Clarification!
Clarification!
by Wild West Icon Rescue, Inc.
Posted on December 21, 2018 at 08:35:05 PM
Today we had a meeting with the BLM in Colorado. It was a preliminary meeting to see if we all agreed that we might be able to work together in the future. Our take on this meeting, is that we will be able to work together. That would be a thumb up in the opinion of WWIR.
We did get some clarification from the BLM (nice group of people). The 40,000+ horses that have been rounded up are in multiple facilities. Both holding pens and on pasture lands. That was a big relief to us.
There are approximately 72,000 horses still in the wild. We previously read that the total number of horses was the 72,000. The land that the government has deemed for the horses will hold approximately 21,000. That is to feed them and it not deplete the lands or the horses starve. It was clarified to us that while some of those lands the horses are thriving and very healthy, that is not necessarily the case in other places. They are waiting to hear from the senate on what they are being ordered to do. There has been a lot of negative press directed at the BLM. We want to clarify that their main goal is to keep not only the horses but the other wild life happy and healthy. Their hands are tied in some cases and they must make decisions based on what they are told they can do.
We were informed that the BLM will be looking to hire a few Eco Sanctuaries… What our vision is, fits what they are requiring for a Eco Sanctuary. We have a lot to learn. We need to contact some of the other sanctuaries to see how they did things. Why reinvent the wheel?
So, the next steps for WWIR is to continue to get the word out about what we want to accomplish. To find land that will support the horses and that we can do educational sessions and tours for the public on. And to learn as much as we can about how to care for the horses in the capacity of a sanctuary (I have my first class in 2 weeks).
There was a lot of information shared with today. How to apply for grazing permits, who to contact about the possibility of using BLM land for grazing, how to calculate how much land is needed per horse, etc…
We need your help! Any tax deductible donations would be greatly appreciated by us, and by the horses.