The Bureau of Land Management is grateful to Madeleine Pickens for her interest in helping the BLM deal with the challenges of managing wild horses and burros, both on and off Western public rangelands. The BLM is committed to continuing its discussions with Mrs. Pickens to address these challenges, which include the effective management of wild horses and burros and the protection of taxpayer dollars expended through the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program.
Last November, Mrs. Pickens offered to take over the care of thousands of wild horses that the BLM holds in facilities across the United States by setting up a private foundation that would care for the animals at no cost to the government, potentially saving American taxpayers millions of dollars.
Mrs. Pickens’ more recent proposal seeks a BLM stipend of $500 per horse, per year for the life of each horse. Under this plan, Mrs. Pickens' foundation would first take about 10,000 wild horses currently in BLM short-term holding facilities (corrals), the costs of which are significantly greater to the BLM than those of keeping horses in long-term holding (pastures).
To realize these potential savings to the BLM, however, Mrs. Pickens’ sanctuary plan would need to meet certain requirements for wild horse management.
First, Mrs. Pickens’ plan to care for these animals at $500 per horse, per year is similar to the long-term holding contracts that the BLM currently has with private landowners in the Midwest, where about 22,000 unadopted or unsold animals are cared for at an annual cost of about $475 per horse. The animals graze on private pastures in Oklahoma, Kansas, and South Dakota, where forage and water are abundant. In contrast to these annual contracts, Mrs. Pickens has asked the BLM to commit to lifetime payments. Because Congress appropriates the agency’s funding on an annual basis, the BLM is not authorized to make such an unlimited commitment.
Second, Mrs. Pickens’ plan proposes to take the animals from private pastures and facilities and instead graze them on private and public lands on a large ranch in Nevada. However, current Federal law prohibits the BLM from using allotments associated with that ranch for grazing wild horses. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act restricts animals to the areas where they were found roaming when the Act was passed in 1971. Unfortunately, none of the BLM grazing allotments that Mrs. Pickens proposes for her sanctuary were areas where wild horses roamed in 1971.
Congress would have to amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to address this aspect of Mrs. Pickens' proposal.
As an alternative, the BLM has offered to advertise a holding contract on private land and welcomes a bid from Mrs. Pickens’ foundation. Open bidding on such a contract would ensure that taxpayers get the maximum benefit from their investment.
The BLM is committed to working with Congress, stakeholders, and the public to ensure the welfare of wild horses and burros, both on and off public rangelands, while also protecting these Western lands from the destructive effects of herd overpopulation.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/march/NR_03_16_2009.html
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Update on the Pickens Plan by Pickens
March 29, 2009
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.
(Click on title above 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
Friday, March 27, 2009
Ranchers Decry Loss of Grazing Permits
Wednesday was bittersweet for rancher Bob Miller, whose family has been running cattle for more than a century on what is now the 53,837-acre Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument southeast of Ashland. He is one of five major lessees whose cattle grazing will end on the monument after the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 becomes law. Passed by the U.S. Senate last week, it was overwhelmingly approved by the House on Wednesday and is expected to be signed soon by President Obama. He and other ranchers have been working with conservationists to come up with an agreement that would allow conservationists to pay the ranchers to retire their grazing leases. The act includes language that makes the grazing retirement possible. The buyout will include no funding from Uncle Sam. "This is not what we wanted, but it's better than nothing," said Miller, who added he would have preferred to continue the lifestyle his family has long followed. The amount being paid to the lessees has not been disclosed. "Nobody is getting enough to start over again," he said. "It's like selling your house for 20 cents on the dollar. You can't replace it." But health reasons, coupled with poor market conditions and growing opposition to grazing on public lands, persuaded him to make the difficult decision, he said. "It's hard," he said. "I'm the fourth generation — for over 100 years my family has been running cattle up there." The language in the act provides for permanent and voluntary retirement of public lands cattle grazing leases by private buyout on up to 106,672 acres of federal land in and around the monument...Mail Tribune
Posted by The Westerner at 6:12 AM
2 comments:
MuleKist said...
Slavery was a "tradition" in this country at one time also. Just because its "traditional" dosent make it right. They graze their cows for about $18.00 per head, but OUR govt pays them $500 per yr per head to allow some of our wild horses to graze (their own lands!)
I say NO COWS in wild horse country. Let the "permitted" cattlemen buy hay & grain for their cows like 99.9% of everybody else in the business.
8:34 PM
MuleKist said...
...that is $18.00 per head per yr., is what the ranchers pay the govt for grazing rights. You try finding grazing land at that price!
By the way, the cows out-number the wild horses 200 to 1, but yet, the horses get the blame for declimating the land.
8:37 PM
Post a Comment
http://thewesterner.blogspot.com/2009/03/for-local-cattle-grazers-bill-may-bring.html
Posted by The Westerner at 6:12 AM
2 comments:
MuleKist said...
Slavery was a "tradition" in this country at one time also. Just because its "traditional" dosent make it right. They graze their cows for about $18.00 per head, but OUR govt pays them $500 per yr per head to allow some of our wild horses to graze (their own lands!)
I say NO COWS in wild horse country. Let the "permitted" cattlemen buy hay & grain for their cows like 99.9% of everybody else in the business.
8:34 PM
MuleKist said...
...that is $18.00 per head per yr., is what the ranchers pay the govt for grazing rights. You try finding grazing land at that price!
By the way, the cows out-number the wild horses 200 to 1, but yet, the horses get the blame for declimating the land.
8:37 PM
Post a Comment
http://thewesterner.blogspot.com/2009/03/for-local-cattle-grazers-bill-may-bring.html
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Bald Eagles, Wild Horses Killed. Culprits Caught.
Four face charges in sales of feathers
Poaching - A man is accused in Oregon of trading in eagle and other raptor feathers
Friday, March 13, 2009
BRYAN DENSON
The Oregonian Staff
Federal authorities have charged one man in Oregon and three in Washington in killing birds of prey -- including America's most enduring symbol, the bald eagle -- to feed the black market for raptor feathers.
Some of the birds were lured with wild mustangs killed for that purpose.
( I wonder do they know that killing wild horses on govt land is also against the law, with fines up to $100,000 per head.)
The suspects, three of whom reportedly lived on the Yakama Indian Reservation, were accused Thursday in criminal complaints of selling federally protected wildlife in 2007 and 2008 to undercover federal agents.
Feathers of the migratory birds hold special significance to Native Americans and are often used in dances and tribal ceremonies. For that reason they have become currency in a thriving black market, especially to those who take part in lucrative dance competitions.
The dancers are judged in part on the quality of their regalia, and many competitions reward regalia constructed from eagle feathers, according to court documents. The feathers of young golden eagles, whose tails are made up of white feathers with black tips, commonly known as black and whites, are among the most sought after.
The demand for these feathers has spawned a network of eagle poachers and traders, according to federal court documents.
While it is lawful for enrolled tribal members with permits to possess eagle feathers, it is against the law to kill eagles or buy or sell their parts, according to Joan Jewett, a spokeswoman for the Pacific region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency collects eagles that die naturally or by accident to supply tribes with eagle parts for religious use.
In July 2007, an undercover agent assigned to the Fish and Wildlife Service, attended the Julyamsh Powwow in Post Falls, Idaho, where he found a man hawking fans of bird feathers. The agent paid the man $450 for three fans.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, the man gave his name, J. J. Lonelodge, and gave the agent a cell phone number.
"I can hook you up with anything you want," the man said. Court documents now identify the man, a tribally enrolled Kiowa, as Reginald Dale Akeen, of Anadarko, Okla.
Federal agents, still undercover, made a series of phone calls to Akeen to buy feathers of golden eagles and other birds. The National Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland confirmed that the feathers purchased from Akeen belonged to golden eagles, anhinga, and a Cooper's hawk.
In September 2007, according to federal authorities, Akeen brokered the sale of a "black and white" fan on the Warm Springs Reservation.
Early last year, authorities began to make buys with at least three residents of the Yakama Indian Reservation.
Ricky Sam Wahchumwah, William Wahsise and Alfred Lawrence Hawk Jr., are accused of selling feathers of golden eagles, bald eagles, red-tail hawks, northern harrier hawks and red-shafted flickers.
Special Agent Robert Romero, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, paid a visit to Hawk last March 21 at his home in White Swan, Wash. He was posing as a buyer of raptor feathers, and -- unknown to Hawk -- he was wired for sound and video, according to federal affidavits that accompanied criminal complaints against the suspects.
Hawk directed the agent to a storage shed and opened a large ice chest that contained the heads, wings and claws of five bald eagles. He later pulled out plastic bags that held the tailfeathers of golden eagles and a shoebox that held the tails of rough-legged hawks and northern harriers, according to the affidavit.
The agent paid $2,720 for various feathers and wings of golden and bald eagles, red-shafted flickers and rough-legged hawks.
"Hawk Jr. said that he and his nephews got up early that morning to go out hunting eagles," wrote Special Agent Charles W. Roberts of the Fish and Wildlife Service, who signed the affidavit. "Hawk Jr. went on to say that they went out to sit on some 'shooters' . . . and eventually killed three eagles."
Shooters, according to the affidavit, were wild horses deliberately killed to bait and attract eagles and raptors.
Bryan Denson: 503-294-7614 bryandenson@...
Poaching - A man is accused in Oregon of trading in eagle and other raptor feathers
Friday, March 13, 2009
BRYAN DENSON
The Oregonian Staff
Federal authorities have charged one man in Oregon and three in Washington in killing birds of prey -- including America's most enduring symbol, the bald eagle -- to feed the black market for raptor feathers.
Some of the birds were lured with wild mustangs killed for that purpose.
( I wonder do they know that killing wild horses on govt land is also against the law, with fines up to $100,000 per head.)
The suspects, three of whom reportedly lived on the Yakama Indian Reservation, were accused Thursday in criminal complaints of selling federally protected wildlife in 2007 and 2008 to undercover federal agents.
Feathers of the migratory birds hold special significance to Native Americans and are often used in dances and tribal ceremonies. For that reason they have become currency in a thriving black market, especially to those who take part in lucrative dance competitions.
The dancers are judged in part on the quality of their regalia, and many competitions reward regalia constructed from eagle feathers, according to court documents. The feathers of young golden eagles, whose tails are made up of white feathers with black tips, commonly known as black and whites, are among the most sought after.
The demand for these feathers has spawned a network of eagle poachers and traders, according to federal court documents.
While it is lawful for enrolled tribal members with permits to possess eagle feathers, it is against the law to kill eagles or buy or sell their parts, according to Joan Jewett, a spokeswoman for the Pacific region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency collects eagles that die naturally or by accident to supply tribes with eagle parts for religious use.
In July 2007, an undercover agent assigned to the Fish and Wildlife Service, attended the Julyamsh Powwow in Post Falls, Idaho, where he found a man hawking fans of bird feathers. The agent paid the man $450 for three fans.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, the man gave his name, J. J. Lonelodge, and gave the agent a cell phone number.
"I can hook you up with anything you want," the man said. Court documents now identify the man, a tribally enrolled Kiowa, as Reginald Dale Akeen, of Anadarko, Okla.
Federal agents, still undercover, made a series of phone calls to Akeen to buy feathers of golden eagles and other birds. The National Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland confirmed that the feathers purchased from Akeen belonged to golden eagles, anhinga, and a Cooper's hawk.
In September 2007, according to federal authorities, Akeen brokered the sale of a "black and white" fan on the Warm Springs Reservation.
Early last year, authorities began to make buys with at least three residents of the Yakama Indian Reservation.
Ricky Sam Wahchumwah, William Wahsise and Alfred Lawrence Hawk Jr., are accused of selling feathers of golden eagles, bald eagles, red-tail hawks, northern harrier hawks and red-shafted flickers.
Special Agent Robert Romero, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, paid a visit to Hawk last March 21 at his home in White Swan, Wash. He was posing as a buyer of raptor feathers, and -- unknown to Hawk -- he was wired for sound and video, according to federal affidavits that accompanied criminal complaints against the suspects.
Hawk directed the agent to a storage shed and opened a large ice chest that contained the heads, wings and claws of five bald eagles. He later pulled out plastic bags that held the tailfeathers of golden eagles and a shoebox that held the tails of rough-legged hawks and northern harriers, according to the affidavit.
The agent paid $2,720 for various feathers and wings of golden and bald eagles, red-shafted flickers and rough-legged hawks.
"Hawk Jr. said that he and his nephews got up early that morning to go out hunting eagles," wrote Special Agent Charles W. Roberts of the Fish and Wildlife Service, who signed the affidavit. "Hawk Jr. went on to say that they went out to sit on some 'shooters' . . . and eventually killed three eagles."
Shooters, according to the affidavit, were wild horses deliberately killed to bait and attract eagles and raptors.
Bryan Denson: 503-294-7614 bryandenson@...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bureau finds further obstacle in Pickens plan
March 23, 2009
The Bureau of Land Management says it cannot commit to paying a $US500-a-year stipend for the lifetime of wild horses under Madeleine Pickens' sanctuary plan because it cannot guarantee the funding.
Pickens, wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, proposes using a million acres of the United States western rangelands for the rehoming and management of the 30,000 wild horses and burros currently held in captivity by authorities.
There are now as many horses held by federal authorities in holding facilities as roam the rangelands in the land-locked states.
The bureau says it is grateful to Pickens for her interest in helping to deal with the challenges of managing wild horses and burros, both on and off Western public rangelands.
However, the bureau has to date raised two issues it has identified as problems with the plan. The first centred on her plan to graze the horses on land where wild horses did not exist before the passing, in 1971, of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The latest centres on funding.
The bureau said that last November, Pickens offered to take over the care of thousands of wild horses held in facilities across the United States by setting up a private foundation that would care for the animals at no cost to the government, potentially saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
"Mrs Pickens' more recent proposal seeks a bureau stipend of $US500 per horse, per year for the life of each horse," the bureau said in a statement.
"Under this plan, Mrs Pickens' foundation would first take about 10,000 wild horses currently in BLM short-term holding facilities (corrals), the costs of which are significantly greater to the BLM than those of keeping horses in long-term holding (pastures).
"To realise these potential savings to the BLM, however, Mrs. Pickens' sanctuary plan would need to meet certain requirements for wild horse management.
"First, Mrs Pickens' plan to care for these animals at $US500 per horse, per year is similar to the long-term holding contracts that the BLM currently has with private landowners in the Midwest, where about 22,000 unadopted or unsold animals are cared for at an annual cost of about $US475 per horse.
"The animals graze on private pastures in Oklahoma, Kansas, and South Dakota, where forage and water are abundant. In contrast to these annual contracts, Mrs. Pickens has asked the BLM to commit to lifetime payments. Because Congress appropriates the agency's funding on an annual basis, the BLM is not authorised to make such an unlimited commitment."
"Second, Mrs Pickens' plan proposes to take the animals from private pastures and facilities and instead graze them on private and public lands on a large ranch in Nevada. However, current Federal law prohibits the BLM from using allotments associated with that ranch for grazing wild horses.
"The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act restricts animals to the areas where they were found roaming when the Act was passed in 1971. Unfortunately, none of the BLM grazing allotments that Mrs Pickens proposes for her sanctuary were areas where wild horses roamed in 1971.
"Congress would have to amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to address this aspect of Mrs Pickens' proposal," the bureau says.
As an alternative, the bureau has offered to advertise a holding contract on private land and welcomes a bid from Mrs Pickens' foundation. "Open bidding on such a contract would ensure that taxpayers get the maximum benefit from their investment."
The bureau says it is committed to working with Congress, stakeholders, and the public to ensure the welfare of wild horses and burros, both on and off public rangelands, while also protecting these Western lands from the destructive effects of herd overpopulation.
"The BLM is committed to continuing its discussions with Mrs Pickens to address these challenges, which include the effective management of wild horses and burros and the protection of taxpayer dollars expended through the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program."
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/03/131.shtml
The Bureau of Land Management says it cannot commit to paying a $US500-a-year stipend for the lifetime of wild horses under Madeleine Pickens' sanctuary plan because it cannot guarantee the funding.
Pickens, wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, proposes using a million acres of the United States western rangelands for the rehoming and management of the 30,000 wild horses and burros currently held in captivity by authorities.
There are now as many horses held by federal authorities in holding facilities as roam the rangelands in the land-locked states.
The bureau says it is grateful to Pickens for her interest in helping to deal with the challenges of managing wild horses and burros, both on and off Western public rangelands.
However, the bureau has to date raised two issues it has identified as problems with the plan. The first centred on her plan to graze the horses on land where wild horses did not exist before the passing, in 1971, of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The latest centres on funding.
The bureau said that last November, Pickens offered to take over the care of thousands of wild horses held in facilities across the United States by setting up a private foundation that would care for the animals at no cost to the government, potentially saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
"Mrs Pickens' more recent proposal seeks a bureau stipend of $US500 per horse, per year for the life of each horse," the bureau said in a statement.
"Under this plan, Mrs Pickens' foundation would first take about 10,000 wild horses currently in BLM short-term holding facilities (corrals), the costs of which are significantly greater to the BLM than those of keeping horses in long-term holding (pastures).
"To realise these potential savings to the BLM, however, Mrs. Pickens' sanctuary plan would need to meet certain requirements for wild horse management.
"First, Mrs Pickens' plan to care for these animals at $US500 per horse, per year is similar to the long-term holding contracts that the BLM currently has with private landowners in the Midwest, where about 22,000 unadopted or unsold animals are cared for at an annual cost of about $US475 per horse.
"The animals graze on private pastures in Oklahoma, Kansas, and South Dakota, where forage and water are abundant. In contrast to these annual contracts, Mrs. Pickens has asked the BLM to commit to lifetime payments. Because Congress appropriates the agency's funding on an annual basis, the BLM is not authorised to make such an unlimited commitment."
"Second, Mrs Pickens' plan proposes to take the animals from private pastures and facilities and instead graze them on private and public lands on a large ranch in Nevada. However, current Federal law prohibits the BLM from using allotments associated with that ranch for grazing wild horses.
"The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act restricts animals to the areas where they were found roaming when the Act was passed in 1971. Unfortunately, none of the BLM grazing allotments that Mrs Pickens proposes for her sanctuary were areas where wild horses roamed in 1971.
"Congress would have to amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to address this aspect of Mrs Pickens' proposal," the bureau says.
As an alternative, the bureau has offered to advertise a holding contract on private land and welcomes a bid from Mrs Pickens' foundation. "Open bidding on such a contract would ensure that taxpayers get the maximum benefit from their investment."
The bureau says it is committed to working with Congress, stakeholders, and the public to ensure the welfare of wild horses and burros, both on and off public rangelands, while also protecting these Western lands from the destructive effects of herd overpopulation.
"The BLM is committed to continuing its discussions with Mrs Pickens to address these challenges, which include the effective management of wild horses and burros and the protection of taxpayer dollars expended through the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program."
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/03/131.shtml
Monday, March 9, 2009
Wyoming "selling" Wild Horses Cheap: Creating a "Kill-buyers Ball"
Wild horses roam the Red Desert in this 2006 file photo. (Ken Driese/Star-Tribune correspondent)
Oh yes, they call it "adoption," but we know what happens to the "adopted" ones after only one year.....
By JEFF GEARINO
Southwest Wyoming bureau
Friday, March 6, 2009 11:01 PM MST
ROCK SPRINGS -- It's a sure sign that things really are tough all over: rock-bottom prices for horses.
Bureau of Land Management officials announced the agency will offer 30 mares for adoption at its Rock Springs holding facility next week for a "special incentive fee" of $25 per animal, or $100 off the regular fee.
Three other horses will be available for adoption at the regular fee of $125, said BLM spokeswoman Lorraine Keith.
The offer is a spin on a past BLM price offer -- $125 per horse and $25 more for a "buddy" -- and is indicative of the agency's struggle to find buyers for wild horses.
The 30 mares, two halter-trained two-year-old geldings and one halter-trained five-year-old mare to be offered in the Rock Springs sale were captured last year during BLM wild horse roundups.
The roundups depleted herds in the Salt Wells, White Mountain, Little Colorado, Great Divide Basin and Adobe Town herd management areas in southwest Wyoming.
The reduced fee is one of the agency's latest efforts to boost sagging wild horse adoptions, which have declined sharply in the past year because of the economic downturn.
The BLM rounds up wild horses from herds in Wyoming that have grown too large to be sustained by the available forage, and makes them available for adoption by the public.
Without any predators, wild horse populations can grow quickly and put strains on available federal habitat.
There are about 33,000 wild horses on public rangelands across the West and some 4,500 wild horses in Wyoming, most of which are located in Sweetwater County.
There are also about 33,000 horses and burros currently in BLM holding pens across the country at a cost of about $28 million per year.
In 2002, more than 7,700 horses were adopted nationwide, according to BLM figures. But last year, as part of a steady decline, the number of adopted horses dropped to 3,700.
For the past several years, BLM biologists have been ramping up contraceptive programs in an effort to reduce fertility in wild herds. The Government Accountability Office has suggested the BLM consider euthanizing wild horses to cut costs.
And last year, Madeleine Pickens, the wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, proposed establishing a privately financed wild horse sanctuary that could be home to the excess animals gathered from Western ranges.
Contact southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino at 307-875-5359 or gearino@tribcsp.com
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2009/03/07/news/wyoming/3227093a9b0c8f138725757200057060.txt
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Recession Snags Plan for Wild Horse Sanctuary
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 7, 2009; Page A02
The gauzy dream of Madeleine Pickens, the wife of billionaire T. Boone
Pickens, to save thousands of wild horses from government slaughter and
turn them free in an "ecosanctuary" is crashing against the reality of
bureaucracy and recession.
When Pickens offered in November to rescue more than 30,000 wild
mustangs and burros in federal holding pens and move them to a permanent
retirement ranch open to the public, she spoke of saving tax dollars by
setting up a private foundation to care for the animals.
Now, as the economy worsens by the week, Pickens says philanthropic
donations are as dry as tumbleweed, and she wants the federal government
to pay her about $15 million a year to care for the horses she would
take off its hands.
"Let me tell you this, seriously, you know, we're having a horrible
financial crisis and it has hurt everybody," Pickens testified before a
House Natural Resources subcommittee this week. "There isn't one person
I can go to now to ask them to contribute to the foundation. I mean,
before, I had so many friends I could go to."
Pickens still intends to spend $25 million to $50 million to purchase
land for the ecosanctuary, but the deal is unworkable without government
help, said Lee Otteni, who is retired from the federal Bureau of Land
Management and working on the project for Pickens.
She has identified 1 million acres of suitable land in Nevada, home to
half the nation's wild horse population. About half the land is
privately held now, and the rest is federal property. Pickens told
lawmakers of her hope to create a place where city children, Boy and
Girl Scouts, families, 4-H members and animal lovers of all kinds could
stay overnight in log cabins, sit by campfires and admire the mustangs
while learning about their place in American culture. Families could
drive a 50-mile road and see horses along the way, Otteni said.
Officials with the Bureau of Land Management initially embraced Pickens
as a savior. They have been struggling with the growing financial and
political headache of caring for the wild horses and burros that roam
federal lands in 10 Western states. The horses, which date back to the
time of the Spanish conquistadors, compete for food with cattle owned by
ranchers who lease grazing rights on the land from the government.
Officials say the range can handle about 27,000 horses. The excess
animals are rounded up and put into holding facilities to await
adoption. In recent years, the government has shrunk the open space
available to the horses by about 19 million acres, resulting in more
roundups. The bureau has typically gathered about 10,000 horses a year.
But adoptions have slowed significantly in the past five years, and the
cost of feeding and caring for the horses has grown sharply, decimating
the bureau's budget and creating what the Government Accountability
Office calls a "crisis."
The government is now caring for about as many horses in holding
facilities as the 33,000 that roam wild. This year, the bureau expects
to spend about $10.3 million on horses in long-term holding facilities
and $22.6 million on horses in short-term corrals.
The problem has grown so extreme, bureau officials have reluctantly
begun to consider a legal but controversial solution: euthanasia.
That horrified Pickens, a racehorse breeder and animal lover who, along
with her husband, airlifted 800 cats and dogs stranded by Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans and brought them to California for adoption.
T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital and a longtime Republican
donor, has grown increasingly visible in the cause of alternative
energy. He is traveling the country promoting the "Pickens Plan," which
encourages the creation of wind farms and calls for a greater reliance
on natural gas to slow global warming.
While her husband supports her, Madeleine Pickens is the chief architect
of the wild horse plan.
She says she wants to adopt all wild horses and burros being held in
federal pens, sterilize them and turn them loose on her retirement
ranch. As the government rounds up additional horses each year, she
says, she could absorb them because they would replace horses that die
from natural causes.
When she floated her plan in November, Pickens was saluted as a heroine
by animal lovers around the globe. She became ABC News's "Person of the
Week," one fan wrote a song about mustangs in her honor, media outlets
from as far away as Australia called, and a German documentary-maker is
following her around with a camera.
Born in Europe, Pickens has said that she fell in love with America
after steady viewing of "Bonanza," the '60s TV western. "From the time I
was a little girl, I dreamed of coming to this incredible country," she
told lawmakers. "I was filled with visions of the Wild West, where
horses roamed free. . . . Probably no other image around the world
symbolizes America like that of the wild horse."
Initially, Pickens said she would need federal tax credits to attract
donors. But Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who met with
her, was cool to that idea.
Ron Wenker, the Nevada state director for the Bureau of Land Management,
said the money Pickens is seeking -- $500 per horse per year -- is about
the same amount the government pays private ranchers who host wild
horses long term on their pastures under federal contracts.
But a federal agency that relies on annual appropriations from Congress
has no authority to commit to ad infinitum payments to Pickens, Wenker
said. Furthermore, he said, the property that she wants is ineligible
under a federal law that restricts horses to public lands that they
inhabited as of 1971.
When Pickens pitched her idea last fall, there was no mention of
payments from the government, Wenker said. If anything, the government
usually charges a nominal fee to people who want to adopt wild horses,
he said.
Pickens maintains that her proposal will save the government over the
long run -- $700 million by 2020 -- because it will no longer have to
fund expensive short-term holding facilities. In addition, because
horses that roam free tend to die sooner than those kept in holding
facilities, the horses on her ranch will live shorter lives, costing the
government less.
She says her plan is stalling because the bureaucracy cannot respond to
an innovative solution.
"They say, 'Oh, she wants taxpayers' money,' " Pickens said. "No, I'm
trying to save taxpayer money. They have more horses in holding than
they do on the range. That's not good for the horses, and that's not
good for the taxpayers."
Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.) has introduced a bill that would allow
wild horses on the federal land being eyed by Pickens. Among other
things, his plan would also prohibit federal officials from slaughtering
any horse that is not terminally ill.
Pickens's proposal makes sense for taxpayers, Rahall said. "Her plan
uses a combination of private resources and public funds," he said. "And
in today's tight budget, that's nothing to walk away from."
**********************************
Here is a novel idea;
WILD HORSE SANCTUARY ON GOVT INDIAN LANDS? WHY NOT?
Click title above to see petition;
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 7, 2009; Page A02
The gauzy dream of Madeleine Pickens, the wife of billionaire T. Boone
Pickens, to save thousands of wild horses from government slaughter and
turn them free in an "ecosanctuary" is crashing against the reality of
bureaucracy and recession.
When Pickens offered in November to rescue more than 30,000 wild
mustangs and burros in federal holding pens and move them to a permanent
retirement ranch open to the public, she spoke of saving tax dollars by
setting up a private foundation to care for the animals.
Now, as the economy worsens by the week, Pickens says philanthropic
donations are as dry as tumbleweed, and she wants the federal government
to pay her about $15 million a year to care for the horses she would
take off its hands.
"Let me tell you this, seriously, you know, we're having a horrible
financial crisis and it has hurt everybody," Pickens testified before a
House Natural Resources subcommittee this week. "There isn't one person
I can go to now to ask them to contribute to the foundation. I mean,
before, I had so many friends I could go to."
Pickens still intends to spend $25 million to $50 million to purchase
land for the ecosanctuary, but the deal is unworkable without government
help, said Lee Otteni, who is retired from the federal Bureau of Land
Management and working on the project for Pickens.
She has identified 1 million acres of suitable land in Nevada, home to
half the nation's wild horse population. About half the land is
privately held now, and the rest is federal property. Pickens told
lawmakers of her hope to create a place where city children, Boy and
Girl Scouts, families, 4-H members and animal lovers of all kinds could
stay overnight in log cabins, sit by campfires and admire the mustangs
while learning about their place in American culture. Families could
drive a 50-mile road and see horses along the way, Otteni said.
Officials with the Bureau of Land Management initially embraced Pickens
as a savior. They have been struggling with the growing financial and
political headache of caring for the wild horses and burros that roam
federal lands in 10 Western states. The horses, which date back to the
time of the Spanish conquistadors, compete for food with cattle owned by
ranchers who lease grazing rights on the land from the government.
Officials say the range can handle about 27,000 horses. The excess
animals are rounded up and put into holding facilities to await
adoption. In recent years, the government has shrunk the open space
available to the horses by about 19 million acres, resulting in more
roundups. The bureau has typically gathered about 10,000 horses a year.
But adoptions have slowed significantly in the past five years, and the
cost of feeding and caring for the horses has grown sharply, decimating
the bureau's budget and creating what the Government Accountability
Office calls a "crisis."
The government is now caring for about as many horses in holding
facilities as the 33,000 that roam wild. This year, the bureau expects
to spend about $10.3 million on horses in long-term holding facilities
and $22.6 million on horses in short-term corrals.
The problem has grown so extreme, bureau officials have reluctantly
begun to consider a legal but controversial solution: euthanasia.
That horrified Pickens, a racehorse breeder and animal lover who, along
with her husband, airlifted 800 cats and dogs stranded by Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans and brought them to California for adoption.
T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital and a longtime Republican
donor, has grown increasingly visible in the cause of alternative
energy. He is traveling the country promoting the "Pickens Plan," which
encourages the creation of wind farms and calls for a greater reliance
on natural gas to slow global warming.
While her husband supports her, Madeleine Pickens is the chief architect
of the wild horse plan.
She says she wants to adopt all wild horses and burros being held in
federal pens, sterilize them and turn them loose on her retirement
ranch. As the government rounds up additional horses each year, she
says, she could absorb them because they would replace horses that die
from natural causes.
When she floated her plan in November, Pickens was saluted as a heroine
by animal lovers around the globe. She became ABC News's "Person of the
Week," one fan wrote a song about mustangs in her honor, media outlets
from as far away as Australia called, and a German documentary-maker is
following her around with a camera.
Born in Europe, Pickens has said that she fell in love with America
after steady viewing of "Bonanza," the '60s TV western. "From the time I
was a little girl, I dreamed of coming to this incredible country," she
told lawmakers. "I was filled with visions of the Wild West, where
horses roamed free. . . . Probably no other image around the world
symbolizes America like that of the wild horse."
Initially, Pickens said she would need federal tax credits to attract
donors. But Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who met with
her, was cool to that idea.
Ron Wenker, the Nevada state director for the Bureau of Land Management,
said the money Pickens is seeking -- $500 per horse per year -- is about
the same amount the government pays private ranchers who host wild
horses long term on their pastures under federal contracts.
But a federal agency that relies on annual appropriations from Congress
has no authority to commit to ad infinitum payments to Pickens, Wenker
said. Furthermore, he said, the property that she wants is ineligible
under a federal law that restricts horses to public lands that they
inhabited as of 1971.
When Pickens pitched her idea last fall, there was no mention of
payments from the government, Wenker said. If anything, the government
usually charges a nominal fee to people who want to adopt wild horses,
he said.
Pickens maintains that her proposal will save the government over the
long run -- $700 million by 2020 -- because it will no longer have to
fund expensive short-term holding facilities. In addition, because
horses that roam free tend to die sooner than those kept in holding
facilities, the horses on her ranch will live shorter lives, costing the
government less.
She says her plan is stalling because the bureaucracy cannot respond to
an innovative solution.
"They say, 'Oh, she wants taxpayers' money,' " Pickens said. "No, I'm
trying to save taxpayer money. They have more horses in holding than
they do on the range. That's not good for the horses, and that's not
good for the taxpayers."
Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.) has introduced a bill that would allow
wild horses on the federal land being eyed by Pickens. Among other
things, his plan would also prohibit federal officials from slaughtering
any horse that is not terminally ill.
Pickens's proposal makes sense for taxpayers, Rahall said. "Her plan
uses a combination of private resources and public funds," he said. "And
in today's tight budget, that's nothing to walk away from."
**********************************
Here is a novel idea;
WILD HORSE SANCTUARY ON GOVT INDIAN LANDS? WHY NOT?
Click title above to see petition;
Saturday, March 7, 2009
House panel takes up bill to protect wild hors
By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press Writer
The wife of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens says her proposal for a wild horse sanctuary in the West would be good for the country and save the government close to a billion dollars over the next decade.
Madeleine Pickens told a House subcommittee on Tuesday that the proposed sanctuary for 30,000 wild horses would create a "living museum" for an icon of the American West. It also would prevent the "barbaric" slaughter of thousands of horses, Pickens told the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
But a top federal official said the Pickens plan — initially welcomed as a way to save thousands of horses from being euthanized — is "problematic" and not viable as proposed.
"We really appreciate Mrs. Pickens' proposal, but it has presented some problems," said Ed Roberson, assistant director of renewable resources and planning for the Bureau of Land Management, which runs the wild horse program.
Pickens, a Dallas resident and lifelong equestrian, proposed a wild horse sanctuary last fall after the BLM said it was considering euthanasia to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the open range in long-term holding facilities.
Roberson said officials are willing to continue talks with Pickens, but face "unique challenges" in trying to care for wild horses while keeping down costs that topped $36 million last year. Annual costs could grow to $85 million by 2012 if the program is not changed, the BLM says.
Pickens has said her planned million-acre refuge in Nevada should receive a federal stipend of $500 per horse per year — or $15 million a year for 30,000 horses — in return for taking the animals off the government's hands. She estimated her plan would save the government as much as $700 million in costs otherwise spent for long-term holding by 2020.
The refuge would be located in part on public lands, most likely in Elko County in northeastern Nevada. Pickens said federal land was necessary because horses can roam up to 50 miles a day, but Roberson called it "problematic" to try to combine federal and private property for the program.
The BLM's acting head said a foundation run by Pickens could get a federal contract to care for the horses on private land, or the foundation could own and care for the horses without any federal compensation, but Pickens said she was disappointed at the BLM's response to her offer.
"It's sad but somewhat predictable," she said, citing what she called the agency's longtime mishandling of the wild horse and burro program.
About 33,000 wild horses roam in 10 Western states, more than half in Nevada. Thousands of horses also roam in Wyoming, California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona. The animals are managed by the BLM and protected under a 1971 law enacted by Congress.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said the current program is not working, saying, "Essentially the BLM is running a captive horse program" at great cost to taxpayers.
Pacelle and Pickens testified Tuesday in favor of a bill to ban killing of healthy horses and burros that roam public lands, and set aside more federal land for the animals.
Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., sponsored the bill, saying it would ensure horses are not killed to save money.
"Let me state that the BLM is not going to slaughter 30,000 wild horses — not under this chairman," said Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
___
On the Net:
The bill is H.R. 1018. Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=221614107&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3D20090304-stolfiler-nv0291
The wife of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens says her proposal for a wild horse sanctuary in the West would be good for the country and save the government close to a billion dollars over the next decade.
Madeleine Pickens told a House subcommittee on Tuesday that the proposed sanctuary for 30,000 wild horses would create a "living museum" for an icon of the American West. It also would prevent the "barbaric" slaughter of thousands of horses, Pickens told the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
But a top federal official said the Pickens plan — initially welcomed as a way to save thousands of horses from being euthanized — is "problematic" and not viable as proposed.
"We really appreciate Mrs. Pickens' proposal, but it has presented some problems," said Ed Roberson, assistant director of renewable resources and planning for the Bureau of Land Management, which runs the wild horse program.
Pickens, a Dallas resident and lifelong equestrian, proposed a wild horse sanctuary last fall after the BLM said it was considering euthanasia to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the open range in long-term holding facilities.
Roberson said officials are willing to continue talks with Pickens, but face "unique challenges" in trying to care for wild horses while keeping down costs that topped $36 million last year. Annual costs could grow to $85 million by 2012 if the program is not changed, the BLM says.
Pickens has said her planned million-acre refuge in Nevada should receive a federal stipend of $500 per horse per year — or $15 million a year for 30,000 horses — in return for taking the animals off the government's hands. She estimated her plan would save the government as much as $700 million in costs otherwise spent for long-term holding by 2020.
The refuge would be located in part on public lands, most likely in Elko County in northeastern Nevada. Pickens said federal land was necessary because horses can roam up to 50 miles a day, but Roberson called it "problematic" to try to combine federal and private property for the program.
The BLM's acting head said a foundation run by Pickens could get a federal contract to care for the horses on private land, or the foundation could own and care for the horses without any federal compensation, but Pickens said she was disappointed at the BLM's response to her offer.
"It's sad but somewhat predictable," she said, citing what she called the agency's longtime mishandling of the wild horse and burro program.
About 33,000 wild horses roam in 10 Western states, more than half in Nevada. Thousands of horses also roam in Wyoming, California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona. The animals are managed by the BLM and protected under a 1971 law enacted by Congress.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said the current program is not working, saying, "Essentially the BLM is running a captive horse program" at great cost to taxpayers.
Pacelle and Pickens testified Tuesday in favor of a bill to ban killing of healthy horses and burros that roam public lands, and set aside more federal land for the animals.
Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., sponsored the bill, saying it would ensure horses are not killed to save money.
"Let me state that the BLM is not going to slaughter 30,000 wild horses — not under this chairman," said Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
___
On the Net:
The bill is H.R. 1018. Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=221614107&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3D20090304-stolfiler-nv0291
Thursday, March 5, 2009
American Indians PRAY for Horse Slaughter Plants
Last summer, The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) quietly petitioned the US Congress to amend HR 503, our anti-horse slaughter bill, to allow for the building of horse-slaughter plants on tribal lands, they did so, "Invoking the devine blessing of the creator upon (their) efforts,".....
Click on title above which will open up to a petition and there you will find a pdf link to the text of the proposed (ungodly) amendment.
Click on title above which will open up to a petition and there you will find a pdf link to the text of the proposed (ungodly) amendment.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Nevada: Wild Horse Sanctuary ‘Not Viable’
National Briefing | West
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 2, 2009
The United States Bureau of Land Management said an offer from Madeleine Pickens, the wife of the Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, to establish a sanctuary for 30,000 wild horses is “problematic” and not viable as proposed. Nevertheless, the bureau said it would continue talks with Ms. Pickens, who proposed establishing a sanctuary after the bureau said it was considering euthanasia to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the open range in long-term holding areas. About 33,000 wild horses roam in 10 Western states, and about of them are in Nevada.
A version of this article appeared in print on March 3, 2009, on page A17 of the New York edition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/us/03brfs-HORSESANCTUA_BRF.html?_r=1
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 2, 2009
The United States Bureau of Land Management said an offer from Madeleine Pickens, the wife of the Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, to establish a sanctuary for 30,000 wild horses is “problematic” and not viable as proposed. Nevertheless, the bureau said it would continue talks with Ms. Pickens, who proposed establishing a sanctuary after the bureau said it was considering euthanasia to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the open range in long-term holding areas. About 33,000 wild horses roam in 10 Western states, and about of them are in Nevada.
A version of this article appeared in print on March 3, 2009, on page A17 of the New York edition.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/us/03brfs-HORSESANCTUA_BRF.html?_r=1
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Madeleine Pickens "in the House" on C-SPAN, 3/3
Restoring our American Mustang (R.O.A.M.) Act
Madeleine Pickens is testifying before the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and Committee on Natural Resources on H.R. 1018 - the Restoring our American Mustang (ROAM) Act. The hearing is Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 10.00 am 2009 in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Also testifying on behalf of H.R. 1018 are D.J. Schubert, wildlife biologist for the Animal Welfare Institute; Wayne Pacelle, CEO and President of HSUS.
It may be viewed on C-SPAN or you may watch it online.
Learn more about the Committee on Natural Resources at their website.
Madeleine Pickens is testifying before the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and Committee on Natural Resources on H.R. 1018 - the Restoring our American Mustang (ROAM) Act. The hearing is Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 10.00 am 2009 in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Also testifying on behalf of H.R. 1018 are D.J. Schubert, wildlife biologist for the Animal Welfare Institute; Wayne Pacelle, CEO and President of HSUS.
It may be viewed on C-SPAN or you may watch it online.
Learn more about the Committee on Natural Resources at their website.
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