Tag Archives: The Cloud Foundation

by

Herd Watch questions

I have been receiving questions regarding the Herd Watch project.

Many of them are duplicate questions so I am going to combine them and respond in this post. I hope it helps.

I am currently in the field and creating necessary documents for this project.

_____________
If one volunteers, how much time would be involved?

We send out an application where volunteers list skill sets.

Information provided to us in the applications will be verified.

Volunteers can let us know how much time they can give to the project (assignments have differing levels of involvement).

This gives us the info we need for appropriate placement.

How will areas be chosen?

Areas are given priority based on current policy.

All areas will be included within the data base that contain (or have contained) equid populations.

The word “area” implies BLM. Just a reminder, herds exist in many jurisdictions.

How often would a person go to the herd area?

It depends on each Team and need.

Many areas have larger teams so visits can be divided up among members.

Are permits needed, if so who secures them?

Permits are usually only required on public land when individuals decide to camp there.

If individuals decide they want to spend more than a day on public land they will have been provided with all the contact info ahead of time (as well as notified the Team leader of their plans to stay).

If the individual is collecting data at a holding facility (for example) that requires an appointment, it is the responsibility of the volunteer to make the appointment as a private citizen.

Herd watch is a volunteer effort where individuals participate by providing information they gain as individual citizens through observation.

This is NOT a protest.

What kind of training will be provided?

It depends on the duty requirement.

Data entry and file management are a large part of this project.

Manuals and conference calls (or on site if required) will be provided as needed for each specific task.

Will “pro’s” be included to gain credibility with the BLM?

Horses and burros don’t only exist on BLM land.

The integrity of the database is not limited to gaining credibility with a single branch of the Department of Interior.

The integrity of the database is the first concern of Herd Watch. All protocol is designed with this in mind.

Can my teenagers participate?

There will be many opportunities geared specifically for teens and projects for younger children. Those opportunities currently do not include collecting field data.

If you want your teen to accompany you as you collect data you will be required to fill out the same contract of conduct and liability forms you fill out for yourself. As a parent you are responsible for the conduct of yourself and your children in any effort you participate in. Most volunteer opportunities, including those at your local animal shelter, have the same requirements as Herd Watch.

You may be advised that a specific assignment is not appropriate for teens.

Will the database be available for public use?

The database will contain information that will be made available to the public through a website that is under construction.

The website will contain general information as well as any areas that require public response. The database will host an archived section of historical data and a synopsis of current information.

The database itself will be made available for research specific projects (education) that may require data review through a case by case application.

In college I assisted a biology teacher in a research project. Is that what this will be like?

In many respects that is exactly what this project will resemble.

A Team Leader that has a background in the discipline required to complete the specifications of each project will be assigned. Each participant will operate much like an “intern.”

If I can’t participate but want to support the project through a donation can I send you money or equipment?

The only place to donate for Herd Watch is through the Cloud Foundation website. HERE.

If you would like to donate computers, cameras, gas cards, gift cards, vehicles, etc. please call Makendra at The Cloud Foundation, 719-633-3842 to make specific arrangements.

Read About Herd Watch and it’s mission at The Cloud Foundation.

I thank you all for the interest in this project.

by

Herd Watch is official!

I have been getting things organized and am back on the road so be patient with me …

Herd Watch is now “official.”

Here is the press release from The Cloud Foundation.

If you have already volunteered shoot me a quick e-mail at:

CalicoHorses@gmail.com

and let me know who you sent yor inquiry to and if you have recieved an application.

You will be receiving volunteer forms and assignment info soon!

For Immediate Release

The Cloud Foundation Takes Action with Herd-Watch: Public Eyes for Public Horses

47% of wild horse and burro herds have been zeroed out by BLM since 1971

Colorado Springs, CO (April 29, 2010)—Today the Cloud Foundation launches Herd-Watch, an innovative volunteer program to monitor wild horse and burro herds as well as roundups across the West. The iconic horses and burros are currently being managed to virtual extinction, contrary to the. From this day on, Herd-Watch will: watchdog America’s wild horses and burros, provide increased public visibility, monitor the range conditions and the mustang, burro and livestock numbers as well as keep tabs on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plans for “management” of each treasured American Herd.
“The more the public knows about our wild herds, the more deeply they will care about their preservation. Through Herd-Watch we will educate and inform the public while protecting an American treasure,” explains Project Manager Laura Leigh of Nevada. “Herd-Watch is an exciting and interactive new development facilitating improved protections for our wild herds and, we hope, an improved dialogue with both the BLM and Forest Service.”
A central database will keep tabs on each of America’s remaining 180 herds on public lands in ten Western States and their ranges. According to BLM, in 1971 339 wild herds were designated for protection. Since then the BLM and Forest Service have zeroed out 159 herds, including 12 in Nevada just last year. Volunteer teams will log and catalog data, photos and information following their visits to the range. The Cloud Foundation hopes that BLM and Forest Service officials will welcome the increased interest and monitoring of wild herds at no cost to taxpayers.
Interested members of the public are encouraged to visit www.thecloudfoundation.org to volunteer, donate and learn more.
“Herd-Watch will remove our wild herds from the ranks of the anonymous. Through the work of dedicated volunteers, the public will learn about each amazing herd of wild horses and burros and what can be done to preserve them for all time, as the Wild Horse and Burro Act intended,” states Ginger Kathrens, Cloud Foundation Executive Director and Emmy award-winning producer whose Cloud documentaries have educated a world public about the rich lives of wild horses.
by

Action Needed

In Defense of Animals ACTION page here.

Accused to Stand Trial for Wild Horse Shootings in Nevada

Wild Horse Advocates will bear witness at court.

Reno, NV (April 21, 2010)—The Cloud Foundation and other wild horse advocates are coming to Reno on April 27, 2010 at 3 p.m. to witness Todd Davis and Joshua Keathly make their first court appearance for allegedly harassing and killing five federally protected American wild mustangs—shot on or about November 28, 2009 in Washoe county, Nevada. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. McQuaid, Jr. will preside in Federal District Court, 400 S. Virginia Street, Reno.
Wild horse advocates find it unsettling to learn that Davis & Keathley are only charged with one count of causing the death of five wild horses for each man. Advocates are calling for charges of five counts, one for each horse as is standard with murder cases. If convicted of one count, each man will face a maximum of one year in prison and a maximum $100,000 fine.
“If convicted, the maximum penalties need to be applied to send a clear message—you kill America’s federally protected mustangs and you will pay the price,” states Emmy-Award winning filmmaker and Director of The Cloud Foundation, Ginger Kathrens.
The public is encouraged to attend the trial on behalf of the murdered horses. The Cloud Foundation joins the public in calling for increased charges in the violent deaths of five American mustangs on public land who are protected by the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
# # #
Links of interest:

US Department of Justice Press Release http://bit.ly/a6yTjh
Free Roaming Wild Horses and Burros Act of 1971 http://bit.ly/a7hOeS
Wild Horses: Management or Stampede to Extinction? Reno Gazette Sunday Special by Frank X. Mullen. http://bit.ly/9rGFwV
News Story on Calico, rising death toll & skewed numbers from George Knapp (KLAS- Las Vegas): http://bit.ly/9f1DYb
BLM Daily Reports from Calico Roundup/Fallon Holding: http://bit.ly/aSaeVc
Mestengo. Mustang. Misfit.  America’s Disappearing Wild Horses – A History
Frequently Asked Questions on Wild Horses

Stampede to Oblivion: An Investigate Report from Las Vegas Now (http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11285225)

Photos, video and interviews available from:
The Cloud Foundation

news@thecloudfoundation.org

by

Popcorn?

I have re-edited the piece “Calico Complex In Retrospect” for viewing on the web.I was approached to provide video for a group pressing DVD’s for DC. They ran a test group and went only with my footage. I felt that the project I had begun was important because it told a more complete story of Calico.

I researched distribution and each option was expensive. This would slow down getting the images to the public in a manner that was timely. These horses need our attention now more than ever. So I created a public viewing option (click on Theatre)  here at a site devoted to the project.

A CD is still available and the edit is a bit different for anyone wishing to have a hard copy of the project. They are available on my website here.

Not sure if you want popcorn… but the piece is up for viewing.

In Retrospect

by

DC Rally (post 1)

So much happened in DC. meetings with Representatives, the protest, great media coverage.

But the piece that stands out the most in my mind are the advocates themselves. I have several stories I want to share with you. I will post them this afternoon.

But for now I am going to share stories written by others and a link to the wonderful coverage by CNN.

Jane Velez-Mitchell report on CNN here.

RT’s great story about the DC rally

Cloud Foundation Update

I spoke with Vicki Tobin just a minute ago and she is working on an update for Equine Welfare Alliance.

EWA photo Elyse Gardner

Here is a picture from the rally of some of the EWA folks Elyse Gardner sent to me last night. Left to right… RT Fitch, Craig Downer, John Holland, Vicki Tobin and myself… and the “support” troops standing behind us.

It says so much that when we as a nation need to make a “statement,” we send in the mounted patrol.

Need to add this release from Sen. Landrieu:

WASHINGTON. (Laudrieu) – U.S. Senator Mary , D-La., today joined the call for a better federal plan for the treatment of wild horses and an end to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) unnecessary wild horse roundups.

The international March for Mustangs, a public protest against the inhumane treatment of wild horses, took place today in four cities across the globe: London, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Led by celebrity activist, Wendie Malick, in Washington, D.C., the protest comes in reaction to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s attempts to persuade Congress to provide more than $42 million to move animals from the West to the East.

“I have repeatedly called for an end to these inhumane roundups until a more sufficient plan is set in place by the BLM,”said Sen. Landrieu. “There is a civilized way that we can handle these horses, by providing for their adoption or their relocation to a sanctuary. But the cruel and horrific roundups, such as the recent Calico roundup that resulted in painful injury and even death for some horses, cannot continue.”

Last year, Sen. Landrieu fought to protect wild horses by championing language in the Interior Appropriations Bill to prohibit the BLM from using taxpayer dollars for the destruction of healthy, unadopted horses and burros. At Sen. Landrieu’s urging, the Senate directed BLM to develop a new comprehensive long-term plan for wild horse populations by September 30, 2010.

Sen. Landrieu also supported language that encouraged all federal agencies that use horses to acquire a wild horse from the BLM prior to seeking another supplier. In addition, Sen. Landrieu supports the BLM developing an expedited process for providing wild horses to local and state police forces.

As a result of the recent 40-day BLM Calico Roundup, at least 79 mustangs have died and nearly 40 females have aborted their late term foals in the Fallon, Nevada holding pens—where the death toll rises daily as a result of the winter roundup.

Currently, the wild horse and burro population in the United States is about 69,000, and there are 36,000 horses in short-term and long-term BLM holding facilities.

by

United We Stand

Outrage Over Wild Horse and Burro Removals Crosses the Pond

CHICAGO, (EWA) – The outrage over the round-up of America’s wild horses and burros has spread internationally. Groups in the United Kingdom will be holding a rally in front of the American Embassy in London on March 25. On the same day, Americans will be holding a rally across from the White House in Lafayette Park that will conclude in front of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices.

United We Stand (photo:Elyse Gardner)

The London Protest was organized by Jane Bravery, Mary Alice Pollard of Cornwall’s Voice for Animals (CVFA), Maria Daines, singer/songwriter and board member of Saving America’s Horses and international actress, Melita Morgan. The rally is cosponsored by the Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) and The Cloud Foundation (TCF).

Maria Daines commented, “If we do not stand as one on issues that affect all species whose purpose is to live wild and free, we cannot expect our own species to evolve in a compassionate and considerate way towards each other. Wild horses deserve their time and place, they deserve our protection and we must exist peacefully with these glorious creatures or risk losing them forever.”

Mary Alice Pollard adds, “Cornwalls Voice for Animals represents seven thousand supporters worldwide and stands united in ending wild horse round-ups and seeing the wild horses being born free and living wild and free.”

The Washington DC rally and press conference is hosted by Friends of Animals and is cosponsored by EWA, TCF, and In Defense of Animals. A screening of James Kleinert’s documentary, Disappointment Valley will be held the night prior to the protest. Celebrities, advocates and organization members from across the country are expected to attend the two day event.

“There is a groundswell of support for the preservation of America’s Mustangs. The BLM would like the public to believe this is just a minor uprising but this is a major international movement.” ~Ginger Kathrens, volunteer executive director, TCF.

The recent deadly round-up at the Calico Complex in Nevada has added to the tremendous support for a moratorium on round-ups. To date, 113 wild horses have lost their lives as a result of the round-up. At least two foals literally had their hooves run off.

“Our wild horses don’t have the luxury of time to waste while we grapple with bad policy. We must not allow special interests to methodically eliminate these horses from public land or our future generations will be robbed of their natural heritage.” ~Mariana Tosca, Actor and Social Activist/Animal Activist

CVFA, EWA and TCF urge the public to attend these rallies and ask that President Obama issue an immediate moratorium on round-ups and reject BLM plans to relocate wild horses to the East and Midwest until current range studies and independent population counts are available.

EWA’s John Holland notes, “The United Call for a Moratorium originally sent to President Obama and the Department of Interior in November, remains unanswered.”

The Equine Welfare Alliance is a dues free, umbrella organization with over 100 member organizations. The organization focuses its efforts on the welfare of all equines and the preservation of wild equids.

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

www.cornwallsvoiceforanimals.org

by

The Road to DC

On March 25 there will be a big rally for the wild horses.

The Cloud Foundation has a write up on all the details here. This sheet includes an itinerary as well as info on carpooling.

Please join if you can.

If you can’t attend use this opportunity to notify local media in your area to the march and set something up at your school, grocery store, front yard where you can pass out information on the Moratorium and the real crisis that wild horses and burros are faced with today.

Personally I am offering 50% of all sales from my online Art Gallery during the Month of March to the effort of funding observation and involvement toward protection of our wild horses and burros. This effort is being channeled through the Cloud Foundation.

Also 10% of all sales from the book “Annabelle and the Pink Slippers,” will go to the effort!