Action Alert: Comments Needed Immediately for NAS Study Review

The Cloud Foundation

Action Alert: Comments Needed Immediately for NAS Study Review
Tentative Panel Stacked Against Wild Horses

Dear Friends of our Wild Horses and Burros;

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is accepting comments on their provisional committee members. The study will be reviewing the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. However, the current provisional committee makeup is vastly unbalanced.

An NAS committee is supposed to be balanced and free of conflicts of interest, as mandated by federal law. But the current committee members chosen for this study do not represent this impartiality. Some of the committee members have strong ties with largely anti-wild horse organizations, such as the Nevada Cattleman’s Association and the Wildlife Society.

The future of America’s wild horses and burros may rest in the hands of this NAS study. The scope of the study itself is expected to take two years to complete and is to include information on total populations, genetic diversity, annual growth rates, population control, immunocontraception, appropriate management level (AML) establishments or adjustments, and managing a portion of a population as non-reproducing.

Two wild horses from the White Mountain herd in southern Wyoming

I encourage everyone to make their own comments (which are only being accepted electronically here) on these tentatively selected committee members. Below are some talking points you can make in your comments.

You can submit your comments here no later than September 26^th.

Here are some talking points you can include when you write your own comments (please use your own words):There is no one on the provisional committee who is well versed in the behavior and social structure of wild horses, which is a must for understanding the consequences of BLM management techniques.

• One member of the committee, Dr. David Thain, has clear ties with Nevada Cattleman’s Association – a clear conflict of interest.
• Two provisional committee members are tied to the Wildlife Society, an organization that has staunchly opposed wild horses.
• Some members of the committee are supportive of the drug GonaCon, a contraceptive drug that has raised serious health/side-effect concerns if used on wild horses.
• There is no one on the provisional committee who recognizes the scientific evidence that supports wild horses as a returned native species.
• The distinct lack of balance of the provisional committee needs to be rectified before the NAS conducts this review, otherwise millions of tax dollars will be wasted and the wild horse and burro populations will suffer.

Wild horses and burros again need your help. It is my sincere hope that you will take a few minutes to comment on the lack of fairness currently awarded to these national icons.

Happy Trails!
Ginger 

Cloud's granddaughter, Jewel