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Here is what we’ve been reading, watching and writing about over the past week…

Articles

Siskiyou News: Wildlife Conservationist Nominated for BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program

Making public lands benefit Americans is an old challenge, especially when they contain America's iconic wild horses. We now have an opportunity to solve the wild horse problem, and to fire-proof forests, by putting horses back in our wild places where they belong.

Previously considered ‘exotics’, American horses are increasingly considered native by many scientists, scholars, Native American tribes and even Mormons whose scriptures record that horses were found by early Mormons in about 600 BC.

Echoing theses cultural views, for almost 60-years American law has been “…that wild hoses and burros are a living symbol of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, and that these horses contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress, that wild, free roaming horses, and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this, they are to be considered in the area where presently found as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands."

The horse evolved in North America, where horses and their ancestors were present for 60-million years. The genetic debate is hard to follow, but, suffice it to say that while Modern and Ancient American horses look different, they, like wolves and dachshunds are so close genetically as to be virtually - if not literally - the same species.

The war on wild horses is based on the false science of invasive species biology, ecological illiteracy, and the increasingly anti-American orthodoxy of the universities and agencies. From these grow the mismanagement of our wild horses, and absurd ‘solutions’ such as horse birth control, eugenic destruction of entire wild bloodlines, and confinement of ‘surplus’ numbers in feedlots at huge expense to the taxpayer. These violate common sense, science, and established law.

At the same time and for similar reasons, our public forests are experiencing catastrophic wildfires, not because of warming climate, but because there is not enough animal impact from biodiverse wildlife to keep them open, and, to suppress the accumulation of fine ground fuels that are the tinder that ignites and spreads catastrophic fires.

William Simpson has advocated a common sense solution that addresses both problems: allowing this native animal to spread back into areas - remote and unusable for livestock - where they were always found until early native Americans hunted them out or killed them accidentally with introduced diseases. These horses can ‘fire-proof’ forests, increase biodiversity, and improve conditions for all wildlife. This will benefit Americans and their livelihoods.

If you want this kind of thinking in the BLM's horse program, follow the steps below to encourage his appointment. VOTE! And share this with your friends to Vote (Nominations are Closed).

More here ->

Videos

The Wild Horses of Nevada's Deserts

Wild horses are an icon of the American West, but there are no native horses in the U.S. Those wild mustangs we idolize are European invaders. In Nevada, Shane observes a government “gather,” a dystopian round-up where helicopters chase panicked horses into pens to remove them from public lands. We spend millions of dollars a year managing horses, but we still can’t agree on whether they belong."

More here ->

Desert Bighorn, Mule Deer and Cougar in High Desert Mountains of Far-West Texas

Desert Mountain Wildlife #2 – part of a series on wildlife pictures was taken in Winter 2017, at Circle Ranch in the Sierra Diablo Mountains of far-West Texas. The series contains many wildlife photos, and, discusses holistic wildlife management practices.

More here ->

And that’s it - as always thank you..

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