A CALL FOR ACTION!
I IMPLORE YOU TO CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS TODAY FOR THE PASSAGE OF THE R.O.A.M. ACT!
Dear Friends:
I write today to again ask for your support for another important part of the effort to protect our wild horses. On March 3rd of this year, I testified before the House Subcommittee on Public Lands on legislation sponsored by Congressman Rahall from West Virginia, H.R. 1018, referred to as the Restore Our American Mustangs or R.O.A.M Act. That legislation subsequently passed the House of Representatives on July 17, 2009 by a vote of 239-185, a comfortable majority. The legislation then moved to the Senate and was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee where it sits today. This is the second Congress in which Congressman Rahall, along with Congressman Grijalva of Arizona and many other Members of the House of Representatives have managed to pass legislation that would make major changes to the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
It is quite amazing to think that a program that has been around for nearly 40 years and by anyone’s admission is rife with problems would not have undergone a major review and overhaul, but that is the case with the Wild Horse and Burro Act. Oh sure, there has been the usual tinkering with small parts of the original legislation but never has there been a serious effort to correct many of the deficiencies that plague the program. One has to ask, where are the champions of the wild horses in the United States Senate? Why hasn’t someone on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee pressed for changes to the Program? To his credit, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has sponsored a bill, S 1579, that is a companion bill to the one passed by Congressman Rahall. Isn’t it interesting that there seems to be more interest in West Virginia in correcting the deficiencies in the Wild Horse and Burro Program than that demonstrated by Members from western States where wild horses reside?
Over the course of the history of this country, mainly in the past two hundred years, we have watched as different species disappeared from the American landscape. In the 1800s it was the buffalo, totally eliminated to make room for the development of the plains of the great Midwest. In the 20 century it was the gray wolf that seemed to offend the sensibilities of the ranching community and had to go. And now we find buffalo preserves growing up all over the country in an effort to restore this once predominant and magnificent animal. And, of course, we have engaged in a massive effort to restore the gray wolf to much of its original habitat, at great expense to the taxpayer. Why is it that we never seem to learn the lessons of preserving our wildlife species before they become extinct? One could argue that pure economics trumps all when it comes to saving some of this Nation’s most valuable resources, our native wildlife. And the wild horses run the risk of being the next native species to fall victim to this reckless policy.
The Rahall and Byrd legislation seeks to address some very common sense solutions to the current problems of the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Here are a few of the things that the legislation seeks to accomplish:
1. It would, to the extent practical, make available as much land as was set aside in the original Wild Horse and Burro Act for wild horses.
2. Provide an annual inventory of our wild horses and make public that information.
3. Provide a fair and thriving ecological balance for wild horses on our public lands.
4. Assist in establishing sanctuaries on private lands.
5. Develop a policy standard to assess the Appropriate Management Levels of wild horses on our public lands.
Should any of these provisions strike fear in the hearts of those who oppose a fair resolution to the problems inherent in the Wild Horse and Burro Program? I think not. And yet there is little if any discussion of moving any reauthorizing legislation in the Unites States Senate.
It is incumbent on those of us who care dearly about the survival of our wild horse herds in the Western United States to wholeheartedly engage in an effort to pressure members of the Senate and the Senate as a whole to move this legislation at the first opportunity. Please take time to write your U.S. Senator today and ask that he or she get directly involved in the effort to pass legislation to “preserve and protect” our wild horses for future generations.
Click on the link below to “Take Action” on this important issue. From there you will be able to contact your local U.S. Senator directly with your own message. I’ve also listed the current Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee below that will link to their webpage. A letter or a phone call to each will prove critical in helping our wild horses survive. I implore you to take the time today to write that letter or make that call. TAKE ACTION!
Thank you,
Madeleine Pickens
TAKE ACTION HERE: CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS TODAY: http://www.capwiz.com/madeleinepickens/issues/alert/?alertid=14468161&type=TA
Energy and Natural Resources Committee Office
304 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington , DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4971
Fax: (202) 224-6163
http://energy.senate.gov/public/
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Members:
Democrats:
Chairman Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Byron L. Dorgan (ND)
Ron Wyden (OR)
Tim Johnson (SD)
Mary L. Landrieu (LA)
Maria Cantwell (WA)
Robert Menendez (NJ)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Mark Udall (CO)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Republicans:
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Richard Burr (NC)
John Barrasso (WY)
Sam Brownback (KS)
James E. Risch (ID)
John McCain (AZ)
Robert Bennett (UT)
Jim Bunning (KY)
Jeff Sessions (AL)
Bob Corker (TN)
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