McCullough Peaks BLM is currently conducting a gather of wild horses, and none of it makes sense. The BLM published a “plan” to gather 35 wild horses under the age of 5 years. And the plan started on November 27th and was to be completed six weeks before the foaling season starts, which is February 1st. And yet here we are on March 2 and they are still operating the bait trapping stations, and say they will operate until March 15th. So far they have removed 13 young horses and 2 older horses while BLM representatives block the roads and access for anyone who wants to observe the process.

Removing the 2 older horses makes no sense because this gather is supposed to be focused on younger horses, under 5yo. The 15 yo band stallion known on the range as San Jose was removed along with his 14 yo mare, known as Wind Winglet or Black Beauty. These horses are older and as such they are usually harder to adopt, and harder to “domesticate” and often end up in long term holding by the BLM or as failed adoptions sent to kill pens. Why such a senseless removal, that goes against their stated plan?

As senseless as this is, there is more, much more that makes no sense

According to the H-4700-1  WILD HORSES AND BURROS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK (Public), Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management p 56  policy says a female horse is a “mare” on January 1 the year after her birth, and they are gathering foals 4-6 months old and listing them as “mares”. Nowhere else is a female horse under 4 years old called a mare. A foal is newborn to 12 months, a yearling is between 12 and 24 months and a horse remains a filly or colt until they are mature at 4 years old. A mare is a female horse, typically one that is breeding age (4 yrs and up). By BLM logic a week old baby could be considered a “mare” if she was born in late December.

Of the first 13 horses gathered from McCullough Peaks this year there are 4 foals, 3 yearlings, and 6 under 4 years of age. Why would the BLM have a policy to change the established language referencing the age of young horses? What, exactly, are they concealing?

Kat Ballou, a yearling but listed as a mare by the BLM in their records, was one of the first horses removed from McCullough Peaks, and she is dead now from acute head and neck trauma, according to a report from the Bureau of Land Management.  Kat Ballou had been separated from her mother and left unattended overnight with three other young horses who were also removed from their mothers and somehow sustained head and neck trauma and died right there in the BLM pen, alone and unobserved. This negligent treatment of federally-protected wild horses must not be allowed to continue.The BLM took only a few days to “investigate” and decided that they followed all their policies and did nothing wrong… Kat Ballou was just an oopsie and no need to change anything or look further.

Well that’s something, all right. They don’t follow their own policies. They change words to make themselves look better or conceal their real actions. They don’t allow outside observation of their operations. Young horses, a Federally protected species, are dying at the hands of the very agency charged with protecting them. Wyoming officials are well known to be anti-wild horse and burro, and very very hard nosed in their stance on these issues. My conclusion is that The Bureau of Land Management is corrupt and apparently beholden to private ranching interests, as that is who will benefit when the wild horses are gone.

As a voter, tax payer and human being, I am asking you and your colleagues to stop the out of control BLM by putting an immediate halt to the McCullough Peaks bait trap operation, return the still living horses who have been removed, and use the appropriate congressional oversight to investigate the corrupt BLM. Do it now, while we still have wild horses at McCullough Peaks, an iconic symbol of freedom, and the American West.

Sincerely,

Kristen Claussen {Sent to my representatives today)