Advocates to confront BLM in Denver on its wild horse policies

BLM Public Workshop, Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting, and Protest in Denver June 14th and 15th

The public has two scheduled opportunities in Denver to voice their concerns to the Bureau of Land Management regarding its conduct of the Wild Horse & Burro program.

The first is at a public workshop promoting the “wild horse sanctuaries” (sponsored by the BLM) on June 14, 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The second is during the public comment period of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting, June 15, 3:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M., when each member of the public will be given either 2 minutes or 3 minutes to speak.

On June 15, 2010, at 11:00 A.M., in front of the Magnolia Hotel, 818 17th Street in Denver, wild horse advocates and members of the public will gather to protest the Bureau of Land Management’s current policy of removing large numbers of wild horses from their historic range. The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, which advises the BLM on it’s own wild horse and burro policy, is meeting on June 15 from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. at this location.

The protesters are calling for a moratorium on wild horse and burro round-ups until an independent agency can determine a more accurate number of wild horses and burros on our public lands.

At the beginning of fiscal year 2010, the BLM stated there were 37,000 wild horses and burros on public lands and that they planned to remove 12,000. In contrast, there are an estimated 2 million head of cattle on those same public lands.

Outraged protesters are also asking for a congressional investigation of the BLM due to the number of animal deaths in recent round-ups. The BLM is currently using round-up techniques which were federally outlawed from 1959 to 1977.

A third and most currently important point of contention is that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is asking Congress for an additional $96 million dollars to create so-called “wild horse sanctuaries” in the eastern United States, which will be nothing more than man-made pastures full of sterilized mustangs, NOT wild horses living on their natural terrain and in wild family bands as the title suggests. This plan is in direct conflict with current federal law. The Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 specifically states that these animals “are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of public lands.”

Wild horse advocates and members of the public feel that they have not been heard in Washington thus far, and so they are gathering to protest in addition to attending these meetings. Link to information about the two BLM meetings: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/may/nr_05_13_2010.html

For additional information, contact:

Cathy Bryarly (event organizer) 303-746-4729
The Cloud Foundation http://www.thecloudfoundation.org 719-633-3842