The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the full light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny…it is the light that guides your way.
— Heraclitus
This article is about two government agencies who lie to the general public to obtain their yearly budgets. It is about information often misrepresented by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of the Interior (DOI). Truthfully, it is about integrity, personal choices, and ethics in accord with government agencies and how they destroy values and ethics daily.
The example shown is nothing more or less than what is ongoing, continuously, with these agencies. One instance like many others through the years, due to complacency within our government investigative and legal communities, essentially the checks-n-balance system within our government, no longer hold our government accountable what so ever, not doing their jobs. This must change, and change it will. . .
Also, within the example contained herein the Safari Club is mentioned, as it is used within the context of the Federal Court Ruling and the statements given by these groups afterward, yes a special interest group. It shows how information can be taken out of context, and how special interest groups use our government agencies and waste our tax dollars, for their purpose.
Safari Club International
The Safari Club throughout history and well documented, assumes their interests in hunting can exceed laws or ethics of any type here in America. They believe to have the “Right” to destroy America’s wildlife, exclusively. This includes the selective ability for the extinction of wildlife, with no qualification other than to belong to this club; whereas, the BLM and the DOI supports them and all the while using our tax money to do so, in this case liquidating wild horses from Public Lands, costing taxpayers $$$$ Billions!
The Safari Club wants Wild Horses off Public Lands to make more room for Game Animals and for hunting purposes. They write a lot about horse grazing, but their misinformation in regard to horse-grazing shown to be false. Then there is abundant science, which also shows the Safari Club information erroneous.
Also within this particular Federal Court Proceeding, the cost to the taxpayer to represent the BLM / DOI, and the court expense itself, was in excess of $1.9 million dollars.
Example of Misrepresentation: A Federal Court Case
The Example: Decision of U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman, In Defense of Animals, et al., v. Ken Salazar, et al., May 24, 2010
The Safari Club stated, “Plaintiffs, including an animal rights group, had launched baseless attacks on BLM’s management practices in a federal lawsuit. On May 24, 2010 the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, based on arguments provided by SCI, dismissed the lawsuit, finding that none of the plaintiffs had “standing” to sue.” (http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/story/1274942614j1f7k1g8j78 )
LEGAL MEANING: Standing to sue — in law, the requirement that a person who brings a suit be a proper party to request adjudication of the particular issue involved. The test traditionally applied was whether the party had a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy presented and whether the dispute touched upon the legal relations of the parties having adverse legal interests.
One has got to wonder about the standards fitting for “Standing” to sue, as the Safari Club was there, certainly a special interest having nothing to do with America other than take something from us all, but with a counter-suite right beside the Department of Justice who represented the BLM. . .
The BLM and their reaction, ” Yesterday (Monday, May 24, 2010), U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled in favor of the Bureau of Land Management in a lawsuit that challenged the BLM’s recent gather of wild horses from the Calico Mountains Complex in Nevada. “We are satisfied with Judge Friedman’s ruling and believe that the decision stands on its own,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey. “The BLM will continue to implement land-use planning decisions based on the best science available. We will continue to follow the law and seek public input as we chart a new course for the Wild Horse and Burro Program, one that benefits the animals, the land, and the American taxpayer.“ (http://themustangproject.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/judge-friedman-rules-in-favor-of-blm-in-calico-lawsuit-may-24-2010/ )
And yet the truth, “The Calico lawsuit, filed pro bono by the law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney (BIR), sought to stop the roundup of a proposed 2,500 wild horses from the half-million (500,000) acre herd management area complex, which is comprised primarily of publicly-owned lands. In a preliminary ruling, the Court agreed that the government’s practice of sending wild horses to the Midwest and warehousing them in long-term holding facilities as likely illegal.
“Today’s decision did not address the merits of that argument, only the lack of standing by plaintiffs to bring it. The Judge also ruled that the arguments challenging the roundup methods were moot because the roundup had already occurred.”
“We remain confident in the merits of our case and look forward to pursuing this legal issue in the near future,” said William J. Spriggs, lead counsel for BIR in this case. “The BLM’s practice of removing horses from the western range and warehousing them in Midwestern holding facilities is flat out illegal, and the judge’s preliminary ruling in this regard was correct.” (http://www.idanews.org/ida-breaking-news/calico-wild-horse-lawsuit-05-24-2010/ )
Facts and Figures
No one can be happy who has been thrust outside the pale of truth. And there are two ways that one can be removed from this realm: by lying, or by being lied to.
— Seneca
So we either understand or do not understand the complexity of law, or court room semantics compared to our English language. In this scenario it makes no difference. Then we have the facts. The facts in this case are, just as in so many of the court cases having to deal with BLM’s bad management of America’s Wild Horse Herds, quite real and strikingly in opposition to BLM or DOI management principles or laws.
When we remove the window dressing of BLM jargon, as well as special interest group statements based mostly on greed and their narrow concerns, we can find truth. We then discover, in an obvious manner, these government agencies are concerned about the American Public’s acceptability of the term “Acceptable Abuse” but nothing to counter the problem of the actual abuse, one of many other problems with these agencies.
Our tax money pays for the abuse and slaughter of Wild Horses. This is a well documented fact; whereas, death and abusive practices at roundups, and much more uncalled for and callous abusive methods prevails, not uncommon. Then from simple observation, it is apparent our government agencies management people directly responsible and indeed influence situations of abuse, inadequate techniques, incompetence, and just as often criminal activity (i.e. see PEER Report 1993 Undercover Investigation of BLM and the Wild Horse and Burro Program).
Facts always cumbersome to BLM / DOI
From the start we can acknowledge the fact of removing the Wild Horses from Public Lands cannot be verified by proper scientific, or even numeric equations or formulas for a proper count of wild horses on Public Lands. The BLM simply does not have the capacity to perform or generate a proper Wild Horse Herd count what so ever. This controversy remains questionable due to the averaging technique and guess work (i.e. estimates) given to the public by BLM staff.
The fact is, through BLM staff admitting such, is they roughly estimate the wild horse herds size by a projected percentage of stallions to mares and birth of foals; In another words a non-conclusive piece of “guesswork!”
The numbers simply do not, and previously over the years have not, held up to scrutiny or observance of actual numbers on the range. Never! As well, BLM staff and upper management have never allowed a head-count by Advocates, or by an independent group, of either Wild Horse Herds on the range or within any of the BLM holding facilities.
Yet, taxpayers money is used to house wild horses that should never have been rounded up (per-roundup costing taxpayers $1 million to $30 million dollars) what so ever, storing them at a cost of $52+ million dollars per year, and that is just the holding facilities we know about for sure. Criminal behavior, skimming finances, and graft remains abundant.
Another ugly and unforgettable fact about the BLM, this particular government agency, along with the Department of the Interior, remain the most litigated and costly agencies in American history. Not only do each of these government agencies have budgets comparable to many countries worldwide, but the criminality and tendency to support corporations and special interest groups with our tax money abounds and remains uncontrolled and unsupervised.
Fee collection in many instances from these same corporations, or extremely low fees, far below commercial rates of land usage, remains abundant as well. Yes, criminal in nature.
The Calico Complex Roundup Evaluation
Then we have more FACTS, which BLM or DOI has never been held accountable, and in the matter of the Calico Complex Roundup. Keep in mind while reading that this roundup similar to ALL the rest, and currently being done in similar and abusive ways. Nothing changes over the years. . . Yes, these people at these particular government agencies lie, and not so profound, they lie continuously to the American public. The following was taken from a evaluation report of the same area and roundup, as mentioned within the Federal Court documentation above:
“Of the 1,922 Calico horses reported as captured by the BLM between December 28, 2009 and February 4, 2010, 86 horses have died to date. Dozens more sustained injuries as a direct result of the helicopter stampede, transport to short-term holding, or confinement in “feedlot”-type holding pens. An additional 40 heavily pregnant mares spontaneously aborted.
Based on BLM reports and expert opinion, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) concludes that a majority of the deaths of the captured Calico horses are related to the trauma and stress of the roundup and capture, the trauma associated with social loss sustained in the destruction of horse family bands, and the ongoing stress of captivity in an unnatural environment.”
“43 percent of deaths were attributed to diet and metabolic failure, a condition related to
the physiological changes induced by the trauma of the roundup and the ongoing
stressors related to captivity in BLM holding pens;
22 percent of the deaths were attributed solely to “poor condition,” with a majority of
those deaths involving older horses, raising serious humanitarian concerns about
subjecting elderly and ailing horses to the trauma of a helicopter stampede and capture;
19 percent of the deaths were attributed to traumatic injury either at the capture site or in
the holding pens, including broken necks, spinal and pelvis injuries, fatal hoof and leg
damage sustained in the helicopter stampede;
The high number of spontaneous abortions (at least 40), which are directly related to the
winter roundup when heavily pregnant mares are subjected to stress and trauma.
In addition to the high cost to the horses, the AWHPC notes the expense of the Calico roundup, which will cost taxpayers at least $1.5 million through May, and $800,000 a year to warehouse the non-adoptable horses over their 20+ year life spans. This costly policy, which relies on expensive roundups every four years, is pursued while cost-effective on-the-range management strategies are ignored.” (http://thecloudfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/death-report-final.pdf )
CONCLUSIVELY
As Americans we can come to good conclusions, not rhetoric or a stream of misinformation. We listen and observe BLM and DOI, and even some of their special interest groups rant and rave about Horse Advocates. We hear a lot of name calling, a lot of rhetoric toward their explanation of questionable situations, and a lot of references to data that either does not exist, or had been changed, or the data manipulated to such an extent as to become non-useful. All at taxpayer expense.
We have all witnessed, at one time or another, the continuous abuse of America’s Wild Horse Herds and many have spoke up quite often — Yet ignored not only by the Inspector Generals Office at the BLM, but at the DOI as well.
This is not appropriate and contrary to what our tax money should be spent upon, as there is no such thing as Acceptable Abuse, and especially unacceptable when a government agency allows such behavior on a continuing basis!
So we can conclude that the Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the Department of the Interior, demonstrates throughout its history (both in management and criminality) to be in total conflict with the majority of American’s, in conflict with many of the laws existing favorable toward Public Lands management, and certainly in conflict with the management of America’s taxpaying dollars.
Yes, BLM Management has a loop-hole, previously placed into their management paradigm, that they can develop and make decisions on a separate basis, the ability to disregard present laws and regulations, which can and has left the laws and good management paradigms useless — which many agree, the loophole should be withdrawn as null and void immediately.
The Bureau of Land Management, for all intents and purposes, should be disbanded and many of the BLM employees, as well as private contractors, should be investigated for criminal conduct, especially due to the overwhelming abuse of our nation’s wildlife, in the misuse of taxpayer money, and the criminal conduct of many of the employees.
American’s are fed up with the way government agencies treat our tax dollars, and fed up with the way government agency personnel treat the American Public! Enough is enough! It is time to rid our nation of such government agencies that consider themselves separate and apart from America and the American Public!
Photojournalist - Journalist 
grandmagregg
October 5, 2013 at 4:48 pm
I especially agree with this part of your statement: The Bureau of Land Management employees … as well as private contractors, should be investigated for criminal conduct … due to the criminal conduct of many of the employees.
And while speaking of the wild horses captured from Calico, you can add in the outrage of at least 13 Calico mares that BLM sold to “Colorado” and I think we all know where those disappeared to.
Louie C
October 5, 2013 at 6:24 pm
I have vivid memories of a trip to Sheldon Wildlife Refuge in the 70s. We climbed part way up Hart Mountain to see the Bighorn sheep. We were awakened early in morning by a ranger, telling us that it was the opening day of Antelope season. As we left, all I remember seeing was an fenced enclosure full of terrified antelope, surrounded on all sides by hunters, waiting to shoot. There was no way that the antelope could escape. I NEVER forgot that scene. It is etched forever in my memories.
There is HUGH difference between hunting for food and survival versus hunting for sport.
Louie C
October 6, 2013 at 6:31 am
More archives/2010
http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/667
Guest Column, by Robert Bauer – Trust, But Verify, When it Comes to the BLM
Excerpts
Also recently , wildlife ecologist Craig Downer did an over flight of the southern and central portions of Black Rock East, Black Rock West, the Calico Mts. and Granite Range hma’s. In this he counted only 31 horses as opposed to 350 cattle in those same regions. In the first week of June, I toured most of the 5 hma’s of the Calico Mt. Complex with two experts including a range manager. We surveyed Black Rock West , the Calico Mts., Warm Springs, as well as the east side of Granite Range, not to mention areas outside of the hma’s for completeness sake.
The range conditions proved to be excellent with more than adequate water yet we found thousands upon thousands of acres of land void of any wild horses. In total we counted 9 horses while observing well over 330 cattle. We found four of the horses to be lone stallions associated with no bands, a very rare occurrence, one bachelor band of two and a band of three comprised of a stallion, mare and a yearling. What water sources were available were cut off from the mustangs, through the abundance of fencing in the areas and found them having to drink from puddles in the road. The stud piles and other sources of horse manure were for the most white in color, ancient in age indicating a once active area but now void of any kind of wild horse activity. Last year in the month of November, before the gather, Craig Downer and I did an exhaustive survey of all five hma’s , documenting range conditions as well as that of the water sources, along with condition and numbers of mustangs, and a census of the cattle. During that time, again, we found mustang bands separated by hundreds and sometimes thousands of acres yet in excellent condition and the areas from which they came from under populated as far as the horse numbers were concerned. Under no circumstances did we ever find mustangs in groups of 30 to 50, rather we found small bands separated by large stretches of land the largest of which was eight mustangs. I know it is difficult to observe all wild horses in an area doing only a ground census, nevertheless if 600 horses existed in these areas, in groups of 30 to 50, we undoubtedly would have seen some indication of this. Instead what were found were vast stretches of land with nothing except the sound of the wind. What is interesting to note is that the owner of Soldier Meadows, who pushed to have the wild horses removed from that area, is seeking approval from the BLM for a wild horse sanctuary where they would shoehorn 1700 wild horses into a 5,200 acres area. This figures to be about 3 acres per horse. This they are seriously considering in light of the fact that they could not tolerate 1922 wild horses in the 500,000 plus acre area of the 5 hma’s from which they were taken, something which is an act of hypocrisy and a total contradiction on the part of the BLM.
As I was leaving these areas where the wild horses once roamed in abundance, I looked out over the expanse in front of me trying to take everything in. It is not an attempt at theatrics to say that all I could feel was a deep ache inside and an immeasurable feeling of sadness in viewing the empty land in front of me. While up in Pryor Mountains and out in the range lands of Nevada, before
the roundups, I told myself I wanted to take my grandchildren out to these areas, that they would be able to experience the mustangs in the beautiful manner that I had. Now I question that there will be anything left of the wild horses for anyone to enjoy.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Bauer
Louie C
October 6, 2013 at 6:34 am
http://www.americanherds.blogspot.com/
REPRODUCTION, MORTALITY, AND OVERPOPULATION IN WILD EQUIDS by ROBERT C. BAUER, B.S. in Biology
Louie C
October 9, 2013 at 5:57 am
http://americanherds.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-nbu-is-doing-for-you.html
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2008
What NBU Is Doing For You (excerpts)
NBU stands for Nevada Bighorns Unlimited and they are a wildlife organization based in Reno Nevada that focuses on the expansion and introductions of bighorn sheep.
NBU has recently posted an article titled, “Wild Horses on the Sheldon National Antelope Range” on their home page.
In it, they urge sportsmen to unite to block animal rights groups from establishing wild horse and burro herds at Sheldon and urge their members to contact federal officials to protest any continued presence of wild horses and burros at Sheldon.
It goes on to say that U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) original management policy excluded wild horses and burros but wild horse advocates have continually pressured USFWS to allow free-roaming herds. Nevada Bighorns Unlimited claims in the early 1980’s, USFWS reached a compromise to let some wild horses and burros stay by “converting cattle permits to wild horse and burro use”.
Apparently NBU strongly objects to the idea of wild equids being considered wildlife and argues that that they are much more destructive than domestic cattle. They also issue population estimates of 1,800 to 2,000 “in the last few years” with the current estimate of 800 as a result of removals and adoptions.
Nevada Bighorns Unlimited finishes up their call to arms by stating that “Horse advocates have demanded the Refuge be opened up for wild horse and burro use”, that the only way this can be defeated is through overwhelming opposition, and to leave “emotions and innuendos to the opposition” (this means wild horse and burro advocates) when they write their representatives to protest.
FACT CHECK
*According to USFWS, wild horses were documented in the area before Sheldon became a wildlife refuge in 1931. Local ranchers managed horses there by mixing domestic horses with the original Spanish horses of the area (who have a documented presence dating back to the 1500’s) because Sheldon was a stocking and Cavalry Re-Mount location during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Wild horses didn’t just “happen” in the 1980’s due to pressure by wild horse advocates nor is it about to be “opened up” for wild horse and burro use as NBU tries to imply – wild horses have a longer history and presence at Sheldon than the existence of the Refuge itself.
*NBU’s states that USFWS “original management policy excluded wild horses and burros.” At the passage of the Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act in 1971, Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge was co-managed by both BLM and USFWS and neither agency was really clear who had jurisdiction over what until Congress formally made a decision that USFWS would become the sole managing agency in 1977.
*In 1977, former managers created the Horse and Burro Management Plan that acknowledged the Sheldon wild horses as historic, that they were a distinct and unique population, referred to them as free-roaming versus the feral non-natives of today’s management crew and accepted that they were now USFWS responsibility to take care of – that is why wild horses and burros are still allowed on Sheldon. USFWS had no formal policy on wild horses and burros in the Refuge System until 1982 – after the approval of management plans for wild equids that still stands today.
Louie C
October 17, 2013 at 6:51 am
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/2013/10/too-many-wild-horsesnotenoughlandinthewest.html
Too many wild horses, not enough land in the West
October 15, 2013
As wild horse herds boom, the Bureau of Land Management spends $75 million per year to manage the population.
Louie C
October 20, 2013 at 5:52 pm
http://lasvegascitylife.com/sections/opinion/knappster/george-knapp-blm-not-listening.html
George Knapp:
The BLM is not listening
Maybe you are one of those hard-bark, Western cowpoke types who doesn’t exactly get misty-eyed by the vision of a herd of wild mustangs majestically galloping across the sage-dotted open ranges of Nevada. You think of the mustangs as pests or varmints, an invasive species that needs to be eliminated from public lands so there will be more than enough water and forage for the rightful end-users of the public range — cows.
You remember as a kid when you read all those history books about the vast herds of wild cows that roamed North America in prehistoric times? No? Well, maybe you learned from Western movies about how cows are native to these parts, you know, and about how saber-toothed cows terrorized early settlers and thus had to be domesticated. Clearly, in the eyes of some, millions of cows on the public ranges are not a problem and are not an invasive species, but a few thousand wild horses — which are native to this continent — are destructive, invasive pests that need to go.
No matter what your point of view might be, you have a chance this week to let the government know what you think about its wild horse program. Public meetings are being held to gauge public opinion about horse roundups that almost certainly are planned for a few places in the nearby Spring Mountains, including the idyllic mountain community of Cold Creek, home to a small, beloved herd of mustangs.
Don’t get the wrong idea, though. Just because these are public meetings at which the public will be asked for its opinion, you should not assume you will be allowed to actually say anything to the government PR folks who run the get-togethers. They have no intention of standing there and allowing the public to tee off. Typically, the feds and their PR handlers will not allow anyone to stand up and speak. Rather, members of the public are allowed to submit written comments that are carefully and meticulously gathered up, and then — presumably — are promptly shredded for use in recycled toilet paper. They surely play zero role in government decision-making.
Louie C
October 27, 2013 at 5:32 pm
Monkey Business by the BLM in Elko
SOURCE: Elko Daily Free Press
Resident complains to county about BLM law enforcement By Dylan Woolf Harris
BLM Ranger using latest Federal technology, two left thumbs.
ELKO — A Bureau of Land Management law enforcement officer, accused of erroneously ticketing a local for cutting wood, isn’t allowed to tell his side until the agency completes an internal investigation.
Resident Brad Nelson said he and two friends were cited by Ranger BRAD SONES near Spruce Mountain for cutting wood in a wilderness study area. They each received a ticket for about $275. Nelson addressed the county commission Wednesday, which has discussed BLM law enforcement issues before.
But BLM representatives felt blindsided by the complaint.
BLM Elko District Manager Jill Silvey said she called Commissioner Grant Gerber prior to the meeting to prepare for it. She said she was told it would be a follow-up to a discussion that occurred in January, in which the commission talked about the inconvenience of driving to Reno to fight a ticket issued by a federal employee.
“I came prepared to discuss that. I did not come prepared to discuss anything else,” she said.
Gerber said he told Silvey some dissatisfied residents might be in attendance but he wasn’t authorized to say who at that time.
Nelson came prepared with evidence, including the GPS coordinates where he received the ticket and two recorded phone messages left on his friend’s voice mail from Sones.
In one message, a voice identified as Sones said the court date had been changed.
Nelson said he thought it odd the officer who issued the ticket would be responsible to call about a change of date, and he decided to double check with the court. According to Nelson, the court date hadn’t been changed.
As the trial date approached, Nelson and his friends received another phone message from Sones, which he also shared for the commission. In it, Sones said the case was dismissed and Nelson could toss out the citation.
Nelson called the court again to find out that the trial hadn’t been canceled, he said, although he added that two or three days later, he received a letter confirming the charges were dismissed.
Even though the charge was resolved, Nelson said he felt compelled to tell the commission because he viewed the incident as a slippery slope toward an abuse of authority.
“If it happens once, it’s going to happen again,” Nelson said. “The more power you give somebody, the more they’re going to push.”
Nelson described the BLM law enforcement agent as stiff and humorless —AND WHOSE HAND NEVER LEFT A HOLSTERED GUN.
Louie C
October 30, 2013 at 5:51 pm
BLM Solicits Sterilization of Wild Horses
by Debbie Coffey, Director of Wild Horse Affairs
The BLM, with Dean Bolstad as the Program Office Point of Contact (POC), continues to waste tax dollars on experimentation on wild horses & burros, which is a clear violation of the Wild Free Roaming Horse & Burro Act of 1971. The BLM is NOT protecting wild horses when it uses them for experimentation (under the guise of “research”).
This is going to be done ON THE RANGE. They will trap the wild horses & burros and do the experimentation IN THE FIELD. The BLM is creating NON-REPRODUCING HERDS, which leads to EXTINCTION. Most wild horse & burro herds are ALREADY NON-VIABLE.
The BLM has been gelding for a long time. They already have the methods. They already have chemical and surgical ways to sterilize/use contraception.
The BLM is doing this experimentation while they continue ongoing bait-trapping and helicopter roundups, without accountability or public access.
The BLM is using the word “RESEARCH” as a coverup. Notice the solicitation below is open-ended (there are no time or number limitations). So how many wild horses and burros, and what herds, will be subjected as part of this experimentation? It could be all of them.
otis henry
August 12, 2015 at 1:22 am
… if this were t v : we could hope & pray for the … lone ranger & tonto to ride in & disarm the d o i ‘s b l m. this ain’t tho. who / what to turn to nowadays, seems not to be an institution. the one hope is the unified voice of concerned americans. such an overwhelming unified voice th@ the electeds have no choice but to … listen / understand th@ they must do the right thing / & do the right thing for the good of the people & the environment & the creatures / animals. we have heard for years about doomsday’s arrival. well it seems mankind’s disregard & arrogance have created B A D M E D I C I N E. well, i’ll drop this line in the mail, for i cannot add any technical info. & the perpe(t r a i t o r s) don’t tune in here anyway. thanks folks – help pass the S A F E A c t 2015 & send a postcard to the d o j asking them to find those lost felony indictments brought forth against specific b l m employees (management included) & reinstate them !