Getting at the Governor

Follow up post by Marta Williams, WHE, VP

In a recent post I reported on the hair-brained plan by Governor Herbert of Utah, to make his state safe for cattle grazing by wiping out wild horses and burros. Read here.

https://wheblog.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/utah-governor-wants-to-take-control-and-kill-the-mustangs-and-burros-in-utah/

Do you want your voice to be heard on the issue of how wild horses and burros in Utah should be treated? Unfortunately, petitions and the auto send letters don’t really have much impact. For example, BLM counts all automated letter responses as one response, no matter how many people clicked and sent in the automated letter. What counts is tying up someone’s email, fax, and phone, and sending a mountain of mail. Next time you want to get at a civil servant or politician to listen, remember to do it in person: personal call, personal email, personal letter, and personal fax. Go ahead and sign the petition or letter and send it. But then take the automated text of that letter or petition and redo it in your own words, short and sweet is fine, and then send it yourself.

Gov Herbert (Rueters)

So for the governor of Utah you might say something like, or some part of this:

Dear Gov, There are 3,500 wild horses and burros on public land in your state, yet hundreds of thousands of privately-owned cattle graze our public land there. The wild horse and burro public land allotment is 2.1 million acres while the welfare cattle have 22 million acres. What is your problem? Leave these federally protected-animals alone. To say they are breeding like rabbits is a flat out lie. Governor, go read the 2013 National Academy of Science Report (NAS) and educate yourself: wild horses and burros are in decline and are in danger of becoming extinct in certain ranges and the statistics used to support their removal are flawed and unsubstantiated. Congress designated these animals be protected at the request of the American people, BLM had nothing to do with that. It is decreed by federal law. If there were a poll that excluded the welfare cattle ranchers who are living off of the public dole in Utah, it would probably show that most of the people in Utah want the mustangs and burros to be left in peace. In any case, what you are proposing is unlawful and unfair.