The Progressive Rancher Magazine

People are often
unreasonable, illogical,
And self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people
may accuse you
Of selfish, ulterior
motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some
False friends and some
true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest
and frank,
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank
anyway.
What you spend years
building, someone
Could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity
and happiness,
There may be jealousy;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
People will often
forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
fraction of a twelve month period. Usually it is around 6 months,
at which time the domestic animals must be removed from that
public range to another range, or, most typically, private land. The
horses who share the range with cattle or sheep stay year around
on the range. If their numbers increase too much, theirs and other
habitat for wild animals and livestock is diminished and in many
places destroyed. That is why the BLM seeks to control numbers,
not eliminate horses forever.
At the same conference referenced above, a BLM official
from Washington D.C. said this: “The Department of Interior Initiative
on Wild Horses announced recently by Secretary Salazar
in no way would result in increased numbers of cattle grazing on
the public land. The numbers of horses are set by land use planning,
appropriate management level and the original number of
horses set by the Act of 1971.” The Bureau of Land Management
has to manage the land and if this means reducing or temporarily
removing all livestock or gathering wild horses, they are required
to remove those animals so that the public’s land is protected. This
is purely and simply an aspect of good resource management.
There are a myriad of Federal Laws; National Environmental
Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Federal land Policy Management
Act, The 1872 Mining Law, The Taylor Grazing Act
and indeed, the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971
which provide the guidelines and basis upon which the BLM
must act within scientific constraints and mandates to protect the
public land.
The Act of 1971 said this, among other things: “Sec. 3…..The
Secretary shall manage wild free-roaming horses and burros in a
manner that is designed to achieve and maintain a thriving natural
ecological balance on the public lands.” The act does many other
things including an acknowledgement that wild horse use is just
one of many multiple uses for which the public lands are to be
managed. Furthermore, the Act gives the Secretary of the Interior
the authority to remove excess horses from the range “to preserve
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and maintain the habitat in a suitable condition for continued use.”
I will talk more about the specifics of the Act and the economic
facets of this multi-layered issue in a future column.
It is clear the BLM is not allowed, let alone contemplates the
elimination of wild horses from the western ranges as is sometimes
implied from reports about BLM activities, and outright
charged by advocacy groups and their spokespersons. It is also
clear that while livestock grazing is one of many legally authorized
multiple uses, it is not an exclusive use, nor are cattle and
sheep replacing wild horses. It is also clear that the BLM has to
balance many interests and uses in managing the land.
The falsehoods perpetuated to support established agendas
and improper purposes must be disclosed for what they are: at
best, misunderstandings and at worst, lies. For instance, the one
which always brings many a ranchers’ blood to a boil is the notion
that ranchers want to eliminate all horses from the public lands
in favor of cattle and sheep. While it is probably true that many
ranchers wish the Act was never passed because of the problems
it created rather than solved, there is recognition that the will of
the American people is to protect some horses and this law is now
widely accepted. Ranchers, however, want the horses managed
properly just as their livestock are subject to certain conditions
and standards of proper scientifically based range management
principles.
To prove the above point, this is the policy the Nevada Woolgrowers
Association and the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association
recently approved at their annual convention:
“The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and the Nevada Woolgrower’s
Association continue to support sustainable, healthy,
well-managed herds of Wild Horses and Burros on healthy Nevada
rangelands.”
Would a wild horse advocacy group spokesperson like to
debate the issue?
I’ll See You Soon.
Give the world the
best you have,
And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best
you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final
analysis,
It is between you and God;
It was never between you
and them anyway.
– Mother Teresa
Rolly Lisle Injured in Motorcycle Accident
On November 5th, Rolly Lisle was riding his motorcycle to
check fence and water on the family’s winter horse allotment. He
hit an unseen rock, and was thrown from the bike. Knowing he was
badly hurt, he was somehow able to stand his bike up, get it started,
and ride it several miles back to the pickup where family friend,
Randy Bunch, was waiting.
Randy drove Rolly the 40 miles back to the Rancho Grande
at North Fork, where Rolly is employed by Simplot Livestock,
and where he lives with his wife, Becky, and son, Tyler. Becky
had received a phone call and had already called for Summit Air
Ambulance, based in Elko, Nevada. The helicopter took Rolly to
Northern Nevada Regional Hospital, where it was determined that
his injuries were more serious than what could be treated in Elko,
and he was then flown to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
in Boise, Idaho.
Once at St. Alphonsus, further tests revealed that Rolly had
broken the T7 vertebra in his back, and fractured the C7 vertebra
in his neck, but somehow his spinal cord remained miraculously
uninjured. Rolly also suffered severe lacerations to his forehead
and right eyelid. He was in ICU at St. Alphonsus for two nights,
and underwent surgery on Saturday, November 7th to repair both
his back and his eyelid.
Rolly was released from the hospital on November 11th, and
then spent time with family in Bruneau, Idaho, before returning
home to the Rancho Grande on November 23rd. A follow-up appointment
with the ophthalmologist went well; the doctor was
happy with how the eyelid had healed. Follow-up with the neurosurgeon
is scheduled for December 9th. Rolly is wearing a neck
brace and back brace, and is making progress in his recovery by
the day.
The Lisle family wishes to express their profound gratitude for
the outpouring of love and support they are receiving.
22 December 2009 The Progressive Rancher
www.progressiverancher.com