Different practices for different users?

Right side is cow grazing area, the left is Horse Management area. If you click on the photo a couple of times you will get a image large enough to see the detail.

Except for the little vacation the Army gave me in 65 till 69 I have lived my life in the West and I do love it. During that time (rapidly coming on 2/3 of a century) I have always marveled at the arrogance the BLM has exhibited in its one, no three, sided management of the west. Three sided I say, because the management has been prioritized for the livestock and resource extractors while giving us, the public, who owns the land, nothing but  lip service when they say they are just applying multiple abuse or I mean, multiple use in their management practices.

My Granddad’s raised cows and ranched all their lives, My Dad ranched for a while, my  uncles had ranches.  I worked for all of them at one time or another as a kid so I am not taking a swipe at Cattlemen  out of ignorance for their plight.  I know how hard it is to make it ranching in the West.  Still some do well generation after generation for various reasons, usually it has to do with, those who succeed are just a little brighter than the rest. They tend to manage their range for the bad years, keeping a little grass in reserve, so to speak.  Some will tell you  can’t take grass to the bank , but the fact is you can’t feed cows, deer, elk , sage grouse or wild horses on bare dirt.

I am sure there are people in the  BLM who also know how to manage land for the tough times but I feel they are not the ones making the final decisions.  Since the BLM is the steward of our vast public lands in the West and the keepers of what makes the West great, they should be making decisions to benefit all of the land and not just be the Bureau of Livestock and Mining.

The BLM is very good at explaining the need to move Wild Horses or the reasons the Sage Grouse are an endangered species or why the Antelope population is half of what it was 20 years ago. They  explain this by telling us that the habitat is in poor shape.  It is pretty handy to blame, too many horses, wildfire, not enough rain and the need for energy independence for the plight of the land they manage. The BLM is supposed to work for all of us and most of the good folks employed there do a good job with the marching orders they get. But  there are some who see grass and water set aside for species other than cows as a place to move cows so the dim wits that can’t manage their range can struggle thru a couple of more years.  Of course what they fail to mention is that when the wildlife, Sage Grouse,Wild Horses and real ranchers are gone there is no reason not to have more gas leases, more coal shale, more oil drilling for the likes of BP and more graze it to the dirt, cow allotments. What the BLM really needs is to pull their heads out of their collective ass and keep all of the range in good shape.

Sadly those same dim wits and resource extractors have enough political clout to manage the BLM for us. Yep THEY, are running it for us, it always comes back to US and what we are willing to do for ourselves and our land.

If you care about wildlife, the open spaces of the west or wild horses you have a good chance to make your feelings known officially to the BLM in the next week or so.

If you care about any of this go to this link, read the info and make a comment about how you want to see our land managed in the future.

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/june/NR_06_03_2010.html

If you don’t care or don’t think you can do anything just go back to watching TV and grumbling about what THEY did or did not do.

Thanks for reading this far. Maybe you will help save what is left of the west.

Jess

Boy will be boys

These two boys were really just playing )

Wild Horse Stallion over looking his herd

This Wyoming wild horse stallion is overlooking his herd . He know it is his job to provide protection for those who can not protect themselves.

It is time we did the same for him and the the other wild horses being abused by the very government agency task to protect this symbol of the freedom and open space of the west.

The BLM apprears to have set out on a course to remove wild horses from the west rather than manage them. Not so surprising for a agency who’s parent, the Department of Interior has refused to manage threats to Polar Bears.

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?

When the Polar Bear and the Wild Horse is gone the door will be open to exploit the West and the Arctic. The energy conglomerates will win again while we continue to loose what was once public.

Check this out just for fun.

http://wildhorsesneedyou.com/?p=100

Sassy Brown Bear cub

I think this little guy spoke for them all.

Wild Mustangs fighting at sunrise

Our group was  able to catch these Stallions testing each other for their morning exercise.

Brown Bear and Flag

It is our job to keep our nation free for our children.  How and if we do that will show our true value as a nation.

Bear chasing bear to get it's food

In the bear world you not only have to catch the fish but you need to keep the fish long enough to eat it!

The bear with the salmon in this photo is also very good at eating on the run.

Brown Bear and cubs

I guess everyone is getting tired of bears by now but this mom is being so good to us I can’t help but show her and her babies off.

Sow and Cub Grizzly walking on water

This morning we worked on Grizzlies feeding on the tidal flats.

Clams make up a good source of protein for Brown bears young and old. This mom and her cub appear to be on top of the shallow water do to the angle I chose for the photo.