ISPMB

PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636-0055
Phone: 605-964-6866
Mobile: 605-430-2088
ispmb@lakotanetwork.com

NEWS THAT CAN'T WAIT- Horses need your help!

WYOMING COURT ALLOWS WILD HORSE GROUPS TO INTERVENE IN LAWSUIT

On November 2^nd, US Magistrate Scott W. Skavdahl, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming granted intervenor status to three wild horse groups, ISPMB, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and the Cloud Foundation in a lawsuit brought against the U.S. Department of Interior by Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA).

In the late 70’s, ISPMB developed an agreement with RSGA to set numbers of wild horses in the checkerboard area including 500 horses on private lands. In July, the RSGA petitioned the court to enforce a 1981 court judgment against the BLM to remove wild horses from private lands spanning 40 miles wide and 80 miles long, covering approximately 2 million acres. This area includes Salt Wells Creek, Great Divide Basin, White Mountain and Little Colorado Herd Management Areas (HMAs). The lawsuit seeks to remove wild horses on both public and private lands.

The motion to intervene was filed by the highly regarded public interest law firm Meyer, Glitzenstein and Crystal. Intervenor status was granted on the basis that the wild horse groups’ interest in “preserving the wild horses in their current habitat are directly threatened by this lawsuit.”

“We are pleased that this court decision will allow us to be a voice for the future of Wyoming’s mustangs,” said Karen Sussman, president of the ISPMB. “As a party to the original agreement establishing population levels in this area, we will vigorously defend the Wyoming’s wild horses and work toward an agreement that keeps them free where they belong on our public lands.”

HORSE SLAUGHTER COULD BEGIN AGAIN

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Please call your Senator or Representative (from your state only) listed below and ask them to keep the Moran amendment in the 2012 Agriculture bill which will prohibit funding for USDA inspections of slaughter plants. As an American taxpayer, we do not want to fund foreign companies that want to open slaughter plants in our country killing our horses.

Please call as soon as possible and voice your concern.

Alabama: Senator Richard Shelby (202) 224-5744
Arkansas: Senator Mark Pryor (202) 224-2353
Arizona: Representative Ed Pastor (202) 225-4065
California: Senator Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841
Connecticut: Representative Rosa DeLauro (202) 225-3661
Florida: Representative Bill Young (202) 225-5961
Georgia: Representative Jack Kingston (202) 225-5831
Hawaii: Senator Daniel Inouye (202) 224-3934
Iowa: Senator Tom Harkin (202) 224-3254
Kansas: Senator Jerry Moran (202) 224-6521
Kentucky: Senator Mitch McConnell (202) 224-2541
Massachusetts: Representative John Olver (202) 225-5335
Maryland: Senator Barbara Mikulski (202) 224-4654
Maine: Senator Susan Collins (202) 224-2523
Missouri: Senator Roy Blunt (202) 224-5721
Mississippi: Senator Thad Cochran (202) 224-5054
North Carolina: Representative David Price (202) 225-1784
North Dakota: Senator John Hoeven (202) 224-2551
Nebraska: Senator Ben Nelson (202) 224-6551
Ohio: Senator Sherrod Brown (202) 224-2315
Pennsylvania: Representative Chaka Fattah (202) 225-4001
South Dakota: Senator Tim Johnson (202) 224-5842
Texas: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (202) 224-5922
Virginia: Representative Frank Wolf (202) 225-5136
Washington: Representative Norm Dicks (202) 225-5916
Wisconsin: Senator Herb Kohl (202) 224-5653