At Wild Horse Education, volunteers come from every walk of life—retirees, students, photographers, legal researchers, range observers, writers—but they are united by one unwavering purpose: to see America’s wild horses and burros treated fairly and humanely.
More than five decades after the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the system these animals endure still reflects an outdated framework shaped by political pressure in the 1970s and 80s. On-range management plans continue to rely on those foundations, despite decades of ecological change, advancing science and decades of pulling back the curtain on the corruption in the program that shows time and again the lack of an ethical foundation. Off the range, the situation grows even more troubling. Capture operations proceed under standards that lack meaningful, enforceable welfare protections. In holding facilities, tens of thousands of animals exist in limbo, governed by policies that fall short of the humane mandate written into law 55 years ago.
And beyond holding, the gaps widen further. The Adoption and Sale program—marketed as a solution—remains dangerously under-regulated, with insufficient oversight to prevent wild horses and burros from slipping into the slaughter pipeline. In fact, today the Sale program seems to be exploited to skirt Congressional funding restrictions. The safeguards that should exist simply do not meet the scale or seriousness of the risk.
This is where our volunteers step in.
They document roundups in real time, often in harsh and remote conditions, ensuring the public can witness what would otherwise go unseen. They analyze environmental assessments and gather plans line by line, identifying inconsistencies with law and science. They build educational materials, manage outreach campaigns, and engage with policymakers. They track data, submit public comments, attend meetings, and elevate the voices of those who cannot speak for themselves. Our volunteers are key to the foundation our legal work done daily through administrative appeals courts and Federal Civil Court.
Their work is not symbolic—it is operational, strategic, and essential.
Without volunteers, there would be fewer eyes on helicopters pushing exhausted horses and burros across miles of terrain. There would be fewer records challenging flawed population modeling. There would be less public awareness of the disconnect between policy and humane treatment. And there would be fewer obstacles standing between vulnerable animals and a system that too often fails them.
What makes this effort extraordinary is not just the volume of work, but the unity behind it.
Volunteers bring different skills, different experiences, and different perspectives—but they stand together in defense of a single principle: that wild horses and burros deserve management grounded in fairness, transparency, and humane care.
Colette Kaluza brings a lifetime of court-system experience and an eye for detail that has changed what the public and Congress can see. Her videography as the assistant director of our welfare team has exposed what “business as usual” really looks like at roundups and helps drive demands for enforceable welfare standards.
Marie Milliman carries her skills as a successful small business owner into advocacy, becoming a cornerstone of our welfare and policy work. As a mustang and burro owner, she keeps the focus on what all of this truly means for individual animals, not just numbers on a page.
Laurie Ford, our burro expert, centers the animals too often treated as an afterthought. Her field observations, behavioral insights, and constant attention to how policies impact real burro families have reshaped public understand of burros on and off the range.
Tammi Adams stepped in after a land-use planning webinar and never stepped back. She has taken on the demanding work of NEPA and land use plans, digging through dense documents, and helping build the record we need to challenge outdated frameworks crafted under political pressure decades ago.
And for every person named, there are so many more: the volunteer who quietly takes a late-night data shift so we can meet a filing deadline; the one who drives hours after work to attend a public meeting; the one who watches a livestream and pulls time-stamped notes; the one who shares a post, organizes a local fundraiser, or checks in when a roundup schedule drops and everything goes sideways to help us maximize boots-on-the-ground.
During this National Volunteer Week, we recognize that their contributions are not just valuable—they are irreplaceable.
They are the reason the truth is documented.
They are the reason accountability is pursued.
We stand hand-in-hand in the pursuit of freedom, mercy and justice.
To everyone that takes time from their own daily life to help causes in need of support, you are appreciated more than you will ever know.
Happy National Volunteer Week!
Right now your contribution will be matched in honor of National Volunteer Week and Earth Day!
Through May 1, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000.
We need your support to keep our teams engaging lawmakers, our team fighting in the court, our team ready to run the roundup schedule. Every mile we travel to cover roundups or assess a herd, every court case we bring, every win, every action we take is only possible because of your support.