REVISITING THE MUSTANGS OF THE SANDWASH BASIN JULY 28,2011

REVISITING THE WILD MUSTANG HORSES OF THE SANDWASH BASIN

It’s been three years since I last visited the wild mustang herd of the Sandwash Basin in northwestern Colorado. I had the good fortune of taking two photographers, Marianne Martin of Boulder (www.reallifeportraits.com) , and Alex Kendall of Breckenridge (www.alexkendallphotography.com), out on the Sandwash Herd Management Area to photograph the mustangs.

ALL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS ON THIS BLOG POST WERE TAKEN BY MARIANNE MARTIN. THANK-YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE YOUR TALENT ON MY BLOG, MARIANNE!!!

We stopped by the Bureau of Land Management office in Craig, where the staff was very helpful and gave us directions of where to go to see the horses. After driving for about an hour through the basin, we encountered a gathering of several “bands”, or family units standing together. Marianne and Alex were able to walk amongst the different bands and photograph them until sunset.

All in all, the mustangs were very calm and comfortable with our presence. They were just doing what mustangs do.

Stallions were posturing.

And rearing up to establish dominance.

Foals were nursing.

Horses from the different bands would walk over and visit with a neighboring band.

It’s a very colorful herd. Years ago a paint breeder and a morgan breeder kept their herds on this land with the mustangs, and the bloodlines mixed.

The first thing horses do when they meet is to smell each other’s breath. That is how they identify each other.

Some horses played.

Some horses ran.

And ran.

And ran.

This handsome stallion is standing guard over his band of mares and foals.

He’s a looker.

These horse are grooming each other, a form of affection and care. They scratch places on their partner where they couldn’t reach themselves. Notice the leg stripes and dorsal stripe on the horse on the right. These are markings from the past when horses needed camouflaged coat.

The beauty of their movement sometimes feels choreographed.

Their coloring is fantastic.

This finely boned mare has ringlets in her mane.

Here she is with her foal.

Prairie dred locks.

There is an inherent value in these mustangs that live in 10 states across the Western United States.

Their beauty heals us.

Their complex social structure teaches us.

Their presence living in the wild frees us.

I encourage you to learn more and get involved in supporting wise management and protection of our wild mustangs so that they will continue to thrive.

Ashe!

Deborah Stringfellow

THE COMPLEXITIES OF EFFECTIVELY MANAGING OUR WILD MUSTANG HERDS

The task of managing our wild mustangs that live in ten western states is a complicated matter. Back in 1971, when the Wild Horse and Burro Act was enacted the Bureau of Land Management, (BLM), was designated as the governmental agency to be in charge of managing the wild mustangs who freely roamed the land. “Herd Management Areas” (HMA’s) were created and fenced where the mustangs were living; laws were put into place to protect the horses. There were approximately 25,000 mustangs at that time. The herds flourished.

Today, there are an estimated 71,000 mustangs; 37,000 of which are living on the HMA’s, another 34,000 are living in government-run corrals and pastures, and over 100,000 wild mustangs have been adopted to date. Why are those 34,000 mustangs living in corrals rather than out on the range, you ask? Good question. Let me explain.

Mustangs reproduce at a rate of 25% per year, so they double their herd size every four years. The BLM land they live on is used for many purposes; livestock, hunting, camping, four wheeling, etc. Most of the HMA’s are located in the West where the vegetation is sparse. In order to maintain “Appropriate Management Levels”, (AMLs – i.e. a designated number of mustangs that the land can support), the BLM conducts “gathers” where they run the herds into holding areas, vet the horses, and then remove a certain percentage of the horses, and release the rest back onto the HMA. The horses that are removed can either be adopted depending on their age and health, or placed in the government-run corrals and pastures. To date, the adoption rate of wild mustangs has not been able to keep up with the number of horses that are removed from the range.

The BLM is in a tight spot. Population increases have increased their budget from $38.8 million in 2007 to $63.9 million in 2010. In 2009, the holding costs for the horses living in long and short-term corrals was $29 million; about 70% of their total budget. What to do?

The Senate Appropriations Committee has deemed that the current path of the Wild Horse and Burro program is not sustainable. Ken Salazar, our Secretary of the Interior, has proposed a new plan.

Here is the link to his new proposal: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/october/salazar_seeks_congressional.html

Currently the bill is being signed off by the different governmental agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Land Management before it is presented to Congress. Our Wild Horse and Burro program is at a critical crossroad.

PLEASE READ THE NEXT POST TO FIND OUT HOW TO GET INVOLVED!!

KEN SALAZAR’S NEW PLAN FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR WILD MUSTANGS

In response to a directive by the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Government Accountability Committee to control the BLM Wild Horse and Burro program costs, and to find a more sustainable way to manage our wild mustangs, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior had proposed a new plan: *http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/october/salazar_seeks_congressional.html

His plan includes:

- Establishing a new set of wild horse preserves on land acquired by the BLM and/or partners in the Midwest and the East that would be home to non-reproducing herds of wild mustangs. These wild horse preserves would be managed by the BLM or through cooperative agreements between the BLM and private non-profit organizations or other partners, to reduce existing off-range holding costs and harnessing the energy of enthusiastic horse supporters. *

-To showcase the unique herds on public lands in the West which deserve special recognition, with Secretarial or Congressional designations, which would generate ecotourism for the nearby rural communities. *

- To slow population growth rates of wild horses on Western public rangelands through aggressive use of fertility control, sex ratio management, and possibly the introduction of non-reproducing herds in some existing herd management areas in order to balance population growth rates with adoption demand. *

-To enhance the BLM wild mustang adoption procedure by making it more flexible so that more animals will be placed into good homes. *

These proposals are subject to Congressional approval and appropriations. A copy of Ken Salazar’s letter to The Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate can be viewed here: http://nevada.sierraclub.org/Reports/SalazarLettertoHarryReidonWHB.pdf

NOW IS THE TIME TO LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! LET OUR LEGISLATORS KNOW THAT WE CARE ABOUT THE WELL BEING OF OUR WILD MUSTANG HERDS!

WRITE A LETTER OR AN EMAIL TO YOUR SENATOR (To find the contact address for your senator please click here, and select your state) IN SUPPORT OF WISE MANAGEMENT OF OUR WILD MUSTANGS!!

SEND A LETTER OR AN EMAIL TO BOB ABBEY, DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT!!

Snail Mail:

Mr. Bob Abbey

BLM Washington Office

1849 C Street, NW, Room 5665

Washington DC 20240

Email: Director@blm.gov