Phoenix Protests BLM Wild Horse Mismanagement

By Robert WINKLER
The Desert Independent

February 2, 2010

PHOENIX, Arizona – On Saturday, January 30th at the BLM Arizona State Office about 30 people gathered and rang their "cowbell" as motorists honked. Even the young people participated. Their cause is serious. If you have been reading our articles, the BLM has not been following the will of Congress and as a result, the horses have suffered.

Material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demonstrates that wild horses on BLM land in Arizona have been reduced to a meager 200 or less horses on BLM lands in only two herd management areas, the Cibolas and the Cerbats in the mountains near Kingman because the BLM has closed all other herd areas in the state. The Cerbat herd is estimated to be numbered at only about 60 to 90 horses left. These Cerbat horses are historically tied to the mounts of the Conquistadors riding the Spanish trail in the 16th century. They are a living, breathing tie to some of Arizona’s most early and romantic history, a true natural resource and they are in danger of disappearing under BLM management. For a true picture of the fate of the Cerbats see filmmaker Len Johnson’s stirring “The Last of the Spanish Mustangs.” Johnson spent much time with these Cerbat horses, probably more time than many BLM employees.

One of the most accurate accounts of ranch life during the late part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century is depicted in the book, “Hashknife Cowboy: Memoirs of Mack Hughes” written by his wife Stella Hughes. In the chapter on wild horses, there is no mention of the horses competing with range for cattle. In fact the book, an accepted archival history of Arizona, depicts a time when wild horses and cowboys roamed together with the cowboys loving to run with the “broomies (cowboy term for wild horse) and sometimes catching a few because they made such good ranch horses. It was not until the US Forest Service and BLM took over management of these areas that much of the conflict occurred when the Federal government began demanding money to lease public lands for cattle from the ranchers. At one point, the Federal government offered a ransom for every pair of ears a person could produce from the corpse of a wild horse. Also, the budget for “management” of wild horse is miniscule in the scope of the entire Federal budget.

Recent documents obtained under FOIA also disclose that the BLM held a series of “implementation committee” meetings in which a very few discussed the possibility of euthanasia of wild horses in holding facilities and discussed the ways they could insulate themselves from the scrutiny of the American public, the media and the Congress, interesting behavior by an organization functioning on the public’s taxpayer dollars. Material also demonstrates that the BLM continues to use a person to gather wild horses from public lands who pled guilty to illegally hunting wild horses from aerial devices and that person was allowed to give contract estimates for rounding up wild horses and burros in the state of Arizona. Finally, community members are concerned about questionable removal of wild burros, whole herds and families of these animals, from their ancestral lands without what may be the required studies under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).  

For more information and photos of the protest, click HERE.