November  1,  2016       BLM  Rawlins  Field  Office   ATTN:  Movements  &  Habitat  EA  Comments   1300  3rd  Street   Rawlins,  WY  82301     VIA  EMAIL:  [email protected]     To  Whom  It  May  Concern:     Please  accept  the  following  comments  on  the  Movements  and  Habitat  EA  comments  for  the   proposed  radio  collar  research  on  wild  mares  in  the  Adobe  Town  Herd  Management  Area   (HMA).  These  comments  are  submitted  on  behalf  of  the  on  behalf  of  the  American  Wild  Horse   Preservation  Campaign  (AWHPC)  and  the  more  than  7,000  AWHPC  supporters  who  have   submitted  comments  separately  to  you  via  email.         AWHPC  is  dedicated  to  preserving  the  American  wild  horse  in  viable  free-­‐roaming  herds  for   generations  to  come,  as  part  of  our  national  heritage.  Our  grassroots  efforts  are  supported  by  a   coalition  of  over  60  historic  preservation,  conservation,  horse  advocacy  and  animal  welfare   organizations.     The  following  are  AWHPC’s  comments  on  this  research  proposal.     The  research  proposal  that  was  reviewed  and  funded  by  BLM  was  a  completely  different   project.  It  was  for  a  radio  collar  study  of  wild  mares  in  the  Red  Desert  Complex,  to  be   implemented  in  conjunction  with  a  roundup  for  the  purpose  of  removal  and  fertility  control   treatment  that  was  planned  for  that  area.  The  proposal  that  was  funded  and  approved,  and  for   which  the  EA  was  obviously  written  (as  evidenced  by  remaining  references  in  the  EA  to  the   original  Red  Desert  project  that  have  not  been  updated  to  reflect  the  change  in  project)  has   now  changed.  The  project  has  been  hijacked  for  a  political  purpose,  in  order  to  demonstrate   that  wild  horses  from  the  public  lands  blocks  migrate  onto  the  Checkerboard  following  removal.   In  this  manner,  it’s  clear  that  the  research  is  now  specifically  undertaken  to  lay  the  groundwork   for  zeroing  out  the  Adobe  Town  HMA,  something  that  is  overwhelmingly  opposed  by  the  public.       This  research  project  in  its  current  form  must  be  cancelled  for  the  following  reasons:    

American  Wild  Horse  Preservation  Campaign,  PO  Box  1733,  Davis,  CA  95617    WildHorsePreservation.org  

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  1.  It  is  a  different  research  project  than  the  one  that  was  reviewed  and  approved  for  funding  by   the  BLM.  This  is  a  new  research  project  with  a  new  purpose  and  must  undergo  its  own  separate   review  before  funding  is  authorized.       2.  The  underlying  premise  of  this  revised  research  proposal  is  no  longer  valid.  The  project  can   no  longer  determine  whether  horses  migrate  into  the  Checkerboard  portions  of  the  HMA  to  “fill   a  void”  created  by  the  removal  of  horses  from  that  area,  because  2016  Wyoming  Checkerboard   Roundup  has  been  cancelled  by  the  BLM  in  light  of  the  recent  ruling  of  the  Tenth  Circuit  Court   of  Appeals  that  the  BLM’s  actions  in  the  2014  Checkerboard  roundup  violated  both  the  Wild   Free  Roaming  Horses  and  Burros  Act  and  the  Federal  Land  Policy  Management  Act.       3.  Conducting  a  costly  and  traumatic  helicopter  roundup  for  the  sole  purpose  of  putting  radio   collars  on  mares  cannot  be  justified.  The  roundup  will  injure  and  kill  horses  and  disrupt  their   family  bands.  If  radio  collar  research  is  to  be  pursued  by  the  BLM,  it  should  be  accomplished   through  bait  trapping  and  maintenance  of  social  bands,  not  via  helicopter  roundups,  and  it   should  be  done  in  a  smaller  HMA  where  the  identity  of  individual  horses  and  social  bands  is   known  and  well-­‐documented.       3.  The  use  of  radio  collars  that  release  only  upon  “remote  detonation”  raises  humanitarian  and   safety  concerns  and  the  potential  impacts  on  horses  have  not  been  adequately  evaluated  in  the   Environmental  Assessment  (EA).    Past  field  studies  on  wild  horses  fitted  with  radio  collars  have   resulted  in  injuries  and  deaths.  Reliance  on  pen  trials  that  cannot  accurately  simulate  field   conditions  does  not  provide  valid  or  sufficient  data.  The  BLM  should  consider  less  invasive   methods  of  gathering  data,  including  field  observation  and  the  use  of  GPS-­‐tracking  microchips   implanted  under  the  skin  or  glued  into  tails,  to  gather  data  without  endangering  horses.  If  radio   collars  are  to  be  used,  then  the  breakaway  design  must  be  chosen  and  all  collars  must  first  be   tested  and  found  safe  in  a  controlled  field  trial  conducted  in  an  area  much  smaller  than  the   expansive  Adobe  Town  HMA.  As  stated  above,  such  a  field  trial  should  be  implemented  via  bait   trapping,  not  helicopters,  and  it  should  be  done  in  a  smaller  HMA  where  the  identity  of   individual  horses  and  social  bands  is  well-­‐known  and  documented.       4.  If  any  version  of  this  study  should  proceed,  the  underlying  research  bias  of  the  University  of   Wyoming  (UW)  investigators  must  be  addressed.    The  UW  research  proposal  selectively  cites   literature  indicating  negative  impacts  of  wild  horses,  including  “disproportionate”  use  of   riparian  resources,  “complications”  to  management  of  wildlife  and  livestock,  “displacing”  of   other  ungulates,  “disproportionate”  use  of  landscape  features,  betrays  an  underlying  bias  of   the  study.  The  suppositions  regarding  use  of  riparian  resources  were  not  upheld  by  the  National   Marine  Fisheries  Service,  which  looked  at  this  issue  and  issued  a  biological  opinion  in  2012.   (Attachment  1)  The  literature  citation  also  excludes  research  showing  that  horse  impacts  are   limited  to  trailing  and  that  wild  horses  have  a  beneficial  impact  on  the  environment  by   spreading  native  plant  seeds.  (Attachment  2)  The  underlying  bias  exhibited  by  the  research   proposal  is  unacceptable  for  federally  funded  research  regarding  federally  protected  animals   that  reside  on  federal  lands  owned  by  all  Americans.  BLM  must  either  locate  a  more  neutral   research  partner,  or  establish  an  independent  oversight  committee  of  wildlife  biologists,   veterinarians  and  wild  horse  experts  to  oversee  this  research.      

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    5.  The  EA  is  inadequate.  As  stated  above,  the  EA  was  obviously  prepared  for  a  different   research  project  in  the  Red  Desert  Complex,  and  then  cut  and  pasted  when  the  research  was   shifted  to  the  Adobe  Town  HMA.  Portions  of  the  EA  explicitly  reference  the  Red  Desert  project   and  have  not  even  been  updated  to  reflect  the  new  project.  Additionally,  the  impacts  to  horses   of  the  conduct  of  a  helicopter  roundup  in  five  separate  areas  for  the  sole  purpose  of  radio   collaring  mares  have  not  been  adequately  evaluated.       Further  the  economic  impacts  of  this  research,  including  full  costs  to  taxpayers,  must  be   disclosed  and  analyzed.  As  stated  above,  the  entire  premise  of  the  research  project  is  no  longer   valid  given  the  cancellation  of  the  2016  Checkerboard  roundup.  In  addition,  the  BLM  is   proceeding  with  this  research  outside  of  a  planned  gather  –  meaning  that  the  agency  will  fund  a   costly  and  traumatic  helicopter  roundup  for  the  sole  purposes  of  placing  radio  collars  on  30   mares.  This  makes  no  economic  or  scientific  sense.       Attempting  to  gather  research  data  on  wild  horses  is  a  worthy  goal.  However,  research  must  be   designed  in  an  unbiased  manner  to  provide  scientifically  valid  results.  As  such,  study  methods   must  be  as  non-­‐invasive  as  possible  and  the  research  should  be  conducted  on  wild  horse  herds   in  which  social  structures  remain  intact  and  populations  have  not  been  or  will  not  be  disrupted   by  traumatic  helicopter  roundups  and  removals.         For  all  these  reasons,  and  especially  because  the  underlying  research  premise  is  moot  in  light  of   the  BLM's  cancellation  of  the  2016  Checkerboard  roundup,  the  BLM  must  designate  Alternative   2.2  No  Action  as  the  proposed  action,  and  cancel  this  unnecessary  research  project.       Thank  you  for  your  consideration.       Sincerely,           Suzanne  Roy,  Executive  Director   [email protected]   919-­‐697-­‐9389    

 

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PUBLIC COMMENTS ADOBE TOWN RADIO COLLAR RESEARCH ...

Page 1 of 3. American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, PO Box 1733, Davis, CA 95617. WildHorsePreservation.org. 1. November 1, 2016. BLM Rawlins Field Office. ATTN: Movements & Habitat EA Comments. 1300 3rd Street. Rawlins, WY 82301. VIA EMAIL: [email protected]. To Whom It May ...

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