Today is World Photography Day.
This day highlights the importance of visual communication in our increasingly image-driven society. Photography has power to influence perspectives, document history and touch hearts and minds.
Since the inception of Wild Horse Education (WHE) photographic documentation has been key to our work. Exposing reality through images and video has driven change and our amazing court rulings. These rulings include the first in history against abuse at roundups when a helicopter contacted and exhausted horse at Triple B and we stopped the roundup. This was the first of several cases that drove BLM to create the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) of today. We are back in court again to push for the long denied last step of open policy making and enforceability. We also won an amazing ruling in Ninth Circuit joined by news organizations around the nation to open roundups to daily observation.
“Hope” died after his feet literally began to fall off at Broken Arrow 2010. photo copyright Laura Leigh
Today, our amazing volunteers carry on the tradition of telling the story of our wild horse and burros and utilizing that documentation to create long overdue change.
We asked our volunteers for one or two photos that express their work in 2024. After the shock wore off that they could only choose one or two, some of our team members sent in a picture or two to highlight their place on the team.
Colette Kaluza: Colette has always been drawn to the foals. She shoots primarily video and we can always count on her camera being trained on any little one that falls off during a drive. This foal was seen escaping with mom the day before at the brutal winter roundup this year at East Pershing.
Colette is up at White Mountain and, as always, we can rely on her to watch the babies.
Marie Milliman: Joining the WHE team back in 2017, Marie said it was nearly impossible to quickly pick a photo. She said the 2 Jennies she saw after trap at Blue Wing that had swollen bags and no foals in sight sticks in her mind. Will this Jenny give birth or was her baby lost in the chaotic capture of the day?
Marie also asked that we include the picture this mare from the Antelope roundup last year. In a few short moments from this image, this mare will break her neck and orphan her baby as BLM pushed during heat index rises.
Laurie Ford: Laurie is out in Marietta today where the roundup of horses and burros will begin tomorrow. TODAY these burros are out just being burros… tomorrow everything changes. Burro are much more susceptible to death and illness from capture stress and as many as 3 in 10 (horses are 1 in 10) will not be alive in the next two months after falling victim to the helicopter. Laurie is devoted to both horses and burros. But she has a lifelong passion for the long ears. Laurie is filing her pre-operation report and we will begin to update you tomorrow from Marietta in NV as soon as possible.
Linda Greaves: Linda works as a volunteer for WHE a couple of times a year, taking time off of her work lobbying Congress and organizing conferences to get into the field. The image she sent is of a gorgeous Stone Cabin grey from a field trip this summer. WHE has active litigation to protect this truly historic herd of wild horses from being run over by industry. The first official capture operation after the Act passed was at Stone Cabin and Velma Johnston herself was present. BLM never followed through on approved monitoring and range improvements (and evaluating numbers) on the range. So we are taking them to court.
Linda also sent the above image because 2024 is kind of a “flat tire year.” Traveling on the range is rough going sometimes.
Bobbie Moller: This incredible photo was taken by Bobbie after the Jump fire burned a large portion of the Sands Basin HMA. Fire raced through leaving this lone tree scorched, but standing? Will it survive? This photo is a metaphor for the entire BLM wild horse and burro program and the insane race to drive herds to absurdly low numbers and apply varios fertility control substances. Will our herds survive?
Bobbie’s beloved Sands Basin wild horses in April 2024. Will they survive what comes next?
Laura Leigh: There are still 4 large herds left in the West. Sitting in a valley with a large herd as the sun goes down brings a type of peace you can find nowhere else. But the looming shadow of mass removal as habitat is being lost hand over fist to industry (livestock and mining) never allows that peace to last for long.
I have known these two since nearly the day they were born. The Triple B herd got a reprieve from the summer roundup schedule. We expect BLM to try to get this area back on the schedule as soon as they can… before they ever have to provide actual data that their numbers are right and the roundup is even justified. We are battling this out in court.
Tammi Adams: This beautiful horse from Saulsbury was captured digitally by Tammi earlier this year. The Stone Cabin/Saulsbury are is near and dear to WHE and we are fighting to protect them in court. Tammi is our NEPA coordinator working on numerous appeals… but she takes a great photo too.
Although known for our hard hitting coverage of roundups that provide you as close to “up-to-the-moment” coverage as possible, the work lies in a deep love for public lands and our wild ones.
Our photography is part of our advocacy.
A part of a visceral living experience we can share with you to bring you along with us…. that extends far beyond words.
We won an amazing victory earlier this year where the courts recognize removal is NOT management. We have three additional cases in the system now. We need your help to keep our teams in the field and expand our litigation to push desperately needed legal precedents to protect our wild ones
Thank. you for keeping us running for the wild!
You can see reports from summer 2024 roundups (we do not just say we are onsite, we report to you daily)
Facility Reports 2024
What can you do to help change things?
You can write OpEds to your local paper and/or share posts and articles on social media to help raise awareness, There are still a lot of people that are unfamiliar with the fate of our wild ones.
If you want to help fight abuse and help gain, once and for all, desperately needed oversight and an enforceable welfare policy, you can learn more and take 2 action items outlined in this article that contains a comparison between our report and BLMs report on the Blue Wing Complex roundup where BLM found conduct “excellent” but the world found it outrageous. (click HERE for 2 action items and reports)
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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