The below comments were written by a volunteer, Tami Crisanti, of Wild Horse Education. We are posting her comments as a suggestion to begin to craft your comments. Please be aware that you do not need another advocate that has “a name” to craft your comments. You have knowledge. You have the tools. Trust your voice, craft those comments and let’s get all our voices into the choir!
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Buckhorn management area, where BLM officials estimate the wild horse herd numbers 172 animals, the appropriate number of wild horses is between 59 and 85.
The BLM plan for wild horse populations in these areas is available atwww.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/surprise/propRMP-FEIS.html.
Comments on the proposed roundups should be sent to Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 460, Cedarville, CA 96104, or sent by email to CBCwildhorses@blm.gov.
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To: Bureau of Land Management
P.O. Box 460,
Cedarville, CA 96104
I am writing to you in reference to the potential 2012 roundups of wild horses on federal ranges in the Buckhorn and Coppersmith areas in Lassen County and across the state line in Washoe County, Nevada, and Carter Reservoir area, in Modoc and Washoe counties, tentatively scheduled for July of 2013.
I do understand that in some scenarios, roundups are truly necessary. My concern is how this is decided. I see many black holes in the decision making process that are very upsetting and should absolutely be addressed before any final decisions are made.
I do understand that Wild Horses are managed along with multiple/shared usage of the land, but I also know they must, by law, be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands. Historically, the BLM’s decision making process holds the multiple land usage priority far above ensuring that our Wild Horses and Burros remain integral. I feel you should consider the views of subject matter experts from all view points before making any decisions that affect our Wild Horses and Burros.
It is completely unreasonable to have such an unbalanced AML for our Wild Horses compared to Livestock units; Copper Smith’s 50-75 on 75,547 acres, Buckhorn’s 59-89 on 76,780 acres, Carter Reservoir’s 339-500 on 478,195 acres and livestock grazing within 49 allotments on 1,445,443 acres with 92,465 animal unit months authorized annually, not to mention the land allotted for sheep grazing. The AMLs here must be increased no HMA should have an AML of less 150, it is the only way to ensure sustainable genetically viable healthy herds. These numbers are completely unbalanced and must be revisited, again with subject matter experts from all view points on the issues.
Also, the effects on the land from the livestock are, at least partly, determined by actual use reports from the grazing permittees themselves. Not only is this not scientific but should be considered bias information and not allowed. The more official evaluations to the grazing allotments using the “Healthy Rangeland and Standards Guideline” are completed only about once a decade while roundups of our integral Wild Horses continue to go on. Again, this is completely unbalanced and must be revisited, again with subject matter experts from all view points on the issues, and real scientific research!
On May 15, 2012, The Wildlife News published the article titled “BLM Report: Public lands ranching fails rangeland health standards on a third of rangelands assessed, 33 million acres”. I was shocked to learn that livestock grazing is identified, by BLM experts, as the primary cause (nearly 80%) of BLM lands not meeting health standards. I was also appalled to learn that the BLM actually directed scientists to exclude livestock grazing as a factor in changing landscapes as part of a $40 million study, the biggest such effort ever undertaken by BLM. When you fight transparency for the public while using our tax dollars to alter the true science of livestock grazing damages, while rounding up our Wild Horses and Burros, how can you expect the public to trust anything you say?
**Link to article: http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2012/05/15/blm-report-public-lands-ranching-impairs-a-third-of-rangelands-assessed-33-million-acres/
In addition, the estimated 123 wild horses that are roaming outside the area near Carter Reservoir may just be doing seasonal movement; the 2008 ROD included a decision to eliminate unnecessary fencing and minimize construction of new fencing as to not prevent seasonal migration or movement of the Wild Horses. Without proper research of the herd’s migration patterns this answer cannot be determined. Flying over the area periodically (every three years?) does not result in scientific research! As these Wild Horses are legally an integral part of the land, you should not remove them without researching this possibility.
It is imperative that the BLM create and enforce a Standard of Humane Care Policy for our Wild Mustangs and Burros immediately. The BLM has had over 40 years to create and implement humane care standards, that is more than enough time and it needs to be done, yesterday! These animals are supposedly protected yet the conduct allowed by the BLM and the contractors they hire, is consistently nothing but inhumane and unacceptable.
The BLM’s “natural ecological balance” appears to be completely unbalanced, I can have no confidence in any of the decisions they make, AMLs they set or HMA boundaries they draw when only 1% of the budget is spent on the research of the herd management planning!
The extreme lack of trust the American tax payer has for the BLM when it comes to our wild horses and burros is based on the inhumane cruelty we have confirmed without question, on camera and with our own eyes, and the fear of what is going on “behind closed gates”. Employees that work for the Wild Horse and Burro program refer to our wild horses and burros as feral livestock when their very jobs were created by an Act of Congress that declares these animals “wild and integral”. Transparency is imperative! I want to see the roundups, clearly and close up, I want unlimited access to all holding facilities, and I want to see what my tax dollars are being used for and know I can trust the BLM to proceed with the best interests of the wild ones! When the BLM fights transparency, (especially after seeing so much cruelty and suffering inflicted when they know we are right there watching and documenting!), my distrust of the BLM becomes validated, without question! Transparency is imperative!
If the BLM would just work with a balanced, knowledgeable, non-bias group of subject matter experts, that include specialists, advocates and veterinarians, to conduct true science based research, create a humane standard of care policy, and let the public see the policy implemented and in action, the BLM would easily gain the trust and support of the American tax payers. It is just so simple. Please do the right thing!
Thank you for considering my views on these very important issues.
Sincerly
(add your name and contact info)
Hold Your Wild Horses! How did it get so bad? has been released publicly.
