PREVIOUS PROTESTS AND UPDATES

WILD HORSE PROTEST LOCATION & TIME: Sunday, January 10, 2010 at the roadside near the Red Rock Canyon scenic overlook. Anyone that opposes the Calico Mountains Nevada wild horse roundup please come out and stand with a group that wish to demonstrate that WILD HORSES EQUAL JOBS FOR NEVADA. Just one hour of your time makes a huge difference to our numbers. The President is back in Washington and needs to hear voices for horses. And if you have children or grandchildren, could you dress them in an animal costume or paint their face like a lion? We want to make the visual point that our wild horses are the equivalent of Africa's lions and elephants.
You realize what unique creatures our Mustangs are when you see a Calico Mountain stallion, now called Freedom, chased on January 2, 2010 by helicopter across the range into a holding pen, only to fight, fall on his back, get to his feet again and leap a six-foot fence, crash through a second barbed wire fence and then run for freedom. That mustang and his band of 8 mares are thought to be descended from Spanish Barbs brought from San Diego in the 1860’s and subsequent generations of thoroughbred, pinto, draft and saddle horses that roamed free on the open range.	Photography by Elyse Gardner
These colorful horses of the high desert could bring thousands of visitors to rural northwest Nevada if there were organized tours to see them, whether on foot, in jeeps or on horseback. Please take a look at Craig Downer's images of Freedom on his home page at http://humanitythrougheducation.com/	Photography by Craig C. Downer
	Photography by Craig C. Downer

Previous Protest Update

"At 1pm Sunday, December 27, 2009, nearly 40 protestors, young and old, lined the highway to the entrance to Red Rock Canyon. Two wild burros ambled up which became a bit of a traffic hazard, proving organizer Arlene Gawne's assertion that people want to view the wild horses and burros. Unfortunately the highway patrol had to move the carloads of curious visitors when they became a highway hazard, proving further that the public needs to view wild horses and burros ON PUBLIC LAND in a safe safari style. "If folks had been in a organized safari vehicle, they and the burros would have been safe. There is an opportunity to make this a win/win situation for everyone."
 
Protestors held signs and horse photos that read "Wild Horse Safaris Would Create Jobs" and "Put the BLM In Holding Pens, Not Wild Horses". It was a busy day for people visiting the Park and most of the public were shocked at our signs. A tour guide driving one of popular Pink Jeeps honked and gave the thumbs up. Her company regularly brings tourists from the Strip to the park, but for two years they have not been able to show them the beautiful palomino wild horses that lived in the park. The BLM rounded them up two winters ago."
 
Farther down the highway, at the exit of the scenic drive, several horseback riders and a protestor distributed information sheets to passersby. Three local television channels covered the protest.

All protestors agreed that it was an invigorating experience despite the cold and the highway patrol that stayed parked near the peaceful protest. They explained that for once they were doing something for the horses rather than feeling depressed at the roundups. Arlene Gawne will soon announce the next location for a further protest on New Years Day. "This was organized in 24 hours, so people calling in from all over the country wishing to be a part of it were unable to fly in.

I plead with President Obama to read this open letter (click link below) and turn some of our public land into Wild Horse Sanctuaries where wild horse safaris could become a vital job source just as safaris are in Africa. Why don't we follow their example? Our wild and free horses would attract visitors to the West in huge numbers. Our economy needs jobs, the horses need to stay on their ranges, let's get creative and bring the two together."

Read Open Letter to President Obama