Part One
Part Two
From The Cloud Foundation:
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Press Conferences, Protests and a Festival of Love
Straight from the Horse's Heart
(In My Humble Opinion) by R. T. Fitch ~ Author/Director of HfH Advisory Council
It’s been one helluva week. Many thanks go out to those who took of their own time, and resources, to plan, travel and execute activities during the BLM Advisory Board Meeting of this past week. My head is still whirling but then again, it does not take much to make that occur. But overall, the question remains…did we make a difference?
My answer would be a resounding YES! From the quality and professionalism of our press conference’ the in depth and quantified remarks and recommendations to the Boar and the demonstrations the advocates were on the mark and stated their case, clearly.
I reserve the right to discuss the meeting in further detail, later, but everyone made a sincere and dramatic impact. I would have liked to see a couple of hundred more folks there, or maybe a couple of thousand, but considering the economy we were lucky to have the participants that we had. But here is the point…whether you were behind a microphone, holding a banner, calling your legislator or faxing the White House…you made a difference and that difference was a profound one.
It is difficult to ascertain from within the battlefield the progress of the war as you are, personally, grappling with the enemy face to face and one on one as your entire universe implodes down to a live or die confrontation with the enemy of choice. But a far broader view will reveal that the collective efforts of the army, of which you are a member, has made a significant advancement into the weak, untrained and ill informed opponent who may out number us but by no means has the mental capacity to strategically defend a position that is founded in a lie.
It came home to me for a brief moment, tonight. I just stepped off from a jet plane, today, but will step onto another one tomorrow, then again another the next followed by another one the day after and so on and so on, so late tonight I took a sip from the goblet of life and pulled up a chair to watch Terry interact with our horses in our front pasture. Life is fleeting, we must stay centered and draw strength from all of the “life moments” that we are given and I received a potent and poignant one this evening.
I simply sat in the shade with two geriatric German Shepherds flanking me and together we watched a dance of love in the lush grass of the pasture. Terry rubbed and stroked the ‘boys” as they gathered around her to give her hugs with their eyes half lidded. There was so much love in the air that you could have cut it with a knife, it was as thick as was the humidity. But as I watched the slow dance of mutual regard and respect it became apparent what the horses were doing, it was obvious in both their behavior and their domineer. They were saying thank you and their kind regard did not fall upon deaf hearts.
And as my eyes welled up in preparation to begin leaking, I heard a soft sigh behind me and felt the warm breath on my ear, even the dogs turned around but I did not need to, I knew I was not alone, I was alive with the essence of the spirit of the horse so I simply whispered:
“We are not there yet, Ethan, but we are closer. I made you a promise and that I shall keep, we will win as we will never quit…and, I miss you so very terribly.”
I know not how long I sat there basking in the warm glow of my past friend’s presence but it was a soft kiss on my forehead that brought be earthward. Terry was leaning over me, smiling and gently she whispered;
“The boys said thank-you, they knew R.T., they knew.”
I smiled back and replied;
“They all know, Terry…we have much work to do.”
And we walked to the house, hand in hand, for the last time in many weeks.
My heart is heavy yet still it has wings…there is much work to do.
Thank you, all!
(In My Humble Opinion) by R. T. Fitch ~ Author/Director of HfH Advisory Council
The Wild Horses Thank You!
It’s been one helluva week. Many thanks go out to those who took of their own time, and resources, to plan, travel and execute activities during the BLM Advisory Board Meeting of this past week. My head is still whirling but then again, it does not take much to make that occur. But overall, the question remains…did we make a difference?My answer would be a resounding YES! From the quality and professionalism of our press conference’ the in depth and quantified remarks and recommendations to the Boar and the demonstrations the advocates were on the mark and stated their case, clearly.
I reserve the right to discuss the meeting in further detail, later, but everyone made a sincere and dramatic impact. I would have liked to see a couple of hundred more folks there, or maybe a couple of thousand, but considering the economy we were lucky to have the participants that we had. But here is the point…whether you were behind a microphone, holding a banner, calling your legislator or faxing the White House…you made a difference and that difference was a profound one.
It is difficult to ascertain from within the battlefield the progress of the war as you are, personally, grappling with the enemy face to face and one on one as your entire universe implodes down to a live or die confrontation with the enemy of choice. But a far broader view will reveal that the collective efforts of the army, of which you are a member, has made a significant advancement into the weak, untrained and ill informed opponent who may out number us but by no means has the mental capacity to strategically defend a position that is founded in a lie.
It came home to me for a brief moment, tonight. I just stepped off from a jet plane, today, but will step onto another one tomorrow, then again another the next followed by another one the day after and so on and so on, so late tonight I took a sip from the goblet of life and pulled up a chair to watch Terry interact with our horses in our front pasture. Life is fleeting, we must stay centered and draw strength from all of the “life moments” that we are given and I received a potent and poignant one this evening.
I simply sat in the shade with two geriatric German Shepherds flanking me and together we watched a dance of love in the lush grass of the pasture. Terry rubbed and stroked the ‘boys” as they gathered around her to give her hugs with their eyes half lidded. There was so much love in the air that you could have cut it with a knife, it was as thick as was the humidity. But as I watched the slow dance of mutual regard and respect it became apparent what the horses were doing, it was obvious in both their behavior and their domineer. They were saying thank you and their kind regard did not fall upon deaf hearts.
And as my eyes welled up in preparation to begin leaking, I heard a soft sigh behind me and felt the warm breath on my ear, even the dogs turned around but I did not need to, I knew I was not alone, I was alive with the essence of the spirit of the horse so I simply whispered:
“We are not there yet, Ethan, but we are closer. I made you a promise and that I shall keep, we will win as we will never quit…and, I miss you so very terribly.”
I know not how long I sat there basking in the warm glow of my past friend’s presence but it was a soft kiss on my forehead that brought be earthward. Terry was leaning over me, smiling and gently she whispered;
“The boys said thank-you, they knew R.T., they knew.”
I smiled back and replied;
“They all know, Terry…we have much work to do.”
And we walked to the house, hand in hand, for the last time in many weeks.
My heart is heavy yet still it has wings…there is much work to do.
Thank you, all!
Related Articles
- Wild Horse Advocates’ Press Conference Scheduled for Thursday, March 10 in Phoenix (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Live from Phoenix! And Schedule of Events (thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com)
- Live Stream: Grassroots Horse (artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com)
Wild horses threatened with extinction says advocate
The Goochland Gazette | News
“You ought to be upset as a taxpayer,” said Ginger Kathrens last month as she waited to speak to the Three Oaks Equine Client Education Seminar last month at Hermitage Country Club. Read MORE...
“You ought to be upset as a taxpayer,” said Ginger Kathrens last month as she waited to speak to the Three Oaks Equine Client Education Seminar last month at Hermitage Country Club. Read MORE...
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Day 2
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
The day began with a BLM overview of the new strategy, presented by Karla Bird, acting director of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program.
At 9 a.m. sharp, the public comment period began. Unlike at previous BLM meetings, this comment period was scheduled before the advisory board voted on its recommendations. Also unlike previous meetings, three full hours were dedicated to public comment, and each speaker was given four minutes to present their case.
About 40 speakers addressed the Advisory Board. The vast majority of speakers were advocates for wild horses.
A handful of ranchers were also present. Several – most notably John Fallon, head of the Public Lands Council – also attended the horse slaughter summit in Las Vegas in January. Mr. Fallon stated in his comments that if BLM goes through with its proposed strategy to remove fewer horses, the Public Lands Council will be forced to explore litigation against the agency.
Speakers advocating a fairer policy for wild horses, including filmmaker Ginger Kathrens, volunteer director of The Cloud Foundation, commented on a variety of issues – from unfair forage allocations to livestock in wild horse habitat areas to the inhumanity of the roundups and some of the tragic incidents associated with them. Comments ranged from specific recommendations for the advisory board to personal accounts of roundup observation and criticism of broader issues related to the mismanagement of the program.
Jill Buckley of the ASPCA spoke about the need to end the inhumane roundups and offered the ASPCA’s help in developing a humane observer program to monitor any roundups that do occur. Timothy Harvey, the new humane advocacy appointee to the Advisory Board, later pressed the BLM to ensure that they responded to the ASPCA’s offer of help, as well as the offers of other members of the public.
On behalf of the coalition of over 40 organizations, including Saving America’s Mustangs, the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA, Suzanne Roy and Deniz Bolbol from the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign focused their remarks on requesting specific recommendations from the Advisory Board. AWHPC highlighted the need for BLM to fully and accurately account for the public comments received on the draft strategy document.
BLM is reporting just 9,000 comments received, but AWHPC has confirmed that our coalition partners submitted at least 45,000 comments. AWHPC asked for a full accounting of comments received and a quantitative analysis of their contents. AWHPC has also submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for all public comments on the strategy document, but BLM has been unable to produce them for four months.
We urged the Advisory Board to recommend that BLM:
• Improve transparency of roundups by installing video cameras on helicopters, at the traps and processing facilities to ensure that all aspects of the roundups are fully transparent.
• Prioritize fertility control and adoption programs over more wild horse removals.
• Actively pursue and cultivate public/private partnership arrangements like Madeleine Pickens/Saving America’s Mustangs proposal to create an eco-sanctuary and the Return to Freedom model program for on-the-range management of wild horses in herd management areas. We stressed the fact that the government has a moral and fiscal responsibility to care for the horses it has removed from their homes on our public lands, and that proposals like Mrs. Pickens’ offer taxpayers a return on their investment, as public funds will be reinvested for the benefit of the horses and the land.
• Avoid reproductive control strategies – such as skewed sex rations and sterilization — that negatively impact wild horse behavior and herd dynamics.
Following the public comments, the Board made six general recommendations to BLM: 1. Fully fund the Mustang Heritage Foundation proposal for adopting out BLM horses.
2. Prepare a fiscal year annual report on fatalities and injuries associated with the roundups, including deaths at the capture site, processing pens and holding facilities.
3. Appoint advisory board members to be liaisons with BLM on different parts of the strategy’s implementation.
4. Review all public comments before preparing a final report to Congress on the new strategy and the public’s response to it.
5. Develop a scientific integrity plan
6. Develop a centralized tracking response system for offers of volunteer assistance.
The board also made some specific recommendations on the strategy document. In terms of wild horse and burro welfare, the most important of these were the recommendation offered by Robin Lohnes of the American Horse Protection Association, that BLM track and document the effects of various reproductive control strategies on wild horse behavior and herd dynamics, and the recommendation by Timothy Harvey that BLM utilize bait trapping whenever possible to preserve band structures and minimize stress to horses.
Ironically, one of the Advisory Board’s recommendations was to review previous recommendations that the board has made over the years to see if they are still relevant.
The fight for our wild horses and burros now goes to Congress, where BLM will present its new strategy and lobby for the funds necessary to move forward with the removal of 32,800 horses over the next four years.
It’s clear to us that real reform will not come from within the agency itself, but from Congress, which must force the BLM to modernize its decades-old and failed policies. We must continue to let our Senators and Congressman know that we want reform of this broken federal program– for the horses and burros, and for the taxpayers – and we must grow the number of citizens willing to speak up for our mustangs, if we are to receive lasting reform. If you have not done so yet, take action here to let your Senators know that you do not want the BLM to receive a budget increase that will be used to remove more horses from our public lands in the West, and spread this alert far and wide to your family and friends.
The day began with a BLM overview of the new strategy, presented by Karla Bird, acting director of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program.
At 9 a.m. sharp, the public comment period began. Unlike at previous BLM meetings, this comment period was scheduled before the advisory board voted on its recommendations. Also unlike previous meetings, three full hours were dedicated to public comment, and each speaker was given four minutes to present their case.
About 40 speakers addressed the Advisory Board. The vast majority of speakers were advocates for wild horses.
A handful of ranchers were also present. Several – most notably John Fallon, head of the Public Lands Council – also attended the horse slaughter summit in Las Vegas in January. Mr. Fallon stated in his comments that if BLM goes through with its proposed strategy to remove fewer horses, the Public Lands Council will be forced to explore litigation against the agency.
Speakers advocating a fairer policy for wild horses, including filmmaker Ginger Kathrens, volunteer director of The Cloud Foundation, commented on a variety of issues – from unfair forage allocations to livestock in wild horse habitat areas to the inhumanity of the roundups and some of the tragic incidents associated with them. Comments ranged from specific recommendations for the advisory board to personal accounts of roundup observation and criticism of broader issues related to the mismanagement of the program.
Jill Buckley of the ASPCA spoke about the need to end the inhumane roundups and offered the ASPCA’s help in developing a humane observer program to monitor any roundups that do occur. Timothy Harvey, the new humane advocacy appointee to the Advisory Board, later pressed the BLM to ensure that they responded to the ASPCA’s offer of help, as well as the offers of other members of the public.
On behalf of the coalition of over 40 organizations, including Saving America’s Mustangs, the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA, Suzanne Roy and Deniz Bolbol from the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign focused their remarks on requesting specific recommendations from the Advisory Board. AWHPC highlighted the need for BLM to fully and accurately account for the public comments received on the draft strategy document.
BLM is reporting just 9,000 comments received, but AWHPC has confirmed that our coalition partners submitted at least 45,000 comments. AWHPC asked for a full accounting of comments received and a quantitative analysis of their contents. AWHPC has also submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for all public comments on the strategy document, but BLM has been unable to produce them for four months.
We urged the Advisory Board to recommend that BLM:
• Improve transparency of roundups by installing video cameras on helicopters, at the traps and processing facilities to ensure that all aspects of the roundups are fully transparent.
• Prioritize fertility control and adoption programs over more wild horse removals.
• Actively pursue and cultivate public/private partnership arrangements like Madeleine Pickens/Saving America’s Mustangs proposal to create an eco-sanctuary and the Return to Freedom model program for on-the-range management of wild horses in herd management areas. We stressed the fact that the government has a moral and fiscal responsibility to care for the horses it has removed from their homes on our public lands, and that proposals like Mrs. Pickens’ offer taxpayers a return on their investment, as public funds will be reinvested for the benefit of the horses and the land.
• Avoid reproductive control strategies – such as skewed sex rations and sterilization — that negatively impact wild horse behavior and herd dynamics.
Following the public comments, the Board made six general recommendations to BLM: 1. Fully fund the Mustang Heritage Foundation proposal for adopting out BLM horses.
2. Prepare a fiscal year annual report on fatalities and injuries associated with the roundups, including deaths at the capture site, processing pens and holding facilities.
3. Appoint advisory board members to be liaisons with BLM on different parts of the strategy’s implementation.
4. Review all public comments before preparing a final report to Congress on the new strategy and the public’s response to it.
5. Develop a scientific integrity plan
6. Develop a centralized tracking response system for offers of volunteer assistance.
The board also made some specific recommendations on the strategy document. In terms of wild horse and burro welfare, the most important of these were the recommendation offered by Robin Lohnes of the American Horse Protection Association, that BLM track and document the effects of various reproductive control strategies on wild horse behavior and herd dynamics, and the recommendation by Timothy Harvey that BLM utilize bait trapping whenever possible to preserve band structures and minimize stress to horses.
Ironically, one of the Advisory Board’s recommendations was to review previous recommendations that the board has made over the years to see if they are still relevant.
The fight for our wild horses and burros now goes to Congress, where BLM will present its new strategy and lobby for the funds necessary to move forward with the removal of 32,800 horses over the next four years.
It’s clear to us that real reform will not come from within the agency itself, but from Congress, which must force the BLM to modernize its decades-old and failed policies. We must continue to let our Senators and Congressman know that we want reform of this broken federal program– for the horses and burros, and for the taxpayers – and we must grow the number of citizens willing to speak up for our mustangs, if we are to receive lasting reform. If you have not done so yet, take action here to let your Senators know that you do not want the BLM to receive a budget increase that will be used to remove more horses from our public lands in the West, and spread this alert far and wide to your family and friends.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Breaking News: BLM Annouces that Lack of Funds Translates into No More Wild Horse Roundups for Fiscal Year 2011
Straight from the Horse's Heart
Update from R.T. Fitch at BLM Advisory Board Meeting
Today during opening remarks at the BLM Advisory Board Meeting high ranking agency officials revealed that due to current budget restraints the BLM has canceled all of the summer roundups for fiscal year 2011.
Update from R.T. Fitch at BLM Advisory Board Meeting
BLM Waves White Flag on Destroying Additional Wild Horse Herds
photo by Terry Fitch
This announcement insures that that nearly 5,000 horses slated for removal and eventual obscurity will recieve a second lease on life as 18 HMAs will be saved from the brutal assault waged upon wild horses by BLM helicopter contractors.
Additional updates will be forth coming as they are made available.
Related Articles
- BLM to Hold Possibly Illegal Meeting in Phoenix With Bogus Trustees (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Calls Abrupt Halt to Deadly Winter Wild Horse Roundup (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Wild Horse Advocates’ Press Conference Scheduled for Thursday, March 10 in Phoenix (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Mares of General and Silver King Arrive in RTF’s Care!
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
March 9, 2011 · Leave a Comment
SURPRISE BABY BORN 3 DAYS AFTER ARRIVAL Return to Freedom has rescued five more mares captured in the Silver King and Calico roundups last year. Two of the mares belong to the band stallion “General,” and two are from the stallion “Silver King’s” band. Three days after their arrival we got a big surprise — Silver King’s beautiful buckskin mare gave birth to a gorgeous charcoal-colored foal! Read Tuesday, March 8, 2011
OBAMA Wild Horse Posts Still Unfilled, Board’s Current Makeup Suspect at Best
Straight from the Horse's Heart
story by Steven Long ~ publisher of Horseback Magazine
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – The federal Bureau of Land Management faces a burgeoning scandal that threatens to embroil to cabinet level agencies.
Three members of the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board should have left their post on June 14, 2010, but continue to serve despite shady authority to have their terms extended until new members are appointed.
“The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are reviewing candidates for the categories of Natural Resource Management, Wild Horse and Burro Research, and the General Public Interest with a special emphasis on Equine Behavior,” BLM national spokesman told Horseback Online early Monday.
“Once the Secretaries agree on the selections, appointment letters will be sent out,” Gorey said.
The Obama Administration agency extended the expired terms of three long gone outgoing trustees of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The board members continue to serve. Horseback Online broke the story February 17. And one board member continues to serve under a cloud after allegations she heads a sham horse welfare group.
But Gorey says the old board members whose terms have expired may continue to serve, but cites no statute that enables them to continue in office.
“These terms have been temporarily extended until new nominees are appointed, “ Gorey said then.
Each of the hold over trustees represents an area of the agency’s interest. They are:
Ms. Renee Taylor – Livestock Management
Dr. Vernon D. Dooley – Wild Horse and Burro Management
Dr. J. Wayne Burkhardt – Natural Resources Management
All oversee areas that are in the direct line of fire of wild horse advocates critical of the agency’s massive roundups which some say will eventually cause the North American Mustang to become extinct.
Gorey told Horseback Magazine that BLM Director Bob Abbey has already named the prospective replacement board members but refused to make them public. Asked if the secretive bureau was hiding the identity of its appointees, an official in Abbey’s office said the names are being kept secret, not by law, but through BLM Policy.
story by Steven Long ~ publisher of Horseback Magazine
BLM Board to Meet this Week is BOGUS!
BLM Contractor Chopper attacking lone horse at recent Antelope Complex stampede ~ photo by Terry Fitch
Three members of the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board should have left their post on June 14, 2010, but continue to serve despite shady authority to have their terms extended until new members are appointed.
“The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are reviewing candidates for the categories of Natural Resource Management, Wild Horse and Burro Research, and the General Public Interest with a special emphasis on Equine Behavior,” BLM national spokesman told Horseback Online early Monday.
“Once the Secretaries agree on the selections, appointment letters will be sent out,” Gorey said.
The Obama Administration agency extended the expired terms of three long gone outgoing trustees of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The board members continue to serve. Horseback Online broke the story February 17. And one board member continues to serve under a cloud after allegations she heads a sham horse welfare group.
But Gorey says the old board members whose terms have expired may continue to serve, but cites no statute that enables them to continue in office.
“These terms have been temporarily extended until new nominees are appointed, “ Gorey said then.
Each of the hold over trustees represents an area of the agency’s interest. They are:
Ms. Renee Taylor – Livestock Management
Dr. Vernon D. Dooley – Wild Horse and Burro Management
Dr. J. Wayne Burkhardt – Natural Resources Management
All oversee areas that are in the direct line of fire of wild horse advocates critical of the agency’s massive roundups which some say will eventually cause the North American Mustang to become extinct.
Gorey told Horseback Magazine that BLM Director Bob Abbey has already named the prospective replacement board members but refused to make them public. Asked if the secretive bureau was hiding the identity of its appointees, an official in Abbey’s office said the names are being kept secret, not by law, but through BLM Policy.
Related Articles
- Wild Horse and Burro Preservation Groups Announce Phoenix Press Conference and Rally to Call for Immediate Halt to Roundups (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BLM Blows Off EWA’s Research on Board Member (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Obama’s BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board to Meet in March (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Action Alert: Wild Horse Advocates to Rally at BLM Meeting (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Event: Wild Horses and Burros Need Your Voice (thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com)
- BLM says stampede is a “dirty” word (artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
