Art and Horses (Laura Leigh's Blog)
I know this blog has been silent as my time has yet again been taken up with the latest round of roundups to Courtroom that have gleaned two more legal precedents… so I will take a moment to fill y’all in on a few details.
The first win at Jackson came after three weeks of working (by invitation) on issues at Jackson. BLM was not proactive in addressing a situation we saw in that area before. They attempted to use a justified issue (regardless of the root cause) to create a broad sweep action that was actually against their own policy. We made no headway in discussion so instead we won in Court.
What we won was more language to build on. That language has been sorely missing in the Courtroom conversations. However with each win the vocabulary and the credibility of the documentation brought by us grows.
Example the win in the Ninth Circuit created language that allowed the Restraining Order won last year to pilot conduct to be turned into an Injunctive Order (active) last week. Even though the case in the Ninth is on another issue the conversation related to roundups as a non-resolved issue as the actual operation appears over. So the conduct issue was able to stand on the access issue.
That same conduct issue then created the venue to bring Jackson to a win. That win has added new language that can now be used to solidify that BLM can’t use an issue (regardless of cause) in one quadrant to justify a broad sweep action. That has again given the horses another “piece.”
Just as the case in Owyhee that brought the closure of public land (i.e. no observation at all) into the realm of unconstitutional action but failed to bring the foaling season issue to the plate because the conversational language and the credibility with the Court had not been established. But because of that win daily observation became a reality… with that came the other two cases on that stone.
I have been extraordinarily busy this past year, and even more so these last six months, creating a few avenues. I have been working with other journalists and in venues that will bring other issues into the light.
Every one of these stepping stones came from a seemingly endless marathon that has included traveling on dirt roads alone in ice storms to conferences with government personnel and Courtroom action. The work is every day, almost all day.
I have focused on my work that you all expect from me. Yet every time I have another win ugly voices raise in the chorus of derision. Not from the “other side” but ours.
In the last two and a half years the documentation and cases I have stood for and worked my fanny off compiling and researching have brought the horses precedent of language in the battle that has not existed before. Each case that Cowan brings on my behalf has walked out with a win. He does not charge us full fee ever and has done a good chunk of this work gratis because there are no funds. I am sick to death of listening to those that make full fees held up as “better” than someone like that.
And to put my “lifestyle” into perspective I own nothing but a few items of clothing, three cameras, a computer and my dog. I do not even own solely the truck I drive. I can’t even get new glasses.
So if you want to support this work, support it. If you don’t at least recognize the validity and use the stepping stones to further the cause.
I have to get up at 5. There are several issues that are very pressing right now in holding and on the range. More soon.
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