WILD LANDS TO FEED LOTS – Conversion of public wild lands to low grade agricultural lands for non-native domesticated livestock using invasive or non-native species (including cheat grass and crested wheat grass). Brought in and allowed by Congress. Manipulated Extinction Equals Theft.

Per USDA Forest Service nearly half of all species federally listed as threatened or endangered are thought to be at risk primarily due to the effects of invasive species.

EXTINCTION

Teddy Roosevelt stated:

“the rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights, and must be given its first consideration.”

AGAINST THE LAW “ Destruction of our WILD Thing, native animals and their habitat, in order to effectively turn our public lands over to Private AGRIBIZ.

Our Wild Natural Resources including: our native wild horses, their native predators, and the native flora (plants) that sustain their eco-system are being illegally managed to extinction,  from both the bottom up, and from the top down.

From the bottom up our federal agencies, allowed by Congress, in cooperation with the states, have been allowing and using specific succession of seasonally inedible, non-native and highly flammable grasses causing mass extinctions of native plants and animals they support, followed by the introduction of crested wheat grass another flammable but edible grass, thereby conforming our wild lands into low grade flammable farmlands for Agribiz with little to no competition from the other remaining plants or species. In addition certain lands are being set on fire intentionally just as is the Amazon for the same purpose, Big US Agribiz. 

From the top down native predators of the our native horse are being brutally managed to extinction by USDA wildlife services (trapping and poisoning)  in cooperation with the states, while the horse is left without its natural manager and other humane contraceptive management is also with held (all illegally), and is forever being portrayed as unmanageable and put into non-transparent private hands, hence, into the slaughter pipeline under the guise of a trusted name, in this case, the ASPCA.

Thus effectively, our public wild lands are undergoing both a top down trophic cascade and a bottoms up trophic cascade, literally a ecological crisis, both allowed and caused.

Why? In order to enable an accidental LOOK GOOD, yet illegal theft of our Public Lands and Wildlife by/for Big AGRIBIZ.

Congress and the Executive Branch through time are working to further  weaken the environmental laws that protect both the native plants and native wild life, as well as to silence public input.  Now they conspire against our native wild horses behind a trusted name (ASPCA) for wild horse removal and thereby are working to effectively end the wild horse’s legal claim to these lands.  As, once gone, the government refuses to bring them back.

To be sure, currently the LOOK GOOD bill to stop transfer of federal public lands to the states or to private hands,  provide little to no protection against this covert ecological war against public lands and wildlife even if it did pass.  It’s like a charming thug  stopping his partner from “accidentally” knocking your purse right out of your hands, grabbing it for you  saying  “Don’t worry little Miss, I’m not a purse thief” while with a slight of his hand, empties out your purse and picks your pockets at the same time (without you realizing either, so he thinks) and hands your purse right back to you with a BIG smile, expecting a big thank you.  Again, both conspiracy and theft, are illegal.

WHOA, an environmental group, does provide an Win Win innovative National Plan in the alternative:  https://whoanm.org/wordpress/?p=422

While it is not legal to conspire. . . here’s the status.

I.  New BLM Director: “Conservative lawyer in favor of selling public lands picked to oversee BLM.” 

However, the theft/wipe out of our wild species of animals and plants is already happening without selling our public lands, they are Agribiz lands being farmed already, with non-native grasses, for non-native cattle.

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/30/bureau-land-management-william-perry-pendley/

II. Trusted Name used for Wild Horse Wipe-Out Cover Up:

The ASPCA et. al. plan provides a trusted name for Congress to illegally conspire behind in order to remove our native wild horses from their rightful native public lands with political impunity, thereby leaving the wild horses vulnerable to the slaughter pipeline in non-transparent private hands, as well as effectively removing “protectors”  of these public lands. Further making the lands more vulnerable to  exploitation and sale. 

Protectors of these public lands being: the horses themselves, the laws that the horses bring with them and the advocates they attract ( approx. 80% of Americans).

Contrary to the past “trusted name of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the ASPCA et al. plan is cruel. It is also scientifically and mathematically unsupported, and will cause increased birth rate and tens of thousands of wild horses to fill the AGRIBIZ slaughter pipeline. This is in no way innovative. It is the exact same illegal, inhumane, mismanagement as usual, just on a larger scale. 

See/Share  WHOA National Plan https://whoanm.org/wordpress/?p=422

Sign/Share this updated or original WHOA petition http://chng.it/M7LTBhTzgk

III. The Effective “Land Grab“ Wild lands turned into “farm” lands. 

The intentional destruction of the native/horse habitat (in less than 10 yrs.) with thick carpeting blankets of non-native plants, which are inedible (by all but goats) due to their seeds all summer and very flammable during fire season.

Cheat Grass, Lepidium, Medusahead etc. are being allowed to tacitly destroy PUBLIC WILD LANDS habitats and entire eco-systems causing massive extinctions in the U.S. This however is not climate change.

The ASPCA Plan is a ten-year meat market plan which includes no resolution of invasive species, hence, by the end of the 10 years, the excuse will be, no carrying capacity for our native wild horses.

Once the wild horses are gone, the plan is apparently to install the next non-native grass, which is edible crested wheat grass, and then increase the number of cattle, but not bring the wild horses back.

U.S. no. 1 on massive extinctions due to invasive species.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-20/australia-fourth-on-animal-extinction-list/10002380

CHEAT GRASS, it’s spread, it’s affects including fires, tremendously decreased carrying capacity, and native habitat destruction, as well as the governments mis-management and future plans regarding cheat grass has not been honestly addressed in any of the Wild horse Environmental Assessments. This is a significant issue in and of itself.

 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Washington-Allen/publication/273135446/figure/fig44/AS:649307615133698@1531818407683/Approximate-distribution-of-cheatgrass-Bromus-tectorum-across-the-coterminous-United.png

“What is cheatgrass?

Its an annual invasive grass that is native to Europe and eastern Asia, not North America. It was brought over by European settlers in the mid to late 1800s.

It probably wouldn’t have outcompeted native vegetation if early settlers hadn’t also introduced large numbers of livestock like cattle and sheep into sagebrush country. Our palatable native grasses and forbs weren’t adapted to those high levels of uncontrolled overgrazing by domestic livestock, which created a void that cheatgrass quickly filled. “

“. . . As for wildlife, the biggest threat from cheatgrass is the loss of habitat due to increased wildfires and the conversion of diverse native plant communities to monocultures of an annual grass.”

www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/why-is-cheatgrass-bad

nearly half of all species federally listed as threatened or endangered are thought to be at risk primarily due to the effects of invasive species.”

“Garlic Mustard. Giant Hogweed. Medusa Head. Albizia. Knotweed. Cheatgrass.
https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/protecting-forest/invasive-species/

III. B. Our Government has been illegally turning our North American wild lands into a flammable mono-culture “farmland” for non-native plants and non-native livestock, right under our very noses.

WHOA regrets to say that it sees the governmental plans of  re-seeding with flammable non-native plants extinction of our native plants and animals, followed by increased cattle grazing as an opportunistic and a non-beneficial taking of our wild lands by “farming” for non-native livestock on our public wild lands. Advocates need to oppose this intentional wipe out of habitat of our North American wild lands and eco-systems. 

The government not only allows but it causes cheat grass to over run everything, to become a thick and flammable mono-culture which is inedible to all but goats when it has seeds (all summer). Cheat grass crowds out native flora and fauna, and also causes the burn out of native grasses due to much increased wildfires in both frequency and area. The government feigns cost issues as it's excuse of allowing this, then re-seeds with yet another non-native flammable invasive called crested wheat grass which can compete with cheat grass.  Crested wheat grass is edible in summer, but is still flammable and able to crowd out native plants. The government then plans to increase livestock grazing, ostensibly in order to combat the crested wheat grass and cheat grass they planted! https://magicvalley.com/business/agriculture/blm-proposes-grazing-increase-in-new-land-decisions/article_446e5022-c5ea-55b7-b937-5edd1f774a16.html

Statutes including those below require that these noxious weeds be stopped and our environment protected (“whatever the cost”).

7 U.S. Code 7701.Findings – Congress finds that— the detection, control, eradication, suppression, prevention, or retardation of the spread of plant pests or noxious weeds is necessary for the protection of the agriculture, environment, and economy of the United States; . . .

• Endangered Species Act –

“The plain intent of Congress in enacting this statute was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost. This is reflected not only in the stated policies of the Act, but in literally every section of the statute.”

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/US/437/437.US.153.76-1701.html

• There are some states in the west where our state governments feels that there are no laws protecting plant native species.
  • Washington
  • I-da-homeless – “Little Amazon”, BLM is currently burning 21 square miles of Old Growth Juniper Trees. Any small animal in the middle of this thoughtful burn will have to run about 10 miles to survive. Will there even be an estimate on collateral damage of the animals that used to live there, but are now charcoal?
  • Utah – Special Mention – Governor Gary Herbert and Representative Chris Stewart are a very active team against wild horses.  Both admit that wild horses can be darted with in the remote areas from helicopters, but they rather instead to round them all up. They could just allow the natural predators of the horse to roam! No round ups, no contraception. Now there’s that ice-cube’s chance in Ida-hopeless.
  • Wyoming
  • Colorado – Where former Secretary Salazar hails from.
  • North Dakota
  • Montana
• There are some laws and lack thereof, that are questionable with respect to constitutionality.
• Executive Order 13112 – Invasive Species

https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/2016-2018-nisc-management-plan.pdf

^{“All federal agencies are prohibited from authorizing, funding or carrying out actions that “destroy or adversely modify” critical habitats.”} 

IV. DIVIDE AND CONQUER – USING FALSE SCIENCE under color of law:

Americans have been SOLD the following set of divisive, incorrect propaganda with intent, with no basis in science, or in fact.  This has effectively kept wild predator advocates away from unison with wild horse advocates by giving their animal a “higher status”, native for one, and feral for the other, and they fell for it, unfortunately, but . . . This has significantly contributed to lack of proper management of both our native wild horses and their native predators, both of which are being literally managed to extinction illegally.

DIVISIVE PROPAGANDA:

Letters a through h below are nonsensical. However, WHOA will provide the details on this as we have both at NM legislature and in NM courts, however in a future post in order to save time here.

a) The iconic returned native Mega Fauna, the horse, is domesticated.  Really?

b) If domesticated the horse is not native. Evolving here for 55 million years and gone for only 8000 years.  Really?

c) Domestication is a genetic process. Domestication is not taming, it is not habituation, it is not simply breeding in captivity.

d) If not native, the horse has no native predators. Really?

e) If the horse has no native predators, or they are managed to extinction wild horses cannot be managed feasibly. Really?

f) The horses are too remote to be managed feasibly by contraception. Really? See WHOA National Plan.

g) Since horses are supposedly “non-native” and are domestic they cannot be defended by “real” environmental groups, only by “emotional types”.  Good to know! “Old Misogynistic Rule?”

h) Since horses are “domestic”, they can be humanely slaughtered for human consumption. Really? Well, only behind a “trusted” name in order to put everyone’s mind falsely at ease as well as provide an excuse for those in power.

https://www.livescience.com/9589-surprising-history-america-wild-horses.html
https://awionline.org/content/wild-horses-native-north-american-wildlife

V. WILL SAFE ACT Co-SIGNERS TAKE COVER  behind the ASPCA Name per the Plan? How about the previous ROAM Act Co-Signers and how about the previous Anti-Slaughter for Human Consumption Act Co-Signers before that?

Will they stand up and block the ASPCA meat market Plan in private hands? Or, will they only feign to block it? (Time will tell). Or, will we be insulted when/if they pretend it is a good plan and then conspire behind it while telling advocates it’s somehow their fault for lack of unity?

Congress has sent approximately 410 horses each and everyday, every year, over our borders to slaughter for 12 years! That’s 1.8 Million horses slaughtered, against the will of 80% of the people in our “Representational Democracy”.

The states ended horse slaughter and the feds send them over our borders and this is under both political parties. This is especially egregious when the border states could simply pass the Illinois law to disallow horse slaughter traffic through their states. Though on a silver platter, New Mexico has refused to do this so-far.  We now have a previous SAFE ACT Co-Signer as Governor. . . No movement yet . . .

Lets expect our Congresspersons to have the courage of their, or our, convictions. Let’s ask them to  make some deals! Call in some favors, make it happen NOW!

Or, ask your legislator/co-signer to BE A WHISTLE BLOWER on Congress! It will only take ONE Courageous whistle blower to turn this around.  Out of all the co-signers, there must be at least 5 stand-up Legislators. Legislators, feel free to send info. to whoanm.org web page or to wildhorsesnm@yahoo.com or to message our facebook page Wild Horse Observers Association – WHOA. This can even be done anonymously.

VI. The Endangered Species Act is also under bi-partisan attack by Corporate Congress because endangered species laws also protect public lands from land grabs.

Under President Obama
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/endangered-species-02-05-2016.html
Under President Trump
https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2019/lawsuit-challenges-trump-administration-attack-on-endangered-species-act

VII. The National Environment Protection Act (NEPA) is under Corporate Congressional attack, for the same reason.

https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=CEQ-2018-0001-0001

VIII. Methane restrictions are being Congressionally raised-

for oil and gas however ruminant digestion alone is the largest source of Methane per the EPA and even greater with the addition of the associated manure. (Methane is 84 times more heat trapping than CO2 in its first 20 years.)
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/what-they-are-saying-about-epas-new-methane-proposal
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases#methane

IX. Re-Wilding:

Re-wilding, sounds good! It’s a nice word, like ASPCA! However, sounds good, but is it?

Another smaller scale plan in the works in Congress. Under this plan a few wild horses will be taken out of public hands and into non-trans-parent/private hands under the Congressional guise of re-wilding. These wild horses will be at risk of the non-transparent pipeline to horse slaughter as meat in the AGRIBIZ meat market.

Rewilding.”"The Committee recognizes the value of horse rewilding as one of many herd management strategies and encourages the Bureau to explore collaborations with suitable organizations and willing landowners to adopt, transport and locate horses to appropriate habitats at no cost to taxpayers. Meaning, no transparency."
https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY2020%20Interior%20Report%20Draft.pdf (See page 15)

X. REMEMBER THE AMAZON – Because it is happening right here, right now in Idaho, U.S.A.

BLM Burns 21 square miles in Idaho to get rid of  native Juniper trees.

https://idahonews.com/news/local/blm-burning-21-square-miles-of-rangeland-in-southwest-idaho?fbclid=IwAR3NSyRj4wtJmCyOR9Efu4dhKWfUGRHD9FwKk4Jyylmk2qqQiLeljbTv2aY

The planned and intentional ecological devastation in the U.S. by highly flammable cheat grass etc. has the same cause as the planned ecological devastation by fire that is happening in the Amazon which is also largely due to U.S. Livestock/AGRIBIZ. Remember 90 to 98% of Soybeans grown are used for food for livestock.

We in the U.S. and elsewhere are growing food for livestock not people. At the same-time we are wasting as well as polluting our fresh water resources on food for livestock, and oil from agriculture for fuel, not food for people.

These short-sighted corporate actions are also actions against indigenous peoples as well as against all peoples, wildlife and climate.

https://theintercept.com/2019/08/27/amazon-rainforest-fire-blackstone/
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/where_do_all_these_soybeans_go
http://www.fides.org/en/news/29386AMERICA_BRAZIL_Violence_against_the_indigenous_people_of_Brazil_is_increasing_new_complaint_by_IMIC#.Vd96YLxViko


https://hwaairfan.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/brazil-corporations-continue-to-seize-indigenous-lands-and-hire-hit-men-to-murder-residents/

X B. ENTER AUSTRALIA, EVERYWHERE

Queensland extinguishes native title over Indigenous land to make way for Adani coalmine

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/31/queensland-extinguishes-native-title-over-indigenous-land-to-make-way-for-adani-coalmine
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/13/business/adani-mine-australia-approval/index.html

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Sign and share the WHOA Petition against the ASPCA et al. plan.  http://chng.it/v4q65pkyHz  Over 2400

Only the WHOA petition includes comprehensive alternatives that:

• Re-instate the value to the horse vs the adoptions at less than Kill buyer prices.
• Removes the conflict of interest between cattle and horses on public lands. (The government is of course against this and the ranchers are for this.)
• Is good for our public land, the horses and the public lands ranchers while allowing for effectively increasing AML.
• Fix the environment/non-native grasses and climate change.
• On range management stopping illegal helicopter round ups.
• Is educational and brings people together and is science based.
• Sign and share all the links below showing that citizens do NOT support the ASPCA et al. plan.

DONATE: If you do not like illegal actions outlined herein click below:

Donations

2.Sign and share the excellent Animal Wellness Action Letter and customize your letter here as they request with information you have learned in this petition update: https://secure.everyaction.com/JZCZS5hJxEqxsnMYe_69_g2

• Please personalize: Ask them to STOP this THEFT IN PLACE of our wild lands. Or stop pulling the value out of our wildlands and turning them into livestock feedlots.
• Please ask them to consider the WHOA National plan to remove the conflict of interest, heal the environment, save tax dollars, and work together. This will be automatically sent to your federal Senators.
• Please also let them know you do not want our nations natural resource managed in private hands with private funding as this is an veiled path to slaughter. This includes removing our horses from wild lands they are on to other wild lands in private hands for re-wilding .

3. Sign and fax the RTFitch protest https://rtfitchauthor.com/2019/09/20/action-alert-help-save-the-wild-herds-easy-to-do-free-to-fax-and-well-written/
4. Sign and share the AWHPC Petition opposes round ups, provides no plan but gets more numbers. https://www.change.org/p/lisa-murkowski-protect-america-s-wild-horses-from-a-dangerous-plan  0ver 20,000
5. Sign and share the Anthony Marr Petition opposes ASPCA plan provides a plan.   https://www.change.org/p/marr-plan  Over 10,000
6. Sign and Share SAFE ACT Petition“ a MUST.. given this ASPCA Plan putting wild horses in non-transparent, underfunded hands, basically for slaughter in WHOA’s opinion. http://chng.it/J5NzHdLXq4  Over 26,000
7. Contact Western Watersheds 
   

   Josh Osher
   Montana Director
   Public Policy Director
   Western Watersheds Project
   406-830-3099
   P.O. Box 1135
   Hamilton, MT 59840

8. Share the https://patch.com/florida/miami/funding-cattlemens-assoc-path-forward-must-be-denied?fbclid=IwAR2eLgSORJQRgasl0iMpZamSChEgcvUDJGDaTpWwtD_N7i6jg5uNv6hQNQk
9.  

This book was first entitled: WHERE THE WILD HORSES ARE according to Wikipedia. We don’t know about that, however we highly recommend this book and it’s respect for our need for Wild Things. 

Soon we may really wonder where the wild things are.