Wild Horse Territories

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WHOA Advocates Giving the Wild Horses the Highest Priority on the National Wild Horse Territories

Summary

There are 9 National Wild Horse Territories in New Mexico, which is one of the best kept secrets of the USDA Forest Service. These territories, and the horses on them, fall under the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act.

In New Mexico, not only are these horses are NOT utilized as a tourist attraction, they are also kept at dangerously low numbers under the guise of saving them from "starvation". This is strange since there are 12,030 cows permitted in these territories, which are finding ample food on, as opposed to only 341 horses.

The USDA Forest Service is also using helicopters for spring round-ups, which frequently results in the death and separation of foals, as well as injuries to adults.

We are opposed to round-ups in general, unless it is for relocation to other wild areas. We are against adoption in general, unless there is no other alternative, as many adoptions are not permanent and the horse often ends up at the slaughter house where they and the cattle are NOT killed humanely in a large number of cases. (The 1958 Humane Slaughter Act has not been and is not now enforced)

It is our premise that there are true Win-Win alternatives for ranchers, as well as humane alternatives for horses other than round-up, especially by helicopter. Some of these humane methods, such as birth control, are specifically mentioned in the law but have not been employed by the Forest Service in New Mexico, at least not in recent history.

Although the law does not state horses have to be relocated or cross bred with herds from different gene pools, it does not preclude this. Therefore, in New Mexico, since the Forest Service keeps the 4 remaining herds so small (one is only 13 horses, whereas experts say a size of 180 to 200 is required for genetic safety), it is incumbent upon the Forest Service to preserve and protect our few remaining wild horses, many of which are known to have Spanish bloodlines from horses brought over by the conquistadors.

WHOA Goals

	The USDA Forest Service giving the Wild Horses the highest priority on the National Wild Horse Territories. Although one might assume this is already the case, given their territories designation, this is not how Forest Service has been administering these territories. If horses were given priority, then the need for herd reduction would be greatly reduced.
	A halt to rounding up the wild horses and their subsequent sale. Too many of these horses are adopted by people who, though well intentioned, are not prepared for the difficulty in the caring and training of a wild horse. As a result, the wild horse often ends up at the sale barn and then often in the slaughterhouse.
	An immediate halt to Spring roundups and the use of helicopters in roundups. Helicopter roundups in the Spring have resulted in the death of foals and mares, as well as injury to other adult horses.

Just the Facts

	Wild Horse Territories List from the USDA Forest Service (this list is not all inclusive).
	Wild Horses vs Cattle on Wild Horse/Burro Territories - Graph showing the wide disparity in the US Forest Service's number of desired horses on NM Wild Horse/ Burro Territories vs the number of permitted cattle.
	Forest Guardians vs US Forest Service (Adobe .pdf)- The Spotted Owl case highlighted that livestock were heavily overgrazing federal lands in both NM and AZ. Also, the Forest Service under-reported the number of cattle by a factor of 2 ( in the areas where the numbers were being tracked, several areas had no numbers. Parts of Carson National Forest were part of this lawsuit.
	Senate Joint Memorial 96 - Joan Fenicle authored the Senate Joint Memorial 96, which mandates a study by all the relevant agencies, along with horse advocate groups, on how the Wild Horses of New Mexico can be protected and preserved from extinction.
	Bureau of Land Management Changes Position on Spring Wild Horse Roundups After Public Outcry
	The Economics of the US Forest Service - A Sierra Club pie chart shows that range use only constitutes 0.7% of the income and jobs.

Actions

	Obtained information and data on the Wild Horse Territories. This required several inquiries to Washington, DC before the Albuquerque Regional Forest Service would respond to our requests for information.
	Monitoring the Forest Services actions within the Wild Horse Territories.

● See El Rito Round-up Project

● See Jicarilla Round-up Project

Deadly Roundup Protest Rally- On October 16, 2003, WHOA organized a protest rally outside the Regional Albuquerque Forest Service Building to protest the Helicopter Roundups of Wild Horses within National Wild Horse Territories. The protest garnered significant press coverage (all three major network affiliates, KUNM, as well as CNN) and helped get the word out about the existence of the National Wild Horse Territories and the plight of the few remaining Wild Horses. (Listen to the KUNM coverage, requires Real Player)

Due to the demonstration and the public input generated, the Forest Service has declared that the El Rito Ranger District (as well as the Jicarilla District) will no longer do their roundups in the Spring and will not be using helicopters.

Plans

Continue gathering information regarding the Wild Horse Territories and how they are managed. In particular, investigating why 5 of the 9 Wild Horse Territories do not have any Wild Horses on them.

What Can You Do?

Call your Federal and State Representatives, as well as the District Ranger at the Albuquerque Regional Forest Service office and tell them you support WHOA's goals.