Over the last few days advocates from around the country met in Reno, Nevada. The third annual Saving Our Wild Horses and Wildlife conference was attended by a varied representation of advocacy from those focused solely on wild horses and burros and organizations focused on water and endangered species protection.

We all see the annual recommendation letters coming from anti-wild horse factions from county commissions to organizations supposedly focused on range protection (livestock). For the first time a truly independent group of advocates not associated with large lobby groups, worked hard to craft their own letter. Believe it or not, this is the first time this has happened.

Linda Greaves, who organized the event, coordinated an official tour of a holding facility, a tour of the range near Reno, with two days of intensive education and dialogue.

Many of the attendees even took a long trek out into the “nowhere” to meet some of the wild, wild horses that are not accustomed to large groups of admirers. While in Tonopah, they met a herd of wild horses that sit at the center of a decades old controversy that dates back to the days when Velma Johnston visited the area. They also visited groups of wild burros that once only faced encroachment from livestock and hard rock mining that now find themselves in the “green energy zone” and the race for lithium.

Many members of Wild Horse Horse Education participated in every aspect of the journey from speaking, to “tour guide,” to expending effort assisting the group in crafting recommendations. Thank you to our team members that also came in from afar.

Thank you to all of those that came to the conference and put in the work to craft informed and necessary recommendations. You rock!

We look forward to the fourth annual conference and applaud the effort to elevate advocacy to a whole new level. We hope to see even more independent advocates next year.

Our team is back on the road and back in the thick of working on active litigation.

We need your help to continue to document, expose, work toward reform with lawmakers and litigate. Our wild ones deserve to live free on the range and free from abuse.

Thank you for keeping WHE on the frontline in the fight to protect and preserve our treasured wild ones.