Let’s discuss The Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management within a Public Debate Platform right here, right now. This is especially in regard to America’s Wild Horse Herds. The situation serves us well, as it exemplifies many politicians, scientists, researchers, and land management people’s opinion that current management within these aforementioned agencies, all the way to District office levels within the DOI and BLM, be terminated before our Public Lands are totally ruined.
Not only incompetence and mismanaged Ecosystems top the list of this necessity, proving costly to taxpayers in the long-haul of the life cycle; but outright illegal behavior and irresponsible spending of our taxpayer dollars as well. Yes, as obvious to many, there are thieves and scoundrels within the BLM and DOI, as well as those who cater to special interest groups, to include Ken Salazar.
Irresponsible Leadership
First we go to Leadership and the head of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, a rancher. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM who oversee our Public Lands for the taxpayers) also remains Ken Salazar’s responsibility, as being under the Management and Administrative arms of the Department of the Interior (DOI). The lack of leadership within these agencies is obvious, due to their special-interest group priorities and a basic attitude of “the taxpayers can go to hell” mentality.
One does not have to ponder the situation much to acknowledge Welfare Ranching (in excess of $890 million dollars a year-plus and rising per year) on our Public Lands is not necessary. They simply put that money in their pockets. But there is a rancher that heads-up DOI, ranchers as consultants on the Wild Horse and Burro Program, and ranchers with BLM at all significant agency departments, in both DOI and BLM.
Conflict of Interest – Absolutely! Make no doubt! And using our Public Lands as their playground to make more and more money! Of course, at taxpayer expense!
Billions of dollars spent needlessly over the past four years (i.e. see government budgets and GAO Reports for Public scrutiny and on the Internet), and one can even say beyond a doubt and with harsh accuracy, since the early 1990’s even, reflects this mismanaged agency and sub-agency. This is not a hollow statement, as an undercover investigation in the early 1990’s provided many felony arrest warrants, in excess of 1,250 just within BLM and their employees at that time. The situation called off by one or two legislators, as their involvement and illegal activity was to be highlighted next. Reports and a thorough White Paper can be reviewed on the entire 1990’s undercover investigation at http://www.peer.org .
The people mentioned within these executed felonies in the early 1990’s, via filing for arrest warrants, are now within many management levels of the DOI, BLM, and even USFWS. Mr. Salazar has had access to this information, with full knowledge of the employees involved (i.e. as the head management person responsible for agency conduct), and has essentially allowed their behavior to continue, after all, he is the head of it all.
How profound to assume Mr. Salazar knows nothing! And what of the wild horses being shot in Nevada, with Welfare Ranchers hiring the people to shoot the horses, as nothing more than pests in regard to Public Lands? Or the stuffed wild horse in one of the shooters’ living room, proudly displaying his capture as a trophy – all the while BLM employees’ awareness of all of these felony situations exists, and even guests at this particular fellows home (as testimony will show in the future). So Mr. Salazar does not know about this situation either?
Missing 1,700 Wild Horses from the Roundups
Illegal and certainly questionable activities have been brought to the public’s attention recently, exemplified by the Tom Davis situation. It involves the BLM selling Wild Horses to Mr. Davis, which he then takes to slaughter into Mexico or Canada. Mr. Salazar has an assumed (based on much more information and his conduct) knowledge about this situation; Ironically, not only by obvious approval to BLM staff to sell Tom Davis roundup Horses’ from the Wild Horse Herds (essentially America’s horses and sponsored via taxpayer money) and selling them at a tremendous discount to Mr. Davis, but Mr. Salazar’s brother (undefined statements) lives next door to Mr. Davis.
Happenstance of circumstance? Coincidence? An odd and ironic accident? Or should it be defined as an Ethics violation, certainly illegal behavior, and perhaps considered to be several events of fraudulent activity? Who really knows the number of wild horses sold to Mr. Davis, as no one is allowed to do an appropriate headcount of the wild horses supposedly in permanent and well protected corrals throughout the southwest as well as Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. These corrals are BLM and BLM contractors’ access only? This fact alone generates many questions in regard to even more illegal activities.
The assumed amount (known at this point) to be 1,700 wild horses sold to Tom Davis, and sold to slaughter plants in excess of $700 each, reflects quite a profitable run for the criminal behavior. And again Mr. Salazar’s attitude, as well as the BLM employees as well, is that the Public Can Go To Hell! But our tax dollars, sir – what about our tax dollars? What about America’s wild horse herds, sir, what about them, they belong to all American’s and not something you can do with them as you please!
Illegal and Unethical behavior and to hell with Taxpayers!
And of course, the taxpayers are footing the bill for the wild horses, conducive to the BLM estimated numbers of 40,000 wild horses (yes, fraud comes into play again and again with these same DOI and BLM people). This costs taxpayers $58+ million dollars per year – and on the basis of what BLM employees and independent contractors tell the taxpayers (see GAO Reports).
But who knows, as BLM outright lies about how much money they make in a year from licensing or permits – and keep in mind BLM is the most litigated and sued agency in United States history – and yes, exemplifies their common employee attitude that the taxpayers can go to hell!
Lawsuits are quite costly, and the Justice Department (yet another obvious and outright unethical situation, as their mission is to protect the public from such shenanigans by government agencies) is the BLM / DOI Justice Department Attorney’s that defend the DOI and BLM staff – another quite costly situation to the taxpayers of America.
Leaving wild horse herds on the range costs the taxpayers nothing, and the wild horse herds do NO HARM to the ECOSYSTEM what so ever. This is validated by sound and legitimate independent research time and again (see peer.org and other terrestrial and range management science sites or — simply Google cattle grazing on Public Lands).
An overall abundance of technical and terrestrial reports as well as legitimate range management reports attest to the No Harm from Horses paradigm on Public Lands. Of course, not so ironic, these same reports dispute the narrow and non-legitimate BLM rangeland reports, due to BLM researchers and data gatherers’ leaving out cattle as being a studied group within those same reports. And, of course the special interest groups (Welfare Ranchers) actually define BLM / DOI researcher’s data, via bias, and what goes into the actual studies. This is also what reaches the public and taxpayers, essentially false information.
This only leaves other mammals’ with hooves to take the blame for cattle and ruining of many Ecosystems, which is more erroneous information deduced by bias research; and within the BLM and Mr. Salazars’ attitude and condescension toward the public, of telling the public to go to hell. Just as ridiculous as it sounds here, the fact is the BLM and their data gatherers expect us to believe their data.
Recommendation? Open Debate Platform
This is the reasoning behind Public Debate, and it being so important. The facts must come out, as we are being ripped-off within this non-transparent situation. Simply attempt to obtain information, or ask the BLM Administrators where our publically owned Wild Horse Herd horses are located.
More than that, how did just a narrow scope of interests become so dominant within a government agency. Welfare Ranchers are continuing to rip-off taxpayers, and even setup No Trespassing signs on Public Lands, all the while they only have grazing permits to use on that same land. Is the situation out of hand? Completely, and at the expense of taxpayers, and at a significantly large amount.
It is simply time to remove all those with previous ranching backgrounds from BLM and DOI. They have proven themselves as non-Americans’, scoundrels, only using our tax dollars for themselves – they figured out early on how to rip us off. It is time to obtain legitimate Environmentalists to manage our Public Lands and become Administrators of our over all environment through the Department of the Interior. And by the way, I must say this for all taxpayers — Mr. Salazar, you go to hell.
Preservation of America's Wildlife 