Wild Horses – Please Comment on the BLM’s Long Term Plans for and Removals of Wild Horses at Sand Wash Basin
August 25, 2016Breaking News: BLM’s Wild Horse Advisory Board Just Voted To Kill All 44,000 Captive Wild Horses In Holding
September 9, 2016
Update: Carol Walker will be talking about both Checkerboard Roundups tonight, Wednesday, September 7 on Wild Horse and Burro Radio, information here:
If you miss the show it will be archived, just use the same link to listen.
Here I am posting again about the Checkerboard, just two years after the Checkerboard Roundup in the fall of 2014.  1261 wild horses were removed forever from their homes and families because a powerful association of greedy ranchers think that the public lands that they lease to run livestock on belong to them. Yet again, they want all the wild horses removed from 2 million acres in the Red Desert of Wyoming.
The BLM does whatever the ranchers say, and in fact, the Field Manager of the BLM Rock Springs Field Office says “For all intents and purposes, we consider the Checkerboard private.” But it is NOT private. In fact, over half of the Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin Herd Management Areas are public land, that belongs to us, the citizens of the United States of America, not the Rock Springs Grazing Association.
Now RSGA demands that 500 more horses be removed from these three huge Herd Management Areas, and soon there will be very few horses left even in the large public areas of these three areas. Because you see, horses do not stay in one place. They move where the forage is and in the winter, they move from the public part of the Herd Management Areas to the Checkerboard where the weather is milder. In the last Checkerboard roundup, which began in September, the BLM blamed advocates who brought a lawsuit trying to stop the roundup for more horses being rounded up, because it delayed the start by a week. This time, the BLM is going to start much later, mid-October, so that even more horses will have moved into the Checkerboard.
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, the Cloud Foundation, Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl brought a lawsuit during the last Checkerboard roundup, and it is currently in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The issues are the same – the BLM is treating the Checkerboard as if it is all private land and the wild horses are strays that must be removed. This is not true. If the BLM is allowed to continue to remove wild horses from private lands as an excuse to remove them from public lands, then the wild horses across the West are vulnerable to the whims of private rachers who want them ALL removed from public lands.
Because the plan was to remove as many wild horses as possible from these areas, the helicopter roundup took a very different turn in 2014 than roundups I had observed in the past. Old horses who were barely able to run, and normally would not have been pursued, were chased for miles to get them into the trap. One family of wild horses were dripping with sweat and exhausted before they were finally driven into the trap after two hours of being chased relentlessly by the helicopter. Pregnant mares and mares with small foals were chased as well for many miles. After the roundup when the horses were in the temporary holding pens, many horses died from breaking their necks on the panels, and after they were sent to short term holding many more died – over 100 died in just a few months. In Rock Springs, the mare pens were so overcrowded that newborn foals died. And these horses in holding can be sold for slaughter. Only a small percentage are adopted.
When you comment, the most powerful and effective way to do that is to use your own words and send comments directly to the BLM.
Some Points to cover:
The BLM cannot use a request to remove horses from private land as an excuse to remove wild horses from public lands – this is illegal. They cannot treat the entire Checkerboard Area as if it is all private land, nor can they treat the large tracts of public land in these Herd Management Areas as if it is private land. This will set a terrible precedent for wild horses across the West – this will leave them at the mercy of livestock ranchers who want all our wild horses removed from public lands.
This plan will bring the Great Divide Basin Herd Management Area to below the low end of the Appropriate Management Level, AML for this herd – and this is a violation of the Federal Land Policy Management Act, FLPMA. The Resource Management Plan is currently being revised for this area, but until it is revised, they must follow the existing AMLs for these three Herd Management Areas.
There was supposed to be an Appendix V in the EA which covered the impacts of livestock grazing – this was not included in the EA, despite my calls and emails. How can you possibly analyze impacts upon the Environment without taking this into account?
| 2016 Statistically Corrected Census Counts | |||
| HMA | Total within HMA | Total within Checkerboard | |
| Great Divide Basin | 542 | 272 | |
| Salt Wells Creek | 696 | 187 | |
| Adobe Town | 684 | 25 | |
| Total | 1,922 | 484 | |
This is the woefully inadequate census data for April 2016 – no details. no photos, just a table with numbers.
Here is what the BLM told us in October, 2014Â – the remaining numbers of wild horses in Adobe Town, Salt Wells Creek and Great Divide Basin after the Checkerboard Roundup:
Adobe Town: 519
Salt Wells Creek: 29
Great Divide Basin: 91
All of these figures are below Appropriate Management Level, or AML for each of these Herd Management Areas.
The figures from the 2015 April flyover were:
Adobe Town: 858
Salt Wells Creek: 616
Great Divide Basin: 579
The BLM’s math never does add up – now in 2016 there are less horses than in 2015. The jump from 2014 to 2015 made no sense, and now the reduction in numbers makes no sense. They are not doing direct counts. They are using statistical models to twist the truth and inflate the numbers at their convenience. There is no documentation, no photos provided – the is no attempt to provide transparency.
Ask the BLM to provide documentation to back up these counts.
And most important,
Please either select Alternative 1 no removal of wild horses.
The BLM is accepting comments on an Environmental Assessment for this Checkerboard II roundup until September 9, 2016.
The wild horses need your help. Please comment.
Here is the EA: https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/projectSummary.do?methodName=renderDefaultProjectSummary&projectId=59563
Comments can be emailed to: blm_wy_checkerboard_hmas@blm.gov, Please include “Checkerboard EA Comments” in the subject line.
They can be mailed to:
Wild Horse and Burro Specialist
BLM Rock Springs Field Office 280 Highway 191 North
Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901 Fax: (307) 352-0329
Main Phone 307-352-0256
50 Comments
I don’t understand how they can still round up with helicopters. They have destroyed the heritage of these animals. People in this country are so self centered and where’s any lawyers? BLM still does the dirty work and even activists can’t do it alone in prevention of the slaughter. It’s a crying shame
STOP KILLING OUR HORSES IT SHOWS YOUR IGNORANCE AND LACK OF ABILITY TO FIND A FEASIBLE PLAN TO CARE FOR THEM, SAVE THEM and KEEP THEM FREE…….THEY ARE OUR HERITAGE AND CITIZENS DESPISE THE BLM>>>>>>>>WHICH SHOULD BE CLOSED!
killing and injuring these wild horses does exactly what for our country? Tax dollars are being wasted and I know it’s not cheap to pull out the chopper. This is a ridiculous attempt to reduce nature!
Public land is for wild horses and other wild animals, not for privately owned livestock. You need to quit slaughterin all of these innocent, beautiful creatures! Quit caring about money, get a soul and start caring about innocent lives.
Please save these beautiful animals from extinction please protect them instead of torturing them and rounding them up start looking at how many cattle and sheep are on the public lands and do something about them instead I want to be able to see them running free and be able to have grandchildren be able to see them running free not in zoos
Please stop warehousing our wild horses and burros.
They deserve to be protected and should have
As much right to graze the land as any welfare
Ranchers cattle.
Please stop rounding up America’s wild horses! We know you are being paid well by the ranchers to kill them all off, but what you are doing is so wrong! The horses have been there so much longer than you have, and they deserve to stay with their families in their home. You are removing an icon of freedom in America.
There is absolutely NO reason for these round ups. The land is public and the wild horses have every right to graze on it. The American horse worked along side humans to develop this country and they deserve to live out their lives in freedom and peace. LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!!!!!
BLM needs to be STOPPED……Cut Cattle and sheep herds using the ranges that the wild horses and burro’s use. STOP THEM NOW!!!!!!!
Please save our beautiful wild horses from roundups, sterilaztion and slaughter! Stop BLM and ranchers from this horrendous act!
Please be the voice for our wild horse’s,and stop the BLM from needles roundup’s and inhumane treatment. Also please don’t let the horrific sterilization methods proposed. IT’S NOT OK! We need to help these beautiful inocent horses. The BLM and our Government needs to address this issue NOW and stop cruelty,abuse and inhumane treatment causing injury and death. Running horse’s for hours into exhaustion. Really it makes me sick even thinking about it. Please , please do not do the ccheckerboard roundup or the inhumane sterilization at Oregon college. This is just barbaric torture!
I can not express enough my outrage over this “wipeout plan” that is taking place on the Wyoming Checkerboard. Preserving these horses in their natural habitat is worth more to your state than wiping them out. Tourism is only one aspect of the pros of these beautiful wild animals. These horses are not livestock. They are not owned by a person who raises them for the purpose of reselling etc. They are WILD animals. They have a right to be free! I have never heard of Elk, deer, antelope or any other wild animals being chased down by helicopters! If the BLM would carry out the duties they were developed to do, we would not be fighting against them to save our wild horses! Your job was to protect them, not to WIPE THEM OUT!!!! If you can’t do your job, then we have no need for your organization any longer. The American people are outraged over what is happening and our voices go unnoticed. Let me speak for thousands of people who have not taken the time to fill out a comment here. Protect our wild horses and burros. Protect our National parks and lands. Don’t sell out America. This is all of our home. Love it, protect it, enjoy it and pass on our heritage to our children and grandchildren. Please!!!
Elk, deer, antelope or any other wild animals get shot by hunters every year. Their herds get managed. Someone gets a count on these animals and that’s how they figure out how many tags to issue. We still have these animals to pass on to our children and grandchildren.
Yet we do not treat horses in America like we treat deer or elk or cattle.
god did not intent for these horses to be penned up, slaughtered, chased by helicopters, frightened to death, ran for miles in the heat of summer, separated from their herd, foals separated from their mothers,Mares and foals chased by helicopters to pure exhaustion and then separated…. You shouldn’t be allowed to decide their fates. This is their land not yours…
Our wild horses are a part of our national heritage. Please stop destroying their lives and preserve the lands they were meant to roam.
YR AssHoles
Go Slaughter Rats and Snakes, So U can B YR own Pincushion!
Stop the Slaughter WTF? Iz Wrong with you Fucks!
Hopefully, the 3 gals above will also comment personally to the BLM. I sent a comment after I got an email from Wild Horse Freedom Federation. I’m thinking that it might be a good idea to actually send a physical letter with the same message. I realize that its so much easier to just type & click – BUT I’m betting that a mailed letter might possibly – if not make an impact – make it harder to ignore!
This is just one of the BLM’s horrible ideas. It has been in the pocket of the ranchers since it was formed. The main idea is to turn our public lands into feedlots for the cattlemen. The wild horses and burros are native to the land whereas the cattle are imports from Europe. The ranchers are trying to remove the wild horses and burros so that they can make more money. The majority of ranchers who graze their cattle on public lands are wealthy and own at least 250,000 acres or more of their own land. It is time to remove the BLM and the welfare ranchers from public lands.
The wild horses deserve better than being forced to run and be trapped.
Even if I am not an American citizen, I want to protest against the plans on forcing them to leave their habitat.
Carol Walker is surely one of our “Wild Horse Annie’s” of today!!! Be Their Voice ~ Be an advocate for our beautiful, majestic, innocent, loving wild mustangs! I, Cyndy Beranek Weston, stand by Carol Walker and all who are advocates for equine! We are forever connected to their souls and every human ought to realize we would not be where we are without horses~mustangs’ strong will to provide humans w/commitment companionship, transportation, distribution, and endless other positive ways!
BLM wakeUp and realize there are selfish, greedy people controlling your actions; Perhaps you’re greedy as well… Therefore! You do as you are ordered to do ~ Without a soul, no heart and ruthless!
Very sad. Innocent lives that you take, destroy, slaughter, abuse, harm, neglect every time you do as you are told! BLM ~ take a moment and look into the eyes of these innocent, incredible, magnificent horses! See their soul, feel their open heart touch yours; wild mustangs and all equine have a pureness about them! They resided on these lands first! We have no right to claim them!!! It’s sickening to hear cattlemen complain about not getting “their free land for their cattle grazing”!!! Seriously! Who gives you the right to FREE LAND! You’re selfish, greedy ranchers that have been spoiled far too long!!! I’ve got many ranchers who are friends of mine, and I know the struggles and crap as such, but for any rancher to take away the FREEDOM OF WILD MUSTANGS WHO HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO ROAM THEIR LAND HAS ABSOLUTELY LOST ANY HUMBLENESS and KINDNESS; You’ve lost reality! Humans take away so much for the sake of GREED!!! Not ok! Just not!!! BLM must retract any plans to destroy our country’s heritage ~ Horses are pertinent, mandatory to what’s left of our country’s open lands; THEIR GOD-GIVEN LAND!!! Allow these spectacular majestic wild souls to run free; allow them to begin to bring back our spiritual sense of beauty! PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW our country’s heritage to fade anymore than it already has. Thank You! Cyndy
The killing of healthy horses is unconscionable. The BLM has overstepped its boundaries by caving into ranchers. This is morally wrong. I believe the ASPCA should be involved and file against all involved.
I must preface this next statement by saying I am all for leaving the wild horses. They are our heritage. Realistically there needs to be a long term plan to handling the reproduction of the horses in the wild. If for example there are 5k mares roaming wild, that means about every year the population doubles. Five thousand becomes ten thousand. With all the horses in the holding pens and in reality probably no one really knows how many thousands are there – that have spent their whole lives in holding pens. Considering some horses can easily live into their mid 20’s, that is a long time. Surgical sterilization of the mares is not realistic, so that leaves castration of all the stallions and just let the current horse population live their lives out in the wild.
I don’t think this is only because of the ranchers. There are oil companies wanting the land, green companies want the land for solar panels. And there is the expansion of the human population that is impacting how and where these wild horses live. It is really the majority of the human population that has caused this. We complain when gas is too high, and we want to go green which means things like huge amounts of solar panels like there is currently in Nevada are going to become more and more common.
There has to be a solution, but so far no one can really agree. So in the interim, round ups will continue, BLM horses will continue to be shipped to Mexico and Canada and all the horses currently in holding pens around the country will continue to sit with little chance of adoption.
There is no overpopulation of our wild horses on public land. That is the BLM lie. Rounding up and removing them to cater to special interests is why there are 44,000 in holding
Those horses deserve to live out there lives in freedom and running wild. They are our heritage. I may not own a horse but I love horses and to see them in the wild is magnificent
Share the land. Wild horses have a right to be there. Stop being unduly influenced by ranchers wanting all lands for cattle. Killing is not the answer!
This is the most disgusting thing I have read in a long time. Why do you want to kill all the horses. You make the prices so high most of the time that it is almost impossible to adopt, and many could find a home with someone who cares. Plus, a simple solution would be to capture the stallions and geld them to cut back on the production rate. Why not do that instead of killing them all? That is just plain cruel and wrong. Do you lack an essential part of being a human that is compassion? I can hardly believe that anyone would want to kill all of them. Horrible, and will give me nightmares just thinking of it. Find another way to control the population.
Wild horses need to be protected NOT harassed, abused and slaughtered! Wild horses are our heritage. In many areas, they killed off wolves and bears, then realized they were needed to balance the ecosystem, then re-introduced them to right their wrong. Destroying our wild horses is wrong! Very, very wrong!
These horses should be protected not killed. Stop the murdering. They have just as much right to be here as we do. It makes my heart hurt to even think of a mass murder of these beautiful creatures. Who do you people think you are. This is definitely wrong.
we are not living in the dark ages anymore- why are we acting like cavemen and barbarians? All these living creatures were here before us, and deserve our care and love and protection? What is wrong with the human race? We are the worst living thing… People get so upset about the taking of human lives & we are the ones sucking up all our natural resources on this earth. Not the horses, deer, dogs, whales, etc. This has to stop! When is it going to stop? We all enjoy freedoms- but we don’t give that same right to animals…. We will be held accountable for our acts against animals either here or in the next life. There are better solutions if we take the time to feel something rather than being selfish individuals.
We have a cattle ranch in nevada my grandfather and dad uses to manage the wild horses on are land they used the horse’s to work the cows ride the range. They moved the studs horse around to keep from inbreeding keep the numbers down for the land could handle the horse and the cattle. But one day some animal lover tree huger that need to justify there job said the rancher could do that no more because the rancher would sale the horse’s on the market and make a dollar off it for his time and the government wasn’t getting any tax money off of it so they put a stop to it. So the moral of this store let the rancher manage the land and the horses like it was year ago and just fire the animal lover tree huger.
These majestic horses are descendants of mighty horses who built this country and have a right to be here just like you. How can you even consider mass murdering these beautiful God’s creatures, Your butt don’t compare to them, and I’m sure your legacy is meaningless compared to theirs. Karma will eat you alive
THOSE HORSES SHOULD NOT BE KILLED. THOSE WILD HORSES NEED PROTECTED INSTEAD OF KILLED. WHAT WILL THE BLM OR OUR GOVERNMENT DECIDE NEEDS TO DIE NEXT? THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS TO KILL THESE ANIMALS. THEY ARE JUST DOING IT TO PROVE THEY CAN DO ANYTHING THEY PLEASE. THIS IS NOT EUTHANASIA. THIS IS MURDER. WHEN WILL THEY GO TO THE EAST COAST AND START GATHERING UP WILD PONIES THERE?
Are there 44,000 people in this country who can adopt just one wild horse?
The BLM requires very strict adoption laws and rules….. WHICH they do not provide for the animals in near the fashion they demand of potential adopters… Lower the requirements and cost and yes there would be 44K people who would adopt and give the horses a better life than they are living inder the crooked BLM holding them now
Please do not kill these horses….they have just as much a right to be here as the other naturalized animals of our states…..this is inhumane and criminal.
Absolute tragedy killing these beautiful animals! I cannot think there is no other options at the point.
The horses in the pictures are beautiful. Suggesting to control the population by gelding is a very smart idea. Why in the world would these people that are in charge of our wild horses and the places that they live want to act so incredibly blase about something so special. There has to be a better solution.
Today I buried my last wild horse, she was just a couple of months shy of 27 years old. She was a beautiful blood bay mare with black stockings. I got her when she was 3 years old. At the same time I got a handsome blue roan stallion; he was 5 years old. I buried him back in February at age 28. I’ve had the privilege of enjoying these horses and their magnificent offspring over the last 20+ years. I’ve found them to be the most honest, intuitive, healthy, and strong companions. I always say that they are best when adopted wild because nobody has put bad habits in them yet. These 2 wild ones came out of Nevada and produced the best trail horses I have ever worked with. The one I currently ride is 17 now and still goes like a youngster. I tend to ride a little on the adventurous side and this little Mustang is game for anything! If I ask him to do something a little risky, he’ll bend his head back and look at me as if asking, “Are you sure?” I ask him again and away we go! As for the issue with the slaughter of the captive wild ones, I have mixed emotions. In my opinion, part of what got us to this point is the well-intentioned folks that were against sterilization when it was proposed many years ago. Another factor is the misguided and self-aggrandized HSUS (Humane Society of the United States). Their campaign against horse slaughter has caused a glut in the horse market to such an extent that many sick, dangerous, and/or otherwise compromised horses can’t be humanely euthanized/disposed. Their (HSUS) executive has openly stated that his goal for the organization is to eventually promote the idea that riding a horse is cruel and abusive with the intent to make it a crime to do so. Their successful campaign against legalized slaughter has caused folks to continue to maintain housing for unusable horses (that would have been otherwise euthanized) and thus created a shortage of homes for adoptable wild horses. Maintaining quarters and sustenance for my aging horses was my choice and thankfully, I was able to provide for them financially while still maintaining “useable” riding stock. Not everyone is able to make the same choice as I and euthanasia is often a better fate for aging horses in today’s economy. I don’t agree with the decision to murder the wild horses but I believe there is much work to be done to institute birth control in the wild herds while seeking to legalize humane domestic horse slaughter in the United States. I urge anyone who is able to adopt a wild one to do so. If treated with respect, the wild ones will give you so much more than you are able to receive.
Can we just stop rounfing and leave them wild . Release them .we have to cut down on meat production.
The story made it to Germany ! I hope it does spread within a view days via the social networks around the globe and we can stop this !
Please do not kill without looking into alternatives. Old and sick horses should not be kept and put in the same category as the young and healthy ! Killing all the horses to get rid of a problem is not a kind solution. Sterilization is a positive alternative. Please seek alternatives !
Please do not kill them this is so sad do not hurt them help them save them
This is sheer human evil, what has been done to these innocent precious horses and now the BLM’s “FINAL SOLUTION” to their “horse problem”. This is a murder and apparently we have no way of stopping these evildoers from taking innocent lives for GREED AND PROFITS! May all the ranchers rot as well.
I add my name to those appalled at this. I hope it’s not true. DO NOT KILL these precious horses. What the heck is wrong with people?
No more wild Mustang roundups in Wyoming. Ban them. Stop
harassing these wild and beautiful creatures. They DO NOT degrade the land. They fertilize it. No more lies and excuses from the BLM. I call on Gov. Matt Mead to stop this terrible practice. The Wyoming Bison were hunted to near extinction for their meat and hides. Don’t let this happen to Wyoming’s wild Mustangs. The cattle ranchers can grow their cattle on lots. Let these horses roam free. It’s the American thing to do.
As the wild Mustangs go, so will the humans – birth control and euthanasia. Wake up people! First the wolves, then the buffalo, then the prairie dogs, then the horses, then the humans………….
BLM Wild Mustang and Burro Program is failing due to lack of quality control by managing a affected breeding program. Roundups are a waste of tax dollars and also conveys cruelty amongst our precious Wild Mustangs. Mismanagement is the only reason such demands from public wild mistang and burro supporters..for humane ways to preserve a National Historical Treasure…Professional Quality Care of our Wild Mustangs and Burro’s. The Federal Government would benefit by stepping in and creating either a National Park for these horses and State funded parks to preserve not kill and destroy these beautiful animals.
As long as Members of the Cattlements Associations are allowed to sit on the BLM Board, the horses don’t stand a chance.
THIS NEEDS TO STOP NOW!!!!! ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO CARE CAN HELP THE WILD HORSES NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finished a book called Mustang : Wild Spirit Of The West by Marguerite Henry. WILD HORSE ANNIE would be heartbroken to learn that her plan to protect the mustangs is be used to wipe them out!!!! SAVE THE MUSTANGS!!! SAVE THE ONES WHO CAN’T SAVE THEMSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JOIN TO SAVE HORSES WORLDWIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
p.s. i like your blog Very much thank you!!!! 🙂