Wabi Sabi

You Don't Have to Burn A (Wild Horse) Book to Censor It

2018-05-03T12:50:00.001-06:00

I've never laid my life on the line for a story, and it's coincidence that the most recent
"Of course you didn't interview BLM about wild horses" remark came on World Press Freedom Day.

The reader was talking about Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them,
my non-fiction book published by Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt. The book's credibility has been honored without BLM. It's a Junior Library Guild selection, winner of the Sterling North Heritage award for Excellence in Children's Literature and has been honored by Western Writers of America, National Science Teachers Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

For nearly a year, I negotiated and nagged for interviews about BLM's wild horse and burro program. Didn't happen. But it's important to me that you see how it didn't happen.
My last correspondence before the publication of this book is posted below.

Tom Gorey, Senior Public Affairs Specialist July 23, 2014

Bureau of Land Management

1849 C. Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Tom,

As you know, I’m writing Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them for Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt. This non-fiction book for young readers will be published in Fall 2015.

In January of this year, Lisa Ross at BLM’s Carson City office told me that all on-the-record responses must go through you. I’ve contacted many BLM staffers since then, but received no official statements. A partial list:

1/23/14: E-mail to Tom Gorey, introducing project, asking for interview; he said he’d have to check with wild horse and burro staff.

2/3/14: E-mail to Gorey seeking update

2/4/14: E-mail from Gorey indicating response is in the works; e-mail from Jeff Krauss asking for questions in writing and “don’t hesitate to call” invitation

2/11/14: E-mail questions to Krauss

2/19/14: E-mail requesting update from Krauss

2/24/14: Melissa Farlow, photojournalist working on the project, contacts Krauss since they’ve worked together in past. Krauss responds quickly but with no answers.

3/19/14: E-mail to Krauss requesting follow-up to written questions

4/11/14: E-mail and phone requests to Gorey and Krauss repeating offer to let them cherry-pick the questions they wish to answer.

4/25/14: Phone calls to former BLM staffers to ask about possible sources of information are met with enthusiasm. They, too, are told no current staffers are authorized to speak.

5/5/14: Phone and e-mail to Jeff Fontana, BLM California, and Lisa Reid, BLM Utah. Neither receives authorization to answer questions.

5/5/14: Gorey e-mails that he will respond to my voicemail request for update, copies Krauss. No answers. Last contact with Gorey and Krauss

6/3-4/14: After phone conversations, Debbie Collins asks for a brief history of e-mail exchanges with BLM staff and list of questions. These are supplied. Last contact with Collins.

6/4/14: Fontana e-mails positive BLM news story from 2006. Last contact.
My publisher has pushed back Wild at Heart’s due date to give BLM more time to respond, but we’ve bent as far as we can. If I hear nothing by Aug. 1, 2014, we’ll reluctantly publish without comments from your agency.

Sincerely,

Terri Farley

CC: Neil Kornze, Director of BLM

Before Wild At Heart, I'd had a conflicted but cordial relationship with BLM staffers, but now it's routine for government agencies to spurn or stonewall the press and public.
That's not safe.
Attention must be paid, even if what you hear is silence.

Wild Horses Are Not an Invasive Species

2017-10-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

New Science, Old Bones and Wild Horses

"It needs to be more widely understood that the horse's status as a native North American species is beyond serious question, " Dr. Ross MacPhee, curator American Museum of Natural History

©Terri Farley

CREATED FOR WILD AT HEART: MUSTANGS AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHTING TO SAVE THEM

Modern paleontology and sequencing of mitochondrial DNA is reflected in this equine clock which shows just how quickly horses returned to North America after they were wiped out along with other large mammals. Recent discoveries have narrowed the absence window since this graphic was created, causing many scientists to consider the possibility that pockets of North American horses may have survived even longer.

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: WE'RE WILD HORSES. WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL US?

2017-08-24T18:56:00.001-06:00

Dear Mr. President,

We’re wild horses. Born in Nevada, we ran free on the range, manes blowing, legs reaching and pulling us up mountains and then downhill in crazy gallops, zig-zagging through storm-hammered sage brush.

We’re not there anymore. We’re in a place called BLM. We’re young, healthy and we play chase when we can.

So, when we heard you wanted to kill us -- not as the cougar does, one at a time to feed her young, but all together, for reasons we don’t understand --we asked a friend to speak for us in your language.

Thank you, sir, The Mustangs

please turn on audio

Interior Department Wants to Bury Its Wild Horse Mistakes: question Sec. Zinke's alt-facts tomorrow

2017-06-20T11:59:00.001-06:00

Dear Legislator,
Don't be hoodwinked when Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke comes to Capitol Hill, tomorrow. For decades, the Department of Interior has taken America's wild horses off public lands to "restore the range." Know why that doesn't work? Wild horses aren't to blame, but Secretary Zinke may neglect to mention the impacts of livestock and extractive industries on the environment.
Budget 2018 calls for killing all wild horses and burros in Bureau of Land Management holding pens. That's about 44,000 equines according to BLM, and the roundups continue, this month. BLM records show more mustangs "gathered" in the first three months of 2017 than were captured in all of 2016.

Few voters want wild horses killed, but they’re bombarded by myths which infer there's no choice.

Myth 1 : There are no natural predators to control wild horse population

Wild horses still have natural predators, but the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services works hard to change that. In 2016 the agency placated commercial livestock interests by killing 76,963 adult coyotes, destroyed 430 coyote dens containing uncounted pups, 3,791 foxes and 128 pup dens, 997 bobcats, 415 gray wolves, 407 black bears and 334 mountain lions.

Source: Sources are many, varying from L.A. Times to Ag department’s website

Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_and_Plant_Health_Inspection_Service

Myth 2: Wild Horses damage the range unlike livestock whose grazing is controlled by man

Wild horses’ digestive systems don't process seeds. The seed-bearing food they eat is replanted in their droppings. Fertilizer + seeds = inadvertent farmers. Because mustangs are nomadic, they do their own rotational grazing, moving where their food is in bloom. In theory, livestock is rotated, but ranchers whose livestock grazes public lands are often allowed to “self monitor."

Range restoration by wild horses is recognized in places outside the U.S. Patagonia's reintroduction of wild horses has slowed and sometimes even stopped desertification by sheep.

Natural equine behavior is easier on riparian areas than that of livestock. As prey animals, wild horses normally drink from the edge instead of wading in and defecating in bodies of water. http://newprairiepress.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1129&context=sfh

Myth 3: Wild horses overpopulate public lands

Estimates vary (National Academy of Sciences criticized Bureau of Land Management's sketchy data-gathering), but BLM admits commercial livestock outnumbers wild horses on public lands by at least 30-1.

Wild horses that aren't removed have been pushed from historic territories into limited public lands habitat. In the last 5 decades, other uses -- including corporate ranching, gas, oil and mining -- have claimed 22.2 million acres. https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/about-the-program/myths-and-facts

Myth 4: Wild Horses are not native to North America

Modern science, especially DNA testing, contradicts this myth. Paleolithic horses and modern equines share the same DNA. BLM’s website encourages acceptance of old science, claiming "horses disappearance from the Western Hemisphere for over 10,000 years," despite facts that prove the window of "gone time" has narrowed to 7,000 years.

Source: Dr. Beth Shapiro Dr. Ross MacPhee https://pgl.soe.ucsc.edu/research.html

Myth 5: Wild Horse Management by BLM is humane

Interior Department websites have recently been data cleansed, but 2010 helicopter round-ups in the Calico Mountains of Nevada were well-documented. BLM reported 113 deaths from broken pelvic bones, necks,skulls and spines, ruptured eyeballs, hoof slough, and birthing “accidents” in which 40 mares suffered spontaneous miscarriages and bore dead foals. BLM claims not to sell captured mustangs to slaughter, but the Office of the Inspector General found 1700 wild horses were sold to a single kill-buyer 2008-2012. https://www.doioig.gov/reports/investigative-report-bureau-land-management-wild-horse-buyer%201700

5 WILD HORSE MYTHS: Alt-Facts Lead to Deadly New Budget for Mustangs

2017-05-30T22:15:00.000-06:00

Melissa Farlow image from Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them

Budget 2018 calls for killing all wild horses and burros in Bureau of Land Management holding pens. That's about 44,000 equines according to BLM and roundups continue. BLM records show more mustangs "gathered" in the first three months of 2017 than were captured in all of 2016.

Few voters want wild horses killed, but they’re bombarded by myths which infer there's no choice.

Myth 1 : There are no natural predators to control wild horse population

Source: Sources are many, varying from L.A. Times to Ag department’s website

Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Myth 2: Wild Horses damage the range unlike livestock whose grazing is controlled by man

Range restoration by wild horses is recognized in places outside the U.S. Patagonia's reintroduction of wild horses has slowed and sometimes even stopped desertification by sheep.

Natural equine behavior is easier on riparian areas than that of livestock. As prey animals, wild horses normally drink from the edge instead of wading in and defecating in bodies of water. Source

Myth 3: Wild horses overpopulate public lands

Myth 4: Wild Horses are not native to North America

Source: Dr. Beth Shapiro Dr. Ross MacPhee

Myth 5: Wild Horse Management by BLM is humane

Do you object to the 2018 budget item which would euthanize wild horses and burros or sell them to slaughter? Phone your legislators or the White House comments line at 202-456-1111 during business hours.

Seven Tears into the Sea: Celtic Magic on the Incoming Tide

2017-03-05T08:16:00.002-07:00

I've yearned for the moody beach and unsettling characters of SEVEN TEARS INTO THE SEA ever since I wrote "The End."

In the last few weeks readers who love the story as much as I do have taken me back to
Mirage Beach, to Jesse and Gwen and the small town where the ancient Celtic legend of the selkie comes ashore for love, mystery and midsummer madness.

I met author Jackie Smith at the Teen Bookfest by the Bay and it turns out she's a fan of the story! This week in Quinter, Kansas, I get to talk about the appeal of shape-shifting characters and THEN

I discovered this YouTube book review by Lacy

FYI :

Q: What is a selkie, really?
A: Ancient tales say they are faery folk who can shift shapes between human and seal, But there's much more to the story. Here's one of my favorite selkie websites about Selkie Folk

Q: What is scrying?
A: Originally, it meant "seeing from afar" and in SEVEN TEARS, Gwen's grandmother has the gift of seeing deeply into the present and future by gazing into an antique mirror, but crystal balls and still waters have presented others, over the ages, as a way to see and know the unknown.

Q: SEVEN TEARS' cover is kind of dreamlike, what is it supposed to show?

A: As you may know, Gwen has a history of sleepwalking and I've always thought the published cover (at the top of this blog) shows how it might feel if you'd walked in your sleep, right down to the edge of the sea as Gwen did.

Want to dive into this book? Visit your local library, bookstore or Amazon.com

Wild Horses Die to Clear the West for Industry

2017-01-25T08:15:00.002-07:00

Each morning, dawn touches fewer wild horses on America's Western range lands. Roundups by the Bureau of Land Management clear the way for a tsunami of industrialization.
Senate confirmation of Interior Secretary-designate, Rep. Ryan Zinke, advocates looser environmental regulations for extractive industries. He proposed legislation to open horse slaughter plants in the West.

Return to Freedom photo of January 2017 roundup, Utah

Nevadans Velma "Wild Horse Annie" Johnston and Carrol Able spend their lives fighting for America's wild horses. It seemed like a good time to give them their say, again.

Carrol Able July 20, 2011

I sat down with Wild Horse Annie today. We had quite the conversation. I complained of how convoluted her law had become, how it was now a life sentence for the very animals it was intended to protect. She listened quietly, never uttering a word. “We really need your help.” I told her. She offered no reply.

The grass surrounding us was cool damp; refreshing, the day warm and clear. I closed my eyes and imagined a band of wild horses grazing peacefully nearby. How fitting it would have been. But alas! Imaginings are nothing more than imaginings. There were no wild horses and Wild Horse Annie was not going to answer.

Beside me was a small and unassuming grave marker. In that, it was much like the woman buried there. Beneath the name Velma B. Johnston, Wild Horse Annie and the dates March 5, 1912 - June 27, 1977 are three mustangs, running wild and free. As I ran my fingers across the relief and looked closer at the image, I realized there was something unexpectedly ominous portrayed there.

image by Melissa Farlow
from Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them

The running mustang trio has reached the edge of a dangerous precipice with no choice left but to jump. The last of the three is rearing and looking over his shoulder as if deciding whether to fight or flee. Tears started flowing when I put the scene in the context of the battle we’re waging today.

I started sobbing like a crazy fool and blurted out, “Help me! I don’t know what else to do.”

It was then that a voice came to me, a gentle but strong whisper in my ear.

“FIGHT” it said, “Fight like a wild stallion.”

In Storm-Struck West, War on Wild Horses Accelerates

2017-01-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

RETURN TO FREEDOM image by Steve Paige (follow link to contribute to such coverage)

As the West experiences historic flooding and snowfall, the Bureau of Land Management grabs the chance to capture wild horses.

These are some of the national headlines that came in on a single day's (9.11.17) Google Alert on Wild Horses. Please follow the links to the complete stories.
.
Wild Horses in Massive Snow Bound Roundup

BLM to Roundup 700 Wild Horses in Milford Area

BLM Recalculates Desired Horse Population for Pryor Mountains

Massive Wild Horse Roundup Begins in Utah

ANNOUNCING: MustangMedia 101 by Terri Farley: Whose Home on the Range?

2017-01-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

You can make it a

ANNOUNCING

MustangMedia 101 by Terri Farley: Whose Home on the Range?

Wild horses can't speak their own stories. Once, that didn't matter, but now wild horses suffer and die at human hands. We take their food, water and homes. A few people want wild horses taken off public lands so corporations can earn money from the land's minerals, oil and grazing. But most people love wildlife and wild places. They're learning to stand up for wildlife because the Western public lands belong to all Americans! Our hearts lift at their rough power and beauty.

Knowing mustangs inspires me to tell their stories as well as I can, before they're extinct.

MustangMedia 101 by Terri Farley is my attempt to explain modern challenges facing wild horses.

Images by Melissa Farlow from Wild At Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them.

Wild Horse Roundups : Who calls an emergency?

2016-12-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas week Eagle /Silver King gather 2016 (BLM photo)

Christmas Week, Eagle and Silver King gather:

Helicopters contractors paid to prowl Nevada's high desert and spot wild horses'
shelters from blizzards, had flushed put and captured 18 mustang stallions, 16 mares and 9 foals befor
the Bureau of Land Management declared snowstorms a hazard to pilots and aircraft.
Today BLM plans to continue its "emergency" round up.

Why is this wild horse round-up an emergency?

BLM says these wild horses come too close to the road.
No, wait, these are excess mustangs. That's the emergency.
Most members of the public only know what BLM said in its press release. It announced a race to remove 100 "excess" wild horses from public and private lands “to provide for public and animal safety.” Either or neither could be true, because:

Self-declared Bureau of Land Management emergencies do not require environmental assessments

Emergency gathers aren't uncommon in BLM wild horse management. Just this year they've had emergencies in places like Three Fingers, Oregon and Caliente, Wood Hills, Tunnel Springs, CherrySpring and Silver King, Nevada.

Were these true emergencies? We must listen to BLM's "trust me" because the streamlined process only requires a

BLM staffer -- often a field office manager responding to a rancher-tenant who wants mustangs off "his" land -- to report an "emergency" situation to a state program lead. The lead contacts the Washington, D,C, office. Then,

"If timing permits, a gather plan environmental assessment is prepared prior to any removal of wild horses or burros in response to the emergency. If this is not possible, a report is prepared after the action is taken. The public is notified via at least a news release." (Jason Lutterman,Public Affairs Specialist (On Range), National Wild Horse and Burro Program and BLM handbook )

No shelter for wild horses at BLM's Broken Arrow facility, but that's no emergency. It's where mustangs go

after Christmas week Eagle /Silver King gather 2016 (BLM photo)
These days, I try to give BLM the benefit of the doubt by listening to sources inside the agency if they'll talk with me. There's a real danger America's pubic lands and wildlife will be handed over to slaughter-friendly states in 2017 and, despite its flaws, BLM is--under law -- restricted in their treatment of wild equines.
Still, I can't swallow "after the action is taken" explanations because I've been in California grazing association meetings, where a BLM field manager coodled ranchers with wild horse worries, by promising, "Anything we can do to assist you, we will. Anything."
One element of "anything" turned out to be the 2015 round-up of 1,070 wild horses and the admitted deaths of 16. But that was another time.
Now, I urge you to sign up for Google.com/alerts for news on wild horses. Even though I've covered BLM's handling of our wild horses for 30 years, I haven't been skeptical enough.
Too often when they've said "Trust me," I should've heard "I'm lying." You can help me and the wild horses.

Happier days : 2016 BLM photo, Silver King herd management area

Still time to put holiday horses in your house!

2016-12-22T12:43:00.002-07:00

Dear Readers,

If I could pick up a mustang foal and bring it to your house for an overnight cuddle, I would!

Since I can't do that, I'll tell you where to order copies of my books, so you can dream yourself into their wild and secret homes.

To help wild horses, order here:

WILD AT HEART at Return to Freedom Wild Horse Rescue

WILD AT HEART at Foothill Feed and Mercantile

For fastest delivery, order here:

WILD AT HEART at Amazon

Wishing you the warmest horsey hugs,

Terri

Rough Weather Ahead for Captive Mustangs

2016-12-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Thirty years ago, I visited BLM's Palomino Valley wild horse corrals for the first time and saw a palomino foal drown in the mud. Since then, I often visit after heavy rains, just to keep watch.

Over time, improvements have been made, but changes reflect human ideas of what's cost-efficient.
Over generations, freedom has taught horses how to survive the harshest weather. In captivity they can't do that.

Last month, BLM-authorized helicopters rounded up nearly 2,000 Owyhee mustangs. Most of those wild horses -- staff couldn't be more specific than 1400 -1600 horses -- are at Palomino Valley.
Earlier this week I visited Palomino Valley between northern Nevada storms. These horses are so wild, so sensitive to my approach that they bolted, rammed into each other, slipped and sometimes fell in the mud.

I saw few mares with foals. Those who were together did their best to stay away from standing water.

These are the corrals with shelters

This weekend high wind warnings -- up to 100 mph on the ridges -- snow storms, and below-freezing temperatures are predicted.

Unique crescent moon and star markings

These young horses might have been pulled from general population for adoption, but no one could tell me for sure.

Friendships form under all conditions. The buckskin groomed each corral mate -- whether or not they wanted attention.

ENJOY A HOLIDAY GIFT OF WILD HORSES
$15.16 from Amazon

Read more about long-standing troubles of unsheltered mustangs:
2013 Palomino Valley: winter
2013 Palomino Valley Summer

WILL WILD HORSES BE THANKFUL FOR YOU?

2016-11-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

My friend Palomino is in South Dakota at a failed wild horse rescue. The horses will go to a slaughter auction if they're not rescued by December 1.

PLEASE READ TO THE END TO SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP!

".. we have saved about 25% of the horses so far. When you look at how many are still out there, your heart breaks. But, for the horses that have been saved, it is EVERYTHING. The situation is fast coming to a close, and I can't imagine it being a happy one. We officially have 7 days left. It is terribly painful to get to know these horses and realize that we won't be able to save them all.

The stallions are fighting non stop as we break their hearts. Every time we steal their families, they fight more and it is obvious they are hurting. They run the fence line, screaming for their families.

My heart is breaking and it makes you physically ill. Every night when your head hits the pillow, it all comes crashing down. Knowing how many of these horses will probably be slaughtered, the stallions especially, is too much to bear.

These horses never ever did anything to deserve this. There is too much pain here to cry away, but every morning you get back up and start over. We will keep fighting until the bitter end and bring home as many horses as we have funding for.."

Here's how you can help:

1) Make a $50 tax-deductible donation here: http://www.chillypepper.org/donate--support.html

2) Under comments write WILD AT HEART.
When Palomino notifies me, I'll send you FREE autographed books:
WILD AT HEART: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them
and
"Wild One" PHANTOM STALLION #1

If you’d like the books personalized, please indicate the first name of the recipient

3) Because this donation helps fund emergency rescue, this offer ends December 1, 2016 or when I run out of the (30) books I bought from my publisher -- specifically to donate!

Yes They Can: Bureau of Land Management Is Authorized to Kill Healthy Wild Horses

2016-09-13T13:20:00.003-06:00

Wild horse foal on scale at slaughter auction. Her live weight is 170 pounds.

It's tempting to think the headlines are just Internet hoopla.

Is the West's Wild Horse Crisis So Bad Only Euthanasia Can Fix It?

US govt will slaughter 45,000 wild horses, making room for cattle

BLM Wild Horse Advisory Board Proposes Euthanasia of Mustangs

Isn't it lucky you're smart enough to just roll your eyes and feel a twinge of pity (or superiority) because animal nuts are allowing their bleeding hearts to be broken by yet another hoax?

Not this time.

Fact: The Bureau of Land Management's advisory board voted 7-1 to dispose of thousands of wild horses and burros which have been rounded up, then warehoused in pens around the U.S.

But they can't do that, can they? Don't they need Congressional approval?

Fact: They already have it.

"The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
(Public Law 92-195) Amendments in Bold

Section 3

2c The Secretary [of the Interior] shall cause additional excess* wild free roaming horses and burros for which an adoption demand by qualified individuals does not exist to be destroyed in the most humane and cost efficient manner possible."

I added the asterisk because of the creative writing used in defining "excess." Part (1) of Section 2 is a true Catch 22. If a wild horse is rounded up, she becomes "excess."

Section 2 f
"excess animals" means wild free-roaming horses or burros
(1) which have been removed from an area by the Secretary pursuant to application law or, (2) which must be removed from an area in order to preserve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship in that area."
http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/92-195.htm

Another section says wild horses can be sold "without limitation." That's a shortcut to slaughter.
The wild mare Ghost Dancer came to me that way, so I've read her BLM paperwork. It says I'm discouraged from reselling her for commercial (meat) purposes, but I am not forbidden to do so.

And neither is BLM.

If you disagree with the advisory board which speaks for you, as a member of the public, email these BLM administrators: Neil Kornze nkornze@blm.gov,
Dean Bolstad dbolstad@blm.gov

photo by Kimerlee Curyl

Oh Yes They Can: Bureau of Land Management Can Legally Kill Healthy Mustangs

2016-09-13T13:20:00.001-06:00

Wild horse foal on scale at slaughter auction. Her live weight is 170 pounds.

It's tempting to think the headlines are just Internet hoopla.

Is the West's Wild Horse Crisis So Bad Only Euthanasia Can Fix It?

US govt will slaughter 45,000 wild horses, making room for cattle

BLM Wild Horse Advisory Board Proposes Euthanasia of Mustangs

Isn't it lucky you're smart enough to just roll your eyes and feel a twinge of pity (or superiority) because animal nuts are allowing their bleeding hearts to be broken by yet another hoax?

Not this time.

"The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
(Public Law 92-195) Amendments in Bold

Section 3

I added the asterisk because of the creative writing used in defining "excess." Part (1) of Section 2 is a true Catch 22. If a wild horse is rounded up, she becomes "excess."

Section 2 f
"excess animals" means wild free-roaming horses or burros (1) which have been removed from an area by the Secretary pursuant to application law or, (2) which must be removed from an area in order to preserve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship in that area."
http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/92-195.htm

Another section says wild horses can be sold "without limitation." That's a shortcut to slaughter.
The wild mare Ghost Dancer came to me that way, so I've read her BLM paperwork. It says I'm discouraged from reselling her for commercial (meat) purposes, but I am not forbidden to do so.

And neither is BLM.

If you disagree with the advisory board which speaks for you, as a member of the public, email these BLM administrators: Neil Kornze nkornze@blm.gov,
Dean Bolstad dbolstad@blm.gov

photo by Kimerlee Curyl

Wild Horse Science vs Feral Horse $cience in the American West

2016-09-10T23:47:00.001-06:00

After wasting millions of dollars and thousands of lives, BLM's end game is clear : wilderness belongs to those who can pay for it, then destroy it (Melissa Farlow photo from Wild at Heart: Mustangs)

September 9, 2016: Bureau of Land Management advisory board meets in Elko, Nevada, votes to kill the 44,000+ American wild horses confined in government corrals.

If you're interested in decisions being made with your money for your wild horses, Elko, isn't a convenient venue.
Not to worry, says BLM. Meetings are (sorta) streamed online and the Wild Horse Advisory board includes folks to speak for all "...from advocacy groups, wild horse and burro research institutions, veterinarians, natural resource organizations, humane advocacy groups, wildlife associations, and livestock organizations."
I'd assume by his email address that "cowdoc75" represents veterinary or livestock interests, but no. He's the Natural Resources expert. This board is clearly skewed toward cash cows and what they can do for ranchers, not what they can do to the environment. For that, they blame wild horses.
The vote to kill mustangs was 7-1. Ginger Kathrens, Humane representative, was the lone vote for life.
These horses belong to all Americans and this vote doesn't represent them.
My letter to the Board and BLM follows. Please use the email addresses to convey your opinions.

TO: drfred@gmail.com, cowdoc75@infowest.com , mustangs@infowest.com , jweileldvm@yahoo.com, suemcd@vet.upenn.edu, Jen.sall@gmail.com , benmasters88@gmail.com , Steven.leslieyardley@yahoo.com

CC: dbolstad@blm.gov, nkornze@blm.gov, whbadvisoryboard@blm.gov

Advisory Board Members:

BLM was once so valuable to me as a writer that I included staffers in dedications to my PHANTOM STALLION book series. I even named a main character after BLM's Bryan Fuell of Elko because he was so helpful.
BLM employees used to meet advocates at Bruno's for coffee before round-ups. We often disagreed, but we asked and answered questions and listened to each other. Now, advocates are met in the same Gerlach parking lot by armed rangers. And, when I asked questions for my non-fiction book on wild horses, BLM stonewalled for over 13 months, until my publisher finally sent the book to press without updated comments from the Interior Department.
After 20 years of observing BLM, I thought I was beyond shock over wild horse mismanagement.

I was wrong. The advisory board's choice of wild horse slaughter, based on willful ignorance of science and finances, sucker-punched me.
BLM has wasted millions of dollars on rounding up and warehousing wild horses despite the availability of cheap on-range solutions to man-made problems. In fact, the Humane Society of the United States' analysis of BLM's budget documents indicated that the more money Congress appropriated to BLM's "reform," the more expensive the wild horse programs became.
Only one thing changes from year to year: money going to independent contractors. BLM’s job is to protect and manage wild horses and the range, but BLM's Don Glen and Dean Bolstad made it clear at 2009 Wild Horse Advisory Board meetings that another priority was "keeping our contractors happy." And have they ever, with ever-increasing amounts of tax dollars.
As an author for young readers, I know many students use the Interior Department's websites to search for factual information. The dissemination of '70s era science skewed toward merchandisers of Western resources amounts to malpractice of the sleaziest kind -- lying to kids for political gain.
Board members, I urge you to retract this emotional response to BLM's cry for more money for further mismanagement. Instead, listen to non-vested scientists who've proven the environment's been turned upside down by man's replacement of native species (including equines; check the fossil record) with livestock. Listen to those with no financial stake in destroying the range.
Years from now, will you have helped save the last wild places? Or will every book and Google search list you as an accomplice to the death of West?

Sincerely,
Terri Farley

FINGER-PAINTING WILD HORSES

2016-08-22T19:16:00.002-06:00

Equine therapy can counter the trauma of being over-powered

I've read that, but I've never watched average children become more comfortable and confident in such a short time. The fusion of art and horses, concentration and joy is something that should be shared over and over again -- Terri

I'm at the Wild Horse Sanctuary Open House, setting up to sign my book WILD AT HEART: MUSTANGS AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHTING TO SAVE THEM. I’m surrounded by mustangs and young people who love them. Watch as they page through the book, I can see their imaginations ignite with what they could do to help. It was a magical day + 100% of the book sales went to support wild horses.

Right next to my table, a mustang mare named Flora allows herself to be finger-painted by children. I’ve never sat for hours, observing the transformation of shy kids who give the faintest butterfly touches and gradually gain confidence to make glorious graffiti on a patient palomino canvas.

When Flora senses her pinto friend Fancy nearby, her hooves stay still, but her head – bigger than a child’s torso – whips around and her body vibrates with a neigh. Even then, the children just back away. Their confidence in Flora, her minders, and themselves has grown to the point where they’re back to work in seconds.

Hearts, stars, hand prints, dancing kids & a slumbering child are among playful petroglyphs decorating Flora the mustang

One of the best moments of the day happened as I took this shot. A middle school librarian told me that every year the first ones into the library were girls asking for horde books -- often my Phantom Stallion novels, and she was happy she now had a new book (Wild at Heart) to share with them !

Little fingers wanted to wash up in Flora's trough, but they were directed to a special water tub just for kids.

Copies of Wild at Heart etc are available in the Wild Horse Sanctuary gift shop to benefit wild horses roaming free on 5,000 fenced acres, in most indie books store and Amazon

Click HERE to see our book trailer

Where's Mama? : What Happens to Foals After a Wild Horse Roundup

2016-06-27T03:00:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON, DC (June 23, 2016 ) Republicans on the Federal Lands Sub-Committee launched a plan for the extinction of America's wild horses. Rep. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming purred that euthanasia is "such a lovely way to die." An alternate strategy? Round up 100% of America's wild horses so they won't suffer on the range.

Here's what happens to wild foals if they survive roundups. I was at Palomino Valley Wild Horse corrals with photographer Karen Hopple a few years ago when these foals arrived.
The first filly out of the contractor's truck tumbled out backward, but kept her balance. Most horses were sorrels, but there were also bays, duns and paler horses, including a palomino.

Bodies huddled together as close as possible, the foals stared at the truck which still held their mothers. Only a few pairs were reunited.

The red chestnut foal with blaze, pictured at blog-top, was so traumatized by roundup, shipment and loss of her family, her face was frozen in this expression the entire time I was there.
She and a few others tried to nurse from other foals.
This method of self-soothing indicates these babies are too young to be separated from their mothers, even though they met BLM's guidelines for weaning.
This is a perversion of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and if you're an American tax-payer, you're paying for it.


Too young to be taken from her mother, a foal tries to nurse another baby (Photos by Karen Hopple)

A Message from Wild Horse Annie

2016-06-26T04:00:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Velma "Wild Horse Annie" Johnston's death and this year she has a partner in Heaven.

Our friend Carrol Able, long-time fighter for the lives of wildlife, especially wild horses, passed away in April.

In 2014, Carrol gave me permission to share this message and I think it's time to do it again.

I would tell these two gritty wild horse angels to rest in peace, but as long as our mustangs are in danger, they won't.

Adios

Carrol Able July 20, 2011

image by Melissa Farlow

I started sobbing like a crazy fool and blurted out, “Help me! I don’t know what else to do.”

It was then that a voice came to me, a gentle but strong whisper in my ear.

“FIGHT” it said, “Fight like a wild stallion.”

*Wild Horse Annie drew attention to the bloody deaths of mustangs, all sacrificed for greed and fought for them. She organized a children's campaign that created bipartisan support for a protective law in 1971.

Wild Horse Politics: Constituent of Congressman Mark Amodei (Nevada)

2016-06-14T13:06:00.001-06:00

6/15/16 1:10 PM pst source: legislative assistant Stephanie Walker, Con. Amodei's office

By voice vote, Appropriations Committee adopted a bi-partisan proposal to transfer captive wild horses to Federal, State and local governments for use as work horses with a limiting provision stating they cannot be slaughtered. BLM was also encouraged to continue exploring contraceptive options with universities, but OSU's experimental ovarectomy program was not specifically mentioned.

Velma Bronn Johnston -- Wild Horse Annie -- was responsible, along with America's school children, for passing the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act which sheltered wild horses from mechanized round-up and slaughter. Since her death, the Act has been legally perverted. Between now & tomorrow, we have a chance to stop a new way to make it legal to kill mustangs.

Tuesday June 14, 2016

11:30 a.m phoned the D.C. office and was urged to leave a message so that my concerns could be passed on, I asked to leave two questions and get a call back or email response.

My questions:

1) If tomorrow's Appropriations Committee "markup" meeting includes a proposal to transfer captive wild horses from BLM to Federal, state or local governmental agencies, where does Congressman Amodei stand? I noted that this would strip all equines in BLM custody of their legal rights as wild horses.

2) Who does the Congressman consult for well-rounded, especially scientific, expertise on the wild horse issue?

I was told I'd receive a response from Jason Riederer,Legislative Director at U.S. House of Representatives

2:15 pm.

No word from the Congressman's office and it's getting late in D.C., so I called again and asked if there was an email address to which I could write a letter that would be read before the Appropriations Meeting tomorrow.

I was transferred to Kate, who told me the Congressman was very aware of wild horse issues and she appreciated my call and that she was familiar with the content of tomorrow's Appropriations Committee meeting. I asked her to please make sure the Congressman looked at the fiscal impacts of keeping horses corralled vs. having BLM maintain oversight and the horses maintain their legally wild status if they should to to state or Federal agencies as "work animals."
Re: Congressman's consultants on wild horse issues,

When asked for a single name among the "vast number of constituents he consults" on this issue, Kate couldn't or wouldn't name one.

Pressed, she gave me this contact: Stephanie.Walker@mail.house.gov.

4pm

Dear Ms. Walker:

Kate in your office recommended I write to you for answers to my questions.

First, if tomorrow's meeting includes a proposal to transfer captive wild horses from BLM to Federal, state or local governmental agencies as work animals, how will Congressman Amodei vote? I urge him to stand against this idea. These horses have already been taken off the range, so the Congressman's loyalty to livestock interests is irrelevant. If he still chooses to shuttle horses to other agencies, I urge him to add language which maintains the horses' existing rights under Federal law. It costs little -- only occasional BLM welfare checks -- and keeps them from being legally sold for slaughter.

I have observed livestock auctions where wild horses deemed estray by the Nevada Department of Agriculture are sold at auction to kill buyers and this amendment would expand such practices. It is an obvious backdoor to horse slaughter which the vast majority of Americans oppose. There is no ethical reason for the Congressman to rubber stamp it.

Kate told me that the Congressman "consults a vast number of constituents" on the wild horse issue, and yet she could not or would not name a single one. That's when she passed me off to you. I hope you can tell me who Congressman Amodei consults for well-rounded, up-to-date scientific expertise on wild horses.

I am a journalist and the author of fact-based fiction about wild horses. My work has received science awards and been honored by the American Library Association. My recent book was vetted and endorsed by the head mammologist of the American Museum of Natural History. I would be happy to share my experience and sources in a civil conversation with Congressman Amodei.

Sincerely,
Terri Farley

6 am Wednesday June 15

No response from Rep Amodei's office

Noon

No response from Rep Amodei's office.

Phoned Legislative Assistant Stephanie Walker and had a cordial conversation. She was in the Appropriations "marking" meeting

Wild Horses, Wild Fire and Politics

2016-06-08T09:41:00.001-06:00

Problem:
Cheat grass in the Great Basin dries out by mid-June, then drops seeds and becomes tinder for range fires.
Partial Solution: “Wild horses eat cheat grass before it can drop seeds,” admitted Les Boothe Rangeland Management Specialist, adamant supporter of wild horse removal at the Beaty Butte Working Group sponsored by Beaty Butte Grazing Association, Oregon Natural Desert Association.

Question: Should we write off as coincidence the fact that massive round-ups of mustangs coincide with proliferation of cheat grass and the rapid return of wild land fires from every 60-100 years systems to less than 5 years?

Western governors are concerned about the early start to the 2016 fire season and many, including Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval, support the round-up of wild horses.

Tell Governor Sandoval to look at the facts

http://gov.nv.gov/Contact/Email-the-Governor/

Next Weekend! Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento

2016-06-05T11:24:00.001-06:00

Shoshone of the Catnip herd by Melissa Farlow from our book WILD AT HEART

Here's what I'm doing at the Western States Horse Expo June 10-12
Booth 1927 - chatting & signing books ALL PROFITS from Wild at Heart go to Return To Freedom, Wild Horse Preservation
'Friday Presentation 11:15 am & Sunday 12:30 Trail Symposium
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MUSTANG:
Re-think what you "know" about wild horses during this you-are-there adventure for all ages, featuring modern science and photos by NatGeo's Melissa Farlow.
________________________________________
WRITE LIKE AN ANIMAL 3 pm Saturday Trail Symposium
This hands-on workshop for authors who love horses is guided by Terri Farley, whose books have sold > 2 million copies worldwide.
(photo of Shoshone of the Catnip herd by Melissa Farlow from our book WILD AT HEART)

Book Kids are Wild at Heart

2016-05-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

Q&A with Terri Farley

Meghan Goel of BOOK PEOPLE, an independent bookstore in Austin, Texas, interviewed Terri Farley about her new book Wild at Heart and the fired-up kids that inspired her.

Meghan Goel: Why did you write this book for kids now?
Terri Farley: I had to write Wild at Heart before it was too late. I’d been writing The Phantom Stallion fiction series since 2002 and young readers fell in love with the West’s wild horses. In my stories, I could write happy endings for mustangs, but if round-ups continue at the current hectic pace, my readers might never see mustangs running free. And oh, do they want to! Kids from all over the world write to me, vowing to come West just to see them.
Like most adults, kids don’t know that mustangs and the lands they roam actually belong to them — the American public. Wild horses captured by the government are not going from homes on the range to greener pastures. Often, they go to Mexican slaughter houses.

"... the story of our wild horses has a lot of dark shadows but kids aren’t yet afraid of the truth. Faced with facts that hurt, they want to know why...

and they want to know how they can help. My book got its sub-title – Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them — because I want to empower kids – not crush their hopes.
Kids are relieved to learn the young people I interviewed for Wild at Heart are not perfect. Some of the featured young people were able to turn their own pain from abuse and bullying to empathy and action for the mustangs. Other kids in the book use their skills – singing, social media skills, and understanding of animals – to make a difference. No matter how much these kids may struggle in other aspects of their lives, when they stand up for wild horses, their courage is contagious.

Young people's courage is contagious

MG: What do you hope kids will take away from Wild at Heart?
TF: I hope I show them they’re worth having the author of a book come to talk with them. That may sound strange, but just today, in Austin, two little girls asked me why I was so dressed up. When I told them it was because I was coming to see them, they were giddy.

"In the best of all possible worlds, my words will help them to be stubbornly devoted to the natural world and each other."

Kids don’t live in the past, so I search for up-to- the-minute facts on everything to do with wild horses. The scientists I interview admit they’re generous with their time because they want to give young readers access to non- politicized facts.
To read the complete Q&A and more about WILD HORSES click here

Some Book Reviewers Just GET IT

2016-04-17T14:53:00.000-06:00

Farley, Terri

Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them

Photographs by Melissa Farlow. 2015. 208pp. $19.99 hc. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 978-0-544-39294-6. Grades 4-12

This book tells of the plight of wild horses in America. Beginning with the history of prehistoric horses to the efforts to protect wild horses from being driven off public lands in the 1970s, Farley provides a look into the world of wild horses and their treatment. Farley explains how the government has passed laws to protect these horses and then systematically has broken its own laws or has twisted them to suit the needs of others.

She then details the efforts of young people who are fighting to protect the wild horses.

Ranging in age from nine to 18, they demonstrate the leadership, passion, and determination it takes to fight for a cause.

This book is a good example of creative nonfiction that blends historical and persuasive writing.

Richard Fanning, Library Media Specialist, Spring Forest Middle School, Houston, Texas [Editor’s Note: Available in e-book format.]

Recommended

School Library Connection suite at www.librariesunlimited.com.

Texas, Books & Friends!

2016-04-16T11:16:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers,
In just 3 days I'll be in Houston, Texas at the Texas Library Association conference! It's the biggest library conference in the U.S. and the only place my presentation received a standing ovation. To be fair, I was talking about the real Phantom Stallion, so what did I expect?
This time I'll share the stage with my WILD AT HEART editor Julia Richardson (she read my first Phantom Stallion book & said -- "Hey, this could be a series.") and photojournalist Melissa Farlow.

CPE#306: SBEC 1.5; TSLAC 1.5
WEDNESDAY
Back Bones, Not Wish Bones: Inspire Tweens and Teens to Stand Up for Issues
10:15 - 11:50 AM
Fiction and non-fiction can inspire youth to take on a cause. Provide the launch pad that vaults young people over barriers to fight for issues. Hear an example of advocating for a cause and receive hands-on experience with tools and resources to help lead teens toward action.
Terri Farley and Julia Richardson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; and Melissa Farlow, Melissa Farlow Photography.

Melissa Farlow was charged by the real Phantom Stallion & turned it into art

Wabi Sabi

You Don't Have to Burn A (Wild Horse) Book to Censor It

Wild Horses Are Not an Invasive Species

New Science, Old Bones and Wild Horses

"It needs to be more widely understood that the horse's status as a native North American species is beyond serious question, " Dr. Ross MacPhee, curator American Museum of Natural History

©Terri Farley

CREATED FOR WILD AT HEART: MUSTANGS AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHTING TO SAVE THEM

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: WE'RE WILD HORSES. WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL US?

Dear Mr. President,

We’re wild horses. Born in Nevada, we ran free on the range, manes blowing, legs reaching and pulling us up mountains and then downhill in crazy gallops, zig-zagging through storm-hammered sage brush.

We’re not there anymore. We’re in a place called BLM. We’re young, healthy and we play chase when we can.

So, when we heard you wanted to kill us -- not as the cougar does, one at a time to feed her young, but all together, for reasons we don’t understand --we asked a friend to speak for us in your language.

Thank you, sir, The Mustangs

Interior Department Wants to Bury Its Wild Horse Mistakes: question Sec. Zinke's alt-facts tomorrow

5 WILD HORSE MYTHS: Alt-Facts Lead to Deadly New Budget for Mustangs

Seven Tears into the Sea: Celtic Magic on the Incoming Tide

Wild Horses Die to Clear the West for Industry

In Storm-Struck West, War on Wild Horses Accelerates

ANNOUNCING: MustangMedia 101 by Terri Farley: Whose Home on the Range?

Wild Horse Roundups : Who calls an emergency?

Still time to put holiday horses in your house!

Rough Weather Ahead for Captive Mustangs

WILL WILD HORSES BE THANKFUL FOR YOU?

My friend Palomino is in South Dakota at a failed wild horse rescue. The horses will go to a slaughter auction if they're not rescued by December 1.

PLEASE READ TO THE END TO SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Here's how you can help:

Yes They Can: Bureau of Land Management Is Authorized to Kill Healthy Wild Horses

It's tempting to think the headlines are just Internet hoopla.

Is the West's Wild Horse Crisis So Bad Only Euthanasia Can Fix It?

US govt will slaughter 45,000 wild horses, making room for cattle

BLM Wild Horse Advisory Board Proposes Euthanasia of Mustangs

Isn't it lucky you're smart enough to just roll your eyes and feel a twinge of pity (or superiority) because animal nuts are allowing their bleeding hearts to be broken by yet another hoax?

Oh Yes They Can: Bureau of Land Management Can Legally Kill Healthy Mustangs

It's tempting to think the headlines are just Internet hoopla.

Is the West's Wild Horse Crisis So Bad Only Euthanasia Can Fix It?

US govt will slaughter 45,000 wild horses, making room for cattle

BLM Wild Horse Advisory Board Proposes Euthanasia of Mustangs

Isn't it lucky you're smart enough to just roll your eyes and feel a twinge of pity (or superiority) because animal nuts are allowing their bleeding hearts to be broken by yet another hoax?

Wild Horse Science vs Feral Horse $cience in the American West

September 9, 2016: Bureau of Land Management advisory board meets in Elko, Nevada, votes to kill the 44,000+ American wild horses confined in government corrals.

FINGER-PAINTING WILD HORSES

Equine therapy can counter the trauma of being over-powered

Copies of Wild at Heart etc are available in the Wild Horse Sanctuary gift shop to benefit wild horses roaming free on 5,000 fenced acres, in most indie books store and Amazon

Click HERE to see our book trailer

Where's Mama? : What Happens to Foals After a Wild Horse Roundup

A Message from Wild Horse Annie

Wild Horse Politics: Constituent of Congressman Mark Amodei (Nevada)

Tuesday June 14, 2016

11:30 a.m phoned the D.C. office and was urged to leave a message so that my concerns could be passed on, I asked to leave two questions and get a call back or email response.

My questions:

2) Who does the Congressman consult for well-rounded, especially scientific, expertise on the wild horse issue?

I was told I'd receive a response from Jason Riederer,Legislative Director at U.S. House of Representatives 2:15 pm.

No word from the Congressman's office and it's getting late in D.C., so I called again and asked if there was an email address to which I could write a letter that would be read before the Appropriations Meeting tomorrow.

When asked for a single name among the "vast number of constituents he consults" on this issue, Kate couldn't or wouldn't name one.

Pressed, she gave me this contact: Stephanie.Walker@mail.house.gov.

4pm

6 am Wednesday June 15

No response from Rep Amodei's office

Noon

No response from Rep Amodei's office.

Phoned Legislative Assistant Stephanie Walker and had a cordial conversation. She was in the Appropriations "marking" meeting

Wild Horses, Wild Fire and Politics

Question: Should we write off as coincidence the fact that massive round-ups of mustangs coincide with proliferation of cheat grass and the rapid return of wild land fires from every 60-100 years systems to less than 5 years?

Western governors are concerned about the early start to the 2016 fire season and many, including Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval, support the round-up of wild horses.

Tell Governor Sandoval to look at the facts

http://gov.nv.gov/Contact/Email-the-Governor/

Next Weekend! Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento

Book Kids are Wild at Heart

Q&A with Terri Farley

"... the story of our wild horses has a lot of dark shadows but kids aren’t yet afraid of the truth. Faced with facts that hurt, they want to know why...

"In the best of all possible worlds, my words will help them to be stubbornly devoted to the natural world and each other."

Some Book Reviewers Just GET IT

Texas, Books & Friends!

I was told I'd receive a response from Jason Riederer,Legislative Director at U.S. House of Representatives

2:15 pm.