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Email to the Office of Heather Wilson

from WHOA on April 8, 2003

WHOA's request for US Rep. Wilson's assistance.  Unfortunately US Rep. Wilson has declined to intervene in any significant manner.

Hi Darrlene, Carri,

This is not how I would send a message usually but time is very short. Thank you both for your attention to this.

The National Forest Service is about to round up 30 of 33 wild horses in El Rito.

This is really wrong for the following reasons.

  1. Their count says 33. Their data base says fifty. They tell the press that they “estimate” 80 to 100. They have not used proper methodology for counting using pictures so that they don’t count the same horse twice. A local resident at the meeting Anastasia said there were 40 to 60 and the rangers tried to talk her out of it.
  2. They are rounding the horses up during foaling season.
  3. They are not using the methods they stated in their DN and EA.
  4. They are not “managing” this wild horse herd pursuant to the 1971 Act. They are wiping it out. Biologists say that 80-150 horses are needed per herd to remain genetically viable. They are not managing any of the wild horse territories in this state and admit that there was no geneticist involved in the Environmental assessment.
  5. They did not hold a public meeting until AFTER the contract was awarded to KG Livestock of Bernal Utah for $29K!
  6. They are not allowing press coverage during the round-up due to safety reasons although with optics the press could be in a helicopter a mile or more away.
  7. There are 7 Wild horse territories in NM listed below and only 3 of them have ANY horses on them.
  8. Alternatives were not looked at such as moving the horses to another territory OR such as using the $29K to BUY out some of the 21 ranchers involved. One of the ranchers Sebedeo Chacon, President of The Jarrita Mesa Livestock Assoc offered to sell me all 126 of his permits or AMU’s right at the public meeting. His address is Star rt 6A Ojo Caliente, NM. 505-583-2179. These are just two good other options. There are many more, but since the Forest Service neglected to hold the public meeting until last Thursday after the contract was signed just a day or so before, they have blocked the citizens from their rights.
  9. These wild horses belong to ALL of us according to state and federal laws. I can send the case law associated too but these horses fall under the 1971 Free roaming wild horse and Burro act.
  10. There is an overall trend here that was NOT addressed. To have 7 Wild Horse territories with less than 150 horses between them is their goal. This is breaking the spirit and intent of the law.
  11. Also, these horses are documented to have high genetic markers of Spanish blood. We have a tape of the public meeting and can easily furnish you with any additional proof.
  12. These horses are going to be replaced with OVER 380 cattle. I am very weary of the “rights” of a few (21 in this case) to wipe out the rights of 30 horses, their futures, and all the reat of the people of New Mexico’s rights who actuall y own these horses and are unwittingly footing the bill to wipe them out.
  13. When are we going to admit that this IS a desert??
  14. Carson National Forest was part of the spotted owl territory where the National Forest Service lost a second time and was told by the judge to get the cattle off. That they had ruined the riparian areas. (I have the judges ruling and can email it to you.)
  15. The stallions fight to the death very often as they did here in Placitas when our wild horses were illegally rounded up after being authorized by the Livestock Board. The mares who are in foal will be highly stressed and not in condition to be run like this. Wild horses often break their legs and this often means death.
  16. I did give them the name of a group who could do it humanely w/o running the animals (The New Mexico Horse Project a local group run by Carlos Lapopalo.) He had to inflate his bid to add monies for the inhumane equipment like helicopters etc. that are part of the bidding contract. This group could have done it for less and humanely and the Forest Service IS aware of this. However, this SHOULD not be done during foaling season. They are trying to get it done before the cattle season comes. It’s all about the cattle and this is against the law of the 1971 Act.

I could write on this all day, but below are some facts I have emailed to the press this week and last. I have a lot of other data. Please scan below and call me with anything else you need to at least postpone this action. I can provide you with the EA and DN dates and a list of the Wild Horse territories who don’t even have an EA as well as how many cattle ARE on these territories where there are no horses.

In conclusion, I understand cultural issues but do we HAVE to be the last on Cock Fighting, Educations, AND Wild Horses in New Mexico? There ARE win win solutions to all of these issues.

Also, could we just put this on hold and wait till the study of wild horses in NM called for by SMJ96 is completed? I believe the governor has recently signed this bill. WHOA wrote this bill and will be part of the study.

Sincerely,

Patience O’Dowd
Wild Horse Observers Assoc. (WHOA)
PO Box 932
Placitas, NM 87043

                                     

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Last modified: 04/25/08