America's wild horses and ongoing war
to take on America's public lands as their own private lands
under state's rights, etc. They
continue to push forward with their objectives using
taxpayer moneys. You will find some of the
information below interesting and educational.
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February 5, 1999
OPPOSITIONAL RESPONSES
TO THE SIX
ITEMS IN AJR
No. 2 (Nevada
public lands ranching bill)
that "urges
U.S. Congress to amend
provisions of Wild Free-Roaming
Horses & Burros Act (of 1971) to require population of
wild horses to be maintained at certain level".
(AML's)
1. Improving the condition of ranges used
by wildhorses:
| Oppositional
Response:
Livestock
are the main "users", not wild
horses. Ranges are homes for wild horses and
other wildlife. Predictably, when wild horses
are removed "to maintain a thriving natural
ecological balance" on public lands,
livestock remain untouched and are even
increased. Conditions that are felt severe
enough to remove wild horses from public lands can not
be separated from the impact of livestock on the
targets areas. Continue below.
(Also please see 1990 GAO study: August
1990 - Rangeland Management, Improvements Needed in
Federal Wild Horse Program. CALL -202-275-6241
-GAO# in Washington, D.C. WHICH SUPPORTS THAT
LlVESTOCK GRAZING IS THE PROBLEM NOT WILD HORSES. |
2.
Increase
population and improve habitat of deer, antelope and
other species of wildlife living on those ranges:
| Oppositional
Response:
Historically
and currently wild horses co-exist in harmony with
other wildlife and rarely compete for the same
forage. Removal of wild horses has little relationship
with #2 statement. Cows eat everything. Continue below. |
3. Allow increased use of the public lands for
grazing (livestock) & the development of native
flora & vegetation:
| Oppositional
Response:
Ratio of wild horses to livestock are at least 1:50 on
public lands, more like 1:100 to 1:200. Removing one horse and leaving 50
cows will have little impact, if any, to maintain a thriving natural ecological
balance on public lands nor enhance the development of
native flora & vegetation. During the 1997 Nevada
Legislative Session, a public lands rancher
testified that 500 wild horses
were degrading his public lands allotment, but his
10,000 cows were not a problem
to him. Livestock
grazing is the number ONE CAUSE of degradation of
public lands, not the relative infinitesimal
population of wild horses that reportedly remains. (See
1990 GAO study: August 1990 - Rangeland Management,
Improvements Needed in Federal Wild Horse Program)
Wild horses behave as
wildlife, when allowed migration without
livestock fencing, biting off the tops of plants then
moving on migrating over large areas as do other
wildlife. Digestive systems of wild horses are
anatomically & physiologically different than
cows. Many seeds pass undigested through the horse’s
GI system (post-gastric digestion) re-seeding the
lands for regrowth of vegetation. The anatomical make
up of their hoofs are instrumental in pushing the
seeding into the ground. Cow’s digestive tracts
(pre-gastric digestion) that metabolize virtually
everything they eat contributing very little to
re-seeding of lands. Livestock are
"squatters" and eat essentially all
vegetation. If not physically moved, they will denude
the lands leaving little for wildlife. A water source
must be provided to livestock within a ½ to 1 mile
radius of their grazing area. Horses browse up to a 10
to 20 miles radius of a single water source. Cows are
low-landers and prefer to "squat" in the
riparian areas close to water, destroying
environmentally sensitive areas. In contrast wild
horses are high-landers away from these areas.
Designated herd management areas or
herd
areas are massively fenced
for
easier management of
livestock which drastically affects wild horses
by significantly their reducing access to their legal
federally allocated grazing and water habitats. On
paper, herd areas for wild horses appear to include
thousands of acres, but in reality, fencing for
livestock has isolated and significantly reduced wild
horse accessibility to their rightful grazing and
water. Obviously, horses that are
confined to smaller areas as result of livestock fencing will
not do well, nor does the vegetation.
Disturbingly, this scenario of cross
fencing public lands for livestock management is a major problem used against wild horses, a
setup created by humans as an excuse to
remove wild horses.
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4. Improve
conditions for hunting and other outdoor sports:
| Oppositional
Response:
Not
credible to suggest that wild horse removal
will improve such
ongoing activities. Public lands
ranchers will force people from public lands on the
premise that America's public lands are
"their" private lands for their livestock.
Public
lands ranching is the culprit if, indeed,
#4 is a problem. (This language
was added by the industry under the pretense that wild
horses are blocking these activities only to gain
support of people who enjoy these activities.) |
5. Reduce the amount of money required
to shelter, feed & prepare wild horses for adoption:
| Oppositional
Response:
During
a BLM Board Advisory meeting, it was stated that the Wild Horse &
Burro Program costs taxpayers
approximately $12 millions a year for this program.
However, the current pro-ranching
federal administration increased this budget to $16
million in 2001, with the blessing of the public lands
ranching industry for the sole purpose of removing
wild horses. See below the cost to taxpayers to
maintain the public lands livestock industry.)
Total and
indirect cost to taxpayers to sustain public
lands ranching was assembled by Lynn Jacobs in
his book, "The Waste of the West",
where he estimated the costs of public lands ranching
to taxpayers at over $2 billion dollars a year.
Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington
D.C. "Think Tank" developed an
estimate of about $500
million dollars a year to American taxpayers.
National Wildlife Federation's estimated direct cost over the amount received in grazing
fees by the Forest Service or BLM amounts to about $75
million dollars a year.
The cost of the
Wild Horse and Burro program is relatively "peanuts"
when compared to the taxpayers to maintain the public lands ranchers
lifestyle.
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6. Reduce
the risk of deaths of wild horses because of freezing &
starvation during the winter:
| Oppositional
Response:
The
purpose of # 6 is to appease concerned
Nevadans by expressing pseudo-compassion for wild
horses if they remain on public lands.
Ironically, AJR No. 2 which endorses drastic removals
of horses would ultimately result in
a long, grueling & cruel journey for the majority
of wild horses via the BLM adoption program to horse
slaughterhouses. If wild horses are allowed
access to their entire allotted HMA (herd areas) and
to freely migrate unrestricted by livestock cross
fencing that
manages livestock as explained in #3, No. 6 is not a
credible problem. Extremely harsh winters affects, all
wildlife, including wild horses, irregardless of
populations levels. Natural selection and
population balance by Mother Nature is expected. (Wild horses break thru frozen water and snow that
allow other wildlife to drink and eat who would
otherwise die). |
UNFORTUNATELY, Nevada
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2
was passed
into law by Nevada legislators because of the powerful
politically persuasive livestock industry. It does NOT
benefit Nevadans, the public lands, the American people, nor
its natural inhabitants and habitat and is only a continued
public land grab by powerful special interest
groups...public lands ranching industry, or aka sagebrush
rebels. America's wild horses are the rebel's
"first target"
in accomplishing their greedy objectives.
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February 4, 1999
BY FEDERAL LAWS, AML’s (Appropriate Management
Levels) for wild horses must be based upon
scientific CURRENT
and appropriate MONITORING and INVENTORYING
of range conditions for ALL users to maintain a thriving
natural ecological balance on public lands. AML’s are being artificially created for wild
horses and used by public lands livestock industry and BLM in all
states as a method to "get rid of wild horses".
Livestock grazing remains essentially unchanged or are
frequently increased on these areas. With the 1:50 ratio of horses to
cows on public lands (realistically the ratio is 1:100 or
greater), it makes little sense when BLM states they are
maintaining a "thriving natural ecological
balance" on public ranges by (only) removing horses.
Environmental assessments (EA) must include the
impact (EIS) by BOTH livestock and fences upon targeted
ranges before removal of wild horses is proposed and MUST
include specific information regarding prior, current and
future grazing by domestic livestock in these areas.
May 18, 1999
Nevada S.B. 310, with amendments, provides a method whereby information can
be disseminated...sort of a "public
relations" bill for the livestock industry to promote a
"positive" image to the public.
Information was disseminated at the work session that BLM
estimates 2,306,665 AUM's within Nevada, the Forest
Service estimates slightly fewer. (An email from a Nevada Legislative member.)
(This info
with BLM's estimated population of 23,000 wild horses in Nevada,
supports a
ratio 1:100 of
one wild horse to
100 mother cows and when these mother
cows calve the ratio increases
to 1:200.
Beware that a mother cow and her calf is counted as ONE
while a mare and her foal are counted as TWO. The pregnancy
for a horse is 11 months+ and for a cow is only 9 months.)
November 5, 1996 - Nevada
Sample Ballot Election Day:
Question No. 4–amendment to the Ordinance of the Nevada
Constitution –(Nevada) Senate Joint Resolution No.
27 (Actually became SJR No. 26) in the 67th
Nevada
Session.
CONDENSATION –ballot question:
Shall
the Territorial Ordinance of the Nevada Constitution be
amended to remove the disclaimer of the state’s interest
in the unappropriated public lands?
Introduced
by the sagebrush rebels to Nevada voters, Question 4 was
passed by Nevada voters on 11-5-1996. The sagebrush rebels
boasted that they could pass any measures through
Nevada voters by putting it into "a positive
perspective". This amendment is one of the first
steps in America's public lands "land grab" by
Nevada Public lands ranching industry, aka sagebrush
rebellion.
May 7, 1997
(1997 Nevada legislative session)
Testimony by BLM to Nevada Senate Committee on
Natural Resources, chaired by NV Senator Dean Rhoads (chairperson on this committee year after
year) and is a BLM activist permittee rancher from
R-Tuscarora, Nevada.
11-22-96 MINUTES
OF THE MEETING OF THE Nevada INTERIM LEGISLATIVE
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS, (chaired
year after year by NV Senator Dean Rhoads) (Nevada
Revised Statutes 218.5363)
November
22, 1996, Carson City, Nevada
COMMITTEE
MEMBERS PRESENT: Senator
Dean A. Rhoads, Chairman; Assemblyman John W. Marvel, Vice
Chairman, Senator Lawrence E. Jacobsen, Senator Dina Titus,
Assemblyman John C. Carpenter (Alternate), Assemblywoman
Marcia de Braga (Alternate), Assemblyman P.M. Roy Neighbors,
R. Llee Chapman, Elko County Commissioner.
.
(As Williams was leaving the testimony table, NV
Senator Dean Rhoads quietly commented, “We’re working on it”.)
He also pointed out that Lander County
citizens support the transfer of federal lands to the state
(public lands land grab by the rebels).
July
13, 1998
held at Washoe County Commissioners Chambers, Reno,
Nevada
U.S.
House Resources Subcommittee of National Parks &
Public Lands
Field Hearing on the federal
(Free Roaming) Wild Horse & Burro
Act of 1971.
U.S.
(R-Utah) Rep. Jim Hansen, chairman; U.S.
(R-Nevada) Rep. Jim Gibbons; U.S.
(R-Nevada)
Rep. John Ensign (Currently U.S. Nevada Senator);.
U.S.
(California) Poma; U.S.
(R-Idaho) Rep. Helen Chenoweth (married Wayne Hage, a
Tonopah rancher & private-property rights activist in
July 99, & author of “Storm Over Rangelands” 1989 in
which he argued that ranchers have
private-property
rights on federal lands; U.S.
(D-Samoa) Rep. Faleomavega (sp?) was the only committee
member to speak FOR the 1971 Act. All other committee members
spoke against the Act.
Testifiers
included NV Senator Dean Rhoads, public lands rancher & NV Assemblyman
John Carpenter, rancher and
others. All
testifiers were invited by the subcommittee.
(NV Senator
Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora
and public lands rancher, during his testimony mentioned
that the appropriate population (AML) for Nevada be set at
about 12,000 wild horses. This testimony supported
that AML's had already
been (artificially) set by the public lands ranching
industry (sagebrush rebels) at that time without
respect
to the mandated federal laws that State AML's be "based upon
CURRENT
and appropriate MONITORING and INVENTORYING
of range conditions for ALL users to maintain a thriving
natural ecological balance on public lands".
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QUESTION: Stop BLM's
plan to reduce herds of wild horses?
Polls Closed on:
MARCH 26, 2002
RESULTS: TOTAL VOTES: 2,885....62% YES and 38%
NO.
The current Bush administration is reducing America's wild horse & burros populations by 50% by
2005, ignoring the legal federal laws. BLM's counts are not credible and BLM is removing
massive numbers, flooding the market, to appease the Public Lands
Ranching Industry. Law Suit
This link ran the poll: http://www.vote.com/vote/42592907/index.phtml
Wild
Horse Spirit Ltd.
25 Lewers Creek Road
Carson City, NV 89704
(775) 883-5488
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