Bonnie Erbe

Government Accused of Land Grab in Fight Over Rangeland in the West

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August 24, 2009 RSS Feed Print
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By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

And you thought the Wild West lost its punch at the turn of the 19th century. Well, think again. There are still wars going on over land and water, much as they did in the late 1800s. Only this time, it's not cowboy vs. cowboy, it's people vs. big government.

Supporters of wild horses on federal lands in the West say the Bureau of Land Management is doing its best to round up the herds and send them to the slaughterhouses. These wars used to rage over the range and competition with ranchers. But now, supporters say, there's another enemy: development.

The ranchers and the BLM like to blame "rangeland degradation" (over-grazing) on the wild horses, only they never mention that the privately owned cows that graze these same lands by govt permit outnumber the wild horses 200 to 1!! Nor do they mention the fact that these lands are permitted for other uses that also contribute to rangeland degradation like ATV / ORV use or big game that outnumber the wild horses 3 to 1. However, as it turns out more recently, it is not really about "rangeland degradation" anymore,....its about "land-swapping," special interest, development and "community building." Even the BLM is starting to admit that now,...how could they not? It's getting so obvious these days.

This fight goes beyond animal lovers. It should also be extended to Americans who love open space, the great outdoors, and preservation of this nation's western history. Overdevelopment used to be limited to the two coasts. Now all the land in between is being bought up and paved over. It should be sacrilegious to consider doing so to federally owned lands. The Wild Horse Warriors blog referenced above has suggestions for how you can express your thoughts to the BLM.

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Cloud, was released from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) holding pens on September 09, 2009. Cloud’s family was ripped to pieces by the BLM leaving him with only half of his band’s population and all of the mares chemically sterilized with PZP. There is little hope that Cloud’s bloodline will be able to survive this brutal and unwarranted attack perpetrated by the very federal agency that is charged, by law, with protecting our wild horses and burros, the BLM. Cloud and almost all of the adult horses are footsore and lame from the brutal helicopter drive down the mountainside followed by the return climb back up. The foals are in worse condition and barely able to walk making them a prime target for predators.

Chasing horses, with a helicopter, down a mountainside in 95+ heat for over 10 miles is by no means humane treatment and reeks of lack of common sense.

More evidence that the BLM wants to destroy the wild horses.

AM of MD 8:40AM September 12, 2009

Just for the record: mthorserancher is a quarter horse breeder in Montana that is pro-slaughter.

He clearly does not understand the term inbreeding because inbreeding is encouraged when a herd gets thinned out. Survival is a strong animal instinct so when herds are "thinned" out, the animal has no choice but to inbreed with a close equine relative. The decision by the BLM to "thin" the Pryor Mountains herd is reckless and lacks any science. Noted equine geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran, stated in writing that at least 250 horses were required in the Pryor herd to maintain genetic viability. The removal of 57 horses from the most recent roundup over Labor Day week-end resulting in a total number of less than 120 wild horses remaining greatly threatens genetic viability and will increase the likelihood of inbreeding. Inbreeding leads to increased miscarriages and genetic abnormalities because the DNA between male and female are very close. Inbreeding results in higher mortality and morbidity rates. Taken together, it seems clear that the BLM wants to exterminate the wild horses.

AM of MD 6:02PM September 10, 2009

ForTheHorses,

Why would I watch some video when I live with the mustangs in my back yard. I can see it real life not some video/movie that some one made that they could cut and paste and show things the way they want them to be seen.

I breed and raise horse for a living and have been for 50 years now. I run 3 studs and 50 mares. I know what happens when a stud gets in with a newborn colt that is not his.

BLM has done a fine job up to date taking care of the horses and the land they are on. They are the ones that tell everyone what is going to happen... as long as they do not try and wipe out the whole herd of horses they is just nothing no one can do.. they study this and its worked out a very long time before the gather is done.. its not a spur of the moment thing.

so now go get your check book out and get you some pony's from the wild.

mthorserancher of MT 10:35PM September 09, 2009

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

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