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Alliance of Wild Horse Advocates' WILD HORSE WAR ROOM SESSION NOTES SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT Wild & Feral Horse and Burro Management and Policy Conference (Nov. 3, 4, 5, 2009)

Issue: Society for Range Management Conference on Wild Horses Priority: Informational Attendee Notes, Day 3, Nov. 5, 2009 Notes taken by Betty Retzer These are word for word postings of the actual notes being taken. Once all the original notes have been posted, a more "readable" discussion will be presented as to what it all means. Added comments appear in italics. (Day 3 included breakout sessions) - - - The breakout sessions were held today – Laura went to one set and I attended the other. The sessions were summarized in the afternoon prior to the open discussions. I handed out the Nevada Wild Horse Tourism brochure – it was well received. A letter in support of the Salazar proposal was being sent around – there were numerous corrections to it and only 2 signatures when I saw it. I do not know what happened to it at the end of the day. ---------------------------------- Gene Kolkman video 37K on range – 10K over AML 31K in holding budget and horse trouble yeah to Salazar and Abbey carrying capacity – numbers need to be adjusted but this is a long process horse management is frozen in time herds are reproducing regardless of range status – will increase by at least 20% each year $50M is not enough able to adopt about 5000 head each year will keep looking for sanctuaries each year quality not quantity only will be solved in DC land is not the problem – it is a budget issue – cannot afford to take care of all the horses – AML must be based on budget – horses can live 20 – 30 years in sanctuary need to cut back so only reproduce 1000 per year so can get those adopted if 26K horses – on edge to go over AML unless don’t miss gather or adoption numbers ----------------------------------------- Moderator: support (in principle) the original act and its amendments – support humane handling Not just public lands issues ---------------------------------- BREAK OUT SESSIONS Moderator – Gary McCuin - Resource and Husbandry Ethics multiple use vs single use of federal lands harvest vs starvation and rangeland degradation (never got to this topic) make recommendations to Congress – basic thoughts – maintain all of the uses and that horses belong there Mark Welch – no national monitoring method/protocol to assess status of rangeland / wildlife etc. impacts – not just horses Tamson – concur with Dr. Welch – people monitoring are poorly trained Craig Downer – separate horses from other wildlife – don’t lump them all together when studying the range Tina – the numbers of the various hoofed animals should be studied as the impacts of each is different / train volunteers Jerry Winecup – he has done a review of his ranch using satellite imaging and land values and forage – uses AUM (a measure of forage) – use the technical tools available to study forage Wally – monitor private lands too Van – don’t need to remonitor – we keep doing the same thing over and over – we have 50 years of data now – move on – go forward Steve – won’t be in agreement – each group “owns” protocol Larry Johnson – never had a handle on counting the horses – there are more than we think – need to have a regular census – use new double count techniques used by other agencies / no correction made for not counted – no “add-ons” / AML should be around 22K Laura Leigh – need to do counts in a timely manner to avoid the movement and perhaps recounting the same horse in a different location is without figuring out what to do with the excess horses / should manage within budget ??? – publish an effective lower AML number Jon Falen – don’t keep sending to LT holding Craig D – groups should be charged with upholding the WH&B; Act – it is not being followed / populations are not viable / reserve design – natural barriers and predators – minimum of 1000 to 2500 / evolution of life / can enhance and restore ecosystem Ray Page – have 3 BLM allotments and the horses are breeding!!! – cannot mend riparian if horses are there / management problem / gather every 2 years Dave (HSUS) – birth control/ multiple use – showcase herds / no specific management but priority management Sheryl Post (BLM) – any ideas to do better gathers other than using choppers – talk to her (775-482-7800 x 7845) James (Nez Perce Indian tribe) – it is possible to harvest an animal and still honor it / don’t need to know the numbers to manage them / too late when see land impact / need better horse market to adopt more / need way to dispose – process horses / properly fund agencies to manage herds ??? - Commonalities – horses on the range / multiple use / bio-diversity / better monitoring methods for range and wildlife / establish a trust fund that cannot be redirected / need stable funding not appropriations Jon Falen – start with what we can adopt out – only management tool available now / horses on public land should be equal to adoption numbers Craig Downer – over fenced in legal areas / will balance within reserve design Julie – put tools back in the toolbox – sale and slaughter Laura Leigh – the law is being bent – need to adhere to the act / need real standards – find agreements on AML number and rangeland status Tina – public land uncertainty because water being sold or not available / need to address bio-diversity of all animals Nick Illia (manager of the Fallon feed lot) – who gives BLM their orders? Dept of Interior ??? – AMLs set by rangeland health Ron (BLM director of Nevada) – misinformation campaign – need a new campaign / horses going extinct / need to get out real message and facts Larry Johnson – involvement in the process / dispose of excess horses / fund or follow the law Nick Illia – send horses to small facilities – sanctuaries / let them get paid not the large facilities ---------------------------------------------- afternoon breakout session Barry Perryman moderator Management vs gathers – population control / excess horse clearance Dr. David Thain (was state of NV vet) – horse slaughter ban in 2005 – no horse slaughter or ship to slaughter – for human consumption / rider on USDA took away funding for inspections – USDA then turned to private inspectors / Texas passed a law prohibiting horses from human consumption – basically all of the US slaughter plants were shut down / there is no Federal ban yet Horses are sent to Canada or Mexico – Canada has government inspections of the plants – Mexico does not Q – what about the plant in Mexico that is inspected A – Joan Amoldi (vet) went to that plant and did an inspection and found it was like the US’s former plants Gary – managed 2 packing plants in Mexico and it is up to the managers to do the right job Sue Wallis (United Organization of the Horse) – legal slaughter / toured plants in Mexico and Canada – you can go to vet. Journals for details – the horses travel to Mexico in sealed trucks – they are inspected at the border and then sealed back up for delivery to the plant that is inspected / the horses are humanely killed / she also went to another Mexican plant what wasn’t legal to send horses to but found that they also handled the horses humanely Videos of horse slaughter may be a total fabrication or may be some mom & pop operation that is not inspected Moderator: what is management? Must get numbers under control – maybe things need to be changed so we don’t keep doing the same things orse program since the beginning / need selective removal – cheaper – keeps the horses on the land – allows for genetic diversity – integrity of the range / those horses under 4 years of age have a 98% adoption rate within one year of capture (he’s at the Litchfield BLM) / control is not management / remove foals and yearlings to get to 50% / birth control or else go back the next year or two to gather / costs are $110K for “gate cut” vs $70K for selective removal Sherm – by removing the young – more adoptable/ will change the age structure of the herd / keep quality Bill Phillips – replace death loss with selected replacements Jerry Anders (rancher) – he was at the last roundup in Nevada – are AMLs appropriate – yes – pre-gather – 400 head --- post gather 150 / does euthanasia include slaughter? Doesn’t need to be for human consumption – there is a market for feed and fertilizer Larry Johnson – don’t see a time when gathers can be eliminated / all the tools have limitations / cannot catch enough to make a difference / won’t ever reach zero population growth / need get to low AML to apply any management program / Calico need to remove 2800 horses / demographics have changed so much – adoption rate down – not just an economic issue – there isn’t any interest / giant marketing efforts going on now compared to past years / need to use all the tools available for population control Moderator – BLM marketing? Ron Wicher – been with the program from the beginning – need to get the story out – big challenge / Mustang Heritage Foundation has really helped the marketing Moderator – is there any problem using funds for marketing? Ron Wicher – we tend to chase from one disaster to another – crisis based – reaction not action / marketing always less than desirable Jon Falen (cattleman’s assoc) – Mustang Heritage Foundation is doing a great job advertising and marketing Dave T – do we need more marketing? Jon Falen – we are getting amazing prices for those horses but any additional ways would be great Moderator – need to look at other new markets / partnerships with other advocacy groups Dean Bolsted (dep. with BLM) – Mustang Heritage Foundation is a very important program/ private sector can do more things out of the box / use 4H and FFA Sue Wallis (UOH) – reality check on culling out the young horses as more adoptable – you can go to any sale barn and pick up registered yearlings for $25 ??? – his son’s government class is studying the WH&B; issue – why all the solutions? Why is the private sector not included – how about a roping tag? Get a tag and go rope the horse that you want. Moderator – it all comes down to accountability Rob Pliskin – they have a pilot program for volunteers and public participation / allow satellite adoptions / allow people to take horses to gentle not like Mustang Heritage Foundation, but halter train etc. Moderator – more creativity / create more value Jerry Anders – huge challenge / options at local level – if get to AML gathers may not be available and the contractors who have come to expect big bucks won’t be making the money any longer / cooperative monitoring / license ranchers and permitees to do small gathers / ranchers now look down their noses at mustangs but if get to AML they might be more amenable to them Dave – if AML reached – do still need adoption program – does it create an educational and cultural entity Dave T – what else do we need for population control ??? – every tool needs to be looked at – don’t delay Pat Evans (Utah State Univ) – get education done / get facts out Ray Page - list tools that we have and list those we don’t have Nick Illia (mgr of the Fallon feed lot) – need money – cannot manage without money John Arsen (educator) – 70% of the money is going to off range care Moderator – need a reliable and adequate funding source Erin Brown (student) – the public sector need to help / excess horses – some may not be adoptable Sally Sommers – started a program to help adopters / put a box on the tax forms to check to donate $1.00 for the horses Tina – BLM has become a welfare group – get a new management entity to take over this responsibility Betty Retzer – excess horses – BLM itself – advocacy groups – cooperative agreements – volunteer program – prison programs – mentor programs – adoption help from prior adopters ------------------------------------------- Summary Reports from each breakout group – create action item list – what should we ask our legislators to do? ETHICS Horses belong in a multiple use context Rangeland health imperative – upland / riparian – monitoring assessments census Sustained adequate funding Population size based on resource constraints – dynamic Population control – whatever needs to be done Use all tools available Create an independent clearing house for facts and knowledge Law, regulations and policy need to be flexible AGENCY ISSUES Common issues – outlets for animals / high quality and accurate information to public How to achieve – clarification on issues outside public lands - private and tribal lands / coordinate data across boundaries – BLM, Forest Service and other agencies Communication Use new techniques 4 recommendations: develop means to get correct/accurate infomation to public and political arena – partner to accomplish this need new and better research into new techniques – selective capture – euthanasia improved inventories - AML more inclusive and flexible – not tied to social or economic issues – site specific issues better coordination between stakeholders ORIGINAL AUTHORIZATION Make changes to the 1971 act eliminate the restriction of adopting only 4 horses per year clean up definitions change “may” to “shall” ROAM not supported legislatively Problems in law because being manipulated AML levels – no one can agree on the levels Stay up with adoption demands Need diversity and viability on the land Multiple use not preserves National protocol to deal with policy conflicts Herd numbers not accurate Budget – need more stable not necessarily more money / more funding on technology Include rangeland rehabilitation MANAGEMENT VS GATHERS BLM and Forest Service should manage land not horses – find another agency to manage the horse welfare and adoption programs Get out of LT holding – adopt Educate Funding adequate and reliable Accountability – tax check box Population control – use selective gathers Increase out of box marketing - team up with horse advocacy groups Inventory – better models – reliable assessment and monitoring What tools do we need ----------------------------------------------------------------- Moderator - SRM is not a lobby group – they provide information and educate – what do we need to ask for to help BLM Jon Falen – use the Salazar proposal as start – expand on it to get population where it can be adopted Moderator – is that a correct jumping off position? Several no’s were heard around the room Laura Leigh – not acceptable because we need to make use of the 1971 law already in place – Salazar plan asks for spending $92M for new land purchase – not necessary = support a moratorium – take a breath – look at other options- this would cause a huge change to current horse populations – not ROAM / not Salazar – whole issue needs basic review Moderator – so it would compound the problem already in existence – enforce the current law Laura Leigh – need to come up with short term solutions – birth control / do an internal review / the GAO still not answered Joe Gill – send to correct audience – legislators, agencies, public / strong consensus – over past 25 years the budget has not been consistent – needs to be steady and reliable to plan ahead / the toolbox has been emptied – give the agency the tools authorized by the 1971 law – including disposal ??? – moratorium puts off and can’t recover from that – this is not the forum to stop Salazar – let’s move onto something more productive Craig Downer – support the moratorium – need to get more balance Moderator – need a place to start – 1971 law, moratorium, Salazar proposal Sherm – welfare or management of gathered horse should not compete with the welfare of the land and range Sharon Etherton - budget – let BLM decide the amount they need – organization of groups – BLM Fish and Wildlife – agree on money issues – decide on amount and then lobby for it / adequate would need to be defined based on horse numbers, carrying capacity and multiple uses Jack ? – looking for a way to support – ROAM not it – Salazar might be it establishes preserves showcases western horse areas keeps herds at more stable numbers do we support number 3? – yes (audience reply) can we support numbers 1 & 2 as temporary measures? – NO (audience reply) Quinton ? – excess horses have no outlet – how to deal with them – holding uses up money meant for range horse management / get rid of prohibition – allow slaughter and unlimited sales / purchase horses to put in the preserves – individuals would spend their money instead of taxpayer money going for that Larry Johnson – option for state of Nevada – Litigation – Wyoming has done that – Nevada needs to look at that option since over half of the horses reside here and we don’t get budget share / the National WH Commission has a draft claim but since the commission is disbanding next year it probably won’t be acted upon Jon Falen – solve problems first and then do a moratorium and studies / at the current rate, in 25 years the budget will need to be 1.5 billion Proposal to reduce to AML – then we can get the 3500+ horses adopted each year and be in balance with no more added to LT holding Moderator – so horses do belong on the public lands – we are in agreement on this – YES Lisa Shock (student) – save $23M – put horses back where they came from – use gelding and birth control – do not purchase preserves Moderator – there will be problems with that – e.g. – horses that have been in holding won’t know how to survive ??? – their group in Arizona is developing a video about the horses Moderator – please provide a copy to this group Rob P – accountability – who in this room has a BLM mustang? About 10 – 15% of the people raised their hands – remain objective – improve information to the public and keep open minds – livestock grazers are 3% of beef raised Nick Illia – if you get the go ahead from Washington – can you start slaughtering horses? Panel answer – probably so (Nick continued on with loud voice and some rantings and was asked to sit down. He was almost evicted from the room) Tina – 3% of beef produced – Sierra Club wanted livestock grazing managed – in Nevada, 78% of the land does not contain water sources – horses must come to water – Wildlife Conservancy has been purchasing land to keep areas whole and allow water to be available – ranchland is important – we all must work together Ray Page – horses using 38%of the land – land is being sold because of water – need to balance horses with livestock Joe Gill – educate the public on real facts with the number of horses in the West. Legislative action is based on information they have gathered – overcome myths Moderator – SRM officers are going to DC with information ??? (Indian) – get to AML but which number to use – low end or high end / how to get there/ special interest groups altered the 1971 law / cannot get there without birth control / need to use another tool too / shouldn’t have LT holding / educate DC – talk to representatives / other groups have been left out (meaning the tribes) / be a good neighbor and contact everyone being impacted / use animals in a respectful way Doug Busselman (Farm bureau) – move beyond technology – address the political / have another forum / need a way to implement political strategies / interact with technical people and bring in advocacy groups Moderator – it is not a horse problem – it is a people problem Sherm – 2 political problems – 1 - gathered horses; 2 – land management and horses on that land Jerry Anders – then need funding for 2 separate problems – ask for less money – go back to 1971 levels – go to AML – BLM would go to the people-on-the-ground for help / use what you have ??? – need some tort reform Moderator – this concluded the meeting – SRM is not a lobby group but does visit with Congress – they have their position and will refine it from what they’ve heard over the last 3 days – will provide documents and video etc. on their website / the information will be put to use and given to Legislators www.rangelands.org this is the website that contains their information – documents are not yet posted Discussion and analysis will be presented shortly. 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