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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 16

12/21/2022

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March 2007 Open House/Public Meetings

The Forest Service estimated there were 25-30 people including public lands ranchers and Heber herd advocates in attendance during the March 12, 2007 meeting. What was intended by the Forest Service to be an open house format with one on one interaction with the public turned into a sit down public meeting. Fourteen comments/issues and questions were recorded during the meeting. The questions and concerns covered various things such as what will be done with the horses that are removed, how will they be managed, will the Territory be fenced, and the Territory is too small. Other concerns and questions regarded costs to grazing permittees and concern over permittees losing their grazing pastures that are on the Territory.

The March 22, 2007 meeting drew a larger crowd of 50-55 people including public lands ranchers and Heber herd advocates. The Forest Service began by establishing the rules for the meeting procedures, a brief description of the process of NEPA and the background of the development of the Territory plan. Kendell Hughes recorded comments/issues and questions that had not been brought up during the previous meeting or were offered in a different context. Among them were concerns over the fencing between the Forest and the White Mountain Apache Reservation, the need for a balance between horse needs and that of livestock and wildlife, and the timeline for the completion of the NEPA process.

One of the Heber wild horse herd advocates gave his account of the second meeting in an article in a newspaper that is no longer in publication. He and his wife passed information to our group after they moved from the area. Here is part of what he said:

“The ink on the judge’s signature was hardly dry when Kate Klein, District Ranger on the Black Mesa District of the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest, advised folks at a March 22nd Open House in Heber/Overgarrd, AZ, that she disavowed the plea agreement governing the wild free roaming horses currently on the Apache Sitgreaves Forest.” He said the Forest Service rejected the law and resorted to a regulation of the Forest Service which they claimed overruled the law. District Ranger Klein maintained her opinion that the horses were “feral” and not wild. Her opinion was without evidence. Klein had a history of wanting the free-roaming horses of the Sitgreaves removed from the forest and the Heber Wild Horse Territory dissolved.

Excerpt from Part 6 of our Chronicles:
On June 21, 1993 District Ranger Klein sent a memo to Forest Supervisor John Bedell with the subject line “Territory Withdrawal Recommendation”. In the memo Klein mentions the 1991 report and how it said the Heber Wild Horse Territory should “not be recognized at all”. Klein’s final sentence of this short memo was: “I recommend it [Heber Wild Horse Territory] be removed from the records as a territory and that the animals be removed by the State Livestock Sanitary Board.”

One of our current members of the Heber Wild Horses Freedom Preservation Alliance (HWHFPA), Robin Crawford also attended both meetings in March of 2007. She said at times things got a little intense between pro and anti wild horse attendees. She heard an eyebrow raising admission by one of the cowboys to the brand inspector who literally slid down in her seat from the embarrassment of having the disclosure made in a public meeting.

Another pro Heber herd advocate said she was completely disgusted with the way the meeting was handled. She said her comments as well as those of other pro Heber herd attendees were ignored. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the Court’s decision in the case were both disregarded as well. She said mismanagement of the meeting by the Forest Service only created more animosity between the pro-horse people and those against (cattle growers).

We have all the names of the people we referred to. For their privacy we elected not to use them.
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A Heber wild mare looks curiously towards the camera. This photo was taken in 2007.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 15

12/21/2022

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In 2007 a public notice was released from the Forest Service announcing a “series” of Open House meetings.

The Forest Service knew what was going to be expected from them regarding NEPA compliance and public input for the Heber Wild Horse Territory management plan. They wasted no time initiating the required steps in their attempt to eliminate the Heber herd through managing them to extinction. In fact, the first of the two meetings was scheduled for March 12, 2007, a day BEFORE the Court Stipulated Settlement Agreement was signed.

Excerpt from the Forest Service Public Notice regarding their “Open House”.
“A series of two open houses will be held. The first will be Monday, March 12, 2007 from 3 pm to 6 pm. The second open house will be Thursday, March 22, 2007 from 4 pm to 7 pm. The purpose of these open houses is to provide opportunity for interested persons to exchange information, identify issues to be addressed, or express concerns with feral horse management.”

The mindset of the Forest Service was made clear in the notice when they referred to the horses as “feral”. Court documents indicate the Forest Service could provide NO evidence that the horses were indeed “feral” and not free-roaming wild horses protected under the Act. Yet the very government agency tasked by law with the protection of the Heber wild horse herd continued to perpetuate their myth that the horses were “feral” possibly in an attempt to set the stage for their capture and removal.
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Photos of Heber wild horses taken in 2007.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 14

12/21/2022

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March 13, 2007:
​The Court issued an order adopting a Stipulated Settlement Agreement between the Plaintiffs (Heber herd advocates) and the Defendants (Forest Service).

It was considered by many wild horse advocates to be a historic settlement and one of the most significant victories to preserve wild horses in the United States.

Included in the agreement were the following:

USFS agreed the Heber Wild Horse Territory still exists and has not been dissolved.

The USFS agreed that the wild horses are by law an integral part and component of the natural system of the public lands,‭ ‬as expressed by Congress in the Act.

The USFS will work with the public in the development of a written Heber Wild Horse Territory Management Strategy.

USFS will refrain from any gathering or removing of horses within the Heber Wild Horse Territory and the Black Mesa and Lakeside Ranger Districts until the USFS completes,‭ ‬with public involvement, an analysis and appropriate environmental document that develops the written Heber Wild Horse Territory Management Strategy.

USFS will involve the public in scoping for the analysis.
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Beautiful Heber band stallion "Hairdo" 2017
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 13

12/21/2022

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January 2007 Heber Wild Horse Massacre
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Six Heber wild horses were found mortally shot in the first week of January 2007 near Pinedale, AZ. Another was seen limping with a wound in his side and was believed to have been the seventh victim of the same shooting spree. In August of 2006 a young wild stallion had been found fatally shot in the Pinedale area. All the victims were unbranded, free-roaming horses in the Sitgreaves National Forest therefore they were under the protection of the December 2005 preliminary injunction.

The Animal Defense Council (ADC); Animal Welfare Institute (AWI); International Society for the Protection of Mustangs & Burros (ISPMB); Humane Society of the United States (HSUS); Tucson horse advocates; residents across Arizona; and In Defense of Animals joined together to offer the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons responsible for the shooting deaths of at least 7 wild horses in the Sitgreaves. To date no arrests have been made.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 12

12/13/2022

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The Forest Supervisor was adamant...the horses can’t stay in the forest.

Less than a week after the 2005 Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was issued to prevent the roundup of Heber wild horses the Forest Service was doubling down on their intent to remove the horses from the Sitgreaves.

Forest ecosystems staff officer Deb Bumpus made the following statement:
“That [TRO] will keep us from both awarding the contract and proceeding with any gathering activities until we’ve had time to sit down and negotiate how to work through this.”

Forest Supervisor Eileen Zieroth said, “We don’t consider them wild horses; they’re stray horses.” She went on to say, “If some or all of the horses end up being sold, the best way to keep them from being slaughtered is for horse lovers to purchase them and give them good homes. There’s always the potential that if they are sold at a public auction they could be bought for slaughter, but if groups are real concerned they can come and buy the horses. We have to recoup our costs. We can’t give away horses. We can’t put them up for adoption.”
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 11

12/13/2022

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On August 31, 2005 the USDA Forest Service put out a press release with the title:
UNAUTHORIZED HORSES TO BE REMOVED FROM THE NATIONAL FOREST

The press release stated there were “approximately 300 horses” that were grazing a portion of the Rodeo/Chediski burned area near Heber. It claimed the horses came from “adjacent lands” and they were unable to locate their owners for the most part. It went on to say “Significant numbers of stray, domestic horses were in the area before the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in 2002” but since the fire there had been more horses. The Forest Service did not consider the horses to be wild and therefore not eligible for adoption. The horses would be sent to auction for sale to the highest bidder.

In an attempt to save the Heber wild horse herd advocates filed a complaint against the Forest Service seeking a preliminary injunction which alleged the USFS had not conducted a census, inventory, or any other kind of survey in order to determine if the horses seen were “wild free-roaming” horses and entitled to protection. The plaintiffs were successful. The court granted an injunction which prevented the defendants from conducting roundups and removals of any horses from the forest.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 10

12/8/2022

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July 19, 2005 – The USFS fails to manage the Heber Wild Horse Territory as mandated by law, fails to provide a management plan for the wild horses and the Territory, fails to keep accurate counts of wild horses in and associated with the Heber Wild Horse Territory and Apache Sitgreaves National Forests for years prior to July 19, 2005. Yet the USFS issues solicitation for bids to have unbranded, unclaimed free-roaming wild horses in Apache Sitgreaves National Forests removed as what they call “trespass horses” and hauled to Holbrook auction house on July 19, 2005. Solicitation is done without required compliance of a full study of the impact on the environment as required by law under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). In addition, the USFS has never done a NEPA or the required development of a management plan for wild horses in Apache Sitgreaves National Forests and for the almost 20,000 acre Heber Wild Horse Territory set aside for the wild horses by Congress as a sanctuary. The USFS provides no evidence of any investigation of any kind to support the “trespass horse” assertion. However, historical documents and affidavits of residents together with photographs provided by residents to attorneys for the horses demonstrate a continuous presence of the ASNF wild horses generations before the Rodeo Chediski fire.
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These photos were taken in 2005. The Heber wild horses in this area move on and off the designated Heber Wild Horse Territory.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 9

12/8/2022

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Tall Tales
Stories were fabricated in an attempt to justify removing free-roaming horses and closing the Heber Wild Horse Territory. We have seen this happen often when it comes to America’s wild horses and burros. For example, the horses are going to starve! We’re removing them for their own good! Nothing to indicate that is the case. But the horses are removed and the cattle are brought in.

The Sitgreaves has tall tales that have been repeated over and over by those who want the horses gone but are in favor of non native privately owned cattle being brought in to guzzle the water and graze the grasses. One of the stories is about a stallion we dubbed “Frosty”.

Frosty the Stallion
The Forest Service and public lands ranchers have clung tightly to their assertion that at the time the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed there were only 7 wild horses in the 800,000 plus acres of forest in the Sitgreaves. Keep in mind they never have provided evidence that a wild horse census was ever conducted in order to determine the establishment of the Heber Wild Horse Territory and what portion of the forest it should include. Over the years “stories” were told that the band stallion was sterile due to a winter snowstorm that froze his testicles. Funny how the storm didn’t seem to affect the other horses in the Sitgreaves that the ranchers were capturing and removing. Eventually the story went on to claim there were just two mares left and they would die of natural attrition therefore the Heber Wild Horse Territory should be dissolved. No mention was made of the other wild horses that were seen in the forest including horses in the designated Heber Wild Horse Territory.
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Feral Cat Myth
Comparing wild horses to feral cats is a form of fear mongering used by public lands cattle ranchers. Their story that wild horses breed like feral cats is an attempt to scare people into thinking the horses are overpopulating and the situation is urgent. Either the people who use that comparison are too ignorant to know that cats have litters and horses don’t. Or they think the people they are telling their story to are too ignorant to know horses only have one foal a year at most. An adult female cat can have 3 litters a year with an average of 4-6 kittens per litter. In any case there is no evidence to support the claim that the Heber herd is overpopulated. Based on numbers by the forest service beginning in 2005 to the present day the Heber herd has an approximate growth rate of 1.5% per year. That is a far cry from the 20% that the FS and BLM claim wild horse herds have.
While the silliness of their stories can be somewhat humorous, the consequences of repeating those big lies can be devastating to the Heber wild horse herd and the American people who want to keep wild horses on our public lands. Their deceptive propaganda is used to manipulate facts and information in hopes of furthering their agenda to remove the wild horses from the forest.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 8

12/4/2022

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The Rodeo-Chediski was a combined fire that began in June 2002. After the fire the Forest Service claimed they thought the free-roaming horses in the Sitgreaves were all feral horses from the White Mountain Apache reservation that had crossed into the forest due the fence being burned by the fire. However, sworn affidavits signed by numerous people indicate wild horses were seen in the Sitgreaves from the early 1970s up until and beyond the Rodeo-Chediski fire.

One such affidavit was signed by a fire lookout for the Forest Service. He was familiar with the Heber Wild Horse Territory and stated that over the years he had seen a band of horses in the Territory particularly around the Gentry lookout. He went on to say that while driving around on the forest roads he became familiar with one particular band he observed numerous times since the summer of 2000. The band stallion was a buckskin who usually had 7-8 mares with him. He said the band produced foals during each of the three years he had been observing them. He said the horses were unbranded and had no marks on them to indicate they were domestic.

During the fire two people of our Heber Wild Horses advocacy group were assisting in evacuating people and animals. One was able to get into the forest during her off time. She was excited to see Old Buck and his mare Sweet Suzanna in their usual territory on forest road 51.
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Old Buck standing watch.
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From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 7

12/4/2022

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February 1, 1989: Mack Hughes narrates to his wife, Stella Hughes, the Hashknife Cowboy, his memoirs of cowboy life on the sprawling Hashknife Ranch in New Mexico and Eastern Arizona circa 1922. In the chapter on wild horses, Hughes describes thousands of wild horses called broomies by the cowboys running on the Rim and the delight the ranchers took in running with the broomies. Some of the broomies were caught and tamed to become excellent ranch horses. Continuous wild horse sightings in Apache Sitgreaves National Forests are documented in the Hughes book, in Jo Baeza’s Arizona Highways February 1988 story Horses of Arizona, and by residents through narration and pictures from the early part of the 20th century through the present.
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