WHOA and DOT provide signage for the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Corridor in Placitas, NM

Posted on January 25, 2012 by whoa

WHOA has worked with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NM DOT) to provide needed Wildlife Corridor Signage for the mountain community of Placitas, NM. Among the wildlife to watch out for (at night especially) are mountain lions, bears, deer, bob-cats, coyotes, and wild horses. There are even occasional porcupines, prairie dogs, and wild turkeys.
The DOT agreed to either a yellow diamond-shaped caution sign with the picture of a wild horse, or, a yellow diamond-shaped wildlife corridor caution sign. WHOA choose the wildlife corridor caution sign to include information regarding all of the wildlife in Placitas NM.
WHOA has provided additional signage regarding the wild horses and the DOT has provided additional signage regarding the deer.
WHOA has also given a proposal for assistance with management of the Placitas Wild Horses to the appropriate agencies. There has been no official response. Placitans continue to show strong support and take great pride in the Placitas Wild Horses as well as all the wildlife that grace this area and it’s beautiful open spaces.
Please stop and see the Wildlife Corridor Mural at the Recycle Center at the entrance of Placitas on the North side of RT 165. The mural depicts much of the Placitas wildlife and fauna and was made by Foothills Studio and Pathways Wildlife Corridors of New Mexico a 501 c3 non-profit, in cooperation with many Placitas Artists, and community members.

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“Horses on the Loose” The Real Story

Posted on September 4, 2011 by whoa

(This post is in response to another misleading Albuquerque Journal article, which was entitled “HORSES ON THE LOOSE” and published on September 4, 2011)

The eight (8) horses mentioned and previously on the road in the Village of Placitas were the property of a Placitan. They were legally Livestock. WHOA worked with the owner, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Livestock Board to lawfully and safely remove these (8) horses and have taken them to safe haven. Local Placitans stopped by constantly to help with hay,  water,  tanks, money,  even their land and man power,  to capture, guard, and then even recapture these owned horses.

Two individuals with a development interest in a Loop Rd (I-40 bypass connecting I-25 to RT 14 through Placitas) harassed WHOA volunteers repeatedly, crossed the “No Tresspassing” signs, and  one released these captured horses back out onto Camino de Las Huertas. A WHOA volunteer witnessed this Act and attempted to stop this action.

The perpetrater then even wrote a letter to the Signpost proudly admitting to this criminal act. WHOA has obtained this letter and a statement from the eyewitness and has asked the Sheriff’s Department to charge this individual with criminal trespass and harassment.

The perpetrator would have you believe that she just wanted these owned horses to be free. However, the two individuals were working toward causing an accident on Camino de Las Huertas that would be blamed on the Wild Horses of Placitas. Development interests and the Albuquerque Journal appear to be working overtime to cause a round up before WHOA can win in court.

What Can You Do?

  1. Please ask Sheriff Doug Wood to press charges on the perpetrator of this Act which intentionally tried to endanger Placitans and the horses they love by illegally releasing these horses.  (The police report is available upon request)
  2. Drop your subscription to Albuquerque Journal

Please note:  There are no horses in the neighborhoods of Terra or East Algodones (2 miles North of 165) as San Felipe and WHOA together fenced them out of those neighborhoods. WHOA also fenced them out of  La Mesa, Sundance, Los Ranchos, and Santa Ana. WHOA believes that the complaints referenced in this article are mostly old complaints from other neighborhoods where WHOA has already resolved any issue. WHOA has therefore requested copies of all complaints. Also, these quotes from Sheriff Wood we believe were taken long ago, before WHOA resolved the issue.

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Home: Wild Horse Observers Association

Posted on October 13, 2010 by whoa

Welcome to the Wild Horse Observers Association

Wild Horse Observers Association (WHOA) was formed by New Mexico community members to protect and preserve the remaining wild horses in New Mexico as well as others across the US. These horses are re-introduced native species albeit without the full benefit of their natural predators, and as such, WHOA also advocates for the use of PZP a non-toxic immuno- contraceptive where round-ups are being used and in the recent past.

WHOA has worked legislatively with the Honorable Senator Komadina to pass a bill signed by Governor Richardson (2007) declaring free roaming horses which are not estray (not domestic) to be declared legally New Mexico State’s wild horses. As such they are regulated wild animals of the state not under the jurisdiction of the Fish and Game department and not under the jurisdiction of the NM Livestock Board.  WHOA has worked with Senator Komadina to pass a host of Memorials asking the BLM, Forest Service, and Native American Nations in New Mexico to utilize their free roaming/wild horses for Equine Eco-Tourism and to utilize PZP immuno -contraception as needed in lieu of predators.

These horses can be utilized for Heritage Tourism which currently accounts for 81% of US Tourism which is the second largest industry in the US and in New Mexico. In New Mexico, Tourism is a 2.5 Billion dollar industry and is the largest private sector employer.  WHOA has developed a state-wide Equine Eco-Tourism plan which has been supported by the NM Legislature through the passage of the Memorials.   This tourism plan is in line with the 2003 Preserve America Executive Order to the BLM which direct the BLM to aid in Heritage Tourism projects.

Early in 2010, New Mexico made some initial progress toward actualizing this vision of Equine Eco-Tourism with Governor Richardson’s announcement in Washington, DC of his intention to create a Wild Horse State Park.  This was followed up with his proposal for a 12,000 acre expansion of Cerrillos State Park, which would include a wild horse sanctuary.  WHOA continues to be a leading advocate and is a strong and vocal supporter of these initiatives.

For the latest updates, see WHOA’s blog posts below. You can also view posts by Categories by choosing a Category on the right.

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State Wild Horse Sanctuary Will Boost Jobs, Tourism

Posted on October 13, 2010 by whoa

Opinion column by Patience O’Dowd, President of WHOA, as printed in the Albuquerque Journal , 10/13/10 (after a week of WHOA prodding and urging the Journal editors): 

The proposed 12,000-acre expansion of Cerrillos State Park will be a great asset to New Mexico’s growing heritage tourism industry.
        Less than half of the expansion will be utilized by the wild horses, but they are sure to be a major attraction, thus helping more people than horses.
        Tourism is New Mexico’s and the nation’s largest private sector employer. Over 80 percent of that is heritage tourism. Money and jobs from heritage tourism are broad based. When people visit, they stay in hotels and B&B’s, use our airport, drive rental cars, eat in restaurants, buy arts and crafts, utilize outfitters, frequent shops, and more. They tell others to visit New Mexico.
        The wild horse park would have a positive return on investment, due to allure of wild horses nationally and internationally. One example is the annual Chincoteague pony swim in Virginia in place since 1925. This pony swim lasting just a few minutes draws 40,000 excited spectators and has become a national treasure.
        Those not currently up for election speak clearly on this issue: Jim Noel, secretary of the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, wrote recently that New Mexico established its first state parks in the midst of the Great Depression and that like roads, affordable housing and new broadband projects, this park will still be here as part of New Mexico’s infrastructure when the Recovery Act is finished.
        The New Mexico Tourism Department wrote in 2007, that New Mexico was “missing an opportunity to draw tourist from all over the world…” in not having advertised our wild horses so far.
        In Jan. 2006, Sen. Tom Udall, then a U.S. representative, wrote: “Wild horses are a part of New Mexico’s great heritage and a beautiful component of our forest and mountain landscapes…. There is certainly great economic potential in welcoming tourists from New Mexico and elsewhere to discover the beauty of our wild horse herds.”
        This park has been labeled by some as an unsupported choice between people vs. animals. However, only 0.07 percent of New Mexico’s stimulus funds are proposed for this park, while 8.18 percent of the stimulus funds had been designated to “the family safety net.” Counties across the state like Rio Arriba received $39 million and larger counties like Bernalillo received over $254 million in stimulus funds, from the $3.9 billion allotted to New Mexico.
        This park expansion on the Turquoise Trail will bring tourists eager to see wild horses all around the state, including those at Monero Mustangs just outside Chama, providing clean rural economic development for many.
 
 
As a matter of course for the Albuquerque Journal, within the same issue they had to print another negative, frontpage article regarding the purchase of land for the expansion of Cerrillos State Park.  That would make it the seventh or eighth (we’ve lost count now) negative opinion article to our one lone piece.   
 
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Santa Fe County Commission Unanimously Approves Resolution

Posted on October 13, 2010 by whoa

The Santa Fe County Commission voted unanimously to approve a resolution in support of the State’s proposed expansion of Cerrillos State Park, which will include a wild horse sanctuary.   WHOA was in attendance, as was the Albuquerque Journal (which did some fairly straightforward reporting for a change):

County Commission Supports Ranch Buy
        The Santa Fe County Commission on Tuesday expressed its support of Gov. Bill Richardson’s plan to buy the Ortiz Mountain Ranch near Madrid to expand an existing state park and create a wild horse sanctuary.
        The commission voted 4-0 on a resolution supporting the governor’s proposal to buy 12,000 acres of land about three miles south of Madrid. The land would expand the nearby Cerrillos Hills State Park, which sits on land owned by the county.
        The commission “believes this is a unique opportunity to build on New Mexico’s conservation legacy and generate additional assets for a growing ecotourism industry, and strongly supports the purchase of the Ortiz Mountain Ranch as proposed,” the resolution states.
        The governor’s proposal has been controversial. Critics argue that the $2.8 million in federal stimulus funding proposed for the purchase could be put to better use, but the commission didn’t express those same concerns.
        “I think that this purchase is really good for the people of Santa Fe,” said Commissioner Kathy Holian. “It’s going to provide a lot of new, interesting recreational opportunities. I think it’s good for our tourists — we have a budding eco-tourism movement in our community, and it would be ideal for that.”
        Patience O’Dowd, president of the Wild Horse Observers Association, commended the commission on its vote.
        “I think in these hard economic times anybody who does not recognize that tourism is our No. 1 private sector employer hasn’t really looked into the issue of jobs,” she said.

http://www.abqjournal.com/north/132337198236north10-13-10.htm#ixzz12Gd1fAKI

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Placitas / Wild Horse State Park – Update – Pls Call Again

Posted on October 2, 2010 by whoa

Hello All,    

Senator Udall’s office states he is ”prepared” to help us with the BLM in Placitas – but appears to be waiting to see if the Wild Horse State Park passes. The Albuquerque Journal has been railing away with 6 articles so far against the Horses. WHOA has responded to each. Governor Richardson has a plan and is not giving up. He needs our help until the Board votes.   The Board of Finance may vote in Oct or in November. We need to call each week until they do. WHOA has turned in 2,480 comments for a Wild Horse State Park in Placitas which shows that a Wild Horse State Park is wanted but they also need “fresh” and continued calls.

Please email or call the Board of Finance each week:  suzanne.romero@state.nm.us

Or call Suzanne Romero at:   505-827-4980 – Just say “For the Wild Horse State Park”.

Please note that the email is changed, and was wrong last time. If you have your previous email please resend it. This was my mistake. If you had copied me on it , I will re-forward it.

Thanks Much!!

Patience O’Dowd President WHOA
a public 501 c3 non-profit corp.
PO Box 932
Placitas, NM 87043
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V is for Vendetta: The Albuquerque Journal’s Vendetta Against the Wild Horses

Posted on October 2, 2010 by whoa

The Albuquerque Journal has now printed, over the past two weeks, six opinion pieces denigrating Governor Richardson’s proposed 12,000 acre expansion of Cerrillos State Park and creation of a wild horse sanctuary. Four of the opinion pieces masqueraded as news articles, with one printed front page and just below the Albuquerque Journal banner, and featured the neutral headline of “Horse Haven Would be Exclusive Club”.

A listing of the “news articles” and editorials shows the increasingly strident view of the Albuquerque
Journal with each item: 

  • $2.8M Set Aside for Horse Sanctuary – Sept 17th – Mark Oswald
  • Horses, Kids And Stimulus – Sept 18th – Thomas J. Cole, Upfront Column
  • Governor Delays Vote on Sanctuary – Sept 22nd – Thomas J. Cole, Upfront Column
  •  Wild Horses Couldn’t Drag Sense into Deal – Sept 23rd -Editorial 
  •  Horse Haven Would be Exclusive Club – Sept 25th – Thomas J. Cole, Upfront column 
  • Somebody Holler Whoa on Sanctuary – Sept 29th – Editorial

None of the news articles presented any information or quotes from proponents of the wild horse sanctuary, besides Governor Richardson himself, even though a chief proponent for New Mexico’s wild horses, the Wild Horse Observers Association (WHOA), sought out the Journal’s Thomas J. Cole to  provide comment.  In fact, the headline of their most recent editorial against the wild horses snarkily incorporated the organizations acronym.

In the earlier news articles and editorials the Journal clearly tries to promulgate a false choice: funding childcare assistance vs spending on wild horses. Why is it a false choice? The $2.8 million being allocated for the park expansion calculates out to a mere 0.07% of the $3.9 billion Federal stimulus  funds being directed to New Mexico. The budgetary category of “Family Safety Net” has already been allocated 8.18% of New Mexico’s share of stimulus funds. Also, the $2.8 million is but a fraction of the shortfall in childcare assistance funding.

Here’s an anecdotal sampling of other stimulus funded projects in New Mexico:

  • 0.21%: Reconstruction of Existing Lanes fo NM 128, a rural road in Lea County (birthplace of Governor-Candidate Diane Denish). 
  • 1.31%: Levee improvements in Dona Ana County (home to Governor-Candidate Susana Martinez 
  • 0.06%: Improvements to Columbus US Land Port of Entry in Luna County (home of NM Senate Finance Chairman John Arthur Smith)

The primary point being made here is that, clearly, the expansion of Cerrillos State Park is not preventing the funding of childcare assistance, as there are many other choices, many of them larger, which comprise the allocation of the $3.9 billion of stimulus funds for New Mexico.  False Choice.

Many of the news articles and editorials attempt to make great hay (sorry for the pun) out of the  opposition of Governor candidates Diane Denish and Susanna Martinez, and State Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthurs Smith to the proposal. Here are some other anecdotal figures to  chew on:

  • $1.9 million: Increase budget for DA office of Governor-Candidate Susana Martinez, from 2003 to 2009. 
  • $2.8 million: Approximate cumulative budget for Lt. Governor office of Governor-Candidate Diane Denish, 2007-2010.
  • $7.5 million: Expenses for 2010 NM Legislative Session
  • $4.2 million: FY2010 Budget Recommendation for Legislative Finance Committee.

True, these numbers have no direct relationship to the proposed wild horse sanctuary, however, it does provide a sense of proportion to the cost of a project which is an investment into New Mexico’s and the  nation’s largest private sector employee, tourism. The Albuquerque Journal takes little note of the  financial benefits this investment in tourism will bring throughout the years to come.

Just to throw out another loosely related fact: 

  • Energy and Natural Resources: Biggest Campaign Contributors to NM Senate Finance Chairman John Arthur Smith, 2004/2006/2008.

I’m just saying….

When Governor Richardson addressed the childcare assistance shortfall, the Albuquerque Journal changed tack and attacked the wild horses themselves, in the “Horse Haven Would be Exclusive Club” front page, below the banner news article (no, it was not labeled an Editorial or Opinion). The Journal  writer, Thomas J. Cole, merely repeated misinformation fed to him by the BLM regarding the existing wild horse herds in New Mexico, both underestimating their numbers and calling many of them “feral”.   The writer makes no mention of the role the BLM has played in the creating the current sad state of the  wild horses in the West.  The article also conveyed the BLMs viewpoints on the proposed wild horse sanctuary, without any countervailing viewpoints. The BLM is hardly a disinterested party when it comes to wild horses and certainly should not be the sole source for information on the subject.

Interestingly, when a Farmington-area BLM manager’s questionable ethics came into the spotlight last  month, the Albuquerque Journal could not be bothered to assign a reporter to the issue, but relied on AP reporting.

Amazingly, five negative articles and editorials in eight days was not enough. The Albuquerque Journal published another editorial on September 29th denouncing the wild horse sanctuary, “Somebody Holler Whoa on Sanctuary”. The Editorial contained no new information and no new insight, and so it seemed unnecessary, except to add more stridency to their opposition and to fit the acronym of the most vocal proponent of a wild horse state park to the headline, the Wild Horse Observers Association.

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Press Release: Governor Richardson Leads the Nation – Makes New Mexico Proud

Posted on September 18, 2010 by whoa

Date: 9/18/2010

Press Release:  Governor Richardson Leads the Nation

  • Creates First State Wild Horse Sanctuary
  • Advocates for Wild Horses in Placitas NM

Governor Richardson has taken a bold step toward protecting the nation’s remaining wild horses and wildlife with his 9/16/2010 announcement that the State of New Mexico is purchasing the 12,000 acre Ortiz Mountain Ranch to create a wild horse sanctuary.  This is a strong message in opposition to the Secretary of Interior Salazar’s current plan that removes wild horses – our living heritage – from the West, to holding pens, at great and unnecessary on-going cost to tax payers.  

Richardson’s plan provides great opportunity for rural economic development through tourism, New Mexico’s and the nation’s, largest private sector employer.

At the same time, Governor Richardson in his September 6th 2010 letter to the BLM, signed by Energy Secretary Jim Noel, has strongly advocated for the nearby, beautiful, free roaming, Wild Horses of Placitas.  These wild horses are also on the north end of the Sandia Mountains .  Governor Richardson effectively has asked that they be preserved and protected where they exist.

With each of these acts, and in unison, he has also taken significant action toward the protection of the Wildlife Corridor of the Sandia Mountains , as well as the overall Rocky Mountain Wildlife Corridor from Canada to Mexico .  Richardson has long worked to protect this corridor as chair and member of the Western Governors Association.

Richardson’s list of accomplishments for the wild horses of New Mexico is long, which go alongside his many renown accomplishments for the protection of New Mexico’s environment and animals, wild and domestic:

In 2007 Governor Richardson signed SB655, carried by the honorable Senator Komadina, which gave New Mexico ’s state wild horses legal status with commensurate protections on certain state lands.

In  2006 Governor Richardson wrote a letter to the USDA Forest Service Regional Manager to stop the round up at the Jicarilla Carson National Forest, advocating to maintain a herd size to preserve genetic viability and to preserve New Mexico’s last sizeable wild horse herd for Eco -Tourism. He even asked for the return of those horses already removed.

(2004 – 2007) Governor Richardson also presided over the New Mexico State Legislature during the unanimous passage of three Memorials in 2 years (2006, 2007) asking the BLM, USDA Forest Service, and First American Nations of New Mexico, to protect and preserve New Mexico’s wild horses where they exist, to utilize the Wild Horses for Eco-Tourism, and to utilize PZP, an immuno – contraceptive for population management. Another Wild Horse Study Memorial was passed under his auspices in 2004.

WHOA and wild horse advocates across the nation celebrate Governor Richardson’s action, bold leadership, and advocacy for this nation’s living legacy- our symbol of freedom – the Majestic Wild Horse. 

For the Open Spaces and the Wild Ones that grace them,

Patience O’Dowd President WHOA

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Sandoval County Gives Up on Loop Rd….(sort of and at least for now)

Posted on September 6, 2010 by whoa

Sandoval County (NM) has passed a resolution that states:

“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SANDOVAL COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THAT CURRENT SANDOVAL COUNTY POLICY DOES NOT ADVOCATE THE DEVELOPMENT OR PLANNING OF A NORTHEAST ROADWAY CORRIDOR CONNECTING INTERSTATE 25 AND NEW MEXICO STATE HIGHWAY 14 THROUGH THE PLACITAS AREA OR THROUGH LANDS BELONGING TO THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT”

This is a direct result of WHOA’s efforts and it reflects the clear wishes of the Placitas-area residents. 

The proposed Loop Rd (/NE Corridor) would have cut through the habitat of the Placitas Wild Horses and would have interrupted the Wildlife Corridor of the Sandia Mountains.  It would have also greatly increased the development pressures in the East Mountains, as well as the BLM land in the Placitas-area, and could have led to high density development as already seen in Rio Rancho.

However, as good a result as this may be, this resolution is non-binding and it does not state any opposition to a connecting route between I-25 and NM14 through the linking of existing roads, a sort of backdoor creation of a Loop Rd.  So, futher vigilance continues to be warranted, as the Loop Rd has proven to be a pet project that slips it’s way into the County’s plans every few years and has required vigorous opposition to defeat each time.

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Wild Horses are Livestock? County Backs Down

Posted on May 17, 2010 by whoa

Sandoval County Planning Departement recently proposed changes to the County’s Ordinances which included a new definition of livestock that would have resulted in the Placitas Wild Horses being defined as livestock, and thus being at immediate risk of capture and removal.  As has been the norm, this change was buried in the ordinance and it was only found with a careful and thorough review by WHOA.

WHOA spoke out against the changes at the County Commission Meeting and submitted a legal opinion from our lawyer, essentially stating that the County’s proposed new definition of livestock was in legal conflict with that of the State’s and could therefore be successfully challenged in court. 

Sandoval County has relented and County Attorney David Mathews stated this in an email to us:

“Brad (Stebleton, County Planner) changed this definition to mirror the state’s statute.  I apologize for missing this one in my review and we thank you bringing it to our attention.  We do not mention the wild horses specifically, but they do not fit the definition of livestock under the state or county version of the definition because they are not domesticated.”      

“It seems to the County the herd of wild horses are strongly supported by the majority of Placitans.  They are part of what makes your community unique.” …. “We have received no negative comments about the horses and, therefore, believe protection of the wild horses is supported by your community.”

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