Blog

Many people have sighed for the ‘good old days’ and regretted the ‘passing of the horse,’ but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses. — Anon.

As mentioned in previous articles, we received information via Freedom of Information Act that there was 29 Wild Horses, inventoried and area Bait and Trap Roundup defined, listed as “DEAD” – from Murderer’s Creek Horse Management Area, in the State of Oregon (the spreadsheet detail given after article below).

This area was under heavy scrutiny, as it was in Federal Court — Stout vs U.S. Forestry, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ironically, Judge Ancer Haggerty within this same court and after a few years of gathering information and hearing testimony, suddenly decided a prompt scientific consultation and ultimately a settlement was in order.

The fact of blaming Wild Horses for the ruination of the Riparian Area at Murderer’s Creek was unacceptable to Judge Ancer Haggerty of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. . . finding that the Forest Service must engage in Endangered Species Act consultation with NMFS to determine whether wild horse management impacts steelhead – the key to the legal action.

It is acknowledged by many others, to include myself, that the Stout’s legal actions were based upon the idea to get rid of the Wild Horses off lands that the Stouts used to graze their cattle, which were Public Lands – the Stouts are Welfare Ranchers and receives subsidies from the Government in accord with the amount of cattle they have in their possession and that graze on Public Lands —

More Cattle needed for more subsidies – claimed non-destructive

In April 2007, after a federal court ruled that portions of the biological opinions given to the court by the Stout Family Attorney, were in violation of the Endangered Species Act (i.e. cattle roaming and destroying the riparian areas of Murderer’s Creek, et al) is when things changed for the Stout family.

Also, it was made clear that the Forestry, and other government agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior, did not give to the court legitimate science and information in the matter of Wild Horses being at fault in Murderer’s Creek destruction, rather it was the cattle and not the wild horses at all – Judge Haggerty favored in the matter immediately, and would not permit any further misinformation given to the court by these agencies, with the exception of the NMFS consultation and findings.

After an injunction was granted in the spring of 2008, cattle were taken off of grazing allotments on the Malheur. Loren and Piper Stout were told they could no longer graze cattle on their 62,000-acre Public Lands allotment along Murderers Creek and nearby Deer Creek. The Stouts once again filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service, alleging that the agency was not complying with its own policies towards the mustangs and was letting them exceed the management level of fifty to 140 horses for the area. According to the suit, elk and horses, which occupy the range full time, were damaging riparian areas.

Good Science shows beyond a doubt, confirmed by many studies, that horses spend less time in riparian areas than cattle, and that an abundance of literature shows that cattle grazing has a greater impact on riparian areas. Yet another fact is that degradation is apparent throughout the Malheur where cattle are grazed, even where horses are not present. This information developed into the facts given to the Federal Court in 2013, leading to the NMFS statements.

The interagency consultation concluded in January 2013, upon NMFS’ issuance of a biological opinion. NMFS concluded, based on the best available scientific evidence that:

“. . . wild horses are unlikely to cause measurable impacts to [the steelhead’s] tributary habitat within the action area” and impacts due to wild horses “are likely to be small and have minimal impacts on steelhead, [or] their habitat.”

“Because wild horses — unlike cattle and sheep — have only minimal effects on steelhead and steelhead habitat, NMFS authorized the Forest Service to continue managing wild horses at their previously established appropriate management level of 50-140 horses in Murderers Creek without proposing any reduction to that level.”

A Recent Interview on shooting Wild Horses

This interview was with Clinton Garsh, a 65 year old cowboy, who worked his entire life on one ranch or another riding fence-line, rounding up cattle for branding, and wrangler on “. . .many a God-fer-Sakin cattle and horse drives,” as Clinton says. He had moved to Oregon 3 years earlier, from a ranch in Montana, Divorced the wife, and looking for work as a cowhand in Oregon. He says he gave up on the eastern Oregon bunch, as they shot horses and too much dirt and dust to swallow!

Here is a small portion of the interview:

John: “Did you find any jobs in Oregon you liked yet?”

Clinton: “Thought everything fine for awhile, anyway, over in Eastern Oregon, corporate ranching and all. I found out things there I probably shouldn’t have.”

John: “What was that?”

Clinton: “They use cattle-prods over there, on the cows and the horses. We didn’t meet eye-to-eye on those issues. A lot of those cow-hands illegals on the corporate ranches . . . they brought their ways of doin’ things up here. But shooting of horses was the last straw. . .”

John: “Shooting Horses?”

Clinton: “Ya. Out of Baker; Out of Burns; as far over as John Day, then up to Lakeview from what I heard.”

John: “You actually seen this?”

Clinton: “Nope. I would throw-down on a man, if I saw him shoot a horse. The hands would come back to the bunk house at night, and brag about how the horse fell when they shot it; or where they shot it. They would say it didn’t make any difference, since the horses wild and were too small for ranch work; and the Kiger Mustangs, over off the Steens, too slow.”

John: “How many do you suppose were shot?”

Clinton: “Don’t know for sure, quite a few though. A few of the ranchers that run cattle on free-land (author note: Public Lands) pay pretty good per horse – but a lot of us against all of that. My life is with horses, and I make my living with them – sure as hell won’t hurt them in any way or matter!”

John: “Any names come up?”

Clinton: “None that I can speak of or will speak of! Don’t know’em, don’t want to know’em! I stay out of all of that! That’s how we all make our money – keepin’ to ourselves, and workin’ with the people that won’t get you hurt!”

John: “What about BLM or Forestry employees?”

Clinton: “Heresay is all! They’re involved. I always heard since I was small, Just cause trouble comes visiting doesn’t mean you have to offer it a place to sit down. I tend to my own business, keep to myself, just like I said awhile ago — but there are some things that I just don’t take to at all! Killing horses is one of those things!”

F.O.I.A. MATERIAL FROM SPREADSHEET:

10/10/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1AAAAAC 1. Dead

10/10/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HM1ACAEBD 2. Dead

10/10/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HM1ADADBC 3. Dead

10/15/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAAHD 4. Dead

10/16/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1AAAABC 5. Dead

10/22/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1AAAAAD 6. Dead

10/22/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HM1AAAAAC 7. Dead

10/31/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1AAAEBD 8. Dead

11/05/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1ABAAHC 9. Dead

11/05/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1ADAAEP 10. Dead

11/05/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAABB 11. Dead

11/08/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HM1ADADBD 12. Dead

11/13/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1DEAAFC 13. Dead

12/04/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAABC 14. Dead

12/21/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAABF 15. Dead

01/02/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1AAAAAC 16. Dead

01/02/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HM_______ 17. Dead

08/01/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAABF 18. Dead

08/04/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAAFB 19. Dead

08/04/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HM1AAAABD 20. Dead

08/12/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap H________ 21. Dead

08/28/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1ADACHC 22. Dead

09/23/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1AAAAAD 23. Dead

09/23/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HG1ADCEBB 24. Dead

09/24/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF2AAAABB 25. Dead

10/01/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap H________ 26. Dead

09/24/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AFDBFB 27. Dead

09/24/2013 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF2AAAABD 28. Dead

10/24/2012 (OR0019) Murderers Creek Food Trap HF1AAAABD 29. Dead

“But just in proportion as this process of extermination has acted on an enormous scale, so must the number of intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed, be truly enormous. Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against the theory. The explanation lies, as I believe, in the extreme imperfection of the geological record.”
― Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

Within this written material I would like to call attention to something very significant. There is no doubt to many knowledgeable American’s that the elements of good science are on the decline today and ironically from those government agencies responsible for good science. But why is this significant today and for the tomorrows to come?

Opportunities develop the basis for science, then onward to answer significant questions, and at the same time preserve things that are of utmost importance on this planet. As humans we do not really pick and choose these elements – rather hope above all hopes that we observe those oh so correct elements, then take proper action based on sound and proper data, that develops into good decision making – then onward to secure that proper balance that exists within a particular element, and will coexist with a positive development within our universe.

Wild Horses on our Public Lands are just this situation, opportunities to expand our understanding of our planet, and our universe – cohabitation – a Universal Truth. We have missed the opportunity up to this point, as we have accepted very poor, but large amounts of source-references in the matter of Wild Horses up to this point in time.

The management of our Wild Horses and by government agencies demonstrates this negative-occurrence quite readily; whereas, proper decision making cannot be accomplished by bad or manipulated data – and as we observe daily, and bad data (i.e. government agencies at this time politically and monetarily directed) becomes quite costly as well. But we need not digress here, as much as offer enlightenment, a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak (or write).

There’s a lot to learn about Fossil Records

Because of science we have experienced extreme growth on our planet. As we observe the destruction of our environment today, developed from bad/manipulated-science, it consistently overwhelms the truth — We have a lot to learn yet in the matter of science, and especially our Fossil Records that remain abundant on this planet.
The recent history of a fossil-find, a Brown Bear in Alberta, Canada, explains my point quite well. As a Paleontologist remarks, “. . . this fossil-find illustrates significant implications of the serendipity of paleontology.”

Oddly, this also represents the problems associated with Wild Horse’s as being found indigenous in the Americas. Often research is overlooked, that would re-define the present history of the horse. Embarrassing to many people associated with science and research, the fact is many government personnel either find the true fossil records insignificant (motivated by unethical means most often); yet others find it difficult to combat, with true facts in hand, with such entities as the Department of the Interior and their false science paradigms toward management.

This government agency, in reality, defines its scientific goals within a political and even monetary representation of corporations in America. Within their paradigm, the truth means nothing, and corporate ideology means everything to them. The destruction of America remains on this unethical road to hell, as fossil records often become set-asides, ignored, and have even been known to wind up in dumpsters — then to the local garbage dump; disgusting behavior by government agencies indeed.

So we go further within our example here, which defines the not so attractive attitude above, but with a bit more empathy toward the problem. Fossils of Brown Bears were not known, for example, from below the extent of the ice sheets prior to 13,000 years ago and all bears south of the glaciers were genetically distinct from those north in Beringia. Where did they come from? The newly discovered fossil turned out to be over 26,000 years old – twice as old as previous discovered fossil bears – yet genetically similar to them.

“No fossil is buried with its birth certificate. That, and the scarcity of fossils, means that it is effectively impossible to link fossils into chains of cause and effect in any valid way… To take a line of fossils and claim that they represent a lineage is not a scientific hypothesis that can be tested, but an assertion that carries the same validity as a bedtime story—amusing, perhaps even instructive, but not scientific.” ― Henry Gee, In Search of Deep Time: Beyond the Fossil Record to a New History of Life

What in truth is used in recording and establishing history, thereof, if the consistency of fossils located, and the attributes found within each dig – thus assimilated into a whole, or a graphic entity that becomes self-explanatory. There exists no explanation, or argument – if you will – from a government agency that references the continuity of fossil finds, rather just the opposite, and dictates the horse being non-indigenous due to one or two records of fossil finds. This remains inconclusive as a referenced situation, by our government employees, and knowledgeable people frown on such reference being given such importance or priority.

Within a previous article I highlighted the fact that bears and horses were often found in the areas where wooly mammoths were discovered (due to eating habits, et al.), even up to and including the year 1650. Now we discover Bears have similar problems within the fossil records, as do the Wild Horses – neglect?

“It’s always been a mystery why Brown Bears (i.e. the fossil discovery mentioned above) did not migrate farther south if they were in Beringia as early as 100,000 years ago, and the passage wasn’t blocked until about 23,000 years ago,” stated Paul Matheus, paleontologist at the Alaska Quaternary Center.

Although there was an implicit explanation that a population of bears with this distinct genetic identity had extended their range southward much earlier than could be demonstrated within the fossil record presently, there was a complete lack of any fossil records for a period spanning possibly 80,000 years.

Indeed, the fossil records for most animals are unavoidably spotty. With the Wild Horses in the Americas in mind, we can then go to what Bob Martin has to say — a paleoprimateologist, “. . . estimated at the time there were over 235 known species of living primates, and that 474 extinct species of primate had been described in scientific literature.”

Assuming average species duration of approximately 2.5 million years, based upon the number of fossil species known in each stratigraphic interval contrasted with the number known today, Martin estimated that as many as 8,000 to 9,000 extinct primary species have yet to be discovered in the fossil record. Yes, Wild Horses in the Americas remains one of these “to be discovered” finds.

“Our calculations,” concluded Martin, “indicate we have fossil evidence for only about 5% of all extinct primates, so it is as if paleontologists have been trying to reconstruct a 1,000 piece jig-saw puzzle using just 50 pieces.”

Wild Horses and Fossil Records

Interesting, how facts when combined with honesty, that truth does become unavoidable. Conclusively, science does not function without the entire data base of reality being present and acknowledged as such — just as a television or a washing machine does not work unless plugged-in.

When we explore the fossil records within a matter “not” of perspective, as that can be manipulated, but rather within the context of “learning” and of “knowledge” by the actual facts presented. Only then can we conclude an entirely different history of Horse’s in America; and the contradictions to what is available currently, does exist. This establishes, very well I might add, the Wild Horses and coincidently horses being indigenous in America.

Unfortunately, and the major problem, is the fact this knowledge, the fossil records, contradicts the government agencies who represent corporations only and on America’s Public Lands.

The Wild Horses for some contrary reasoning, then combined with ignorant reasoning, contradicts current government management paradigms as well. Yes, a criminal government takes a lot of things way from us in America (to include the non-essential and frivolous spending of taxpayer money), and it is time to fight back.

When perusing further the fossil records of the horse in the Americas, for example, and attritional history of horse bones (similar to Bear’s bones, et al.) being found on many archeological digs, we then discover more of the Indigenous nature of the horse being well established in the Americas; thereby, the Wild Horse can and should, by all technical as well as ethical reasoning, become listed as an Endangered Species in America.