Save the Heber Wild Horses – CALL SECRETARY VILSACK

READING THE LETTER BELOW WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UNDERTAKING

if we are to save all of America’s wild horses on our public lands 

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!

ISPMB is continuing its crusade to save the Heber wild horse herd in northern Arizona located in the Forest Service’s Black Mesa Ranger District by having a call-in campaign all of November to Secretary Tom Vilsack.  We are requesting that he declare the Heber wild horses “a study herd” which could TRANSFORM how wild horses are managed in our country. He can do this with a stroke of his pen with his authority as Secretary of Agriculture Implementing Section 10 of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (PL 92-195).

PHONE: 202-720-3631

(The horses will benefit the most by being so very polite on the call!)

Please, your call with the above information is simple to do, takes a minute or so of your time and will have a powerful effect on the future of wild horses in our country.

MORE INFORMATION: and why we ask.

In 1980, the National Academy of Sciences recommended that the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (the Agencies) complete a 7 to 10-year study on wild horses and burros to understand their behaviors as wildlife so they could better manage them.  This was included in the 18 studies recommended along with birth control.

The Agencies focused on birth control and NEVER did do this MOST important study, trying to understand these nationally protected animals as wild animals.  In their Report to Congress in 1984, they said the following, “The most pressing question concerning future research for the Agencies is whether the benefits of increased knowledge and efficiency will justify the costs.”

Their intention, as expressed in the continuing Reports to Congress, was to limit growth by promoting the use of PZP; and if they had studied wild horse behaviors, they would have found that stable band structures free of roundups actually limit their own growth.  It would have saved millions upon millions of dollars in the long run and would have shown that wild horses did not need birth control when managed properly.

The Agencies were mandated by Congress to protect and preserve our National Heritage Species so future generations of Americans could enjoy them. Yet they manage them like livestock which is managing them to extinction

A domestic horse is not a wild horse even though they look alike.  The same with the wolf and the domestic dog. They cannot and should not be managed the same.

You better bet those scientists in charge of managing the bald eagles had a great knowledge about their behaviors and exactly what it would take to achieve their protection. In 2007 they were delisted from the Endangered Species Act which is a testament to scientists’ understanding of this nationally recognized bird.

This is a final opportunity for the Agencies to truly understand how stable wild horse bands, free from roundups every four years, equal stable growth such as the Heber herd shows. This is the last wild horse herd that has not been rounded up in nearly twenty years! 

ABOUT THE HEBER HERD:

Thanks to a lawsuit in 2006 that ISPMB participated in, the Forest Service cannot remove any horses in the Lakeside or Black Mesa Ranger Districts until a Territory plan is completed.  The Forest Service has indicated that on December 1, the draft record of decision will be made public on this plan.

This Heber herd’s growth rate over all this time is less than 3% annually.  The Agencies insist that yearly growth rates are 20% and they double every four years.  If that were the case there would be 4,800 horses out there right now.  As of 2021 there were 416.

ISPMB has studies showing how family bands limit growth when not disturbed.  Because of our studies, we were able to recognize that the Heber herd emulates our studies and may be the last intact stable herd left on public lands making them the ideal study herd.

It is difficult to NOT realize what a perfect study herd the Heber herd is. Yet, we must question why there is resistance to studying them. Let us give the benefit of the doubt and hope that Secretary Vilsack heeds your calls.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to call!  Your action just may save this herd! Pass this letter on to a friend or family and have as many people you know call Secretary Vilsack.

Please remember to help ISPMB with a donation to assist us in our ongoing quest to save this important herd. We cannot do it without you.

Most sincerely, Karen A. Sussman – President, ISPMB

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you for your generosity!

Sponsor a Wild Horse for Your Valentine!

Whether for you or your valentine friend or family member,

we have the perfect gift of sponsorship half off our normal price!

Your sponsorship includes a certificate with a photo and an enclosed note card with up to a paragraph of your own words to your valentine.

Horse – $75.00
Mare and Foal – $250.00
Family Band – $500.00
Entire Herd – $2,500.00

Please know that sponsoring one of our rare Spanish Gila horses or a family helps us to keep them in Conservation and continue our behavioral studies on this magnificent herd.  This herd has given us a wealth of information.  With this information, we can change how wild horses should be managed in our country!

Please help us by supporting us this Valentine’s Day.

Visit our Sponsor page HERE to select your Valentine

We will make sure your valentine arrives on time on the 14th, if we receive your donation no later than February 10th.

You can e-mail us at ispmb@ispmb.org for any details you would like to include in your note card to your valentine.

From all of us here at ISPMB, we thank you!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB responds to BLM’s rule change

Action Alert

ISPMB responds to BLM’s rule change –  BLM will add Conservation to one of the Multiple Uses on public lands.

Comments due on June 20th

While ISPMB applauds the BLM for adding conservation to one of the Multiple Use uses, we have concerns that are noted throughout our document.

Please feel free to use ISPMB’s response to craft your response to the BLM in your own words.  We know this could take time but it is so important, especially with the grazing recommendations we have inserted.  The BLM also proposed Conservation leases which we are very concerned about as you will read.

You can read the entire BLM proposed rule here.  You will also add your comments here.

 Submit your comments at regulations.gov

You can start your document with the following:

We congratulate the BLM for recognizing and codifying what has been the law of the land since the passage of FLPMA in 1976.  The protection of the environment should be the number one priority of public land management.

FLPMA states unmistakably that “the public lands be managed in a manner that will protect the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values: that where appropriate, will preserve and protect certain public lands in their natural condition; that will provide food and habitat for fish and wildlife and domestic animals; and that will provide for outdoor recreation and human occupancy and use.”

Multiple Use is clearly defined by statute to ensure that these values are given equal or even greater footing than extractive and destructive uses of public lands.  FLPMA states that all public lands require, “harmonious and coordinated management of the various resources without permanent impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of the environment with consideration being given to the relative values of the resources and not necessarily to the combination  of uses that will give the greatest economic return or the greatest unit output.”

For the rest of your reporting, just note the following recommendations for their rule-making such as:

  • The rule should either include all permitted lands for Conservation leases or none at all.
  • In lieu of Conservation leases, the BLM should revise existing regulations.
  • The BLM should retain full responsibility for managing public lands.
  • The final rule should consider domestic livestock a disturbance agent.
  • The final rule should note that livestock grazing is not an acceptable restoration practice.
  • The final rule should include meaningful public engagement at all levels of planning, decision-making, and throughout the project implementation.

Please note that this is extremely modified to make it easy for your response to the BLM.  You may close your discussion hoping that BLM will make wise decisions regarding this rule-making.

Please thank them for the opportunity and submit your commits.  You do not need to put your personal information in this letter, nor should you.

Please remember that ISPMB expects to go to court in October this year to save the Heber wild horses in northern Arizona. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Heber_Family_Band_Enjoying_the_Tall_Grasses_Photo_Betty-Nixon
Heber_Buckskin_Stallion_Photo_Betty_Nixon.

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible

Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

 

Earth Day

Hidalgo_earth_day4

Honoring the Earth and All that is Therein by Bringing Wild Horse Annie’s Dream to Fruition

ISPMB is so proud to announce Phase 1, the purchase of property for the development of the International Wild Horse and Burro Heritage Center, a dream of our first president, Velma Johnston, affectionately known as Wild Horse Annie.

Expanding on Annie’s dream, current president Karen Sussman envisions this place – known as the CENTER – as a much-needed healing CENTER for the earth, our Mother, and all that there is therein.  A place where our rare and endangered Gila Herd will roam over a large tract of prairie grasses and rolling hills, dotted throughout with streams.  A place where visitors will come to share their time in nature interacting with wild horses. A place where healing the soul of this nation begins. A place where wild horses become our teachers of how-to live-in harmony with each other.  A place where ISPMB can educate millions of tourists on how wild horse families, when allowed to live in freedom from disruptions of roundups, actually self-limit their growth. A place where truth shines. A place where the soul is transformed by the peace and beauty of Nature. A place where we all work together for the GOOD of the entire universe.

We are asking that each and every one become part of this beautiful CENTER through its creation and development.  This eco-tourism center will be like none else and its destination will be sought after for the peace that it brings to one’s soul by living amongst these unique and rare Gila horses whose behaviors demonstrate how they work together for the good of their entire herd.

ISPMB has set up a special fund to purchase property.  We are already prepared with all of the needed expertise to guide us in the CENTER’s creation.

  • On this 53rd year of Earth Day, may we all contribute to not only the preservation of wild horses and burros but to the protection of our mother, Earth.

    In 1971 Annie and ISPMB were instrumental in stopping the slaughter of America’s wild horses and burros with the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.   We are on the verge of TRANSFORMING how wild horses are managed in our country this year and now we must TRANSFORM how we care for this great land. 

    Help us make Annie’s dream complete. WE NEED YOU to share in this vision of saving our wild horses and our earth.  Please donate.

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible

$ 1,000,000
Have your very own Casita at the CENTER and visit anytime.

The CENTER’s Interpretive Building will be named in your honor.

$500,000
Visit the CENTER anytime and stay at one of our cabins at no charge as our guest.                                       
Your name will be displayed on a floor of your choosing, such as our digital library floor, legal floor, museum, and more. 

$250,000
Visit the CENTER anytime as our guest.                                                                                                          Enjoy seeing a street sign named after you.

$100,000
Visit the CENTER anytime at no charge.                                                                                                         Enjoy seeing your name on one of the cornerstones of our buildings.

$50,000
Visit the CENTER anytime at no charge.                                                                                                
See your name inscribed in the cobblestone walkway to our Interpretive Center.

$10,000

You will have naming rights to one Gila foal yearly for ten years.

$5,000

You will have one of several flower gardens named after you.

$2,500

Gift an acre of land and keeps our horses running free.    
Your name will be inscribed on a brick on our donor wall as a founding member of the CENTER.

$1,000

Your photograph and name will be displayed at our Interpretive Center as a donor.

$500

You will have a personal all-day tour learning about our Gila Herd guided by President, Karen Sussman.

$250

You will receive a personal one-hour tour of our Gila Herd.

$100

Your Gila horses will be ever grateful to you for your donation.

Any Amount $

Will be greatly appreciated by all of us here at ISPMB.

Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

 

HOW YOU CAN MOST HELP AMERICA’S WILD HORSES/BURROS

HOW YOU CAN MOST HELP AMERICA’S WILD HORSES/BURROS

  1. Please write a letter to your Senators and Representative and ask that they respond.                    The following are points and we ask that you put it in your own words. 
  • We ask that you appropriate funding through Congress to study the Heber Wild horses in northern Arizona in the Apache Sitgreaves forest for the next 7-10 years.
  • This means that this herd should not be rounded up as planned next year.
  • We ask that the study be independent of the Forest Service and/or the Bureau of Land Management (The Agencies.) ISPMB should assist Congress in choosing scientists for the study.
  • This horse herd has been protected from roundups for nearly 20 years thanks to ISPMB.
  • Their growth rate is between 1%-3%.
  • These rates defy the acclaimed rates that the Agencies purport at 20% annual growth with populations doubling every 4 years.
  • If that were the case, there would be 4,800 horses in the Heber herd today and the last count was 414 in 2021.
  • By independently studying this herd, I believe that the Agencies would have to TRANSFORM how they manage our wild horses and burros.
  • We believe the roundups must end until wild horse populations stabilize from the constant disruptions of their highly evolved social communities.
  • If the Agencies continue management as is, including giving them birth control, this will spell doom the populations.
  • Please advise me as to your position on making the Heber Herd a study herd because in 1980-82, the National Academy of Sciences requested that a study be done and the Agencies refused. We are asking that it be done now.
  1. Please write a similar letter to the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack
  • You can use the above letter with the caveat. Section 10 of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act provides that the Secretary can declare that wild horses be studied – “ The Secretaries are authorized and directed to undertake those studies of the habits of wild free-roaming horses and burros that they may deem necessary in order to carry out the provisions of this Act.”
  • Please ask for a response from Secretary Vilsack.
  • Or call – 202-720-3631 Address: 1400 Independence Ave. SW-Washington, D.C. 20250

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible

“The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 was designed to protect and preserve wild horses and
burros from “capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area
where presently found, an integral part of the natural system of public lands.” 

Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

 

ISPMB finishes first fierce battle with FS to save the Alpine wild horses

ALPINE WILD HORSES TO BE WIPED FROM

EXISTENCE


Donate safely with PayPal

In the next week, ISPMB will make the decision if we move forward in filing in Phoenix District Court to save the Alpine horses. Your donation will help us in making our decision.
ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible

Click HERE or on the press release below to open a PDF file.


“The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 was designed to protect and preserve wild horses and
burros from “capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area
where presently found, an integral part of the natural system of public lands.” 


Donate safely with PayPal

In the next week, ISPMB will make the decision if we move forward in filing in Phoenix District Court to save the Alpine horses. Your donation will help us in making our decision.

Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

ISPMB Files Lawsuit against USFS

International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros Files Lawsuit Against United States Forest Service to Save Alpine Wild Horses in Apache-Sitgreaves Forest Protecting them under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971

Click HERE or on the press release below to open a PDF file.

“The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 was designed to protect and preserve wild horses and
burros from “capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area
where presently found, an integral part of the natural system of public lands.” 

We can put any size donation to work!
Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

Photo of horses credit: Betty Dixon

 

Vilsack denies to implement science

Vilsack denies to implement science….and study the Heber Wild horses….

Click HERE or on the letter below to open a PDF file.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said “no” to the study of the Heber herd! Why? (read about it in our Earth Day post)

Please call Secretary Vilsack’s office — 202-720-3631 — and POLITELY ask that he makes this unique Heber wild horse herd, a “study” herd. This is the last “untouched” herd on public lands and will transform how wild horses are managed on public lands. We will not take NO for an answer.

Your support of ISPMB is critical to their future and our work. Please help us by giving generously.

Please pass this on to all of your friends!

Petition · SAVE THE LAST UNTOUCHED WILD HORSE HERD HELP ISPMB TRANSFORM THE MANAGEMENT OF WILD HORSES · Change.org

(Please sign the above Heber petition if you haven’t done so)

Heber foal walks through the forest
Heber youngster enjoying freedom in the tall grass. Photo: Robert Hutchison

We can put any size donation to work!
Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

 

Earth Day

Gila herd grazes on green grass in a pasture

Stable Family Band Structures in the Herd MAKE Stable Minimal Populations.

Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, celebrating support for environmental protection. We have been celebrating Earth Day for as long as we have been celebrating the protection of wild horses and burros with the passage of the 1971 Act.

Yet there is a dichotomy of the word “protection” in these two important celebrations that must be understood. While Earth Day is growing and today includes 1 billion people in 193 countries, we are fighting for the lives of the “last” of America’s wild horses and burros.

Gila herd photo by Karen Sussman
Photo: Karen Sussman

Yes, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service (the Agencies) have sought to eliminate wild horses and burros from their rightful lands since the passage of this great Act in 1971 which was the culmination of efforts of our organization, International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB) and our first president, Wild Horse Annie. This Act passed through Congress without one dissenting vote.

“It was this Grazing Service that ordered the extermination of wild horses in the ’30s. Literally, tens of thousands of wild horses were brutally killed.”

The culture of the Agencies has remained steadfast and literally unchanged in these past fifty years. This is why we should be concerned about the future of the remaining few wild horses and burros on public lands. Whether it is a Democrat or a Republican administration, the employees of the Agencies remain the same; therefore, the culture remains unchanged.

That culture is one of livestock grazing, a cattle culture in which wild horses and burros are seen as competitors for the last blades of grass. The BLM evolved from the Grazing Service which was made up of stockmen. It was this Grazing Service that ordered the extermination of wild horses in the ’30s. Literally, tens of thousands of wild horses were brutally killed. Yet, in 1971 this Agency would now be in charge of protecting America’s wild horses and burros. Need I say more?

Photo: Karen Sussman

Why would the Agencies set a current arbitrary and a capricious number of 26,715 animals reducing populations to meet this number over the next few years?  Why will they give the birth control drug to the majority of mares in the populations that will render them infertile in less than 5 consecutive years of use? There are parameters for the legal removal of wild horses determined as “excess” which the Agencies have ignored since 1992. They simply have set the above number in stone. When the first census was done in 1974, there were 57,040 animals. These were generally visual counts which notoriously undercounted animals. There could have been well over that number of animals. 

“Also noted, is that Congress is going to supply these organizations with millions of dollars to inject this poison into our wild horses furthering the demise of these populations.”

So, we ask why the push to bring wild horses and burros down to numbers far below the 1974 counts when the law implicitly stated that “these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.”

However, the worst enemies of our wild horses and burros are not only the stockmen but the “well-meaning” PZP pushers, the wild horse and burro organizations, because they have no understanding of the true nature of wild horses and burros. They have accepted the Agencies’ mantra – too many wild horses and burros on public lands whose populations double every four years and grow at a rate of 20% yearly. Also noted, is that Congress is going to supply these organizations with millions of dollars to inject this poison into our wild horses furthering the demise of these populations. In doing so, the mares will never breed again because the drug is irreversible in four consecutive years of use.

ISPMB is the only organization that has studied wild herds under its control for over 20 years now. Here is what we learned about wild horses. In simplistic terms, stable band structures = stable growth. 

ISPMB’s herds had the best conditions as compared to wild herds on public lands, yet our herd growth was between 8%-9% annual growth. 

ISPMB is still compiling data on our Gila herd. They continue to show us so much. Wild Horse Annie would be so very proud of our work in understanding the true behaviors of wild horses. No other organization has accomplished what ISPMB has!

Stable Family Band Structures in the Herd MAKE Stable Minimal Populations.

Please help us continue our work by donating generously to ISPMB.

The future of all wild horses and burros is counting on us!

THE LAST OF AMERICA’S WILD HORSES AND BURROS AND OUR FIGHT TO SAVE THEM BY MAKING ARIZONA’S HEBER HERD A “STUDY” HERD

The “study" of the Heber Herd can save all wild horses by transforming the management of wild horses. IT MUST BE DONE!

There’s something important I want you to understand. If we don’t stop the Forest Service from rounding up the HEBER HERD in Northern Arizona, it is game over for all wild horses.

Why do I say this?

The Heber Herd is the ONLY remaining herd in the United States that has been left alone in its natural state for more than 15 years. They have not been gathered, darted for birth control, or operated on to prevent them from reproducing. They have been free to roam — and they prove that wild horses do NOT double in size every four years or increase at a 20% yearly rate, as the BLM and FS (Agencies) have long stated. In fact, the Heber Herd shows us that wild horses do indeed self-stabilize. The numbers below prove our point.

In 2005: 300-400 wild horses were counted in the Sitgreaves forest

In 2021: An aerial count showed 414 horses in the forest.

PROVING: Their growth rate is less than 1%. 

What is the next step?

Heber_Family_Band_Enjoying_the_Tall_Grasses_Photo_Betty-Nixon
Heber family band enjoying the tall grasses. Photo: Betty Nixon

ISPMB is asking that the Heber Herd be put into a study for the next 5-7 years by an independent group of scientists noted for understanding the behaviors of wild animals, especially equids. We believe it will transform how wild horses are managed on public lands.

ISPMB is the only organization that has studied wild herds under its control for over 20 years now. Here is what we learned about wild horses. In simplistic terms, stable band structures = stable growth. ISPMB’s herds had the best conditions as compared to wild herds on public lands, yet our herd growth was between 8% to 9% annual growth. With the best of feed conditions, growth still stabilized at the above rates, disputing the National Academy of Sciences’ recent report stating that herd populations would only stabilize or drop when it was too late because of lack of food from overgrazing. 

Not so! It is the stable band structures and their inherent wisdom that keep populations at minimal growth. Not a lack of food!

Heber_Buckskin_Stallion_Photo_Betty_Nixon.
Heber buckskin stallion. Photo: Betty Nixon

The HEBER HERD in northern Arizona exhibits all the information that was gleaned from ISPMB’s herds. In 2005 ISPMB and our wonderful attorney, Anthony Merrill, now with Snell and Wilmer, filed in court and stopped the removal of the Heber wild horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest. The Agency (FS) was required to create a Territory plan, which has taken them over 15 years, and this has allowed the Heber horse population to be in the forest without any roundups. 

The following is an amazing confirmation of ISPMB’s understanding of how population stability in the herds creates minimal growth. In 2005, there were between 300-400 wild horses in the Sitgreaves forest, and in an aerial count in 2021 there are only 414 horses. Because these horses are so monitored by wonderful advocates in the forest, we know there is very little mountain lion predation there, again proving our point that Stable Family Band Structures in the Herd make Stable Minimal Populations. Their growth rate is less than 1%. This herd must be put into a study for the next 5-7 years by an independent group of scientists noted for understanding the behaviors of wild animals, especially equids.

“…and these unique wild animals could be facing extinction.”

The Agencies refused to do a 5-7-year study on wild herds in 1980 that was recommended by the National Academy of Sciences. They were to understand these animals as “wildlife” species. This is their response in Congress in 1984, “The most pressing question concerning further research for the Agencies is whether the benefits of increased knowledge and efficiency will justify the costs.” The Agencies have never understood the true nature of wild horses and have since managed them as if they were domestic livestock – cattle – that do not live in families and work together for the good of the entire herd as wild horses do.

The Agencies’ current management is threatening the future well-being of wild horses and burros and these unique wild animals could be facing extinction – never to be free as they were in the past 500 years. 

And Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said “no” to the study of the Heber herd! Why? (read about it in our Earth Day post)

Please call Secretary Vilsack’s office — 202-720-3631 — and POLITELY ask that he makes this unique Heber wild horse herd, a “study” herd. This is the last “untouched” herd on public lands and will transform how wild horses are managed on public lands. We will not take NO for an answer.

We hope this Earth Day will be the change for America’s wild horses and burros yielding enlightenment in the management of the herds by the Agencies. 

Your support of ISPMB is critical to their future and our work. Please help us by giving generously.

Please pass this on to all of your friends!

Petition · SAVE THE LAST UNTOUCHED WILD HORSE HERD HELP ISPMB TRANSFORM THE MANAGEMENT OF WILD HORSES · Change.org

(Please sign the above Heber petition if you haven’t done so)

Heber foal walks through the forest
Heber youngster enjoying freedom in the tall grass. Photo: Robert Hutchison

We can put any size donation to work!
Thank you for your generosity!

ISPMB is a 501 (c) 3 not-for profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.