Wild Horse Information 4

This is a page dedicated to the wild horses that are left around the United States.  There will be information on call in days, updated information on situations that come through, and any other wild horse related information. 

From: rjyager

Date: 8/29/2009 10:19:35 AM  

Direct comments can be made at 866-468-7826 

Please cross post to your lists 

The intended gather is slated for Tuesday the 1st.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:   John Holland
              Equine Welfare Alliance
              540-268-5693
              john@equinewelfarealliance.org
              Makendra Silverman
              The Cloud Foundation
              719.633.3842
              news@thecloudfoundation.org 
Circumventing the Wishes of Congress and the American Public:
BLM Moves Forward with Massive Removals of Wild Horses 
CHICAGO, (EWA) – The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue have filed a lawsuit and a request for an injunction in Federal Court in Washington, DC to prohibit the Bureau of Land Management from removing horses from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, and to stop the unprecedented round up of the Pryor Wild Horses slated to begin September 1, 2009. 
The appellants argue that this removal of 70 horses will leave this unique and historical herd genetically non-viable and unable to sustain itself into the future. According to noted equine geneticist, Gus Cothran, Ph.D. of Texas A&M University, “… a census population of 150-200 is required to achieve the minimum effective population size…. The [Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Herd] has been one of the most important and visible herds within the BLM Wild Horse Program and it is important that it stays viable.” 
The Bureau of Land Management is circumventing Congress’ wishes that wild horses be protected in the American West. The House just passed the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. “Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America's wild horses as fast as they can before the Senate can act?” asks Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation.  
“Right now there are twelve entire herds being eliminated from 1.4 million acres near Ely, Nevada because these lands are suddenly not appropriate for wild horses,” Kathrens continues. “However, no action has been made to reduce cattle grazing in these areas.” There are no grazing permits in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range and reasons for holding an unprecedented removal this year are not clear. The range and adjacent lands are in excellent condition following three years of drought-breaking precipitation.  
Cloud and the wild horses of Montana’s Pryor Mountains are world famous but fame and an outcry from the American public does not seem to impact the BLM’s plans. There are currently only 190 wild horses (one year and older) living in the spectacular Pryor Mountains. The BLM plans to remove 70 of them, including young foals and older horses who could be sold directly to killer buyers.
The Pryor Mountain wild horses are descendants of the Lewis and Clark horses who were stolen by the Crow Indians in the early 1800's. George Reed, Secretary of Cultural Education for the Crow Tribe Executive Branch, wrote in 2006: “We advocate preserving our heritage, culture and language, and these Pryor wild horses are part of our culture.”
www.equinewelfarealliance.org
www.thecloudfoundation.org 

forwarded by:

Robin J. Yager,  Director
Network Partners for Animals*
* We do not sanction any groups' ethics or actions and offer the Network Partners Group as a networking resource tool.

http://www.partnershelpinganimalscoalition-subscribe@yahoogroups.com  (remove spacing)
Spring Farm CARES
3364 Route 12
Clinton, NY 13323
315-790-1404

http://www.springfarmcares.org (no spaces) 

Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants
happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so
do other creatures. ~ His Holiness The Dalai Lama

ALERT! New BLM WH&B  "HOT" line!  Let them hear from you!

Posted by: "John Holland" hollandtech@earthlink.net   hollandtechserv

Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:17 am (PDT)
Hi Folks,
The Wild Horse and Burro program has set up a special hotline because of all the calls!
(866) 468-7826
They offer a special gift for anyone who says how they heard about them. I suggest you tell them just to give your horses back!
John
PS: Vicki is temporarily off line due to an Earthlink upgrade of her DSL.

Please participate and forward.  Thanks.  

(It would be a good idea to copy your Senators on your message to Salazar and Pool, or you could e-mail them separately.  I included the links at the bottom of the KC message.  Remember to delete this message in entirety when sending your e-mail.)   

-----Original Message-----
From: Kinship Circle [mailto:info@kinshipcircle.org]
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 2:33 PM
To: 9) KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY
Subject: Don't Let BLM Kill More  Wild Horses and Burros ... [Friends Of Kinship Circle]

FRIENDS OF KINSHIP CIRCLE
http://friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com
*   KINSHIP CIRCLE DOES NOT WRITE OR RESEARCH THESE ALERTS.
*   QUESTIONS? CONTACT ALERT WRITER. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY. 
Don't Let BLM Kill More Wild Horses And Burros
ALERT WRITER: Madeleine Pickens and the National Wild Horse Foundation
http://capwiz.com/madeleinepickens/issues/alert/?alertid=12943361&type=AN
Wild horse hazing, http://www.madeleinepickens.com/
BACKGROUND: Today there are over 30,000 wild horses and burros at risk of
being euthanized by the US government. These wild horses are protected by
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-195)
which states: "It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses
and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death."
But sadly, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) -- claiming escalating costs
and spending cuts -- is holding about 10,000 of these wild horses
snout-to-butt in long-term holding pens that cost American taxpayers
hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, the BLM plans to increase the
euthanization (via gun shot to the head) to help manage the herds.
It doesn't have to be this way.
[Madeleine Pickens] team has developed a plan to create a million-acre Wild
Horse Sanctuary in Nevada. The Sanctuary will return wild horses and burros
to their natural habitat, and let families and children come and experience
the freedom and beauty of these extraordinary animals. My plan saves
American taxpayers approximately $700 million over the decade, provides
sanctuary to America's wild horses...To make this happen, I need your help.
TAKE ACTION: The BLM and Secretary Salazar need to know you care about
saving America's wild horses.
Honorable Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.; Washington DC 20240
email: feedback@ios.doi.gov, exsec@ios.doi.gov, webteam@ios.doi.gov
Mike Pool, Acting Director
Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665; Washington DC 20240
ph: 202-208-3801; fax: 202-208-5242
email: Mike_Pool@blm.gov
SAMPLE LETTER BY: Madeleine Pickens, President, National Wild Horse
Foundation (Kinship Circle did not write this.) EDITED FOR LENGTH. See full:
http://capwiz.com/madeleinepickens/issues/alert/?alertid=12943361&type=AN%22...%20target=%22_blank%22
I am extremely disappointed in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)
decision to continue their plan to euthanize or hold in captivity thousands
of wild horses and burros at the expense of the American taxpayer.
The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act (1971) was created with the hope
of managing healthy herds of wild horses and burros on Western rangelands.
The BLM believes that wild horses and burros consume unfair amounts of
forage on BLM lands. On March 3, 2009, it was stated by a BLM representative
that forage depletion on public lands leaves cattle with nothing to eat.
Contrary to that statement, a Wild Horse Ecologist, Craig C. Downer, of
Nevada, stated in his speech (Wild Horse Speech With Tables And Charts, Wild
Horse Summit, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2008) that wild horses and burros
only consume a mere 5.6% of the forage consumed by livestock on BLM land.
It is not necessary to hold wild horses and burros in captivity (an expense
to taxpayers), and then offer them up for sale and adoption, or slaughter.
The business plan proposed by Madeleine Pickens and the National Wild Horse
Foundation saves the government about $1 billion while "providing a
humanitarian home" for 33,000 horses in captivity. Madeleine Pickens' plan
to form a large wild horse and burro sanctuary would save taxpayers as much
as $700 million, otherwise spent on holding pens and pastures until 2020.
I strongly urge Interior Secretary Salazar to work with Madeleine Pickens
and the National Wild Horse Foundation to create a horse sanctuary that
offers a long-term solution for these magnificent symbols of American freedom.
Sincerely, <YOUR FULL NAME, FULL ADDRESS, COUNTRY  
KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters
SUBSCRIBE NOW - FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
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*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.  

Colorado Wild Horse Gather Halted By Judge

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:28 pm (PDT)
Some good news!
Colorado Wild Horse Gather Halted By Judge
by: Pat Raia
August 08 2009, Article # 14688
A federal judge sided with wild horse advocates this week when she ruled the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) could not remove wild horses from the West Douglas Herd Area in northwest Colorado as planned.
The BLM had planned to remove the 175-horse herd from the 120,000-acre range area in July 2008. The gather was postponed after The Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition Inc. and other wild horse advocates sued to halt the plan because would unnecessarily remove the wild horses from their traditional ranges.
On Wednesday (Aug. 5), U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that the gather plan violated Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 because federal law only allows the BLM to remove excess horses from overpopulated ranges. The agency had not declared the range overpopulated before proposing the gather, Collyer said.
More than 175 horses currently reside on the West Douglas range. However, the area can only support 50 horses, said BLM Public Affairs Specialist Vanessa Delgado.
The agency removed 38 horse from the West Douglas range in 2006. All were adopted or sold to private parties, Delgado said. The ruling halts further removal of animals from the West Herd Area.
"Right now there’s nothing we can do. We are reviewing the decision and will decide on an appropriate course of action," Delgado said.
Equine welfare advocate and author Joe Camp said the ruling validated advocates’ opinion of BLM wild horse management.
"A federal court has found the BLM in violation of the law they were appointed to enforce. This is huge," Camp said.

Bureau of Land Management on Rampage to Destroy Famous Wild Horse Herd

For Immediate Release August 10, 2009

Cloud and the wild horses of Montana ’s PryorMountains are world famous but fame it appears is not going to protect the herd from a drastic government round up planned to begin September 1st in their spectacular wilderness home.

There are currently only 190 wild horses (one year and older) living in the PryorMountains. The BLM plans to remove 70 of them, plus foals. According to the foremost equine geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran, 150-200 adult horses are needed in the herd to ensure their genetic diversity, which is vital to their long term survival.

These 70 horses would be placed in jeopardy. Any horses over 10 years of age can be bought directly by killer buyers and transported over the Northern border to Canadian slaughterhouses or south into Mexico . Younger horses not adopted would be put into government holding with 33,000 others that the BLM has removed from the wild and has proposed killing because they can no longer afford to feed them.

BLM cites poor range condition as the reason to remove the horses but abundant snow and rain for the past two and a half years has produced wonderful range conditions according to all who have visited Cloud and his herd.  The Agency is not listening to anyone. They want this herd gutted. Nearly all the mares returned to the range would be given an experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22. 

This helicopter round up is just one among many that the BLM is trying to complete, perhaps before the Obama Administration can catch up with what is going on.

The PryorMountain wild horses are descendants of the Lewis and Clark horses who were stolen by the Crow Indians in the early 1800's.  They can be traced further back to the horses brought over with the Spanish Conquistadors in 1500 making them one of the most Spanish of all wild horse herds in North America . 

Please contact The Cloud Foundation for more information

www.thecloudfoundation.org, info@thecloudfoundation.org, 719-633-3842 

Call and email President Obama and Vice President Biden and tell them that you do not want a misguided agency destroying Americas wild horses. 202-456-9000 or 202-456-1111 or write. Tell them to intervene on behalf of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd! The BLM appears to be on a rampage to manage wild horses to extinction.

Please cross post wherever appropriate.

Senator Robert Byrd has sponsored a Senate version of the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act, formerly known as HR.1018.  The Senate version is numbered S.1579.

Here's a link to the bill. Nothing shows up on it yet-but I think it will eventually.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c111:./temp/~c1111CYIwn

After giving it a cursory reading the language appears to match the version of the bill passed by the House.

We're working on generating support for the bill along with encouraging a few minor improvements, such as making the bill applicable to all free-roaming horses and burros on Federal lands and fixing a couple of minor technicalities.  More info will follow.

Aside from fixing those troublesome issues caused by the Burns stealth rider, S.1579 should:

1.  Provide a more concise definition of "thriving ecological balance" and it reasserts relevant Federal land use policies.

2.  Convert some "authorized" activities and methods into "required" activities and methods with respect to taking inventory, making determinations and application of peer reviewed scientific methods as the basis for developing management strategies, and it requires consistent evaluation and management practices across all public lands.

3.  Permit BLM to establish sanctuaries and exclusive use areas, however the Secretary is required to assess and report on a number of conditions specifically listed in the bill prior to establishing those areas.

4.  Authorize BLM to identify and appropriate additional rangeland for wild horses and burros through various means, subject to the conditions and requirements set forth elsewhere in the bill.  Those conditions include avoiding any potential conflicts with other lawful public lands activities and uses as identified in the bill.

5. Require BLM  to develop and implement enhanced fertility control, as is presently used by a number of private sanctuaries and non-BLM horse management agencies.  While the science of equine fertility control is relatively new, it shows great potential in reducing horse recruitment rates (expansion of populations as birth rates exceed mortality rates) without decreasing the genetic diversity of the herds.

6.  It charges BLM with the responsibility of undertaking all practical options for maintaining a thriving ecological balance on the range.

7.  Prohibit BLM from maintaining horses in prohibitively expensive contract corrals and short term holding facilities for longer than six months, upon which horses in such holding facilities must be moved to more cost-effective facilities or appropriate alternative ranges.

8.  Charge BLM with improving its marketing strategies with specific examples provided.

9.  Reinforce BLM's authority to remove horses and burros under conditions stipulated in the original Act.

10.  Require BLM to provide additional data with respect to its management activities, and that data is to be more transparent and available for public inspection on the BLM website.

11.  Expand BLM's ability to enter into cooperative agreements to address program deficiencies and needs.

12.  Outline specific program reporting requirements so that Congress and the American public can be informed as to BLM's progress with respect to complying with the provisions of this bill.

If you agree that this bill will benefit America's wild horses and add professionalism to the management of our public lands, please contact your senators and urge them to support S.1579.

http://www.senate.gov

Dear friends,as you will read below from our good friend,Jennifer Swanson that the BLM is at it again.This time they are sending 85 wild mustangs to South Florida.Not only is making this long trip dangerous for them but as you will read below -there is a credible threat of horse slaughter(w/ all the recent killings) and potentials for KB's(since BLM is doing NO REFERENCE checks w/ the buyers).We need everyone to make their respective states's senators and reps aware of this story,the carelessness of proper procedure for this sale,and how we do NOT approve of BLM tactics to "eliminate " the wild horses!Ask for their help in pressuring the BLM officials to put a stop to this sale and others like it.The money it will cost to transport them along distance,no reference checking, and the threat to their health  are just  other examples of why the BLM should not be in charge of the welfare of our nation's wildhorses.It is irresponsible and inhumane.We must keep after our lawmakers to keep after them!Please take a few minutes-you can even cut and paste the details of this story into your legislators web page.Phone calls are really the best way-if you can!Remember-WE ARE THE VOICE FOR THEM.WITHOUT US -WHERE WOULD THEY BE?    Thank-you!Charise(see story below).

 To find out where to send an email and telephone your senators/representives-Type in: 

http://capwiz.com/compassionindex/dbq/vote_info

I cannot help but wonder in the logic of hauling 85 Wild Mustangs to South Florida where it is 100+ degrees, 100% + humidity, torrential downpours just about everyday, mosquitos the size of small birds, the threat of hurricane, at least one quarter of the equestrian community is north and....  in the last 6 months backyard horse slaughtering taking place in the Miami area. So how do you decide to haul these wild horses thousands of miles here, so far away? What made this decision? I also cannot help but wonder why you decided to put prices of $25 to $125 as the very top price.

This State is loaded with horses. This rescue not been back to Sugarcreek because of all the horses in need here and the racehorses that were heading to slaughter from here. The horses that were heading to the auctions in northern Florida that are loaded with killbuyers as well. How can we in good conscience bring in more horses when we have horses here at risk.  

The equestrian community has been a buzz about this since it was announced, and not in a good way. The one thing people seemed to be looking forward to was the donkeys and burros of which there will not be any  at this sale. We confirmed that with the BLM today.

Today we called and asked about the procedures. We did adopt a donkey from the BLM and since then never heard one word nor did we receive a check up on the donkey or property, in fact when we called to ask questions about the possibility of pregnancy we did not even receive a return call. About a year or so after adopting Jenny we received a certificate of ownership in the mail.

We also asked about the procedure to insure that these horses will be going to good qualified homes. The representative of the BLM said that they would be "taking their word for it." There will not be any checks, references... nothing. They did say that in one year you have to send in a report from your vet in order to get ownership papers. Well that is just great.. in the meantime what about  all the people who are not familiar with the care of horses but are romanticizing about beautiful wild mustangs frolicking in their backyard. And lets not forget.. what about all the mustangs that will have been brutally slaughter in that latest ring of backyard slaughtering in the Miami Dade area. 

I am sorry but I cannot help but wonder if South Florida was picked because there will be people there who will pay $25 to $125 and then the horses will be slaughtered. You know the old saying "out of sight, out of mind." Who is going to check on these horses to insure their safety?

I am all for these horses finding wonderful homes but I cannot think of a worse place to send them in July and with the slaughtering going on down here. My gut tells me these horses fate is sealed.

Jennifer Swanson

Pure Thoughts Inc.
Horse & Foal Rescue
19181 Capet Creek
Loxahatchee, FL 33470
www.PTHR.org
561-254-0415

Saving the life of a horse may not change the world
....but it will change that horse's world

Update:

House Passes Legislation to Restore and Strengthen Wild Horse Protections

Washington, DC (July 17, 2009) – In a decisive move, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved a measure to restore basic protections for America's wild horses and burros.  

Led by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, Jr. (D-WV), Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-NM) the Restore Our American Mustang Act, or ROAM Act (H.R. 1018), passed  by a vote of 239 to 185. 

"At a time when nearly as many wild horses are in captivity as are on the range – a situation which is unacceptable in terms of both animal welfare and fiscal responsibility – the Animal Welfare Institute welcomes this action, and we are grateful to the bill's champions and supporters," says Chris Heyde, Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute. 

In FY08, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency responsible for the animals in question, spent nearly 75 percent of its $36 million budget warehousing horses removed from the range. The new legislation, which must now pass the U.S. Senate, would encourage the reopening of certain public lands to the mustangs, thus potentially decreasing the number in captivity. The bill also restores a crucial protection to keep wild horses from going to slaughter, which was stripped away several years ago. Although Congressional intent and public sentiment are clearly against sending wild horses and burros to slaughter the BLM has recently threatened to kill more than 30,000 horses in holding areas as a cost-saving measure. 

"The BLM's wild horse program and policies are broken. The ROAM Act offers an opportunity for the agency to restore its credibility when it comes to managing America's mustangs," says Heyde.  “We urge the Senate to act swiftly before the BLM takes further actions of detriment to the horses.” 

##30## 

For More Information:

Chris Heyde – (202) 446-2142 

For over 58 years, the Animal Welfare Institute has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals.

July 16, 2009

House to Vote on Bill to Protect Wild Horses TOMORROW 

Dear Humanitarian: 

We have just learned that H.R. 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act, sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, will be voted on before the full House of Representatives tomorrow.  Chairman Rahall’s ROAM Act will responsibly restore many of the guaranteed protections originally established in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 that have been gutted by stealth riders and Bureau of Land Management's wanton mismanagement of these magnificent animals for decades.  At a time when there are nearly as many wild horses in captivity as on the range this legislation is urgently needed.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

Because time is of the essence please call your US Representative RIGHT NOW and urge her/him to support Chairman Rahall and vote “YES” on H.R. 1018.  To find your Representative please visit www.compassionindex.org.  While there, you can also send a quick email in support of the bill if you have not done so already.  You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your Representative. 

For more information on wild horses, please visit http://www.awionline.org/ht/d/sp/i/11223/pid/11223. 

Please be sure to share this eAlert with friends, family and coworkers and urge them to call their legislator today! 

Sincerely,

Chris Heyde
Deputy Director, Government and Legal Affairs
www.awionline.org
www.compassionindex.org 

For over 58 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/.

Wild Horse extinction!

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Sun Jul 5, 2009 3:48 pm (PDT)
This is a very sad commentary on our country and really doesn't speak well of Secretary Salazar, either!
Marge
The BLM has announced it plans to zero out 11 wild horse herds in Nevada. The public comment deadline is July 6. This article gives information and a sample letter you can cut and paste. Please pass this along.
http://blendradioandtv.com/Wildhorses/#Director_John_Ruhs_&_Secretary_Salazar:

Friends-everyone please take a moment to read/vote in the save the wh's poll/and then forward to everyone you know-friends,news outlets,legislators,etc

Remember the last great American icons on the B-day of America. 

PLEASE CROSS POST WIDELY  

Today, Secretary Salazar speaks of liberty.  Consider commenting on every newspaper/blog story you can find to help raise public awareness and hopefully garner some national attention for the plight of the wild ones! 

TYPE IN AND VOTE FOR SAVING OUR WILDHORSES! 

http://www.dailykos.com:80/user/meepdog/diary 

SECRETARY SALAZAR PRESIDES OVER RENEWAL OF STATUE OF LIBERTY AND DEATH IN THE WEST

While an American Symbol of Hope is Renewed, A Living Symbol of the American West is Extinguished.

"On this 4th of July, Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar officially reopens to the public the Statue of Liberty’s crown, a powerful symbol to the nation and the world of American ideals and hopes.  Meanwhile, in the American West, his Bureau of Land Management is detailing plans for the extermination of a different but equally powerful symbol of the American spirit, the wild horse.  While Secretary Salazar is "inviting the public to celebrate our great nation and the hope and opportunity it symbolizes", 33,000 wild horses are in holding pens, removed from Federal designated Wild Horse Territories, awaiting the completion of BLM plans to send them to a mass slaughter, without the proper consideration of viable and humane alternatives."

Link includes Voting Poll!  Follow link to vote.

What should President Obama and Secretary Salazar do with the wild horses?

a) Slaughter those currently in holding pens, continue to reduce thier numbers in the wild, and zero out more Wild Horse Territories.

b) Return the wild horses to the Wild Horse Territories with a well thought out management plan that utilizes PZP birth control and other options.

c) Continue rounding up horses and holding them in pens, and zero out more Wild Horse Territories.

Dear Friends,
Many of you know that Boone and I have made a commitment for the safety and welfare of all animals.  One of our top priorities over the last few years has been to end what Boone so aptly labeled, "America's Dirty Little Secret" when he testified before the US Congress several years ago in support of legislation banning horse slaughter for human consumption.
Boone and I are inviting you to share an evening with us and Congressman Dan Burton from Indiana to show your support for the horses on Monday, June 29^th at the Del Mar Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.  Also attending will be Wayne Pacelle, Chief Executive Officer of the Humane Society of the United States, and Chris Hyde, Deputy Legislative Director of the Animal Welfare Institute. Congressman Burton has stepped up to help lead this cause which is so important to us and the majority of Americans.  Earlier this year Congressman Burton, along with House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) introduced the bill known as the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which will ban the slaughter of American horses and prevent their export to Mexico, Canada or Asia for the same purpose.
We are moving towards our ultimate goal, but your help and that of Congressional leaders such as Dan Burton is desperately needed.  In 2007, Texas and Illinois acted to stop horse slaughter within their boarders, shuttering the last remaining foreign-owned horse slaughter plants in the U.S.  However, the U.S. Congress has failed to act to stop the export of live horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, which is still occurring.  More than 95,000 horses were sent across U.S. borders to slaughter in Canada or Mexico in 2008.  The foreign-owned plants simply set up their slaughterhouses across the borders and continue to buy our horses from their middlemen known as "killer-buyers."  The treatment of these horses is too horrible to explain.  We have come close to passing a ban in Congress and support is strong.  Since 2006, the House and Senate have voted on bills banning horse slaughter five times. Sadly, the legislation has not passed both chambers at the same time.  We must do everything we can to ensure compassionate and dedicated legislators like Dan Burton to remain in office so they can fight on behalf of our horses and the American people.  We hope you can join us for this important event to show your support for legislative champions such as Congressman Dan Burton.
With gratitude,
Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens
What: Reception
When: Monday, June 29, 2009

Time: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Del Mar Country Club
             6001 Clubhouse Drive
             Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Attire: Business Casual
RSVP REQUIRED: By June 26th by emailing RSVP@madeleinepickens.com (RSVP @ madeleinepickens.com)
* Please NO phone calls
Suggested Contribution:  $2,400 ___ $1,000 ___ $500 ___ $250 ___ $100 ___
Please Make Personal Checks Payable to: "Dan Burton for Congress Committee"
*If you cannot attend the event, but would like to contribute to Dan Burton's 2010 reelection campaign, please mail a personal check made payable to: "Dan Burton for Congress Committee" to:
Dan Burton for Congress Committee,
P.O. Box 50593
Indianapolis, Indiana 46250
Corporate checks, checks from foreign nationals and minors are prohibited by Federal Law.  Federal law requires political committees to report the name, address, occupation and employer for each individual whose contributions exceed $200 per calendar year.  Contributions to the Dan Burton for Congress Committee are not tax deductible.  Paid for and authorized by the Dan Burton Congress Committee, Curtis L. Coonrod, Treasurer

PRESS RELEASE
June 11, 2009- for immediate release
Documents Reveal BLM Secret Plan to Destroy Wild Horses
Documents obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) via the Freedom of Information Act by a Phoenix-based non-profit, The Conquistador Program, reveal shocking and detailed plans to destroy healthy wild horses in government holding facilities as well as those still remaining in the wild on public lands.
BLM employees as well as a USDA veterinarian held weekly “Implementation Team” meetings beginning in July of 2008 in which they discussed and developed strategies aimed at ridding BLM of thousands of mustangs. In October they completed a 68 page document entitled “Alternative Management Options”. Tactics included in this document are reminiscent of those used to wipe out Native American tribes in the 1800s.
The BLM team created scenarios for killing mustangs using barbiturates, gun shots, or captive bolts. Bodies would be disposed of through rendering, burial or incineration.

They discussed killing 1200-2000 wild horses per year. The document states that “the general public would be prohibited from viewing euthanasia.”

Additionally, the Team felt that “increased support from public relations and management staff would also be needed to insulate those doing the actual work from the public, media and Congressional scrutiny/criticism.”
“Minutes from these meetings as well as the Draft Plan reveal what amounts to ‘the final solution’ for the American mustang,” states Ginger Kathrens, filmmaker and Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. “Despite a huge outcry from the American public last year regarding BLM plans to kill wild horses in holding, the agency is still pressing forward with a plan to destroy our American mustangs both on and off the range.”
Division Chief of the Wild Horse and Burro Program Don Glenn told The Cloud Foundation that “no decision has been made to move forward on a large scale with this plan, yet.”
BLM meeting minutes speak for themselves. “Security at facilities and at gathers would need to be increased to combat eco-terrorism. Having the people that are willing to put down healthy horses at gather sites could be a problem. Having vets putting down healthy horses at preparation facility[ies] could also be a problem.” Meeting minutes reveal the psychological toll that employees would pay—“have counseling for employees and contractors that have to euthanize the healthy horses because it is very stressful.”
The report created an option in which wild horses of all ages could be sold “without limitation”. In other words, horses could be sold directly to killer buyers in unchecked numbers. The Team admitted that “some wild horses will go to slaughter”.
“Once they are gone, they’re gone” says Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. “To lose this incomparable species would be a travesty.”
Team Members formulated ways in which they could circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act, asking “How many (wild horses) could be euthanized during a gather (roundup) without having NEPA?”  BLM discussed ways to circumvent the federal carcass disposal law (43 CFR 4730.2).  

Conversations included how many wild horses could be rendered at the Reno Rendering plant or “disposed of in pits”. The Team concluded that “there will not be large numbers of horses euthanized during gathers or in the field. This is due to state environmental laws.”
Recommendations include the creation of gelding herds, and sterilization of mares to create non-reproductive herds in the wild in place of natural herds. The team recommended changing the sex ratio from the normal 50% males and 50% females to 70% males and 30% females. Then the experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22, would be given to all mares that are returned to the wild. Plans call for rounding up the wild horses every two years to re-administer the drug.
“Mares on the drug will cycle monthly and, with the altered sex ratio, the social chaos will be dangerous and on-going,” Kathrens explains. “Any semblance of normal wild horse society will be completely destroyed.”
Kathrens has spent 15 years in the wild documenting mustang behavior for her PBS television documentaries which chronicle the life story of Cloud, the now famous pale palomino stallion she has filmed since birth. “Even Cloud and his little herd in Montana are in serious danger if BLM implements these options,” she continues. “The BLM plans a massive round up in Cloud’s herd beginning August 30, 2009.”
The BLM will not guarantee that Cloud and his family will remain free.
The BLM documents referred to above and photos of wild horses are available from The Cloud Foundation.
The Cloud Foundation, Inc.
107 South 7th St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
719-633-3842
719-633-3896 (fax)
info@thecloudfoundation.org
www.thecloudfoundation.org

Madeleine Pickens Update!

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:55 am (PDT)
--- On Wed, 6/10/09, Madeleine Pickens <admin@madeleinepickens.com> wrote:
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Madeleine Pickens Update:
Dear Friends,
My positive meeting in Washington, June 9th, with the Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid and Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar was very encouraging. Jerry Reynoldson will be working with officials from the Interior Department moving in the right direction to close the loop and bring everyone on board with my business plan. In addition, we look forward to working with the newly nominated BLM Director, Bob Abbey.
Please visit my website, www.madeleinepickens.com for continuing updates on our progress. Also, if you haven't already done so, be sure to "Take Action" on my site to keep the signatures coming to Ken Salazar. It really does make a difference!
Keep the faith!
Madeleine Pickens
You are receiving this message because you signed up on my website: www.madeleinepickens.com
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National Wild Horse Foundation
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Our telephone:
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Copyright (C) 2009 National Wild Horse Foundation All rights reserved.

House Natural Resources Committee Restores Wild Horse Protections

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Mon May 4, 2009 4:34 pm (PDT)
House Natural Resources Committee Restores Wild Horse Protections
WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States applauds the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee for passing the Restore our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act by a vote of 21-14 and calls for the quick passage of the bill by the full House of Representatives. The bill, H.R. 1018, introduced by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., restores a long-standing ban on the commercial sale and slaughter of America's wild, free-roaming horses and burros and provides other sorely needed protections for our mustangs.
"Congressmen Rahall and Grijalva have worked tirelessly to correct the past mismanagement of wild horses on our public lands, and I thank the entire committee for sending this bill to the full House of Representatives," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The HSUS. "American taxes should not support the inhumane round up and eventual slaughter of wild equines."
In addition to preventing the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses, H.R. 1018 prevents wholesale killing of healthy wild horses, prioritizes on-the-range management over roundups, and facilitates the creation of sanctuaries for wild horses and burros. Such management techniques should include immunocontraception, which can control populations and save tax dollars.
"It is unacceptable for wild horses to be slaughtered without any regard for the general health, well-being, and conservation of these iconic animals that embody the spirit of our American West," said Chairman Rahall. "This legislation will ensure the continued presence of those wild horses that make their homes on public lands."
H.R. 1018 removes outdated limits on areas where horses can roam freely, allowing the BLM to find additional, suitable acreage for these animals. Further, it strengthens the BLM's wild horse and burro adoption program, requires consistency and accuracy in the management of wild horse and burro herds and allows more public involvement in management decisions. In order to allow for populations of wild horses on the range, ROAM facilitates the creation of sanctuaries for wild horse and burro populations on public lands.
Source: www.hsus.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

BILL TO RESTORE PROTECTIONS OF AMERICAN ICONS PASSES

HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE 

Washington, DC (April 29, 2009) – The Restoring Our American Mustangs Act (H.R. 1018) today passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee.   Known as the ROAM Act, the bill was introduced by Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) earlier this year.  It is intended to restore protections for America’s wild horses and burros that were stripped out of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in recent years. 

“Protection and management of the wild horses and burros on our public lands is an important federal responsibility - but it is clear that the federal government has not been adequately meeting that responsibility,” said Chairman Rahall. “This legislation will remedy many of the critical lapses that are taking place under the 1971 Act by invoking a number of commonsense measures, including preventing the BLM from resorting to slaughter as a solution for management.”

Originally intended to prevent the sale of America’s wild horses and burros for commercial purposes, a key provision of the original 1971 Act was gutted when then Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) attached a midnight rider to an Omnibus spending bill in 2004 that instructed the Bureau of Land Management to sell horses “without limitation”.  In reality, this meant that the captured animals were destined for livestock auctions where they would be purchased for slaughter.   

“Ever since the Burns rider became law it’s been a game of constant vigilance for the American public and members of Congress.  The simple and right thing to do is to restore this provision while revamping and improving the larger statute. Not only will the ROAM Act ensure that our mustangs and burros are once again protected from slaughter, but it seeks to reclaim land – some 19 million acres – taken away from these magnificent animals since the 1971 Act was signed into law,” said Chris Heyde, Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute.  “The Animal Welfare Institute is immensely grateful to Chairman Rahall and Chairman Grijalva for their leadership on this responsible legislation.” 

At a time when there are nearly as many wild horses and burros in captivity as there are in the wild, the legislation has met with enthusiasm from the public and within the humane and wild horse advocacy community.  Passage of the ROAM Act will mean that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which currently has primary authority for managing these animals, must focus on managing them as an integral part of the thriving natural ecological balance. 

“It is imperative that we protect and preserve America's wild horses as a ‘living national treasure,’” said Subcommittee Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva. “The antiquated policies concerning these magnificent creatures must be change to reflect what Americans want for these horses today.” 

The ROAM Act now moves to the full House of Representatives for consideration. 

##30## 

For more information contact:

Chris Heyde, 202-446-2142

For over 58 years, the Animal Welfare Institute has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: www.awionline.org/joinus.

National Wild Horse Act on the move
The Natural Resources Committee of the US Congress will have a mark-up on HR 1018 on Wednesday, April 29th at 10:00am EST
Dear Friends of Cloud and the Wild Horses,
Just a quick note to let you know that H.R. 1018, the "Restoring our American Mustangs" (R.O.A.M.) act, sponsored by Congressman Nick Rahall to protect America's wild horses, will be given a full committee mark-up this Wednesday. This is the time when amendments will be proposed by other committee members and it is our hope that this will improve and strengthen this bill for our wild horses. The mark-up will be on a live video webcast that starts at 10:00am EST this Wednesday and you can watch it online here.
We'll get back to you with what we can all do next to see that the ROAM act vastly improves the future for our wild horses.

EVENT REMINDERS:

Ginger will be giving a lecture, "The True Nature of Wild Horses",  in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Thursday, May 7th at 7:30pm.

Ginger and her wild horse, Trace, will be at the Equine Awareness Day Event on May 16th in Black Forest, Colorado - sponsored by Front Range Equine Rescue. Click here for more information on both these upcoming events!

You are receiving this email because you have asked to be on our e-mail list. If you have received this e-mail in error, please unsubscribe. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience!
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Thursday, April 23, 2009
Pickens says horse sanctuary slowed
New bill would prevent the slaughter of healthy animals
By SANDRA CHEREB
Associated Press
Thursday, April 23, 2009
RENO, Nev. - Madeleine Pickens says her plan to create a wild horse sanctuary in the West has been slowed but not derailed by the worst economy in a generation and a changing-of-the-guard in Washington, D.C.
The wife of Dallas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens said discussions with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have stalled as the agency awaits appointment of a new director following President Barack Obama's election.
"I can't get anything done because there's nobody there to work with," Pickens told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview.
With Congress focusing on the recession and how to jump start the economy, Pickens said she understands the priorities: "They're so focused on the stimulus and how to fix the country, and I understand that, I want them to."
Pickens' sanctuary proposal surfaced last fall after the BLM said it was considering euthanasia as a way to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the open range in long-term holding facilities.
The BLM has since said it would shuffle $20 million to keep the horse program running through the end of the fiscal year as alternatives to euthanasia are considered.
About 33,000 wild horses roam in 10 Western states, about half in Nevada. The horses and burros are managed by the BLM and protected under a 1971 law enacted by Congress.
The agency, which set a target "appropriate management level" of 27,000 horses in the wild to protect the herd, the range and other foraging animals, rounds up excess horses and offers them for adoption.
Those too old or considered unadoptable are sent to long-term holding facilities, where they can live for decades.
A recent Government Accountability Office report said the BLM this year will spend about $27 million caring for the animals. Continuing current practices would require a budget of $58 million next year, escalating to $77 million in 2012.
The report also noted euthanasia, though unpalatable, is authorized under current law as a way to dispose of excess animals.
That could change under a bill introduced by Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and longtime advocate of wild horses and burros, said slaughtering what he and many others consider iconic symbols of the American West is unacceptable.
His bill would prohibit the killing of healthy animals, as well as authorize more public lands be set aside for their habitation.
In a statement to the AP, Rahall said his bill would complement Pickens' private efforts.
In the meantime, she said she continues to look for land, including Elko County in Nevada, for 1 million suitable acres, or roughly 1,500 square miles, to establish the refuge that she hopes to sustain as an eco-friendly western, educational resort run by a nonprofit foundation.
She also clarified that the acreage she seeks wouldn't all be privately owned. Like other ranches in the West, she said the effort would require BLM grazing allotments, and a stipend to take the horses off the government's hands.

Now! We've got the BLM's attention!

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Dear Friends, 

I've just returned from Washington DC where we met with senators and their staff to present our Wild Horse Sanctuary business plan. We feel that it was well received and look forward to further cooperation with elected officials and the BLM. At this time, we are eagerly anticipating the appointment of the new head of the BLM. While this transition is in progress, we continue to build momentum in Washington DC to support the Sanctuary (which will save American taxpayers millions), and rescue the thousands of wild horses that are held in captivity and at risk of slaughter. 

Now more than ever, we need to put public pressure on the BLM for the sake of these wild horses and burros. The thousands of emails and letters you've sent have made a tremendous impact. We're still on target to reach 5,000! If you have not yet contacted Salazar and the BLM, please click here to send them a message in support of the Wild Horse Sanctuary. Again, please forward this email to as many people and groups as possible. 

In addition, we have recently posted on www.MadeleinePickens.com updates on the Wild Horse Sanctuary Plan. This provides more details on the Plan as well as addresses many of the questions and suggestions you've submitted. Please click here to read more. 

As always, thank you for your support and passionate concern for America's wild horses and burros. All of our efforts are making a difference to save the lives of these extraordinary animals. 

With gratitude,

Madeleine Pickens

The National Wild Horse Foundation

www.MadeleinePickens.com 

P.S. To take action, visit http://www.MadeleinePickens.com and click Take action now. 

Follow us on Twitter! http://twitter.com/mpickens

 Become a Fan of the "Madeleine Pickens Wild Horse Sanctuary" Facebook Page! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Madeleine-Pickens-Wild-Horse-Sanctuary/163062350007?ref=mf

----- Original Message -----

From: Mari Dickson

To: Avis Townsend

Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 2:36 PM

Subject: Fwd: Madeleine and the Wild Horses

Avie,
Could you please forward this to HORSE? Hoping to reach as many people as possible.
Thank you so much!!
Mari :)

Got this note below from Madeleine Pickens today...I had asked her if there was anything we could do, to help her with the wild horses. 
Could you pass this info along to your groups ? 
Thanks,
Carrie
Carrie. thanks for your offer of help.  I have attached an e mail that my sister chrissie has been sending out...it makes it really easy to just press on the link and send.  It would be really helpful if you could pass this on to your network and as many groups as possible. Keep the faith! mp 
 I have been  working with  my sister , Madeleine Pickens ,  to help find a way to save approximately 30,000 wild mustangs from being euthanized at the hands of our federal government specifically the Bureau of Land Management or BLM.
Madeleine has a plan that will set up a sanctuary for these horses while at the same time saving taxpayer money.  But she needs  public support  or it will be stalled in the BLM until it is too late.  
1. Please follow the link below to send a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to support this plan. 
2. Please forward the link to as many people as possible.
Thanks for your help. 
 Chris Penrod 
http://capwiz.com/madeleinepickens/issues/alert/?alertid=12943361&type=AN 
For a good overview of this project you can visit Madeleine's website atwww.madeleinepickens.com 

Update:

Thanks to You - We're Getting Heard!( please Help The Mustangs)

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:52 am (PDT)

If you have not sent in your comments please do so.
Thanks, Marge
--- On Fri, 3/20/09, Madeleine Pickens <madeleine@madeleinepickens.com> wrote:
From: Madeleine Pickens <madeleine@madeleinepickens.com>
Subject: Thanks to You - We're Getting Heard!
To: "christine morris whispering pinja equine rescue" <w0lves_echo_64@yahoo.com>
Date: Friday, March 20, 2009, 8:04 PM
Dear Friends,
Thanks to you, we now have sent nearly 800 emails to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar! Our goal is to reach 5,000. This is an incredible start. As a testament to our collective voice, we now have the support of Senators Dianne Feinstein and Mary Landrieu.
If you have any other friends, networks or groups, please pass our message along. Remember, this is a grassroots effort and it is the grassroots vote that makes the difference. Please tell them to take action at www.MadeleinePickens.com.
It's been truly amazing to see your extraordinary response. Also, thank you for your personal comments and suggestions. We value your input and will be addressing your questions in the near future.
I'm off to Washington, DC on Monday for further talks with Senators and key decision makers. Be on the lookout for updates on our progress with the Bureau of Land Management.
I am deeply touched and very grateful for your outstanding passion, and for your courage to speak up on behalf of America's treasured wild horses and burros. We have launched on a path that we can see only to its fruition - a sustainable horse sanctuary for thousands of wild horses and burros.
With gratitude,
Madeleine Pickens
President
National Wild Horse Foundation
P.S. To take action, visit http://www.madeleinepickens.com and click Take action now.
Follow us on Twitter! http://twitter.com/mpickens
Become a Fan of the "Madeleine Pickens Wild Horse Sanctuary" Facebook Page! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Madeleine-Pickens-Wild-Horse-Sanctuary/163062350007?ref=mf

BLM Declines Wild Horse Refuge Offer

Posted by: "rescueahorse@comcast.net" rescueahorse@comcast.net   mlesty

Mon Mar 9, 2009 8:09 pm (PDT)
BLM Declines Wild Horse Refuge Offer
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=13718
BLM Declines Wild Horse Refuge Offer
by: Pat Raia
March 04 2009, Article # 13718
Officials with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have declined Madeleine Pickens' proposal to create a refuge for as many as 30,000 wild horses on grounds that the plan is not viable under current federal law.
Pickens, wife of Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, offered to establish the sanctuary for horses currently in BLM long-term holding facilities last year after the agency announced it would consider euthanizing some of the animals.
Pickens' proposal placed the refuge on a 1 million-acre Nevada site that incorporated both public and private lands, and requested a $500 per horse, per year BLM stipend to fund a nonprofit foundation to oversee the horses' care.
But under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971, stipends are paid only to private landowners who care for federally-owned horses. And because public portions of the site lie outside grazing areas designated by the Act, federally-owned horses cannot be located there.
Despite the proposal's pitfalls, Nevada State BLM Director Ron Wenker said he hopes Pickens will consider other options.
"We could contract the foundation to care for the wild horses on private land, or we could give her title to the horses making them private property without compensation," Wenker said. "We haven't closed the door."
Pickens' spokesman Jay Rosser was unavailable for comment.  
Michelle Gordon (aka mickiebon)
Stolen Horse International (SHI/NetPosse) Volunteer
http://www.netposse.com
and victim, read the incredible recovery story at
http://www.netposse.com/stolenmissing/missing_1/Tue_Digger_INmissingSep08.htm
Equine Rescues post your Alerts, News, Info., etc... here:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Equine_Rescue_Alerts_News_Info/
"Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content." - Louis L'Amour
If you receive a NetPosse Alert from me and can not see what is in the body of the message simply click forward, return or print and it will be visible.  Sorry, but sometimes providers have their glitches that we can not control.    ;-)

Lynn Esty

rescueahorse@comcast.net

www.rescueahorse.blogspot.com

Dear Wild Horse friends;

I apologize for not being in touch with you sooner, but we wanted to have a clearer idea of what is really happening with the new Administration, BLM, and the wild horse program before reporting to you.  
A Bill to Amend the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971:
Perhaps the single most important development so far this year is the recent introduction of HR 1018 by Congressmen Rahall (D-WV) and Grijalva (D-AZ). This legislation would amend the Wild Horse and Burro Act in numerous ways. You can read the bill by clicking here. The intent of the Bill is to strengthen protections for both wild horses on the range and in captivity. You can read my comments to the Congressmen here.
HR 1018 would allow for the expansion of wild horse habitat. We hope that this would support our arguments regarding the legal expansion of Cloud’s herd on the Pryor Mountains. Range expansion would eliminate BLM’s stated reason (lack of forage in the designated range) for reducing the herd to genetically non-viable levels, thereby destroying this genetically unique herd of Spanish mustangs.
The BLM Herd Management Plan, which has not yet been adopted, calls for a herd of only 90-120 animals in the Pryors. Legally expanding the range to areas which wild horses historically used and are using at the present time would also prevent the scheduled round up of 60 wild horses in August. This round up would represent the largest round up in the history of the Pryor Wild Horse Range. Please click here to contact the Billings BLM office so you can automatically receive information from them on their management plans for Cloud’s herd.  
I would encourage you to get involved by thanking the Congressmen for their efforts with HR 1018 and encouraging them to specifically support the Pryor Wild Horses by preventing the planned destruction of the herd in August. Click here to contact them.
Range Expansion: Please communicate directly with the new Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack and the new Supervisor of the Gallatin and Custer National Forests, Mary Erickson requesting that that the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range be expanded to reflect the historic and current use areas of the rare Pryor wild horses.
BLM Advisory Board Meeting: We CANNOT allow the herd to be destroyed and we CANNOT allow Cloud and his family and the other wonderful families of wild horses on this spectacular mountain to be ripped apart. I delivered this message to the BLM Advisory Board at their meeting this Monday in Reno. Thanks to Sally Summers and Horse Power in Reno, you can view that meeting by clicking here . The bias of this Advisory Board boggles the imagination. It is stacked with vested special interest members, but there is hope. Three new positions will be opening up. I was nominated but have less than no chance of being appointed as I am too outspoken on behalf of the horses. But, we hope at least one new member speak on behalf of the public and our wishes to always have wild horses on our wide western landscapes. You can read my comment letter to the Board here.

Planned Trip: On a lighter note, we plan on visiting the Pryors in two weeks to see how everyone is doing. We know that Cloud is doing well but will report back to you, hopefully with photos if we can reach the bands. Winter is always a difficult time but we will do our best to access them. I will send them your regards. On some level, I know they feel your love for them.
Thanks so much for your continued support. You are so great. If you can donate for the cause, please do so by going online at www.thecloudfoundation.org or sending us something via mail. Please help if you can.   
Happy Trails!
Ginger
P.S. Both the air date (now November 2009) and name (now Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions ) of the new Cloud program have changed. My new book, Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions, will be out in June and we’ll let you know when it is available. If you do not have the first two Cloud programs and books, you can order them on our website and be up to speed when the new story is published and aired. There is more story in the books than the DVDs, of course, and lots of photographs. I can autograph them however you like.

Our mailing address is:
The Cloud Foundation 107 South 7th St Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Our telephone:
719-633-3842
Copyright (C) 2008 The Cloud Foundation All rights reserved.

House Committee Gets New Mustang Bill

Posted by: "Marge" redmm97@cox.net   redmm97

Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:16 pm (PST)

House Committee Gets New Mustang Bill
by: Pat Raia
February 13 2009, Article # 13613
Wild horses and burros could get more room to roam under a bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on Thursday by Committee Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
The Restoring Our American Mustangs Act (HR 1018), amends the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 to allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to increase acreage available to free roaming herds, and to develop wild horse and burro sanctuaries on public lands.
The bill also forbids the killing of healthy animals, and allows greater public participation in herd management decisions.
The BLM currently manages more than 33,000 wild horses and burros on public land. The new bill implements Government Accountability Office recommendations to improve BLM herd management.

Bill Introduced to Restore Ban on Commercial Sale, Slaughter of Wild Horses
Edited Press Release
WASHINGTON — A bill to restore the 34-year ban on the commercial sale and slaughter of America's wild, free-roaming horses and burros (H.R. 1018) was introduced today by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Az.). In the 110th Congress, similar legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives by more than a two-to-one margin with a vote of 277 to 137.

In addition to preventing the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses, H.R. 1018 prevents wholesale killing of healthy wild horses, prioritizes on-the-range management over roundups (including immunocontraception as a population control strategy that will save tax dollars), and prohibits particularly cruel round up methods, such as the use of helicopters and other airborne devices. 

Today's actions seek to restore the federal protections for wild horses and burros from sale and slaughter for human consumption overseas. Wild horses and burros had been protected from commercial sale and slaughter since the passage of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The longstanding protections for wild horses were gutted by a controversial, midnight rider slipped into an omnibus spending bill by former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) in late 2004. Burns was defeated in the 2006 election.

This legislation comes on the heels of the Bureau of Land Management's controversial announcement last year that it was considering killing large numbers of wild horses taken from the rangeland. 

Source: www.hsus.org

againstslaughter] Wild horse funds drying up

Posted by: "Kitrynak@aol.com" Kitrynak@aol.com   kitrynak

Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:17 pm (PST)

Left a comment.
--- On Fri, 2/13/09, Janine Starykowicz <jrstark@barntowire.com> wrote:
From: Janine Starykowicz <jrstark@barntowire.com>
Subject: [againstslaughter] Wild horse funds drying up
To: "againstslaughter" <againstslaughter@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Friday, February 13, 2009, 1:27 PM
Comments at the link:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/wild_horse_funds_drying_up.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/wild_horse_funds_drying_up.html
Wild horse funds drying up
by The Associated Press
Friday February 13, 2009, 12:34 PM
CARSON CITY, Nev. --

Nevada's wild horses benefited for decades from money left to them by a Californian whose relatives said he was insane. Those funds finally are being used up, but lawmakers were told Friday the horses have another deep-pockets benefactor.There are nearly 19,000 horses roaming vast stretches of open Nevada land -- two-thirds of all the wild horses scattered over 10 Western states. About 33,000 other horses have been captured in those states and are now in holding pens and corrals."It's kind of a whole nightmare situation" for horses that remain in the holding areas and aren't "adopted," Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, said during a joint Senate-Assembly budget hearing.
The horses are "one of our few Old West traditions any more," McClain added during the lawmakers' review of the Nevada Commission for the Preservation of Wild Horses, started with money willed to the animals by the late Leo Heil, of Sunnyvale, Calif.Cathy Barcomb, who heads the commission, said that what began as a $500,000 bequest from Heil, who died in 1972, will be gone by mid-2010.
The budget proposed by Gov. Jim Gibbons provides no new funding to keep the protection effort going.
"We all knew this day was coming. The Heil trust fund would not last forever," Barcomb said. But she added the horses will be helped by groups such as the Mustang Heritage Foundation, which was started with Heil funds, and by individuals such as Madeleine Pickens, wife of billionaire Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens.   Heil's will stated his $500,000 bequest, which generated far more in interest earnings over time, was "for the preservation of wild horses in Nevada." Relatives who were cut out the will sued, questioning his
sanity, and eventually settled out of court for $72,000. Legislators were told that Pickens is looking for about 1 million acres of land, possibly in eastern Nevada, where most or all of the horses and burros now being kept at the federal holding areas could be turned loose.Pickens, who says she's always had a love for the West and for wild horses, came up with the idea after hearing that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was considering euthanizing some of the animals to control the herds and protect the range.Her plans have been praised by animal rights groups, including some that have been preparing legal challenges to prevent the government from putting the horses to death.
But even if Pickens moves ahead with what she sees as a big attraction for tourists who view the horses as iconic symbols of the American West, state Sen. Dean Rhoads said there still may be high government costs for keeping horses that Pickens doesn't get.
"They just have to change their policies somehow, because we just can't continue spending millions and millions of dollars on horses that nobody wants," said Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, a rancher.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office said the BLM this year will spend about $27 million -- about three-fourths of its horse and burro budget -- caring for the animals. Continuing current practices would require a budget of $58 million next year, escalating to $77 million in 2012, according to GAO estimates.
The GAO report also noted that the BLM has authority to kill or sell excess horses without restriction from slaughter, but has been loathe to do so.
Regarding the nearly 19,000 horses on the Nevada range, Barcomb said the BLM is trying to reduce that number by about 6,000, to about 13,000.
"Those are the 6,000 they're trying to starve," McClain said in questioning the BLM's methods and expressing concern about the end of Nevada's Commission for the Preservation of Wild Horses."I hate to see this go away, especially with all the publicity with the way the BLM treats wild horses," McClain said. "And then I hear the stories of people, because of the economy, turning loose domestic horses. They're not going to make it."
--The Associated Press

According to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign there are fewer than 25,000 wild horses roaming the US. One hundred years ago there were 2 million. Today, 6 million head of privately owned livestock graze on subsidized BLM public lands. Wild horses account for less than .05% of large animals grazing on these "managed" lands.
6 states have lost their entire wild horse herds. There are approximately 30,000 wild horses being held in Government holding facilities. The current horse removal policy is costing the American taxpayer over 40 million dollars a year.

http://www.bottlesandbridles.com/index.cfm

These numbers are recent (if not the latest) Bureau of Land Management numbers, as well as numbers obtained through independent investigation. Please understand that population levels in particular are fluid and subject to a significant degree of uncertainty (the same caveat applies to numbers provided by the BLM).

In the 19th century, more than 2 million wild horses roamed the West (source: J. Frank Dobie, “The Mustangs”, Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, 1952).

Today, less than 25,000 wild horses likely remain on public lands.

Over 6 million head of private livestock enjoy subsidized grazing on public lands.

More than 200,000 wild horses and burros have been removed from public lands since 1971. The BLM plans to remove another 4,000 by fall 2008.

The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act mandates that wild horses and burros be managed on 47 million acres of public lands on 303 herd areas.

Since 1971, wild horses have been zeroed out from 111 herd areas representing over 19 million acres.

Wild burros numbered 14,000 at the time of the 1971 Act’s first census. Burros share their habitat with bighorn sheep, a highly-prized game species that now outnumbers them at least 16 to 1 on public lands. BLM’s target for nationwide burro population is less than 3,000.

BLM relies on an annual population increase rate of about 20% to evaluate population levels and justify round-ups, while the National Academy of Sciences estimates that rate to be closer to 10%.

Wild horses account for less than 0.5% of large grazing animals on public lands.

6 states have lost their entire wild horse and burro populations.

In 70% of the remaining herd areas, BLM’s population targets are set at levels that will not ensure genetic viability.

The current removal policy is costing over 39 million tax dollars a year.

According to the USGS, $7.7 million could be saved annually through the use of contraceptive measures alone.

The removal and processing of a single horse through the adoption pipeline can cost as much as $3,000.

Over 30,000 wild horses are currently held in government holding pens. Under the Burns Amendment, about 8,000 of them are threatened with slaughter.

BLM’s private livestock grazing program encompasses 214 million acres of public lands, costs over $130 million to manage annually, yet only provides 3% of our national beef supply.

The current fee to graze private cattle on public lands is $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM), the equivalent of $0.06 per acre per year, or about 1/10th of market rates to graze cattle on private lands.

Private livestock outnumber wild horses and burros at least 200 to 1 on public lands. (note: some livestock may not be grazed year round)

In 2008, less than 5% of BLM’s wild horse and burro program budget was allocated to herd management on the range, with the remaining 95% allocated to captures, holding and placement.
Please take action now.

http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/numbers.html

http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/action.html

Be Persistent

Do not let placating responses from government officials shake your confidence. These Talking Points will help you address and rebut common misconceptions. The fact is that solutions need to be implemented to secure a place for our wild herds in the American landscape. A Congressional inquiry into this issue is long overdue.
We trust that a concerned and active citizenry can affect federal legislation, even in the face of opposition from special-interest groups. Wild horse advocacy is actually considered one of the most efficient grassroots movements in the nation. This was confirmed in 2006 by several Members of Congress polled by the Institute for a Democratic Future.

In 1971, it was an unprecedented letter-writing campaign conducted by schoolchildren across the country that became instrumental in securing the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act. Some of the letters were eloquent in their simplicity, showing more wisdom and common sense than all of the testimony of the scientists and wildlife managers combined. One letter from Kathy Burns from west Greenwich, Rhode Island, reasoned:

"When they say to you, What good are they?
meaning the horses. The horses are plenty
good. They're beautiful. Consider this."

From the ABR forum.

I heard Barbara Simpson's interview with Madeline Pickens on KSFO today. 
And here is Madeline's website, so you can stay updated on her progress in purchasing land for the remaining wild horses.  Also, see her video with news station at the home page.
http://madeleinepickens.com/
Please pass on to all concerned, horse protection activist.

Another Wild Horse Friendly Secretary?

Posted by: "Bonnie Oliver" friesians2@casinternet.net   friesians2

Sat Dec 6, 2008 5:30 pm (PST)

From: The <mailto:news@thecloudfoundation.org> Cloud Foundation
To: Wild <mailto:bkwarner@windstream.net> Horse Supporter
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 8:05 PM
Subject: Another Wild Horse Friendly Secretary?
Email not displaying correctly?
<http://campaign-archive.com/?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=89aac5afea&e=4b
994fefbd> View it in your browser.
Cloud Foundation
<http://img.mailchimp.com/2008/03/06/5d6dced858f3b6d/email-banner.gif>
The Right Secretary of Agriculture Would Help Cloud's Herd
Your support needed for the appointment of John Boyd, Jr.
Dear Supporters,
In this time of changing administrations, it is absolutely crucial that
President-Elect Obama appoint people who will work to protect and preserve
our wild horses and our public lands. We hope you've written in support of
Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona for Secretary of the Interior (the
Bureau of Land Management falls under this department) and now we'd like to
ask you to support John Boyd, Jr. as Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. Boyd is
the founder of the National Black Farmer's Association and as a horse owner
himself, fought hard to ban horse-slaughter in the US. As Secretary of
Agriculture, Mr. Boyd would also be responsible for the Forest Service, and
thus, the future of Cloud's herd.
Because of the Cloud Foundation's mission to expand Cloud's Pryor Mountain
Wild Horse Range into the adjacent Forest Service lands, a horse-friendly
Secretary of the Agriculture is truly important. Cloud's herd has roamed
Forest Service lands adjacent to their legally designated range for hundreds
of years and despite our numerous meetings as well as ongoing legal action,
the range has yet to be expanded. Legal designation of the lands the horses
use is crucial to maintaining a larger, viable herd in the Pryors.
So please write the
<http://thecloudfoundation.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e
8e9877&id=8d5c57f040&e=4b994fefbd> President-Elect's Transition Team and
Transition Team Leader John Podesta, to voice your support for Dr. John
Boyd, Jr. as Secretary of Agriculture. Another appointment, crucial to
securing a future for our wild horses is that of Congress Grijalva for
Secretary of Interior.
Your outpouring of letters sent on behalf of Cloud, his family and all wild
horses is terrific. You are truly their strongest voices! Thank you from the
bottom of my heart.
Happy Trails and Happy Holidays!
Ginger Kathrens
Volunteer Executive Director
The Cloud Foundation
A Colorado Non-profit
You are receiving this email because you have asked to be on our e-mail
list. If you have received this e-mail in error, please unsubscribe. We
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience!
<http://thecloudfoundation.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e
8e9877&id=9983179f57&e=4b994fefbd&c=89aac5afea> Unsubscribe
bkwarner@windstream.net from this list.
Our mailing address is:
The Cloud Foundation 107 South 7th St Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Our telephone:
719-633-3842
Copyright (C) 2008 The Cloud Foundation All rights reserved.

Pro-Slaughter Comments On ABC

Posted by: "Laura Boothby" horsesaverlb@aol.com   lilkehoe1974

Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:37 pm (PST)

Again the proslaughter isde is trying to twist thiings around and have now gone after Mrs.Pickens clumping horse owners in with organizations who do not have horses on their main aganda like we do! We need to support Team Pickens!!!
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=6307278&page=1
Sincerely,
Laura Boothby
Pure Thoughts, Inc
www.pthr.org
http://astand4thehorses.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/4thehorses5000

The wife of T Boone Pickens is offering help to the wild horses…adopting them all!

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D94HJ5J80.html

Hi Folks, 

I think they heard us!  There was another factor of course and that was the fact that they will have a new boss on January 20th.  I am not sure that it would be a good idea for any government employee to be standing on a pile of dead mustangs when Barack Obama takes office.  Still, my personal thanks go out to all of you who worked so hard to keep this from happening.

John 

Government delays decision on killing wild horses

11/17/2008, 9:04 p.m. EST

By SANDRA CHEREB

The Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will round up fewer wild horses and try to shuffle funds within the agency to hold off for now on killing large numbers of the animals in an effort to control herds and spiraling costs, an official said Monday.

Deputy Director Henri Bisson said maintaining the wild horse and burro program for another year will give horse advocates, the BLM, Congress, ranchers and wildlife advocates time to explore possible solutions and let "cooler heads prevail."

"Let's focus on doing something positive before we have to look at last resort tools," Bisson said. "We're not making any decisions today. We're not making any decisions next week."

Looks Like The BLM Is Hearing From Us!

Posted by: "Barbara Pennelle" endinghorseslaughter@live.com   bpennelle

Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:39 am (PST)
Wild horse advocates decry BLM euthanasia proposal
By SANDRA CHEREB Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 11/15/2008 08:04:13 AM PST
RENO, Nev.—A stampede of opposition is growing over a proposal being
considered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for the first time to
kill or allow unrestricted sale of wild horses captured from western
public lands because of budget constraints.
Tens of thousands of horse advocates have weighed in with public
comments to the agency, voicing outrage at the idea of slaughtering what
many revere as romantic symbols of the American West.
"Most Americans view these horses as the greatest symbols of our
American freedom," said Ross Potter of Phoenix.
"If we kill them now without exhausting all other possibilities, we are
telling the world that we have no respect for our own heritage," he said
in a recent letter to the BLM. "I don't think that is an image we can
afford to project."
The BLM's nine-member National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board is
scheduled to consider the proposal at a meeting Monday in Reno.
Many critics say inept management by the BLM created the problem that
has led to nearly as many horses being kept in long-term corrals as
remain on the range.
Karen Sussman, president of the International Society for the Protection
of Mustangs and Burros, said the BLM has never considered the health of
herds when conducting round-ups.
Massive round-ups, she and others say, upsets a herd's social heirarchy,
leading to unchecked breeding that threatens their gene pool and
accelerates population growth.
"They are mandated by law to protect these horses for American citizens.
They have not done that," she said.
"And now, on the backs of these horses that should never have been
removed, they want to kill them."
Critics also argue that when it comes to public land, wild horses get
short shrift to the benefit of livestock and wildlife. They claim that
since 1971, about 20 million acres originally designated as herd areas
has been withdrawn from that use. They claim that reopening those areas
to horses would alleviate the need for boarding.
"While forage and water are rarely an issue for the established
livestock and big game interests, these same resources are almost always
portrayed as being too little for the relatively tiny members of our
nation's remaining wild horses and burros—who are too often
scapegoated for ecological destruction caused ultimately by man," wrote
Craig Downer, a wild horse ecologist.
Monday's advisory board meerting comes on the heels of a report issued
last week by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm
of Congress, that said the BLM needs to consider euthanizing horses or
selling them to reduce spiraling costs of keeping them in long-term
holding pens.
Wild horse and burros are protected under federal law. Most horses
gathered are placed for adoption, but those deemed too old or otherwise
unadoptable are sent to long-term holding facilities to live out their
days—some for 15-20 years.
About 33,000 wild horses roam the open range in 10 Western states, half
of those in Nevada. The BLM has set a target "appropriate management
level" of horses at 27,000.
The BLM says demand for horses has declined, and the cost of caring for
geriatric equines is devouring its budget.
The GAO report said costs of caring for wild horses likely will account
for 74 percent of the program's overall budget this year, or more than
$27 million. That percentage will climb, it said, unless alternatives
are found.
Continuing current practices would require a budget of $58 million next
year, escalating to $77 million in 2012, BLM estimated.
The BLM already has authority to use euthanasia for horse management,
but has been reluctant to do for fear of public backlash.
"We have a responsibility to balance the budget, so we are going to have
to make some tough choices," BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson said when
the proposal was first aired publically in June.
"We don't want to do this at the last minute. So we need to have a
conversation with horse advocates and try to share the pain a little bit
so people understand that if we have to make those tough changes it's
not because we want to," he said.

againstslaughter] American Herds - YOU ARE THERE!  Date: 11/13/2008

Posted by: "Kitrynak@aol.com" Kitrynak@aol.com   kitrynak

Thu Nov 13, 2008 6:46 pm (PST)
Check this out!
HORSE POWER in Nevada and Sierra Nevada Community Access Television have
partnered to bring the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board's meeting on
Monday, November 17th LIVE TO EVERYONE!!!
As you know, this meeting is CRITICAL in determining the fate of over 30,000
of America's now warehoused wild horses and burros and thanks to them, WE CAN
WATCH EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF THE MEETING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!
Please pass this on to everyone you know so they too can be part of this
historic moment in the "management" of America's herds.
Go to the link below to find out how YOU can attend too!
_http://www.americanherds.blogspot.com/_
(http://www.americanherds.blogspot.com/)

Wild Horse Ecologist's Plan For Release Of Penned Equines

Posted by: "Barbara Pennelle" endinghorseslaughter@live.com   bpennelle endinghorseslaughter @ live.com

Sun Nov 2, 2008 4:23 pm (PST)
Craig C. Downer is a Wild Horse Ecologist who lives in northern Nevada.
Recently he sent me a copy of a paper that he presented at the Wild
Horse Summit held in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. (In the past, Dr.
Downer has written a book about wild horses, Wild Horses: Living Symbols
of Freedom, and has also written articles for several equine magazines.
In fact, Wild Horse Annie wrote the forward to his book.)
I have posted Dr. Downer's paper on my web site and here is a link:
http://endinghorseslaughter.com/weekly.html
<http://endinghorseslaughter.com/weekly.html>
In it, Dr. Downer puts forth his proposal for returning to their
rangelands, the 30,000 wild horses currently being held by the BLM in
holding pens scattered across the western states. He makes his case in
a thorough and intelligible manner. If you have any interest at all in
the wild horses, please read this paper.
I will be forwarding copies of Dr. Downer's paper to the Nevada
legislators, Nevada newspaper reporters and to the White House. I urge
you to send copies to your own legislators and newspapers, especially
those that are predisposed to help the wild horses and burros.
If you would like me to e-mail a copy of the paper to you, please
contact me via e-mail through this web site. All that I ask is that you
distribute the paper in its entirety.
Ì Barbara P.

October 17, 2008

IMMEDIATE ATTENTION NEEDED!

PLEASE CROSS POST WHEREVER APPROPRIATE!

Director of Agriculture Tony Lesperance is at it again.  This time he's planning on dismantling the University of Nevada Reno's wild horse birth control study program and offering the horses to the kill buyers.

For several years a number of mares and two stallions have been held at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center south of Carson City.  They were corralled as part of a study to determine the long term effects as well as any side effects produced by their being provided with doses of a temporary birth control vaccine.  University veterinarian Dr. David Thain has been conducting this study for several years.  The study group includes treated mares as well as a few "control" mares that weren't treated.   Therefore the present group of horses includes a handful of youngsters along with the study mares and the two stallions.

(An old file photo of the birth control program horses.)

Nevada is currently experiencing the most serious budget crisis in modern history.  Funding was lost for the birth control study and none of the agencies had any spare cash to feed the horses so that Dr. Thain's observations could continue.  As a result, the allied wild horse groups raised the funds to buy the necessary feed for the horses.  As a long term solution, the wild horse groups were helping facilitate moving the program to a privately owned closed range where all the horses could remain together and observations could continue.  As a plan of last resort, the Wild Horse Foundation had offered to take the horses and find individual private homes for them.

However Director of Agriculture Tony Lesperance, whose actions clearly indicate that he doesn't want to see any successes with respect to managing wild horses, ordered a legal ad run in the state capitol's newspaper, the Nevada Appeal.  In the legal ad on page C-8 of the October 17th edition, Lesperance incorrectly describes the horses as having been taken up as estrays that are being held until the lawful owners can prove ownership and reclaim them.  While lies from Director Lesperance are commonplace, even we find it hard to believe that he could possibly claim that horses that are branded and microchipped and that have been part of a University study for many years are somehow at-large stock that someone allowed to get loose.

Director Lesperance made this specific description in a legal notice with the intent that if the horses could be regarded as picked up at-large estrays, he can dispose of the horses at the end of next week.  In this instance, disposal is likely consigning the horses to a dealer where they can be picked up by the kill buyers.

Wild horse advocates are considering taking legal action as it may not be lawful for Director Lesperance to dispose of branded and microchipped study horses as "unidentified estrays."  However it is equally important that advocates contact Governor Gibbons' office and complain that once again Gibbons' Director of Agriculture is taking possibly unlawful actions and placing tax dollars at risk over a situation that already should be resolved.

Here are the salient issues.

1.  The birth control study is an important tool with respect to the long term management of wild horse populations.  We need to know that it works and we need to know what, if any, long term side effects may occur.  This data can't be gathered if the "herd" is broken up, and possibly becomes European table meat.

2.  Private funding has been obtained to maintain the birth control program.  Horse advocates were simply awaiting instructions as to when and where to have the hay delivered.

3.  These are not domestic estray horses of unknown origin.  They are branded and microchipped horses that have been historically part of a university study.  Director Lesperance's legal notice is not correct and the court may decide that he doesn't have the authority to sell the horses.

4.  The decision to stop the birth control study is bad public policy and Director Lesperance's actions risk unnecessary expenditures of tax dollars.

5.  Director Lesperance needs to be told by the Governor's office to leave the birth control program alone so long as it doesn't produce unfunded costs to the Department of Agriculture.  Otherwise we can only conclude that Governor Gibbons condones Director Lesperance's conduct.  This is Dr. Thain's program, not Director Lesperance's.

Help save the birth control program horses!  Please contact Governor Gibbons' office at  775-684-5670 and/or email mailto:governor@govmail.state.nv.us .

You can also express your opinion to the Nevada Department of Agriculture by calling 775-688-1180 and/or emailing mailto:efoster@agri.state.nv.us .

We may have only a few days to bring some common sense to this issue and bring these horses under private care and protection so that they can remain safe, and so that observations as to their health and condition can continue.

Thanks for reading this message and please spread the word!

From: whisperingwindsmustangranch@msn.com
Subject: Action not Talk
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:11:06 -0700

Ahhhh!!!   What is going on?  All the emails I'm getting is about BLM & Sheldon pursuing the eradication of the wild horses.  Because DOI oversees both, why aren't we going after them to stop this?  This is getting to be so disturbing.  I get the local BLM office telling me that they don't have a budget to gather any horses this year, but then I get emails about the Pryors & the horses in Nevada. 

The DOI is who we need to knock in the head.  I read the latest information in from the AQHA 2008 Convention and was sick.  They are in bedfellow with the Cattleman's Association as much as DOI.  It's the deep pockets of the cattle people that are driving this trend.  They want the land, bottom line.  And, they contribute to those that they need to "buy" to get the horses off of it.

They may have the money but we have the voices.  Perhaps we are going in the wrong direction and need to revamp the game plan?!  I will do whatever I can, but whatever happened to the definition of "management" as in what BLM is NOT doing.   And, I can guarantee DOI is silently behind the disappearance of the Sheldon horses.  I can't get a serious count from Steblein.  It doesn't jive with our figures from the last gather - go figure.  So, are they shooting them & avoiding the gathers.  Are they moving them through the downed wire, that no one takes care of, onto BLM land where they can get gathered? 

We need action and not just to voice everyone's concerns.  That isn't working.   I have sent emails, letters, made phone calls, as so many of you have.  And, the beat I'm hearing, Cindy, is the sound of horse's hooves running for their lives.   And, the cries are those of horses being slaughtered. 

For 7 years now I have been fighting to make a change.  I WON'T STOP.  When we created the Special Research Group and FINALLY got a stay on the gathers, I thought maybe we were being heard.  But, it only gave DOI a chance to come up with another angle.   Everyone wants to go after BLM & FWS.  That's like going after the street drug dealers and not the suppliers.  I know we can't give up what we are doing.   But, we need to really go after DOI in the midst of all of this.  They are the driving force behind it all. 

How do we go against them?  We need to just start inundating them.  When IDA took over and handled the legal end of stuff for us (SRG) we got things done and stopped the gathers.  They went straight to DOI.  We need to contact: 

Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240

Phone: 202-208-3100

Dirk Kempthorne (Secretary of the Interior)
Ron Swan (Deputy Solicitor for the DOI, NW Region)  -- he was the spokesperson for DOI during our law suit

RONALD.SWAN@sol.doi.gov

503 231-2126

?  Dirk Kempthorne - Secretary of the Interior

?  P. Lynn Scarlett - Deputy Secretary

?  David Bernhardt - Solicitor of the Interior

?  Lyle Laverty - Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks

?  Mary A. Bomar - Director, National Park Service

?  Dale Hall - Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

?  James L. Caswell - Director, Bureau of Land Management  

Keep after BLM & FWS, but we seriously need to include the DOI in everything.

For those of you protesting in Reno at the WH&B meeting, I'm with you in Spirit. 

Keeping the Spirit Alive 

Susan Pohlman, Director
Whispering Winds Equine Rescue
Living Legends Wild Horse Sanctuary
Roseburg, Oregon
A 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization
(541) 679-9022 
AQHA Professional Horsemen Association
Certified Trainer & Riding Instructor
Mustang Specialist

PLEASE XPOST

YOU MAY REMEMBER A PBS SPECIAL ON THE WILD STALLION CLOUD

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/cloud-wild-stallion-of-the-rockies/introduction/29/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/uncategorized/roundups-why-are-they-conducted/64/

THE DEADLINE FOR CLOUD AND HIS HERD/FAMILY IS 7/11/08

 SLATED TO BE "REMOVED" (DESTROYED) BY

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'S 

BUREAU OF LAND MANGEMENT
I am sending this out to you all again - please write!

I just sent off my letters and plan to call next week.  

Please forward and ask everyone to do the same.  We must stop this atrocity.

Deadline is July 11th.

Thank you

Marjorie 

Dear Friends of Cloud, his family and herd;

This is the most important letter I have ever written you in our fight to preserve Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains.  The wild horses need your help. 

The BLM has issued the Draft Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) and the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) calling for a drastic population reduction that would take the herd down to an unsustainable level. The plan calls for just 90-120 adult horses one year and older to remain in their homeland.

The HMAP, if adopted, will dictate the management of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horses for a minimum of  5-10 years. In reality, this current plan could be in effect for 20 years or more (the last HMAP amendment was signed in 1992). By that time the Pryor horses as we know them will be just a memory.

Removals of wild horses will concentrate on these groups in rank order:

1. Wild horses of any age that don’t look Spanish. 

2. Wild horses that are no longer reproducing that have already contributed to the gene pool by successfully reproducing. Ironically, infertility drugs continue to be administered to older mares to keep them from reproducing. The BLM reason given for infertility application on these mares was to increase their life span. Now, BLM is saying there are “too many old horses” and they must go. (Click here for a photo gallery of some of the wonderful older horses falling in this category.)

3. Wild horses under five years old.

4. Wild horses older than 11 years. (Cloud and Velvet and most of the band stallions and lead mares fall in this category.) 

5. Horses between 5-10 years of age. 

This list includes every wild horse currently living on the Pryors.  All are potential targets for removal. 

The BLM removals disregard the social structure and stability of the families on the mountain. Any horse could be removed regardless of the key roles they play as band stallions or lead mares. Most of these leaders have reproduced and are over 10 years of age, making them prime targets for removal. 

Why such a drastic plan? BLM claims that portions of the range are in a declining condition. They rely on two studies for this claim: the NRCS study conducted 2001-2002 during the worst drought in many decades; and a BLM assessment conducted in 2007. However, no raw data has been made available from the 2007 assessment to the public. And so, the public must take BLM conclusions at face value with no proof of current declining range conditions.

It is hard to believe the BLM assessment considering the current conditions in Southern Montana and Northern Wyoming. I have never seen it greener. Long time local residents tell us that it has not looked as beautiful in decades. Many told us they have never seen the range looking this great.  (click here for key talking points in your letter to BLM.)

Now is the time to unite and speak out loud and clear on behalf of these beautiful animals and their spectacular homeland. We will not allow the BLM to ravage the herd as they have others in the West. Please tell all your friends to help us. Send this to your address book. Not just horse fans or Cloud fans but all people who value freedom and beauty should be concerned with this cruel and destructive plan.

Send your comments to the following. The deadline is July 11th:

MT_WildHorse@blm.gov   MT_WildHorse @ blm.gov)

The subject line must contain “Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range/Territory Preliminary Environmental Assessment and Draft HMAP”

You can mail your comments to:

Jared Bybee, State Wild Horse and Burro Specialist

BLM-Billings Field Office,

5001 Southgate Drive 

Billings, MT 59101

Call the Montana U.S. Senators today. Calls are by far the most important way to influence them. Then write and email. But, please call. Ask your friends and family to do the same. These are toll free numbers to the Senators:

MT-U.S. Senator Max Baucus (http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm)

    511 Hart Senate Office Building

    Washington DC, 20510

    1-800-332-6106

Mt-U.S. Senator Jon Tester  (http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/)

    204 Russell Senate Office Building

    Washington DC, 20510

    1-866-554-4403 Ask to speak with either Tracy Stone Manning or Bill Lombardi

BLM Director Jim Caswell (James_Caswell@blm.gov)

    1849 C Street NW

    Washington DC, 20040

    202-208-3801

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne (webteam@ios.doi.gov)

    Executive Secretariat

    MS 7229

    1849 C Street NW

    Washington DC 20240

    202-208-3100    

Many of us know these animals as individuals with lives and families. Their fate hangs by a thread at this moment in time. Please do everything you can to prevent the destruction of Cloud's herd.

Happy trails,

Ginger Kathrens

Volunteer Executive Director

The Cloud Foundation

PS: Cloud has a new grandson who looks very much like him and we named him “Cloud’s Image”- he is a doll. Will he live in freedom? Perhaps, because of his unique color, but who knows? There are 20 other darling foals atop the mountain, including Firestorm’s new filly and Bolder’s first foal (both Cloud grand-daughters). Flint also has a beautiful three-year-old grulla mare, Feldspar. To see more, click here. 

Please see the information below concerning these horses. You can also visit http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/news_alerts.html

For more details or contact Charise at: cdemao@parallax.ws

For more details. We are just the messengers and do not have any more details.

Sandra Burger

Meadow Haven Horse Rescue

-----Original Message-----
From: charise demao [mailto:cdemao@parallax.ws]  
Subject: BLM trying for a "fee waiver" on our wildhorses 

      Friends,this is very serious.please read carefully.

The Bureau of Land Mgmt ( BLM) of Nat'l Wildhorses& Burro Advisory Board  will be meeting in Reno on June 30 th.They are considering to offer a "quick fix"into their "adopt a horse " program.It is a "fee-waiver" with an immediate titling of adopted horses. In other words,BLM is considering GIVING AWAY AMERICA"S WILDHORSES and REMOVING PROTECTION AGAINST THEIR RESALE FOR SLAUGHTER! Note: the BLM currently has 30,000 horses "warehoused'(from 7 yrs of massive round-ups).In the BLM's own words,"would open up  the Canadian market".  And we all know what that means!!!!

This is what was allowed to happen in 1984-the BLM had a "massive round-up" of 40,000 wild horses wre corralled..An estimated 20,000 of  them  ended up at slaughter.We CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN. There are currently 30,000 horses "warehoused" at this time.Our wildhorses are a national treasure-they are a part of our American Heritage.Please join me in emailing a message  to the BLM advisory board   stating you DO NOT WANT FEES WAIVERED on the BLM"s "adopt a horse " program.We DO NOT WANT OUR AMERICAN WILDHORSES ENDING UP ON THE CANADIAN MARKET OR AT THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE! And then go to "COMPASSIONINDEX.ORG"     find your 2 senators and congressional representative and send them the same email message.Remember if we let the BLM "wipe out " our wildhorse population-we can never get them back.It would be an absolute travesty!Thank-you for your help and your love of our horses!       Charise DeMao

                                      cdemao@parallax.ws

BLM ADVISORY BOARD EMAIL TO:

ramona_delorme@blm.gov (Ramona_delorme @ blm.gov)

Be sure to put your name,address,and "WH&B" in with it.

----- Original Message -----

From: Constance Sweitzer

To: undisclosed-recipients:

Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:59 AM

Subject: Fwd: [American Herds] The Final Solution

Not much time left .. please send them a comment. Info below ...

Begin forwarded message: 

www.americanherds.blogspot.com

The BLM is still accepting public comments on their Final Gather plan for the last 147 wild horses of the West Douglas HMA.
Zeroed out after a long and lengthy legal battles that ended on October 10, 2007, the BLM Director dismissed all protests of the decision (1)and now BLM is revving up their engines to take them out starting October 1, 2008 and will continue indefinitely until they are only memories.
The Final Plan (or should we say Solution?) can be viewed by clicking Here and includes “humane standards” of limiting helicopter driving of the horses to 5 miles if snow is over a foot and/or canceling helicopter captures if temperatures drop to –10 degrees below 0.
So we finally started getting some answers about what BLM considers “humane treatment”!
The Cloud Foundation and Volunteer Executive Director Ginger Kathrens have posted her letter to BLM (Click Here to View) and is urging everyone to please contact BLM to voice your concerns.
The central focus of BLMs decision to revoke the West Douglas’s federally protected status stemmed from officials determining the 128k-acre habitat is only capable of supporting 60 wild horses. BLM has decided this population is too small to be naturally self-sustaining or genetically viable. But didn’t the Interior Board of Land Appeals just rule that BLM could supplement herds if they were too small? Click Here to see IBLA Ruling (172 IBLA 128)
Only 4 herds remain out of 8 with a state “appropriate management level” of 812 wild horses, which means wild horses are allowed 9,744 Animal Unit Months (AUM) of forage per year.
For comparison purposes, the State of Colorado authorizes 219,664 head of livestock annually totaling 573,918 AUMs of forage and their 2007 free-roaming elk population was estimated between 250,000 to 260,000 - elk herds have been reported at 10-15% above population management objectives for over 20 years. (2)
Just the White River Field Office alone, who authorized the irrevocable loss of the West Douglas Herd, doles out a generous 118,441 AUMs for exclusive livestock use totaling 41,478 head while the 60 wild horses that were considered too small to be genetically viable and therefore must be removed were issued 720 AUMs.
One of the main livestock allotments occurring in the West Douglas HMA, Twin Buttes, was re-authorized by BLM in 2005 to run over 3,900 head of cattle totaling 11,500 AUMs. The other main livestock allotment in the West Douglas HMA is controlled by Cripple Creek Cowboy Company, proud recipient of over $77k dollars in livestock subsidies between 1996-2006 (3) but public lands statistics reports showing how many cattle are being run on his allotments are mysteriously “unavailable”.
Anybody else think it’s funny that the Twin Butte livestock allotment, which spans 140k acres can support 3,900 cattle but the West Douglas Herd Management Area, which spans 128k acres can only support 60 wild horses?
If you have any questions about how illegal this is, read BLMs Code of Federal Regulation 43 CFR 4710.5(a) Closure To Livestock Grazing, which states: "If necessary to provide habitat for wild horses or burros, to implement herd management actions, or to protect wild horses or burros from disease, harassment or injury, the authorized officer may close appropriate areas of the public lands to grazing use by all or a particular kind of livestock."
Turns out Colorado Senator Wayne Allard (R) is a personal advocate for the permittees and has interceded with BLM on their behalf to make sure we know where the beef is. He is a member of 12 different subcommittees in the House of Representatives, including the Minority Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Interior Environment and Related Agencies and keeps his fingers in wide variety of pies.
If you would like to tell Senator Allard or other Colorado representatives just what you think of what they are allowing to happen to one of Colorado’s last remaining herds just to stuff a few more cattle, elk and oil wells on the land, Click Here for contact information.
Unfortunately, American Herds has just found out about the comment period for the West Douglas Herd and there is almost no time left! If you would like to be herd, you must submit your comments by May 23, 2008 before 4:30 p.m. for BLM to consider them.
~Contact Info~
BLM White River Field Office
220 East Market Street
Meeker, CO 81641
Fax: (970) 878-3805
Phone: (970) 878-3800
Melissa Kindall Melissa_Kindall@blm.gov
Please include the proposal number
EA# CO-110-2008-052-EA in your submission.
Photo is of a captured wild horse taken from the East West Douglas Herd.
All Herd Statistics taken from BLM Herd Statistics Fiscal Year 2007 www.blm.gov Wild Horse & Burro Program
All grazing authorizations and cattle numbers taken from BLM Public Land Statistics – Colorado http://www.blm.gov/landandresourcesreports/rptapp/menu.cfm?appCd=6
(1) BLM Press Release – October 11, 2007 http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/newsroom/2007/west_douglas_decision.html(2) Elk Management of 5 Western States – No Longer Available online
(3) Farm Subsidy Data Base – 2006 Reports http://farm.ewg.org/farm/persondetail.php?custnumber=009388698
--
Posted By Preserve the Herds to American Herds at 5/21/2008 03:53:00 PM

NV Horses: News from the Front

To: mustangs@yahoogroups.com
From: wildhorse7@sbcglobal.net
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:53:38 -0700
Subject: [mustangs] Fw: NV Horses: News from the Front
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 7:46 AM
Subject: NV Horses: News from the Front
PLEASE CROSS POST AS APPROPRIATE:
It might be time for folks to call Governor Gibbons' office again. Here's what happened yesterday.
Ed Foster from the NV Dept. of Agriculture gave Silver Springs resident Kathy Graves a dressing down. Foster had gone on TV and made certain statements that Graves had questioned. Foster responded by claiming he had not said what Graves quoted him as saying, and in an email message admonished Graves with, "This is a classic example of not hearing or having the facts." Apparently Foster forgot about such devices as TeVo as Graves happened to have Foster recorded, the sound track of which we promptly posted to Monday's Horse Wars web blog.
On Tuesday Foster tried to spin the issue to parsing over the words he actually used. (Apparently Foster now remembers what he actually did say.) He seemed to want to avoid the part about dressing down a Nevada citizen and lying to her.
Later Foster phoned VRWPA President Jeanne Gribbin. Gribbin explained afterwards that she pretty much got down to the bone with Foster on the issues and that the wild horse advocates were solidly together on this.
Foster then fired off an email that went to Ben Keickhefer in the Gov's Office in which Foster wrote: "I just had an incredibly productive telephone conversation with Jeanne Gribbin, who I respect and have trusted for years. It seems like some of the advocates are focused on solutions, others, well, maybe not so much."
(If getting your backside kicked for 45 minutes can be regarded as "incredibly productive," then so be it. Experienced observers believe that this was an attempt by NDoA to make the Governor's office think NDoA was making some headway in this crisis - imply that they had an ally in Gribbin and the VRWPA - and to try to sow some dissension among the wild horse groups.)
Also - NDoA is dismissing the importance of calls to the Governor's Office because in Foster's words, "The calls on the horses from out of Nevada beat the Nevada calls 100 to 1. Why?"
Why? Because the whole country is outraged at Lesperance and his plan to rid the range of wild horses. In a state with a faltering economy where tourism is a huge industry, government officials might think twice about alienating Nevada's tourists. We can't assume that Foster's 100-1 ratio is any more accurate than his other statements, but Nevada is a small state population-wise so it only figures that calls from outside the state will outnumber in-state calls.
So, before we get into a new month and the predicted escalation of the Horse Wars, maybe it's time for one last round of calls to Gov. Gibbons and ask:
1. What is NDoA doing going around harassing citizens and lying to them?
2. What is all this nonsense about 2, 3, 4,000 horses on the Virginia Range?
3. If no roundups of the Virginia Range horses are going to take place, why doesn't the Governor come out and say so - and also make sure that the roundup and holding corral money goes back to the suffering state treasury where it belongs.
It only takes a minute to place a call and our intel suggests that your calls do count.
Governor Gibbons' Office: 775-684-5670
(Please remember that the ladies in the office aren't part of this fight. Be kind to them.)
If you prefer to use the internet, Governor Gibbons' contact page can be located here:
http://gov.state.nv.us/ARCHIVE/Contact_Us_NORTHX.htm
- - -
Here's the link to the latest Horse Wars report.
http://www.kbrhorse.net/news/vre-nda18.html
- - -
":O) Willis

From Michelle T:

Dear wild horse advocate,

More than ever, America’s wild horses are under attack on multiple fronts.
Please speak out on their behalf:

H.R. 767: A new threat to Sheldon’s wild horses
The REPAIR Act (H.R. 767) has been making its way quietly through the U.S. Congress. The stated goal of the bill is to eradicate harmful nonnative species from federal wildlife refuges. This could have dramatic consequences for wild horses on wildlife refuges: although they are a reintroduced native wildlife species, horses are treated by the government as nonnative; the REPAIR Act could allow refuges such as Sheldon to appropriate federal dollars (our tax dollars!) specifically to eradicate wild horses. We need to stop this!

The bill passed in the House and is now awaiting a Senate vote. As Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) controls if and when the bill is brought to a vote.

Please alert Senator Boxer to the unintended consequences H.R. 767 could have for thousands of wild horses.
Please urge her NOT to move the bill until it is amended to exclude wild horses from its scope.
Senator Boxer's Office: 202-224-3553
Senator Nelson's Office: 202-224-5274 *Bill Sponsor

Web-forms:
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm#form
http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

If a Senator from your state sits on the Environment and Public Works Committee,please also contact him/her to voice your concern. Click here for a list of Committee members:
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Members.Home

______________________________

Barb AZ