Visiting the Checkerboard Mares and Foals at BLM’s Bleak Private Feedlot in Bruneau, Idaho
June 12, 2018Please Comment Now on Devastating and Deadly Plan for Wyoming’s Wild Horses in the North Lander Complex
June 27, 2018Alert! Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses Need Water Now – Please Call the Colorado BLM
A main water source in the southern part of Sand Wash – Corona and family drinking 2 weeks ago – now dry
Action Alert: Wild Horses and other Wildlife are Running Out of Water in Sand Wash Basin – Now is the Time to Call the BLM and Say Let Wild Horse Warriors Haul Water To Sand Wash Basin
By Carol J. Walker
Two weeks ago I was visiting the wild horses in Sand Wash Basin and became very concerned because the Basin was the dryest I have even seen since I started visiting in 2011. Many of the southern waterholes that are the most visited were almost dry or already dry, and in the northern part of the area, Sheepherder Spring’s pump was broken and not working and while was in the area, one of the sheep ranchers who has a grazing lease turned off the water at Lake Draw and removed the tanks. Over 300 wild horses, plus elk, antelope and other wildlife depend on the water that these two springs provide. There are approximately 750 wild horses on the 150,000 Herd Management Area.
Wild Horse Warriors of Sand Wash Basin quickly got the water turned back on and a small temporary tank in place, then just days ago have now a system of tanks set back up at Lake Draw. The water is now flowing at Sheepherder Springs. But Coffee Pot Springs, the most northern springs that provide water for the horses and other wildlife is completely dry. Horses come in and look for water and it is not there.
Wild Horse Warriors has been fundraising and now has the tanks ready to set up at Coffee Pot, they have the volunteers and vehicles and they have a plan for where to get the water. What they do not have is the permission of the BLM to haul the water to the horses. The BLM is not being asked for a dime, they are not being asked for equipment, they are not being asked for a minute of time of employees to haul water – all they have to do is grant permission. This organization has been working with the BLM so they are a known quantity. There is no downside for the BLM. An article yesterday in the Craig Daily Press quotes Steve Hall of the Colorado State Office of the BLM regarding why the BLM will not allow volunteers to haul water to the horses:
“The BLM may begin hauling water if the quantity of water is insufficient to support horse health, indicated by a loss of body condition, he (Steve Hall) added.
“I think there is a lot of confusion about the state of the horses in Sand Wash. Droughts impacts on wild horses become visible fairly quickly when the horses are not getting enough water,” Hall said. “We’re currently monitoring for those signs, and if we see those signs — that drought is having a negative impact on the wild horses — then we’ll determine what the appropriate measures are at that time to take. We’re not there yet.”
He explained that managing wild horses during drought is all about timing.
“Letting horses seek water as they naturally should prevents them from becoming reliant on artificially provided water. … It has been shown that horses can become reliant on hauled water and won’t seek it elsewhere, and also, if they get too dry, they won’t drink when (water is) provided to them,” Hall said. “Wild horses are managed to remain wild, and establishing reliant water sources too early into a dry season can be counterproductive.”
In McCullough Peaks near Cody, Wyoming the volunteer group FOAL works closely with the Cody BLM office and has hauled water to the MCCullough Peaks wild horses for the past 6 years when needed – they do not wait for the horses to be suffering and having their body condition deteriorate before hauling water – it is simply done as a necessary, humane act.
Waiting for horses to look bad enough for non-veterinarians to determine if it is “bad enough” can result in horses dying, foals dying and other wildlife dying. Does the BLM want a crisis on its hands before they act? Are they waiting until they can take some photos of dehydrated dying wild horses that they can show to prove that wild horses need to be removed from our public lands? Are they wanting justification to do an “emergency” helicopter roundup of the wild horses at Sand Wash Basin?
Southern Waterhole I saw 150 horses drinking water at two weeks ago – now dry
How can you help?
Call the Colorado BLM State Office – tell them to give permission now for Wild Horse Warriors to haul water to Sand Wash Basin:
Donate to Wild Horse Warriors for hauling water:
https://www.gofundme.com/cm625-water
and follow Wild Horse Warriors on Facebook:
33 Comments
PLEASE GIVE WATER TO THE WILD HORSES IN THE BASIN…THEY ARE GOING TO DIE..THIS IS MURDER….PLEASE HELP. I AM SO UPSET WITH THE GOVERNMENT FOR LOOKING THE OTHER WAY. THERE ARE CONSTRUCTION SITES THAT HAVE PLENTY OF WATER…THESE HORSES NEED IT NOW….YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT 973-533-1346. I AM IN NJ AND AM FURIOUS THAT YOU ARE NOT HELPING AND BY THE WAY NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE…FOR THE ABOVE NUMBERS …..GREGORY SHOOP. I KEEP CALLING YOU AND NO ANSWER, PLEASE MR. SHOOP, CALL ME BACK…THANK YOU. BARBARA MACE
Give them water
Please send water to the Sand basin wild horses and the other animals that depend on the water
Please allow caregivers to bring water to the horses, it is inhumane to allow them to suffer and die. Please, please let them have water. Thank you
Do not call Steve Hall – he’s not a contact for this, I was told. Call the Little Snake Field Office at 970-826-5000. And read some of the articles of the Craig Daily Press in regards to this subject before calling.
Actually it is the state office in Denver that is denying the permission not the Little Snake Field Office. BLM is trying to pass the buck so people will stop bugging them – keep up the pressure!
Good to know, thank you, Carol! Will do!
Call attempt feedback:
Shoop> called twice, fast busy
Steven Hall> rang 20 times no answer
Mehlhoff> left message and my number
King> a voicemail with a “David Howell” came on, left message and my number
Can WHW get ahold of public affairs, tell them you ARE going in there and see how fast public affairs makes it happen.
Nothing wrong with giving these horses water, everything wrong in preventing it!!!!
You really MUST let water get to the horses.
To not allow the volunteers to deliver the water would mean you are WILLFULLY killing them!
Get the water to the horses, we’re doing it in AZ, you guys can do it too. Ignoring the situation doesn’t make it go away!
Help them PLEASE
The email I sent to Nikki King failed and I received the following reply to my email to Gregory Shoop:
“I will be out of the office until June 18. Some of those days, I’ll have access to my cell phone and email, but my responses will be slow. For the larger portion of that time, I will not have access to my cell phone or email. Andy Tenney is the acting State Director in my absence. If it is urgent, please contact Jamie Harrison at (303) 239-3700 or jharriso@blm.gov.”
Maybe a fax would get through.
Sent email to blm_co_info@blm.gov,
Horses drink a lot of water every day. I can’t imagine them having none! How can a sheep rancher turn off the water? This is unacceptable! These horses don’t have time to wait!! I’m infuriated! The BLM is killing the Sand Wash Basin horses and other wildlife purposefully!
They do currently have water on some waterholes but most are drying up. We are trying to get water hauled before there is none left.
Carol, can we donate to help with your efforts?
Hi Judy to help with the water at Sand Wash Basin, go to the Wild Horse Warriors of Sand Wash Basin’s Facebook page or their website. To donate to help my organization’s efforts to save all the wild horses, go to www. WildHorseFreedomFederation.org Thank you for asking!
Hi Judy,
The Sand Wash horses still need our help – wild horse warriors have a go fund me page for hauling water, you can donate there: https://www.gofundme.com/cm625-water?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-153135714179-fb31a02c0a284dbc&utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cta_button&utm_campaign=upd_n
BLM *****
PLEASE DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND BRING WATER TO THESE HORSES. BLM – THIS IS A DIRE SITUATION AND THE PUBLIC DOES NOT WANT THESE WILD HORSES TO DIE OF THIRST.
I live in New York State.bureau of land management is thw worst organization, cruekl & inhumane. HOW do you people sleep at night…GIVE THE HORSES WATER.
NO excuse for this
Get off your backsides and get water to those horses!!!!!!!!! Your job is to protect them which includes supplying them with whatever they need. So get after it
Thank you
No living being should die of thirst, please care and save these beautiful animals after all the helped build this country ????????????
Please don’t wait for the horses to die. We understand that property owners/managers of property in the Western Slop are preparing to assist in hauling water to cows belonging to tenants at this time due to the drought. The Property Owners are not responsible for the cows on land that is rented out, but care about the animals & the land. BLM is responsible for the horses in this case. Please get the water hauling started. You have a fantastic volunteer organization & many others supporting them. There is no reason to let the horsed die traumatize the wild horses by moving them out of the area.
The BLM is so wrong. This is BS. They are just a coverup for horse slaughter.
THis is so inexcusable. There should be no waiting…They need water now…So many volunteers just waiting to do it…Do your job BLM….LIves are depending on it and we are watching…
It is imperative that these horse have water. Please ensure that that get a permanent supply or they will die. The world is watching!
[…] Alert! Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses Need Water Now – Please Call the Colorado BLM […]
please please help these horses & save them
I strongly request that the BLM allow water to be hauled in to the horses in the Sand Wash Basin. These are troubling times with the severe drought and an immediate action is needed and necessary to ensure that these horses can sustain life . No animal should be left to die such a horrific death if human intervention can save them. There are people who are ready and willing to intervene to provide them water. Let them haul water now. Do the right thing by these horses and burros who are legally protected.
These magnificent animals are suffering! PLEASE let the advocates haul water in to the basin.
If blm won’t get water to the horses and other wildl8fe, why can’t wildhorse advocates volunteer time, and water and take it to them? Afterall, THERE IS A LAW PROTECTING THE HORSES. For the blm to blatantly deny water to the horses,may you suffer as they suffer.
I already called & left my msg. on Gregory Shoop’s answering machine & told him to please give permission to haul the water to Sand Wash Basin.
PLEASE HELP WILD HORSES BY GIVING PERMISSION FOR THEIR NEEDS OF DRINKING WATER PLEASE. WE CAN’T ALLOW THEM DYING OF THIRST FOR THE WATER AS IT’S OUR ACCOUNTABILITY TO TAKE CARE OF BEAUTY OF WILDLIFE HORSES. PLEASE? HAUL WATER TO SOME PLACES & NOT ONLY ONE PLACE.
I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR NEEDS OF WATER BY HAULING THE WATER TO SOME PLACES INSTEAD OF ONE PLACE OR NO PLACE. SUPPOSE YOU WERE IN HORSE’S HORSESHOE & WERE DYING OF THIRST FOR THE WATER, HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT DYING OF THIRST FOR THE WATER.
EVERY TIME YOU DRINK A GLASS OF WATER, YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THAT HORSES ARE DYING OF THIRST FOR THE WATER DAILY. DON’T YOU MAKE THEM DYING OF THIRST FOR THE WATER DAY BY DAY & NIGHT BY NIGHT.
THANKS