Dear Friends of Cloud, his family, and herd;
The BLM Billings Field Office mailed a Scoping Letter to interested parties on July 28th, stating their intent to reach an “Appropriate” Management Level (AML) of 90-120 adult wild horses, one year of age and older in the Pryor Mountains. If they carry out this plan 45 to as many as 75 horses would be removed in 2012. We cannot allow this to happen.
Our position is clear — there is absolutely no need for any removals.
It is important that you respond to an action which would threaten the continued existence of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd. Please write a factual letter to the BLM using some of the information provided here. Remember that BLM will not consider your response unless it is clearly your message — no copying of the list supplied here. Please use your own words to communicate your polite outrage at such an unwarranted proposal.
You will note in our list of recommended response topics, the support of PZP, the one-year infertility drug. This comes as a departure for TCF. However, the remotely delivered drug given at the correct time of year has reduced the foal population and it has given us a good argument to fight for no removals. We still strongly believe in the long-range goal of natural management without helicopters or bait traps or drugs. We see PZP as a means to an end, and that end is a hands off strategy in which Mother Nature calls the shots as much as possible.
Nashville, TN – July 12, 2011 – It’s become not only a mission with a passion, but one that has members of the Nelson family standing up and doing whatever they can to stop the slaughter of horses.
Willie Nelson has been an advocate against the slaughter of wild horses for years and of the almost 70 horses he owns, 25-30 were rescued directly from slaughter. He believes it’s our job to protect them and makes it a point to support many of the groups that work in this area. His passion and advocacy
is being shared by his family.
His daughter Amy and granddaughter Raelyn have joined in the fight testifying against the slaughter of horses and are making it a point to work with the State of Tennessee’s legislative branch to keep the dialog about any laws concerning these issues open.
“Here’s another great example of someone with high visibility taking the time to support this cause and who brings along not only his family but thousands of fans around the world to join him. There’s a reason why people like Willie Nelson. The man shows his dedication to horses and doing the right thing every day of his life. Willie definitely walks the talk,” states WHIA Executive Director, Catherine Masters.
The Whinnys are an awards program set up by the Women’s Horse Industry Association. The awards will be given out on October 6 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Rhythm and Hooves benefit to save horses. The event will raise funds for three equine charities: The Cloud Foundation, The Equestrian Aid Foundation and NetPosse.com. The benefit will be a part of the WHIA’s Annual conference (October 6-8 at the Radisson Hotel Opryland) where women in the horse industry will gather to exchange information and business.
For additional information on the WHIA and its upcoming conference and benefit, please visit Women’s Horse Industry or call 615-730-7833.
Dear Friends of our Wild Horses and Burros;
I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July! In the spirit of freedom for our wild horses, the Cloud Foundation filed a lawsuit against the BLM in Nevada to prevent the removal and warehousing of over 1,700 wild horses from their vast 1.7 million acre home in northeastern Nevada (Maverick-Medicine, Triple B, Cherry Creek and Antelope Valley West Herd Management Areas).
The exhausted old mare run was nearly hit by the Sun J helicopter at Antelope in January
Taxpayer dollars paid to the infamous Sun J helicopter roundup crew alone will total approximately $600,000 and that’s just the beginning of the expenditures. The costs in short-term holding, where all the horses will go at least temporarily, will be $8,000 per day based on the target number of horses to be removed. Incarceration for life will add millions to the price tag — all funded by American taxpayers.
The cost to the horses is the permanent loss of family and freedom… what wild horses live for. Some horses will pay the ultimate price — losing their lives either during or as a result of this planned operation.
The Cloud Foundation is represented by attorneys Rachel Fazio and Julie Cavanaugh-Bill. We are the primary Plaintiffs in the case and are joined by plaintiffs Craig Downer and Lorna Moffat. In order for the judge to rule on our plea, the BLM has delayed the start of the roundup (originally scheduled to begin on July 7th) until the 16th of July, The hearing will be held at the Nevada District Court, 400 South Virginia Street in downtown Reno at 10 am on July 14th. Please come if you can to show your support of Nevada’s wild horses!
June 29, 2011 – Nashville, TN – The Women’s Horse Industry is pleased to announce an awards program dedicated to the men and women in country music who have a passion for helping and saving horses.
The event will be held in conjunction with the Rhythm & Hooves benefit auction on Thursday, October 6 at the Radisson Opryland. Nominees from the country music industry will be presented awards for their efforts with horses. After the awards are presented, there will be an auction to benefit the Cloud Foundation, The Equestrian Aid Foundation and Stolen Horses/NetPosse.com. “These are great equine charities and we hope the Nashville music industry will help us raise money by providing items for the auction,” states Debby Lening, VP of the Women’s Horse Industry.
“I know that there are a lot of country music artists and other music industry executives who have a real passion for helping horses so we thought that it would make a lot of sense to identify, recognize and award them for their efforts,” states Catherine Masters, Executive Director of WHIA.
If you would like to nominate someone from the country music industry for these awards, please send an email to: whra44@yahoo.com with the nominee’s name and why they should be nominated.
Dear Wild Horse and Burro Supporters;
Rock Springs, Wyoming, is not exactly what I would call ‘close’ to Colorado Springs. Nevertheless, our new intern, Erin Clifford from Michigan, and I hopped in the car and started up I-25 northbound, picking up our fellow wild horse advocate friend, Rachel Reeves, along the way.
When we finally pulled up the drive to the BLM office the first thing I noticed was my tax dollars at work: a shiny new building complete with landscaping and the works.
Our little group of advocates joined together outside the building, which included our carload, a few other superb advocates from Northern Colorado, and two delightful women who came all the way from California! We totaled ten people, but our signs and presence were enough to frustrate the folks inside.
During the meeting itself we were surrounded by a lot of ranchers, most of who belonged to the Rock Springs Grazing Association – the largest grazing association in the country. Each of them gave a sentence or two on the plusses of helicopter roundups and how necessary they were, same ole, same ole. We had some great points brought up by each of the wild horse advocates who spoke. Trying to explain the issues we have with helicopter use during roundups in only three minutes is no small feat!
With roundup season starting up again, it is imperative, now more than ever, that we all raise our voices in support of our wild horses and burros. BLM is still soliciting comments for their planned roundup in Divide Basin, a larger herd in southern Wyoming near Rock Springs. We ask that you submit your own comments regarding the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Divide Basin Herd Management Area (HMA). There are gross inadequacies and faulty data utilized in the scope of this EA which will come as no surprise. What is a bit more surprising is the rush to create a non-reproducing herd as an alternative, which is what they want to do to in White Mountain and Little Colorado! If a roundup is conducted this summer, the herd will be reduced to only 415 horses on over 700,000 acres with many of these horses being non-reproducers! The Cloud Foundation’s comments for this EA are available online here. Read on for a sample format!
Comments need to be submitted by Monday, June 20th, no later than the close of business at 4:30 PM Mountain Time. Comments can be submitted via mail at:
Divide Basin EA Comments
BLM Rock Springs Field Office
280 Highway 191 North
Rock Springs, WY 82901
May 29th was a blustery day on the Pryor Mountains as we bounced up Tillett Ridge Road in a gale force wind blowing out of the north. Icy rain fell in intermittent sheets — the polar opposite of the weather on the day of Cloud’s birth.
Sixteen years ago the sun was shining. It was warm. Light clouds floated overhead. I set up my camera and was filming a brash, young stallion who was flirting with his father’s newly acquired filly when I spotted a flash of white moving through the trees and panned the camera. A pale colt tottered out of the forest beside his palomino mother. The rest of his family followed — Smokey and Mahogany, his sisters; Diamond, his yearling brother; and the other mares, Isabella the pale buckskin, and Grumpy Grulla. Pulling up the rear was Cloud’s stunning father, the unforgettable Raven. The foal struggled to keep up with his mother on their trek uphill to snow drifts under the canopy of Douglas firs.
Sixteen years later, here I was again, bumping up the road and emerging onto the ridges of Tillett. We spotted Cloud and his family nestled in on the south side of a cluster of firs — sheltered from the cold wind and rain. By the time we set up the camera, Cloud had raced out of the trees and disappeared over a hill. When we began filming, I could just see the top of his head bobbing up and down and I could hear the screams of the stallions. Then Cloud trotted into a clearing with a trio of bachelors, including Jasper, the nearly two-year-old son of Flint. He is the little grullo you see with the big mark on his face. The other two are Galaxy, the black, and Gringo, the bay — both five-year-olds.
Adelina as a yearling, 2010 - named in honor of Congressman Grijalva's granddaughter (the filly is the granddaughter of Blue Sioux & Red Raven)
Updated News
Dear Friends of Cloud and the Mustangs;
Our apologies, Congressman Grijalva represents Arizona’s 7th District in the U.S House of Representatives, not New Mexico. Congressman Grijalva has always been a great friend of wild horses and burros, and we sincerely thank him for introducing the House Legislation below which honors Cloud and all wild horses and burros. We encourage you to contact Representative Grijalva, thanking him for his support of all mustangs and burros with legislation that costs the taxpayers nothing, but does much to encourage their protection on our western landscapes.
Cloud on day of his birth with his Palomino mother. Photos copyright (C) The Cloud Foundation.
Help us celebrate Cloud’s 16th!
Dear Friends of Cloud and our Freedom Fund horses;
As many of you may or may not know, Cloud’s birthday is fast approaching! On May 29th, he will celebrate his “Sweet 16th.” It’s hard to believe that so much time has elapsed since I first saw him totter out of the trees with his mother! He has endured a lot over the years – harsh winters, predation, three helicopter roundups, bait trapping, and the loss of many members of his family. But he has survived and is still one of the top stallions in the Pryor Mountains, just like his father, Raven, was years earlier, and like his son, Bolder, is today. We hope you’ll take the time to wish him a “Happy Birthday” this Sunday!
Sierra in the Pryors with a young foal
On a separate, less celebratory note, our sweet Freedom Fund mare, Sierra, was injured and is now at the vet’s office in Billings. A tiny, quarter-sized puncture wound just above her hoof slowly turned infectious, and Sierra began limping. She had an operation two weeks ago to clean out the infected area, but she will need a second operation in order to clean out necrotic cartilage. She’s a smart girl and has been very calm throughout the whole experience. The vet techs are in love with her, and have taught her how to lead and to stay calm while the veterinarian changes her bandages. We’re very proud of how she is handling all this. As you can imagine, the cost for her treatment is quite high.
Nashville, Tennessee – The Women’s Horse Industry Association will be hosting a benefit to save horses during their annual national Networking Expo October 6-8 in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to the exhibitors and speakers from the equine world covering all types of products and services, this year there will be a benefit auction the evening October 6 at the Radisson Hotel Opryland which will benefit the Cloud Foundation, The Equestrian Aid Foundation and Net Posse.
Auction items will include autographed items from country music starts and products and services from some of the members of the WHIA. There are also plans for some “meet and greets” and live acoustic musical performances from Nashville recording artists.
The Cloud Foundation, named for the charismatic wild stallion Cloud, works to preserve wild horses on western public lands. “Mustangs are safest with their families in the wild,” states Ginger Kathrens, Emmy Award-winning producer, Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation, and producer of the acclaimed Cloud programs for PBS’s Nature series. “When they’re rounded up by the thousands, they lose what they value most — their freedom and their families. And many make the ultimate sacrifice when they are sold to slaughter. Better and kinder management must be implemented if the few thousand mustangs remaining in the wild are to survive.”
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