The BLM is accepting public comments through Monday, July 19, 2010, for the planned removal of the entire West Douglas wild horse population. Click Here to review the Preliminary Environmental Assessment.
Having briefly scanned BLMs long list of arguments, reasons and legal citations regarding why they are authorized to decimate the West Douglas herds, I am still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor as I noticed BLM omitted one, tiny little significant fact about their authority to do so;
A FEDERAL JUDGE TOLD BLM LAST YEAR IT WAS ILLEGAL!
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this case, Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, Inc., led by attorney Valerie Stanley had taken BLM to task regarding their authority to zero out the West Douglas herds.
On August 5, 2009, United States District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ruled BLM had overstepped their authority by issuing a zero AML for the West Douglas herds and declaring ALL wild horses as “excessive”, in direct defiance of both intent and law as clearly spelled out in the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act. Click Here to read Judge Collyer’s decision.
Yet, here we are, one year later, with BLM citing their authority as the only authority and completely failing to mention the Judge’s ruling as they continue to charge onward with nary a thought or concern.
With that in mind, its kind of hard to advocate for submitting public comments for BLM to “consider” about zeroing out the West Douglas herds if they don’t give a rats ass about what a federal judge had to say.
However, given the circumstances, obviously BLM is going to find themselves talking to the judge again to explain why they don’t care what she had to say last year about their “authority”, why they don’t believe they are bound by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act, and how the BLM has decided the West Douglas Herd Area is great habitat for livestock grazing, oil and gas, elk, bighorn sheep and other wildlife species – just not wild horses.
Therefore, having public comments on file about how insanely out of control this agency has become might be helpful when the judge is looking at BLMs lawyers and asking them why she has to decide on a case she has already decided on.
If you’d like to add your voice in protest of BLMs continued defiance of both law and judge, please submit comments by:
~PUBLIC COMMENT DEADLINE~
MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010
4:30 p.m. m.s.t.
Bureau of Land Management
White River Field Office
Attention: Melissa Kindall
220 E. Meeker, CO 81641
Phone: 970-878-3842
FAX: 970-878-3805
E-Mail: melissa_kindall@blm.gov
Be sure to include in your title, West Douglas Wild Horse Removal Plan, EA# DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0088-EA.
Also, please be aware that submitting comments to the BLM becomes part of the public record and as such, all personally identifying information may be available for public review. While you can request BLM withhold this information, BLM may not be able to, depending on the circumstances of some requests.
Having briefly scanned BLMs long list of arguments, reasons and legal citations regarding why they are authorized to decimate the West Douglas herds, I am still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor as I noticed BLM omitted one, tiny little significant fact about their authority to do so;
A FEDERAL JUDGE TOLD BLM LAST YEAR IT WAS ILLEGAL!
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this case, Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, Inc., led by attorney Valerie Stanley had taken BLM to task regarding their authority to zero out the West Douglas herds.
On August 5, 2009, United States District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ruled BLM had overstepped their authority by issuing a zero AML for the West Douglas herds and declaring ALL wild horses as “excessive”, in direct defiance of both intent and law as clearly spelled out in the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act. Click Here to read Judge Collyer’s decision.
Yet, here we are, one year later, with BLM citing their authority as the only authority and completely failing to mention the Judge’s ruling as they continue to charge onward with nary a thought or concern.
With that in mind, its kind of hard to advocate for submitting public comments for BLM to “consider” about zeroing out the West Douglas herds if they don’t give a rats ass about what a federal judge had to say.
However, given the circumstances, obviously BLM is going to find themselves talking to the judge again to explain why they don’t care what she had to say last year about their “authority”, why they don’t believe they are bound by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act, and how the BLM has decided the West Douglas Herd Area is great habitat for livestock grazing, oil and gas, elk, bighorn sheep and other wildlife species – just not wild horses.
Therefore, having public comments on file about how insanely out of control this agency has become might be helpful when the judge is looking at BLMs lawyers and asking them why she has to decide on a case she has already decided on.
If you’d like to add your voice in protest of BLMs continued defiance of both law and judge, please submit comments by:
~PUBLIC COMMENT DEADLINE~
MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010
4:30 p.m. m.s.t.
Bureau of Land Management
White River Field Office
Attention: Melissa Kindall
220 E. Meeker, CO 81641
Phone: 970-878-3842
FAX: 970-878-3805
E-Mail: melissa_kindall@blm.gov
Be sure to include in your title, West Douglas Wild Horse Removal Plan, EA# DOI-BLM-CO-110-2010-0088-EA.
Also, please be aware that submitting comments to the BLM becomes part of the public record and as such, all personally identifying information may be available for public review. While you can request BLM withhold this information, BLM may not be able to, depending on the circumstances of some requests.
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2 comments:
Janet Ferguson says. . . .
Duh! Maybe they think they can "sneak this one in. . ." or maybe they have decided they will act now anyway, since, after all, it is just the taxpayer's money that would be spent on the roundups and any ensuing lawsuits, so, for BLM it is just "business as usual."
Hi greatt reading your blog
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