Photo by Julie Caramante

WASHINGTON, (BLM) – The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it has selected for environmental analysis a public-private land wild horse ecosanctuary proposal submitted by Saving America’s Mustangs (SAM), a non-profit organization formed by Madeleine Pickens.  The BLM will conduct an environmental analysis of the proposal under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to assess the environmental, economic, social, and other effects of the proposed ecosanctuary.  The BLM expects its NEPA analysis – which will include extensive public input – to be completed in approximately two years, after which the agency will make a decision about whether

to enter into a formal partnership with SAM.

SAM’s proposed non-reproductive, 900-head ecosanctuary would help the BLM care for the horses while ensuring healthy rangeland conditions.  Under the proposal, SAM would improve and maintain fencing and water wells and oversee management of the ecosanctuary horses, which would remain under Federal ownership.  SAM would also provide Western history- and wild horse-related education and promote ecotourism.  The BLM-managed public lands that would be part of the proposed ecosanctuary – 530,000 acres known as the Spruce grazing allotment – would continue to be publicly accessible for a variety of outdoor activities, such as big game hunting.  The proposed ecosanctuary also includes SAM’s private land, approximately 14,000 acres located in northeastern Nevada (south of Wells), that serves as “base property” for the Spruce grazing allotment, which overlays portions of three wild horse Herd Management Areas.  (Base property is private land to which preference for obtaining a BLM grazing permit is attached; the base property is required for a permit, which authorizes grazing on public land.)

SAM holds the allotment’s livestock grazing privileges, which it would relinquish to the BLM for intended use by wild horses.  SAM was the only party that submitted a potentially viable proposal to the BLM in response to the agency’s Request for Applications posted on www.grants.gov on March 25, 2011.  Other proposals were not selected for environmental review because they did not meet the BLM’s minimum requirements, including ownership or control of the necessary private land and a proven ability to provide humane care for at least 200 wild horses.  If a partnership agreement with SAM were to be finalized, the BLM would sponsor the ecosanctuary with funding sufficient to cover the cost of managing the horses – an expense that is anticipated to be less than the BLM’s existing cost for holding horses in long-term pastures in the Midwest.  The potential partnership agreement for the ecosanctuary envisions a fundraising role by SAM to cover educational and tourist-related costs.

“The selection of SAM’s proposal for environmental analysis furthers our overall effort to improve management and control costs of the Wild Horse and Burro Program,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey, who noted that the BLM is preparing to publish a new wild horse and burro management strategy in the coming weeks.  The strategy, among other things, calls for the establishment of ecosanctuary partnerships.

The decision to begin NEPA analysis of SAM’s proposal follows the agency’s February 24 announcement of its selection of a Wyoming-based, private land-only sanctuary proposal for environmental review.  The BLM plans to announce another Request for Applications for more private land-only ecosanctuaries.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency.  This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska.  The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.  In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs.  The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends.  In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget.  The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.  The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

Photo of BLM Press Observation Area by Laura Leigh

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – In a body blow to federal land managers California’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn a ruling that grants access to the press during Bureau of Land Management “Gathers.”

Horseback learned of the court’s denial of a petition for a re-hearing of a case that sets government wild horse policy on its rump from a press release filed late Monday by plaintiff Laura Leigh.

It is a major development in the press and public’s First Amendment rights to observe a government agency at work. The BLM has consistently kept its treatment and holding of wild horses under wraps.

BLM Chief Washington Spokesman Tom Gorey refused comment to Horseback on Tuesday morning after news of the Ninth Circuit ruling broke saying, “We have no comment.”

Leigh is credentialed as a reporter and photographer by Horseback Magazine and Horseback Online. The release said:

On Monday, April 16, 2012, the Ninth Circuit denied the Bureau of Land Management’s  (BLM) petition for rehearing in the ongoing saga to gain access to the Agencies handling of wild horses.

The original Appeal began with a notice filed on February 14, 2011 by attorney Gordon Cowan on behalf of Wild Horse Education founder Laura Leigh.

On February 14, 2012, exactly one year later, the Ninth Circuit published an opinion in Leigh’s favor.

As James Madison wrote in 1822, “a popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.”’9 WRITINGS OF JAMES MADISON 103 (G. Hunt ed. 1910)”

The Ninth Circuit added language to the Opinion after BLM made a petition for rehearing. The additional language notes that the Agency is not only held to the mandate to remove excess horses insuring that another roundup would occur, but that the Record of Decision on file for the “Silver King” roundup allows horses to be removed through 2013. The Amended opinion also states “With this amendment, the panel has voted to deny the petition for rehearing. Subsequent petitions for rehearing or rehearing en banc may not be filed.”

In another matter involving the lack of a Humane Care Standard before the federal District Court Leigh filed a Motion based on the decision granted in the Ninth Circuit. The BLM asked that the decision to deny relief stand as they were asking for a rehearing in the Ninth.

Today Leigh filed a Supplemental Brief to the “Humane Care” case.  The newly filed Brief notes that the Record of Decision for the “Triple B” gather, associated with the case, allows for removals through 2014. It also restates that according to BLM’s own calculations the scheduled original scheduled operation was never completed. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) granted to Leigh in August of last year, after a hearing in Federal District Court in Reno by Honorable District Court Judge Howard McKibben stopped the Triple B roundup due to inappropriate conduct at the roundup.

“Maybe after two years of trying to get to a conversation that actually deals with the issues at hand,” said Leigh “We have finally gotten there.”

Leigh has attempted to initiate dialogue with the BLM on the implementation of a Humane Care Standard. To date the Agency has not responded.

Both cases, and the documentation required to carry them forward, are supported by Wild Horse Education.

BILLINGS, Mont. (April 5, 2012)—Yesterday, BLM issued their Decision Record to permanently remove up to 40 young Pryor mustangs from their home in the mountains of southern Montana.

The bait-trapping operation would begin no earlier than June 4th and could continue until September 30th.

“Surprisingly, the removal decision exceeds the level they outlined in their preliminary Environmental Assessment,” states Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. “Regardless of the nearly 10,000 comments sent to BLM requesting they proceed with caution, BLM has significantly increased the number of young horses to be removed. So much for listening to the wishes of the American Public.”

BLM’s Preliminary Environmental Assessment issued in December, 2011, called for the removal of 30 Pryor Horses in the 1-3 year-old category. This final Environmental Assessment ups the removal number to as many 40 young animals–two thirds of the young population.

BLM reports that they received only 1,000 comments, although it is likely they received 10 times that number. More than 4,000 comments were generated by American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) alone, but were only counted as one letter because they used “a sample letter or talking points provided from internet sites.”

Thousands of comments came to BLM, asking that Cloud’s look-alike grandson, Echo (Killian) be allowed to continue to live free on the Pryors. Although Echo could be removed based on age, BLM has acknowledged his rare color and genetics, and has ranked him as a horse to be removed only if they cannot achieve their target removal numbers.

Links of Interest:

BLM Q&A on Pryor Bait Trap: http://on.doi.gov/HhwIpi

BLM 2012 Pryor Decision Record: http://on.doi.gov/HhwMpg

Final BLM Environmental Assessment: http://on.doi.gov/HhwLl4

BLM Sets Sights on Another Massive Removal in Cloud’s Herd (Foundation release): http://bit.ly/tFeuWZ

What is Bait Trapping? http://bit.ly/HhurdO

Stop the Fencing in of Cloud’s Herd – Foundation video: http://bit.ly/vO4kvw

Related articles

• BLM Officially Confirms Attack on Cloud’s Herd is Eminent (rtfitchauthor.com)
• BLM Proposes Another Wild Horse Removal from Cloud’s Herd in Montana by American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (socialactions.net)
• Erasing the Memory of Cloud the Stallion (rtfitchauthor.com)
• Help Protect the Pryor Wild Horses (thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com)
• Action Alert – Pryor Mountain Wild Horses (nickolesphotography.wordpress.com)
• BLM Puts Public in Holding (rtfitchauthor.com)

Story and Photo by By Laura Leigh, Horseback Magazine

FALLON, NEVADA, (Horseback) – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held a “public tour” at the Indian Lakes (Broken Arrow) short-term holding facility in Fallon. Unlike other short-term facilities this facility is “off-limits” to the public except for a couple of days a year.

After the Calico Roundup of 2009/2010 the BLM ceased public tours claiming that the facility was privately contracted and they did not have to open the doors to public scrutiny. Investigation into the closure of the facility did reveal the contract did have weekly public tours as part of the signed, completed contract. The real reason the facility was closed was revealed in email records of the written request to close the facility as “damage being done to the reputation” of BLM staff.

Images published after the weekly tours revealed serious issues at the facility. Each week images portrayed injuries, design flaws and even a foal that was born at the facility that apparently starved to death.

Throughout the winter of 2010/2011 the facility was utilized as intake for animals from various roundups including the Eagle HMA in Ely Nevada.

The Eagle roundup was particularly brutal. Temperatures, as operations began in the morning, went as low as 12 degrees below zero. Freezing fog was often present at dawn. A young horse was seen to stumble three times as its family was driven to the trap.

That horse was sent to Indian Lakes (Broken Arrow). After following the truck from the range to the facility access was denied to observe the horse at Broken Arrow. Inquiries to the BLM insisted that the animal was fine yet that week 4 horses of a similar age died of injury and others of respiratory distress.

After Calico the entire time the facility was used for intake of horses from the range the facility remained off-limits to view.

After Litigation was filed in an attempt to gain access to report to the public about the hands-on care and disposition of animals the BLM offered a public tour last summer. The tour this year was done in the same fashion.

The public was “checked in and briefed.” John Neil (manager of Palomino Valley Center and BLM manager of Indian Lakes) and Heather Emmons (BLM public affairs) were the personnel that were in the cab of the pick up truck that pulled the wagon that held the public.

The members of the public in attendance were varied. Two journalists, two advocates, a family that came to “see the wild horses” and a young girl participating in the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s youth challenge (she had her father and two friends with her. (An additional story will be filed on this young girl’s story).

Horses from roundups from the last two years and three different states are stored at the facility. Animals from the 2009/2010 Calico roundup were present. Also at the facility were animals from Triple B, Owyhee, Callaghan, Eagle, Silver King, Twin Peaks and several other HMA’s. Many of these animals have been housed at this facility for over two years. As the facility is off-limits to public view there are no adoptions.

During the tour Neil did inform the public that the facility will no longer be used as intake for animals taken from the range. This does not represent a policy and could change if space is required. Palomino Valley Center in Sparks will be used for intake and after a few months animals will be sent to Indian Lakes as an overflow facility. This option allows the public a couple of brief months to see animals after they come off the range toward generating interest in the sagging adoption program.

The facility held approximately 2,500 animals. The majority of animals appeared in good weight and coat.

Hoof care is done in a rotational fashion. Serious overgrowth in the row that was next on the schedule was noted. As the public is severely restricted access there is no way to know if this is a “one time” occurrence or status quo.

Hospital pens were off limits just as they were during the two tour days offered last year.

BLM staff was pleasant and frequently interacted with the public.

If you want to attend the public tour BLM is offering another opportunity on April 27.

From the BLM website:

April 27 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The tours can each accommodate up to 30 people and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. The public can sign up to attend and get driving directions to the facility by calling the BLM at (775) 475-2222. There will be 2 tours per day offered for 1 ½ hours each: one at 11 a.m. and one at 12:30 p.m. Each tour can hold a maximum of 15 people.

RENO, (Wild Horse Education) -  On Friday the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) filed a Motion for Reconsideration in the Ninth Circuit case challenging access to Wild Horses and information surrounding

the care of animals. The Motion addresses the win for Press Freedom granted by the Court on February 14 in the access case brought by Laura Leigh, journalist for Horseback Magazine and founder of Wild Horse Education.

The Ninth Circuit Court in granting Leigh’s Appeal recognized that roundups will occur as a matter of course. BLM had argued that the issue was “moot” because the roundup had ended. The Ninth Circuit ruled the issue was not moot because the Agency is mandated under the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act to remove excess animals (excess as defined by BLM) and that the animals will continue to reproduce. This created a win for journalists and the public attempting to gain meaningful access to the actions of their government.

Lawyers for the BLM write in their request to the Court, “that the mere possibility of agency action does not present a live controversy.”

“The BLM repeatedly asserts that populations double in size every four years, yet many areas are currently facing roundups every 2-3 years” said Leslie Peeples Co-Director of Wild Horse Education “it is a fact that they will do another roundup, not a possibility. We know it and the BLM knows it.”

Lawyers representing the BLM go on to write: “If the panel (Ninth Circuit) does not amend its opinion, future litigants will undoubtedly cite the opinion for the proposition that a possibility of agency action is sufficient to support a motion for a preliminary injunction.”

“The decision by the Ninth was a decision based on the valid issue of access to the actions of government, plain and simple,” says Leigh “For over two years the contentious struggle for meaningful access to our horses has been a constant reality while attending almost non stop removals of our horses. Both the struggle for access and the roundups are not possibilities but certainties.”

Perhaps this fight is more about the possibility that this case law will be used in future cases to negate a “mootness” argument? Turning the mootness strategy moot.

Story and Photo by Laura Leigh, Horseback Magazine

RENO, (Wild Horse Education/Wild Horse Freedom Federation) – On February 18, 2012 the Bureau of Land Management offered the public an opportunity to adopt horses directly from their home range. The event was held adjacent to the temporary holding facility utilized during the roundup operation that ended February 17.

Potential adopters were given opportunity to view animals and talk to agency personnel and advocates working onsite in cooperation with BLM.  The animals were then freezemarked, haltered and loaded onto trailers.

In spite of the cold temperature the atmosphere at the event was warm and inviting. Seven out of twelve animals offered were adopted in private care during the event. Among the animals offered to the public was a youngster that had clubfoot. This young horse was adopted along with his friend and went to a rescue group.

Another adopter took a pair that had been removed from the range together and a motivating factor in her choice was to “make sure they stay together.”

Nevada Horse Power, the non-profit group partially funded by the sales of vanity license plates, was on hand and helped provide transportation for some of the adopters.

“I am against excessive removal of horses,” said Elyse Gardner, wild horse advocate that has a blog titled “Humane Observer, “ but when they need to come off the range this is a great option that may avoid additional trauma as long as all compliance checks are done.

The five youngsters that were not taken during this event were driven in a BLM trailer by Shawna Richardson, wild horse and burro specialist, to Palomino Valley Center north of Reno where they will be available for adoption.

All requirements of BLM adoption program apply.

The Tonopah field office will be removing burros from the Bullfrog Herd Management area starting March 1. An adoption event has been proposed at some point during this operation. To find out more contact Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Dustin Hollowell: dhollowe@blm.gov

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – The tin ear of the federal Bureau of Land Management is clearly so out of tune to the desires of the American public and so in tune with the wants of corporate agriculture, hunting interests, and natural resource exploitation that the agency, and its titular head, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, has made appointments’ that not only mock public opinion but create a fetid cesspool of criticism where it now wallows – a pool of its own making.

Last week the BLM named three appointees to its toothless Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board after an earlier candidate had already caused controversy. The board is a rubber stamp for ill advised management policy rather than functioning as a quasi independent advisory body to safeguard the public’s interests in the 245 million acres of wilderness it manages.

The appointments fly directly in the face of, and run contrary to, the findings of the most recent poll on how Americans feel about the grisly practice of horse slaughter. The poll was commissioned by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It was conducted by Lake Research, a blue chip political research firm founded by Celinda Lake. The pollsters found that nothing has changed in the public’s opinion of horse slaughter. In fact, it has solidified, increasing previous findings by a full ten percentage points over a decade of previous polls on the issue that found the same thing.

Yet rather than take another look at how to handle management of the herds in ways different from capture and ultimately killing, Salazar completely ignored the wishes of the American people. In a agency that has endured three years of scandal and ridicule, the secretary piled fresh dung on the manure heap.

The BLM knew of those earlier polls when it appointed three commissioners to the WHBAB. Yet it again served the interests of ranchers who  have often called America’s wild horses, “The cockroaches of the west.” These ranchers have been caught fencing off water holes where Mustangs go to sustain life. They have treated the public lands as their own. And yes, they have often captured wild horses and sold them off to killer buyers beyond the scrutiny of the agency.

The BLM has also fought any attempt by the press to serve as watchdogs of its actions. That abruptly came to an end last week when a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals demanded a Horseback Magazine journalist be allowed access to observe, photograph, and report freely on the practice of the capture of wild horses, a practice it benignly and ridiculously terms “gathers.” Instead, of the gentle herding of horses the term implies, the animals are madly stampeded by a roaring helicopter, the tips of its skits sometimes touching the back of a crippled animal to drive it toward a trap even though the creature is in terrible pain.

In fact, the findings of the polls are so imbedded in what has become established fact that literally nobody was surprised with the Lake firm’s most recent survey found that this time 80 percent opposed the practice of killing horses for their meat – and more importantly, the result came from virtually all demographic groups. That finding included all horses, wild as well as domesticated.

In the face of this, Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey ignored the strong feelings of the vast majority of Americans and appointed Callie Hendrickson, a Grand Junction, Colorado woman who has been outspoken in favor of horse killing to replace an Ohio trustee who opposes the practice. Despite the fact that the BLM manages 245 million acres of land, Hendrickson said at the time of her appointment “The rangeland can’t stain large numbers.” Well Callie, we say hogwash.

That’s an awful lot of land. Moreover, we are told 12 million acres originally designated in the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act for wild horses have been taken away over the years and not replaced.

James Stephenson, a consultant to The Yakama Nation, was appointed with the full knowledge of Salazar and Abbey that he is enthusiastic about killing horses as a population control measure.

And then there is Dr. Boyd Spratling, a Nevada vet, and past president of the National Cattlemen’s Association. He was re-appointed to another three year term in the wake of vast public criticism regarding how BLM vets allowed foals stampeded by agency helicopters to run to the point that they shed their hooves in an excruciating death agony – a callus, heartless, and frankly unforgivable act of veterinary irresponsibility that should cost somebody their license.

It seems the BLM likes to keep it in the family. It has appointed June C. Sewing of Cedar City, Utah, director of the obscure National Mustang Association, to serve on the board.

Her husband was a previous member.

Horseback Magazine has filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request asking for the names of all Americans who offered themselves for service on the board. The response should be interesting.

There have been calls in Congress, most notably by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) Louisiana, to sever the wild horse function from the BLM’s responsibilities. The time has come to act, Mary. These most recent appointments demonstrate that the agency, the secretary, and the BLM director have no interest in what the public has demanded. This rogue branch of government has continued to capture and sterilize horses in such enormous numbers to the point that slaughter will not be needed to eliminate the herds from our Western Lands because they will be genetically incapable of replicating themselves. Worse still, it has squandered our tax dollars to benefit a few western ranchers who pay a tiny $1.35 per cow and calf per month for the land. That’s an outrage.

It’s a national disgrace.

Editor’s Note: On Valentine’s Day morning a Reno lawyer was stunned to receive an opinion from California’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announcing he had prevailed in a case against the federal government. But it wasn’t just any lawyer, it wasn’t just any case, it wasn’t just any plaintiff. It was Laura Leigh, a modest, intelligent, and savvy journalist and photographer credentialed by Horseback Magazine who sued the mighty Bureau of Land Management because they were trampling her rights to report the news. The lawyer, a cowboy hat wearing legend in Nevada courtrooms, Gordon Cowan (assisted by Bruce Wagbman), and the case was Leigh vs. Salazar. The BLM has plenty to hide, and the agency has successfully hidden its misdeeds for decades. Thanks to the opinion rendered by three jurists in the Golden State, perhaps the bureau’s shameful practice of denying press access will now come to an end. Here’s Gordie’s story. – Steven Long, Editor, Horseback Magazine

RENO, (Horseback) – The Editor of Horseback Magazine asked me to write about my feelings when having received the opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the Laura Leigh v. Ken Salazar case (Case 11-16088). I didn’t have time

to write a short article, so I wrote a long one (a comment stolen from Mark Twain).

It is not my usual course to post comments. The closest I came was when writing the editorial, “The Silence of the Foals and Journalists” which Horseback Magazine graciously published September 2010 (http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/3052) when frustrated over hearing about good horses being injured and good journalists being denied access to report important government work.

This Tuesday morning I came into the office at 9:00 a.m. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion came through about an hour earlier. When signing onto the federal courts account, I saw the filing notice from the Ninth Circuit. My first thought was that I had lost. Only five weeks had passed since I argued the case. It is, after all, much quicker for the court to deny relief in this type matter than to grant the requested relief. As a result, I did not open the email notice right away, not feeling the need to become depressed at the beginning of the day.

Sometime later, I sucked it up and opened the posting, waiting for the large boxing glove to come flying from the screen with a swift knockout punch. With eyes closed, I expected to be pummeled.

I was so prepared for a wailing or hazing the likes of “thank you Sir, may I have another,” that the opinion just didn’t make sense, at first. I grabbed a cup of Joe and came back, refocused.

My first reading was a quick skim through. On the first paragraph of the second page, I stopped after the sentence, “We have jurisdiction . . . and we reverse.” That’s when it hit me that perhaps, this was a partial success. I went from there to the final page where I ran into Judge Wallace’s final paragraph which started, “I prefer to end the detours now.” My heart sank once again, until the third sentence which included the words, “I dissent.” “Ah, this is either a dissent or a partial concurrence.” From there I went to the front and began anew, a third time. Only then did I understand that the appeal effort caused concerns with the court.

I sat back and read it a fourth time. This is when I recognized the court’s effort. I picked up the statements of Judge Milan Smith who included in the court’s opinion, writings of the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison. The court referenced the struggles of famous journalists such as Ida Tarbell (she took on Standard Oil single-handedly with her investigative reporting), Rachel Carson (her publication Silent Spring caused the nation to reconsider its pesticide safety policies and she is credited with inspiring the beginnings of the EPA), and Izzy Stone (a prolific publisher whose weekly investigative newsletter was ranked sixteenth by fellow journalists who assembled the “Top 100 Works of Journalism in the United States in the Twentieth Century”). Judge Smith then used quotes from some of the most important press freedom cases ever published. Judge Smith fashioned his own statements that would likely be recited by his fellow brethren in future decisions from the federal bench across the country. “The free press is the guardian of the public interest, and the independent judiciary is the guardian of the free press,” is but one of Judge Smith’s several profound statements.

When finished, and with a clear understanding of the implications of the court’s work, I felt numb and was wondering what kind of trouble I caused. The Ninth Circuit suffered recent, unfortunate attacks by some running for President. One candidate calls the court a “rogue circuit” while another says the court operates outside the Constitution (the latter comment by a guy who thinks the U.S. Marshall Service would follow his order to take “activist judges” into custody).

Opinions such as the one Judge Milan Smith issued in this case should quell any notion that the Ninth Circuit has but one mission, which is to protect our Country’s Constitution. The federal judiciary is the only branch of government whose members are not swayed by lobbyists, or “super pacs,” or by money. This particular panel of judges included three of the toughest, most conservative judges on the bench, all of whom were appointed by conservative Republican Presidents (G.W. Bush, Reagan and Nixon). (A close friend, who saw the decision, called and said he had traveled with one of the judges where they engaged in humanitarian efforts together in foreign countries).

To finish the story, I could not reach Laura Leigh to tell her of the court’s ruling. She was at a BLM government roundup of wild horses and was staying several days in a remote region outside Tonopah, Nevada. Not until she left the roundup in frustration because the restrictions imposed on her kept her afar from roundup activity, did her phone connect with a signal which downloaded my message. She drove until she had clear service, and then called.

When reading her Judge Smith’s words, it was the classic dichotomy: a court suggests that she holds a fundamental right to see and report on government activity while at that very moment, the government was restricting her access to view a wild horse roundup.

Yes, it is true that I choked with emotion at least twice, when reading Judge Smith’s opinion to the client. (Please don’t let my cowboy buddies know of this). When reading I was picturing Judges Smith, Noonan and Wallace who had asked tough questions of me last month when I stood before them. I was comparing in my mind’s eye, their faces with the likely dust caked Laura Leigh who listened to the message while braving a wind chill that lowered into the teens.

What is my interpretation of the court’s opinion? Three American heroes (again, Smith, Noonan and Wallace) saw the plight of a hard-working photojournalist who is repeatedly shut out from reporting government activity that is newsworthy. “When wrongdoing is underway, official have great incentive to blindfold the watchful eye of the Fourth Estate,” said the court. This is particularly so where the activity occurs in a remote, desolate, unpopulated region. The court fashioned an exemplary opinion in short order and provided guidelines that are protective of a free press. This decision was crafted to be cited and cited often.

I have received accolades from the horse advocate community. My hope is they recognize that I was but a mere messenger. Ms. Leigh is the one who didn’t give up. The court, particularly Judges Smith, Noonan and Wallace, are the heroes who accepted the message and crafted a path of correction, not just for Ms. Leigh, but for the press and journalists like her.

Moments like these make one proud to be a bar member of the Ninth Circuit. The next time a sound bite-toting candidate desires to bash this court over its good work, please refer them to me.

By Steven Long

Photos, Laura Leigh and Gordon Cowan

Ninth Circuit Decision Has Resonance With Free Press Groups

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – In a Nevada case with far reaching First Amendment implications, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a ruling by a Reno federal judge and remanded the complaint of a Horseback Magazine news photographer back to his court. Laura Leigh, a freelance photojournalist on general assignment to cover massive Bureau of Land Management roundups of wild horses in the American West, sought a temporary restraining order on  grounds that her access to observe the capture process directly was being routinely denied by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The BLM denies access to press and public to roundups it terms “gathers” in which scores of horses are stampeded and die. They are then held at taxpayer expense on vast pastures owned by private landowners when the agency controls 245 million acres where the horses could be kept for free.

It also sets up temporary holding pens where the press and public is denied on private land claiming it denies access on orders of the land owners.

Judge Larry Hicks of Reno had denied a temporary restraining order sought by Leigh in late 2010 saying it was moot since the roundups had already taken place. In the appellate court’s Valentine’s Day ruling Justice Milan D. Smith speaking for the court sternly pointed out the case became moot because Hicks was tardy in making a judgment either for or against Leigh.

She was represented by famed Nevada litigator Gordon Cowan.

The case was funded by the Wild Horse Freedom Federation. Amicus briefs in the case were filed by The Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press and National Press Photographer’s Association. Also representing Leigh was San Francisco attorney Bruce Wagman.

Cowan, the Reno, Nevada attorney who handled the case from its inception, said “When federal appellate judges write compelling words that, ‘The free press is the guardian of the public interest, and the independent judiciary is the guardian of the free press,’ in my opinion they demonstrate their true heroism in standing guard for First Amendment freedoms.

And, they give press members like Ms. Laura Leigh hope that someone is looking out for them.”

In a call from the Nevada wilderness late Tuesday to Horseback Magazine, Leigh reported she is still being denied access to observe the handling the animals in temporary holding by the contractor at Stone Cabin in Tonopah despite her victory in federal court today.

In writing for the court Smith reminded Hicks, of an 1822 a quote from James Madison, author of the U.S. Constitution, saying, “a popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Face or a Tragedy, or perhaps both.” The justice went on to say “To provide this first Amendment Protection the Supreme Court has long recognized a qualified right of access for the press and public to observe government activities.”

The BLM’s chief Washington spokesman Tom Gorey refused comment on today’s developments in the California appellate court.

In a statement Wild Horse Freedom Federation President, author R.T. Fitch wrote, “The bottom line is the BLM obviously has something to hide, because of their efforts to stop the public from seeing what they are doing to these horses.” Leigh is Vice President of the organization. “This is a government program, on government land, affecting our greatest symbol of American history, and the BLM wants to be able to eliminate and terrorize them under the cover of darkness. BLM’s conduct flouts the right of the press under the First Amendment, and the right of these horses to be protected.”

In another development regarding wild horse litigation, Suzanne Roy of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign wrote to supporters saying, “We wanted you to be among the first to know that today, Valentine’s Day, the U.S. Department of Justice signed an agreement with our attorneys to cancel the roundup and removal of 198 wild mustangs living in the Monte Cristo Wild Horse Territory (WHT), which is administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The action is a direct result of our lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM’s) in Nevada, and specifically against the BLM’s roundup plan for the Pancake Complex, of which the Monte Cristo WHT is a part. This is just the latest development in this critically important legal effort, which we have launched in conjunction with The Cloud Foundation and Western Watersheds Project.”

Never Too Young To Make a Difference!

By Lacey Jo Edge

Cloud Photo by Terry Fitch, Horseback Magazine

WASHINGTON, (Unwanted Horse Coalition) – If you think someone as young as 13 years old could never make a difference, let me convince you otherwise. For a long while, I felt like I was too young, too small and too insignificant to make something happen until one day my eyes were opened. I was browsing on Facebook, like most teens do, and stumbled across a page called Cloud the Stallion. It was a page about a mustang stallion and his herd in Southern Montana/Northern Wyoming. The majesty of these wild horses truly moved me. Their plight really made me think.

After that day, it was just sign after sign that Someone above wanted me to protect man’s true best friend. I learned about horse slaughter and the horse industry, along with more about the wild herds. I spoke about it in speech competitions and was very determined to make a change.

I soon discovered The Unwanted Horse Coalition and Operation Gelding. I knew this was what the signs were pointing to! I had FINALLY found something that I could do to help!

I convinced my Silver Saddle 4H Club to support having an Operation Gelding. We put together everything in just a couple of months’ time. We found a wonderful veterinarian who volunteered his time, staff and clinic for the “event.” We advertised and of course, put it on Facebook! I wanted to fill every spot that the Unwanted Horse Coalition had given us. In 2010, we gelded 20 stallions and I was very proud of that.

This year [I’m 14 now!] on September 19, 2011 we gelded another 18 stallions. It’s interesting to see the stallions we get. We have had rescued stallions as old as 13 years that were starving at the hands of owners who didn’t care, a 9 year old draft horse, lots of weanlings, yearlings and even miniature donkeys!

Some people recycle and others volunteer at soup kitchens, but as for me, I work to protect the beautiful animals that give so much love and deserve the world. I can’t wait until 2012’s Operation Gelding. We’re going to find 20 more stallions and take them out of the dating scene!