March 2008 Email Update Part 2

Dear Friends of Cloud and his herd;

Just before we left to visit Cloud and his herd this month we had a conference call with BLM managers in Billings who indicated (with some dismay) that they had received many messages regarding their management recommendations. Thanks to so much for speaking out on behalf of Cloud’s herd! It is vital to the preservation of this unique Spanish herd.

BLM told us that they do NOT intend to remove any older animals from the range. Rather they will limit removals to 30 horses, all from the younger age groups, primarily yearlings. This will leave the herd at around 140 adults, still not a clearly viable population, but far closer to sustainability than the 95 +/- 10% which is the current AML (animal management level) set in their 1984 Herd Management Area Plan. We appreciate the time BLM is taking to discuss these issues with us and hope it leads to a better relationship with advocates concerned with the preservation of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse herd.

Three days after our conversation we were on the road to Montana and to meetings with the Custer National Forest Service, and the Montana Fish Game and Parks in Billings.

Our meeting with the Montana Fish, Game, and Parks managers was an introductory session in which we talked about our desire to have a predator-prey balance on the Pryors driven by natural selection rather than unnatural selection (i.e. human removal of wild horses). We had an open discussion on ways to create a mountain lion study to see how many cats are on the mountain, what they are eating and how often they are making kills. During the course of the study there would be a moratorium on cougar hunting. The regional supervisor, Gary Hammond, seemed open to the possibilities and we all have our assignments on how to proceed to get a research project written and funded. (click here to read more on mountain lions and wild horses)

Our next meeting was with the Forest Service and it was cordial until the very end. We continue to ask that the Custer National Forest Service officials comply with the Wild Horse and Burro Act by legally expanding the horse range. The expanded range would include the area used by the wild horses before and after the Wild Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971. The good news is that the new Forest Service Supervisor, Steve Williams, will be reviewing whether this option is available to him at the local level.

The bad news is that the Custer National Forest has received funds to rebuild the buck and pole, wooden boundary fence atop the mountain. And Steve will requesting the BLM to drive the Forest Service wild horses (at least 35 horses in four family bands) back into the range once the fence has been rebuilt. This came as a surprise and we strongly protest this action. The horses have been using this area and a far larger one for perhaps 200 years! Please send your emails to swilliams@fs.fed.us (Click here for more talking points on formulating your message to the Custer National Forest Service.)

Once we got our meetings over with we could concentrate on finding and filming the wild horses.

For the first time all winter we were able to hike close enough to Cloud and his family to sit quietly and observe each member of his family of ten. It was a hard hike up the mountain through knee-deep snow, but what a privilege to spend time with them.

Cloud looked wonderful in his perfect winter coat and so did most members of the group. Cloud’s daughter, Rain, and granddaughter, Arrow, look happy and healthy. However, Aztec looked thin. The birth of her September filly, Shadow, has clearly taxed this lovely grulla mare. Shadow looked wooly and I guessed that very little fat covered her small frame. At one point during our time with them, Aztec lay down and little Shadow walked over, sniffed her mother and then laid down in front of her. After a few moments, Aztec draped her head over her daughter and both of them slept, huddled together against the brisk winter wind.

If anyone questions our fight to stop the use of the experimental infertility drug, PZP, on the Pryors, I believe this poignant scene would have changed their minds. Shadow is Aztec’s first and only foal even though the mare will turn eight years-old this summer . . . if she lives.

Aztec is the fifth young mare to foal out of season in just the past three years. I have only seen three other out of season births in my 14 years on the mountain. We believe that PZP has been responsible for this rash of late births. The Cloud Foundation continues our legal battle with BLM to stop the use of PZP until a full review takes place in which the public can participate. An environment assessment (EA) should be conducted in which the effects of PZP on the young mares as well as the older mares are analyzed.

Right now, the BLM plans to continue to dart mares through 2010 with no review of the effects to date. (Click here to read more about PZP in the Pryors)

If you believe that darting with this experimental research drug should be halted until a review of results to date can be analyzed, contact Field Manager, Jim Sparks (jim_sparks@blm.gov), and Wild Horse and Burro Specialist, Jared Bybee (jared_bybee@blm.gov) to let them know of your concerns.

In February I took my wild horse, Trace, and Spanish Mustang, Flint, up to the Pryors to search for Cloud- to read more about that adventure, click here.

I also traveled to Tucson for the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting in late February. Please click here to read more about what I heard there and to read the comments I submitted on behalf of The Cloud Foundation.

Many thanks for your commitment to Cloud and his family and herd. I believe that on some level Cloud knows he has many friends out there. His family and herd are counting on us. Please send your comments today to BLM and the Custer National Forest. As always your tax-deductible donations are gratefully accepted.

Happy Trails!

Ginger Kathrens
Volunteer Executive Director

(photos by Ginger Kathrens and Makendra Silverman)