When citizens are denied!

The Bill of Rights states in Article I "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."  and in Isaiah 10:1,2 "Woe to those who decree unjust statutes and to those who continually record unjust decisions, ...."

I am but a humble donkey, who is heart broken because I know my cousins are dying unjustly, and I know my human friends are hurting so.  It is my nature to worry about my human companions, (link) and I know my friends are mourning deeply the loss of so many innocent wild hearts, gunned down and left to rot in their desert home.  I have seen them cry, as they cried with me.

Home!  It is a place of safety for most.  But, my burro cousins who live in Big Bend Ranch State Park do not feel that safety, as helicopters fly over-head killing all the wildlife around them.  They are forced to watch as their family members are gunned down at their feet.  They watch as the aoudad, elk, and hogs are riddled with bullets coming from the helicopter.  They know, the predators whom they keep an eye on for the safety of all who share the desert with them, are being slaughtered too.  They must witness the snaring of these great cats of the desert as they struggle in the snares only to have their lives ended by a bullet when the Texas Parks and Wildlife killing personnel arrive.  It is pure carnage.  The desert is awash in the blood of the innocent who have lived peacefully together for millions of years. We evolved together here on this continent, (link) and we need each other.  Sure, the aoudad are exotic, but they are globally critically endangered unlike the bighorn the TPWD is trying to introduce to the park.  And, if one wants to be really picky, the bighorn originated in Siberia.  But, being the wise donkey that I am, I also know they have been here long enough to have a place in our ecosystem too.  It is not their fault that humans want to kill them for their beautiful crown of curly horns.  They too are victims, in the end.  And, no trophy hunter wants to blemish their trophy with a head shot, so they do suffer greatly from the body wounds that drop their regal lives to the ground.

I am a simple domestic donkey, but burned into my memory which goes back thousands of years was the time we were in our glory.  Jesus loved us.  He loved us so much that we were ordained to be with him from birth to death.  We represent peace, humility, loyalty, courage and sacrifice and we are mentioned in the Bible 444 times.  In fact, the donkey is the only animal who speaks in the Bible!(link)  We witnessed the King of Kings as he rode a white donkey foal into Jerusalem the week before he was crucified, (link) and we would have gladly given our lives in His stead, but He would not allow it.  His shadow of the cross on which He died is burned forever in our backs.  I, Miss Abby, proudly wear mine.  I thought that Governor Perry, who professes to follow the Lord, would have wanted to touch my lovely cross to be close to Christ.  I was wrong.  Instead, his office required that we send a fax requesting authorization to deliver the petition signed lovingly by over 100,000 caring souls.  He then did not reply.  This essentially denied our delivery access.

Instead of being welcome, we discovered that there is an agency in Austin that has so much power it can revoke the rights of citizens to ask for a redress of their grievances.  That agency is the State Preservation Board, (link) whose Executive Director John Sneed (1 512-463-5495) scared me so badly, I tried to run away, because I could see he scared Marjorie too.  She backed up a step because his face was contorted and his body language was very aggressive.  He was a really rude, and scary man.  More on that in a minute.  The State Preservation Board has been the topic of controversy  over numerous complaints about ethics.  They have the power to override previously authorized events, which they did to our League as we attempted to deliver the Wild Burro Protection League Ride For Life signatures which were provided by concerned citizens all over the world. People love us, and I am overjoyed with learning how much.  But, these wonderful people have been ignored.(link)  The State Preservation Board got Marjorie very upset when on the morning we were to deliver our petition as promised from a wagon pulled by Miss Abby, to the Governor's office, our approved parking was denied.  The director of the State owned parking lot, said she received a phone call that morning saying our authorization was revoked.  I watched Marjorie calling, and running around to try to straighten this out, which she did, but it took its toll on her.  Thank goodness Red Horse Nation (link) came all the way from Alpine to support us.  Rachael Waller Rondeaux (link) and her family Rod, (link) and Chey (link) were there to comfort and take on duties Marjorie was now unable to handle.  They did it without question, for we stood in solidarity with our wild hearts, all of them, together.  I am really good friends with Chey's donkey Penelope too.

The next thing that happened was that the police were ordered to tell us (they were wonderful to us, and did Austin proud with their respectful, and kind treatment ) (link) that we could not enter the State Capitol grounds with our wagon, because it would not fit through the bollards.  HOWEVER, the bollard was down on the right as attested to by the posted photograph.  They blocked it with a car, keeping us out with the wagon.  It is interesting to note that horses, donkeys and mules are frequent visitors to the Capitol.  Check out last years' photo of a Christmas tree delivery!!!

Melinda Eppler, who is with the State Preservation Board, had stated in her e-mail, that they could not lower the bollards to accommodate the wagon.  However, the bollard was down, so we should have been allowed to enter.  Here is the correspondence from Melinda Eppler of the State Preservation Board:

From: Melinda Eppler 

Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 8:46 AM

To: 'donkeys.can.do.@gmail.com'

Subject: January 18 Capitol Visit

Good morning,

We spoke last Friday about your January 18 visit to the Capitol. I was looking over your website and after seeing the photos, I have a few concerns.

The primary concern, is that the donkey/wagon will not fit through our security bollards and therefore, it will not be able to come onto the Capitol grounds. 

I would suggest you consider pulling the wagon up to Brazos - outside the Capitol's east gate, in the bus unloading area. 

Here is a map indicating the location of the bus unloading area:

http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/spb/plan/FloorPlan/Complex.htm

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you!

Mindy Eppler

State Preservation Board

Miss Abby

Jan 17 (3 days ago)

to Stephanie, Karen, Melinda 

It will fit, it is very narrow, and much smaller than appears in the photo. What is the distance between the bollards? This is a wagon reduced in scale to replicate a buckboard. It is miniture. I fit through a 4' wide opening at the Artwalk in Alpine. 

Marjorie Farabee

Miss Abby

Jan 17 (3 days ago)

to Johnny, Melinda, Karen, Stephanie 

I just went to the ranch and measured. It is exactly 4' 1" between the wheels.

Melinda Eppler Melinda.Eppler@tspb.state.tx.us

Jan 17 (2 days ago)

to me 

Good afternoon,

Thanks for the information on the measurement. If it will not fit through the bollards, please keep in mind that we cannot lower them to accommodate access. 

Also, as we discussed, please be sure the animals stay on the asphalt and do not venture on to the grass or limestone walkways.

Thank you!

Mindy Eppler

State Preservation Board

512-463-3051

As you can see, the bollard WAS down, and did not have to be lowered. They blocked my access with the police car.

Marjorie had to make a choice then.  She asked volunteers who were unprepared to make a statement to Dewhurst or Perry to take the petition to his (Dewhurst's) office.  Amazingly, Gayle-Suzanne Barron and Tammie Hillis winged it well!  Way to go League!  (link)

Marjorie and I had to drive our wagon back 3 blocks, unhitch, and return which kept us from the media and making our prepared statement to Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.  I, Miss Abby, helped her with this delivery statement that we unfortunately were kept from making, but we learned for our up coming protest, that we cannot trust Austin.  We wanted to tell him that we have a dream.  We have a dream that wildlife will be protected and that burros will be respected and left un-harassed in Big Bend Ranch State Park.  We have a dream that studies will be conducted, and the people who live in the area will be able to at last promote their wild burros. We dream that the local people's wishes will be respected.  People love them, and if they are allowed to promote the wild burro the people will come.  We have a dream that if Texas Parks and Wildlife will accept that the burros belong, and they start to practice holistic range practices,(link) the ecosystem will flourish.  We will all benefit from the health established by using science.  We dream of the day when observation stations are constructed, and the people's wishes to see these remarkable animals living wild were they have always lived, will be respected.  We are not giving up on that dream.  Donkeys can do.

We were required by Perry's office to provide a fax of our request to deliver the petitions to his office, which we did.  His office ignored the request, thereby denying our ability to deliver to his office.  This letter asked for mercy for our burros.  We asked him to work with us, and we got no response.  The State Preservation Board who is directly in touch with the Governor stood in opposition to our efforts to save this magnificent, rare herd of wild burros for future generations.  The governor continues to defer to the "wisdom" of TPWD to make the "right" decisions, when we have demonstrated that they are making a mockery of land stewardship. No scientist worth his salt would approve the removal of any species, much less half a dozen, without conducting comprehensive studies.  Yet, TPWD is doing exactly that which means they are playing Russian roulette with our lives.  This is too important to ignore, and the good people of Texas, our Country and around the world are asking you to put a stop to it.  Governor Perry, it is a coward who leaves controversial decisions to be made by others.  The buck stops with you, sir.  We are not going away, because our planet is ultimately at risk by the loss of this ecosystem that encompasses 5 million acres.  The burros are complementing these lands on which they have traveled for millions of years.  They belong, they are needed for the health of these precious lands.  It is time to take selfish out of government, and start looking at governance for the people, not for the few.

Our treatment by your government appointed personnel was appalling, and culminated when John Sneed who heads the State Preservation Board, came out of the building and verbally attacked my friend Marjorie.  He frightened me, and I wanted to flee.  But, he told Marjorie that if she could not control her animal she would have to leave.  He was so mean, but when he said that, I knew I had to be brave and stand by her side.  She was so scared she backed up a step from him.  His face was contorted, and his body language was aggressive, as he told us to clean up the poop.  He, he, he, he I had to laugh when Marjorie said "Well, sir, the poop bucket was on the wagon you would not let in!  Ha!  He got more ugly, and Marjorie then said, "Hey, this man is harassing me, is anyone getting this on film?"  When the cameras turned on him, he turned and left, what a coward.  But, of course, cowards attack women and donkeys, don't they?
Showdown at the Capitol~NPR
(When you listen to this clip you will hear a remark about Nancy, who they stated was "being stubborn".  The fact was, that she was waiting for Marjorie, and when we both returned she moved right along, after remaining stuck in place for 30 minutes.  Loyalty is often overlooked when people discuss our marvelous traits.)

WILD BURRO PROTECTION LEAGUE RIDE FOR LIFE!!

Oh look what I will be doing with all of my friends on Wednesday! I am so excited that I finally get to work and help my cousins! I wanted to cry when my friends told me how many humans had signed a petition showing their love. Truly, tears creased the fur on my face. I keep whispering to my friends that there are lots of jobs we donkeys can do, and do better than any horse in the desert! Sorry Windy, but it is true. I still love my ear-challenged horse friends, but when it comes to rough, deserts we rule. Period. TEXAS IS SHOOTING THE LAST HERD OF WILD BURROS IN THE STATE!  ALL OF THEM.

Dear Wild Burro Supporters:

The Wild Burro Protection League Ride For Life is taking place on January 18th in Austin TX, at the Capitol. We are delivering the 103,000 signatures and comments to Governor Rick Perry and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst at 1:00 PM. At noon we will head out with the petition signatures and comments loaded on the back of a small buckboard wagon which will be pulled by a donkey named Miss Abby (thats me!). Our staging area is at the Day Care Center (Rosewood Oaks, 1507 Lavaca Street, Austin, TX 78701-1610 which is next to the Capitol Grounds Complex. We will travel up Lavaca Street turn left on 16th and right on Congress. We will then go to the South side of the Capitol bldg. At that time, Marjorie Farabee will disembark from our buckboard, and go to the north entrance up to the offices and make the delivery.

In the meantime, our members and supporters will be speaking to those interested about what is happening to the last herd of wild burros in Texas, as well as other wildlife located in Big Bend Ranch State Park. In an effort to restore bighorn sheep who are not threatened globally, TPWD is killing all the aoudad (who are threatened globally), elk (native) wild burro (native) and any bobcat or cougar found near bighorn habitat. It is a recipe for a complete ecosystem collapse. What is equally alarming, this important region is a globally recognized precious biosphere, and uniquely blessed with water in a desert region. In fact, there are over 250 springs, and the Rio Grande river blessing this desert region with water. Also of interest is the role played by Mexico and the International Peace Park which is visited by our wild burros who migrate to their locations across the Rio Grande River.

We will be accompanied on our Ride For Life by several other people with equine, including Rod and Rachael Waller Rondeaux and their daughter Chey. They represent both Red Horse Nation and the local people who live where the burros are being shot. Rod, who is also a well known stunt horse rider, will be riding a mustang named Windy, and nine-year-old Chey will ride a mammoth donkey named Hannah. We also have the support of Christopher Gill who owns Circle Ranch which is 32,000 acres next to Sierra Diablo Wildlife Management Area near Van Horn, and also has a blog. www.circleranchtx.com. He says he will have an article coming out soon which talks only about the burro. We initially met because he was outraged that TPWD started shooting all the elk next door to his ranch on the WMA and on all state-managed property in far-West Texas.

He is a holistic rancher who believes the burros (and horses) fill an important niche in the ecosystem (in fact, a 10,050 year old horse tooth was found in a cave on his ranch in 2011 and is also documented on his blog) We feel very fortunate that he is supporting our cause. He has proven through his holistic methods that timed grazing HELPS the ecosystem, and he can prove it by comparing his ranch to all the holdings of TPWD. Not surprisingly, they refuse to share data with him, even though he shares all of his with them. This is because they know their method results are dismal compared to his. Look at their land and look at Mr. Gill's. None compare, and he has huge numbers grazing his land.

We made attempts to work with TPWD. We offered to help manage the burros live in the park, and offered to procure the grants needed to do the job correctly. We met with directors and attended and commented at Commissioners meetings. We have reached out to ASPCA and HSUS, hoping they would work with us to find a legal stop to the killing. We have worked on this full time for almost two years now, and have amassed an enormous amount of information during the process. We can define the burro as native, and we can prove their place in this globally recognized precious ecosystem to be an important one. In fact, we believe (and have the science to back our claims) that the burros (and horses) are helping to stave off the desertification which is rampant throughout the west. To rescue them is extremely short sighted as it does not serve the ecosystem well, nor does it address the burros who will refill the place of those rescued. Obviously, TPWD will simply start shooting them again. In addition, it is important to address the concerns of the people who live there. They want the burro to remain. The burro is a part of their cultural history, from mining, to taking the children to school to building the Pacific Southern Railroad, the burro is deeply woven into the fabric of who they are as a people. It is important to note that they have a history that goes back further than the established towns. It was the burro who was hardy enough to make the first journeys with exploration expeditions. In fact, it was burro trails that first led to roads and then later to towns. Without question, the people of these border towns respect the burro who is indeed a part of their history.


We are excited that so many reached out with love for the burros. At the town hall meeting in Alpine, it was clear the residents see them as part of their cultural history, an avenue for tourism, and want them to remain where they have been for 500 years. They have come home to the place of their origination 53 million years ago. They were only gone (and this complete die out is oft disputed) from our continent for a brief period of time 6,500 to 10,000 years ago. There are some who believe equus never really completely died out, others who believe they were reintroduced by the Asians and Vikings before the Spaniards. What is clear is that there is a gap in the history which is unfairly being used by TPWD to justify destroying all of these rightfully belonging native species who are wrongly tagged as "exotic".

Miss Abby feels the love from all the people who signed their petition.  She wants to thank all who care. 

Of interest too, is the fact that federal dollars are being used to kill this federally protected species. I wonder about the legality of these Draconian measures? It is clear that we need funding to mount a legal campaign to stop the killing of so many species at this park, and we need to prepare for legislation for the 2013 Texas Legislature to support. This is the first step toward that goal.

FREE TO DREAM, FREE TO LIVE

I am impatient for Marjorie to return from England.  I have missed her, and her fingers in my fuzzy ears.  There is a rumor going around the ranch that soon we will ride to Austin!  I am ready.  I am a brave donkey on a mission, and Hannah has said she is joining me.  She has made a special friend in young Chey, and she cannot wait to see her again.  Soon.  Very soon we go.  I hope it is not raining, but it won't matter, we will ride still for my cousins.  I heard from Marjorie who spoke with Rob Nichols at the Donkey Sanctuary in Devon UK.  She said he kept a poker face while she made her case before him.  Finally, she had to come out and say, "Well...?"  He answered finally that he is convinced that they need to make a formal statement against the killings, but needs the approval of all on the team, to do so.  They will return this coming week, and we will know soon.  We are ever so hopeful.  This along with the Circle Ranch, and Red Horse Nation and others is really growing in size.  Never doubt what one curvy, smart donkey girl can do when she sets her mind to it!  I have been most persuasive with my friends, Johnny, Marjorie and Karen.  And, they have been the best of friends to me.

The next big hurdle is trying to get an interview with BBC before returning from England.  I would call BBC for Marjorie but somehow don't think they will quite understand me as my friends do.  If only people could learn to slow down, to listen, to feel.  If they could learn to step back from the rush of their contemporary lives.  It is this rush that overwhelms their senses and causes their loss.  They need to walk with donkeys for a while to make the world right.  The birds are chirping and the hay smells so sweet.  I love my moments with my friends, and I know we have so much we can share with humans if they would just slow down long enough to learn the power of time.  Time slows down when you walk with us.  We like for things to happen quietly and methodically.  Calm instillS calm and allows for dreams.  It is good to daydream, for when you do while with us, you are in the present.  They are dreams of your making.  My dreams these days are of a successful ride with many people cheering us on as we hand these signatures written by beautiful loving people who love us.  My dreams are of seeing my wild cousins running free, in the desert that is their home.   Free from bullets, free from harm, free to dream.  FREE TO LIVE.

Wild Burros, Wild State, Wild Directions

It's me, Miss Abby

I don't understand humans sometimes.  There are so many different types of humans, and a lot of them really are smart,and good. But I am becoming convinced that donkeys could manage the Big Bend Ranch State Park better than the short eared small brained officials in Austin, TX. They refuse to quit killing my cousins even though we have 100,000 signatures now.  Why?

It was wonderful to hear my friends sticking up for my family on Marfa Public Radio too.  (to listen click this link)  Marfa Public Radio Interview 11/16/2011  They really did a great job, and then that evening at the Granada Theatre, I felt the love!  Little Liberty stood outside the theatre and got pictures taken of her all night. It was like a strobe light outside!!  The good will of the people flowed everywhere! Meanwhile inside the theatre people spoke up and made it clear they want their cultural history protected, and that absolutely includes the burro. In fact, one kind lady said she was very angry that they were taking away her livelihood, as an artist. And, native Americans have a say in this too. The burros played a part in their history as well, and the area, including the Rio Grande has achieved Historical Preservation status.  

Yes, my dear friends are digging up the facts, and the truth will set us all free. There is nobody better at this than Karen Van Atta, who uses her environmental sciences degree to great advantage in her research. Why won't those people in Austin listen to the people who really care about the entire environment?  The Chihuahuan biosphere is recognized as precious globally, so it seems to me that they would put science to use and conduct the studies that are required to save these precious lands, and all the wildlife that calls it home.  My smart friends tell me this independent study would take at least five years to measure all the impacts and interactions of species within the ecosystem.  To do this the parks officials need to stop the shooting.  Governor Perry YOU can make them stop.  Why haven't you stepped up for your constituents who want this madness to end? Why are you so stubborn about real land stewardship, Governor?  Yes, humans can be unpredictable, and either be as mean as Rick Perry or as kind as dear Chey Rondeaux.  I love her and her family, Rachael and Rod.

Chey is the most amazing child advocate I have ever met.  And boy did she give my friend Hannah a workout; my good friend Hannah complained about it all the way home. Chey rode her back and forth in the crowd during the parade, and threw out candy.  It was really fun to watch her, even though she stepped on my toes a few times.  And those butterfly wings on those bicycles took me a little while to figure out.  Yes, humans can be silly too.  Complicated creatures, humans.  

Later, poor Hannah gave rides to kids all day
because Chey wanted to earn money for our cousins.  This little girl really has it together.  Poor Hannah!  Even our new friend TMR Master Alpine, a one-eyed white mule saved by Rachael Waller Rondeaux's awesome vet, Dr. "B", thought Hannah whined too much, and told her she should be happy she had not gone through what he had.  He is going to live forever at TMR Rescue, so I better get to know the big white half-ass. I think he has a troubled past, he is afraid of every human he sees with his one eye now. But, I am a donkey, and donkeys heal.  I will help him, I know I can.  Soon he will understand he is safe, and that no one hurts long ears at TMR Rescue.  Lucky guy, he'll be surrounded by donkeys!

I have found people who know a thing or two about land stewardship, why is it so hard to convince people it is the right thing to do? Holistic land stewardship (click link) These techniques of land management are inclusive of all species as they exist, and a careful use of land by a variety of species is healthy rather than trying to keep everybody off of it.  That is not natural, and it does not work.  Recently, Marjorie and I were able to discuss land stewardship with Christopher Gill who owns Circle Ranch in Southwest TX.  In fact, its boundary is 1000 feet from Big Bend Ranch State Park.  There he has all kinds of animals sharing the land and thriving.  Circle Ranch (click link).  Mr. Gill believes the burros have a place too.  And says so on his blog.  

In fact, we talked to so many people when we were in Alpine TX and they overwhelmingly believe the burros belong.  We heard stories about burros in the lives of the people who live there. The real history, not the history TPWD is trying to re-write.is important to spread. Yes, I was proud to be with my friends on Saturday when the Wild Burro Protection League marched in the Art walk parade.  I pulled a wagon that had a cover on it, and I even had to jump over rail road tracks, which really made me nervous. Marjorie was sure proud of me.  And, Chey rode my big friend Hannah, while Zachary led little baby Liberty.  So many people shouted out at our group in solidarity with my wild cousins.  I was so proud to know these humans, and felt much better when we left Alpine TX.  Marjorie said she needed to know how committed the people were to keeping the burros.  Now that she knows we are planning our next step.  Soon, we will be back in Alpine to share with everybody what we can do to save the few of my cousins that remain.  We are making an action plan.

It is becoming really critical too.  We got eye-witness accounts of the parks people using helicopters to chase my dear cousins.  These neanderthals can't seem to comprehend that these native burros have families too, and that they are not harming anyone.  They cannot seem to understand that my cousins are falsely accused, and instead of causing damage we actually enrich the desert, helping to stave off desertification.   

We honor our veteran long ears today and we ask your support to stop the killing in Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Dear Wild Burro Supporter,

I wanted to update you on the tragic killings of my cousins the wild burros that is on-going in Texas.  To date, we have heard nothing from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission or Governor Perry.  In a few weeks time the petition will be delivered by my friend Marjorie Farabee on the Back of a mammoth burro named Miss Hannah.  Of course, I will be there too, pulling a covered wagon.  So, please share this petition to save my families lives.  Keep it going, share it, speak about it. Make it real to your human friends.  WE ARE DYING DAILY.

The Wild Burro Protection League is ready with contingency plans which includes their rescue out of the park if it is absolutely necessary.  We are ready to address the worst possible outcome-accelerated killing of wild burros.  My friends, Marjorie and Karen Luce have discovered through freedom of information requests that the park has moved in five more killers to go after my dear cousins.  It is a blood bath.  Worse, in this case, we don't panic and run like other wild animals, because we have it in our DNA to be careful not to jump without looking first.  It saves our lives in the terrain we call home.  But, this trait makes us sitting ducks for sharp shooters.  We just stand trying to figure out why our family is dropping down in agony around us.  Why our babies are bloody and in a heap at our feet.  We think.  In this case, it is not a good thing.  This video that was taken in Australia is not being shown here to shock any body.  It is to learn.  It is being shown to offer all of you a glimpse into how terrible this killing is for us.  WE DON'T MOVE.  No real hunter would do this!!!  No real hunter would proudly stand up and say they are a part of this.  No real hunter would stand behind the complete eradication of elk, aoudad, burros, cougar, and bobcat.  And, to make it even more unfair, they are using helicopters too.  This is not ethical.  Real hunters honor what they kill, and respect wildlife.  They become a part of the truer nature of life and death in the wild.  They follow the code.  The TPWD is on a killing spree that is so out of control, nature will bite them for it.  She will speak when the park collapses around them and nature responds with death everywhere.  It is the law of unintended consequences.  Obviously, they have not heard the expression "Do not mess with Mother Nature".  We donkeys, are stroked by her kind hand, we carry the wisdom of the ages in our DNA, and she loves us. We are kindred spirits and old souls.  We respect our place in her house, humans do not, and they are quickly becoming unwanted guests.

Please watch this video so that you can understand why they are able to gun down so many at once.  Look at this and ask yourself if you support this.  Do you?  And, be warned it will hurt your heart, and make your children cry.  Please don't let those innocent angels watch it.  But, you must force yourself.  You must see how unfair this is.  My beloved cousins don't have a chance against these cruel humans.

We are holding a town hall meeting in beautiful Alpine, Texas at the historic Granada Theatre-November 16th at 7 pm.  The Alpine Art Walk Parade will include my wonderful burro friends and me Miss Abby!!! We will proudly carry riders marching in a demonstration of the amazing contributions of my cousins the wild burros to the local, regional and state heritage and culture.

Texas Parks and Wildlife is obligated to protect the cultural heritage of Texas, but they have refused to recognize the living history embodied in my family the wild burros roaming free on their public lands.  Along with Alpine, there are several historic and cultural designations that recognize the incredible and unique blend of Mexican, native American, and Texan heritage along this stretch of the Rio Grande River (Rio del Norte). The Rio Grande has similarly been recognized as a National Heritage River because of the outstanding cultural and historical significance of the public lands, natural resources, and communities of this area.

If Texas Parks and Wildlife refuses to do their duty to protect my family, the wild burros as an integral part of the American people's natural and cultural heritage, there is another agency that is even more strictly bound to protect the culture and heritage of Texas.  The Texas Historical Commission.  Please write or e-mail them today, and request that they stand up for the wild burros and protect them as a living legacy, a living part of the cultural history of West Texas .  Will every agency fail to protect the Public Trust and the history and culture of this region and America?  They will if no one speaks up!

What are your feelings about the historical and cultural presence of my cousins the wild burros?  Are they part of the American people's heritage and deserving of real protection?  Contact them and let them know how you feel:


Texas Historical Commission
Chairman Jon Hansen, Call the Commission at: (512) 463-6100
Vice-Chairman David A. Gravelle, e-mail them at:  thc@thc.state.tx.us
Executive Director, Mark Wolfe
Deputy Director Terry Colley

Write a letter:
P.O. Box 12276
Austin, TX 78711-2276

Fax a letter to: (512) 475-4872

Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneering spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American peoplel; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.  It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.

And, despite this Texas is killing us with total disregard for our contributions to the local culture to history, to tourism, to wildlife, to our people who love us.  It hurts them.  I have seen Marjorie cry, I have heard Johnny declare how this hurts his heart.  I know Karen, and the rest of Wild Burro Protection League is mourning the loss of my beautiful, peaceful cousins, the wild burro. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is content to see we burros, who are living symbols of the American people's historic and pioneering spirit, disappear forever.  Is that what you want?

Marjorie, Johnny, Karen and all of the Wild Burro Protection League have fought so hard to save us, and raise awareness.  This has been a years long battle that I hope we win.  If we cannot and must accept a permanent loss of our freedom for no good reason, Johnny will buy land near the park to save us. The League is unwavering in its desire to keep us free, but will save us if they must.  Oh my dear cousins, I hope we can keep you free.  We will try, the locals love you, they send their honor to you.  They stand for you.  They are not shooting you, they respect you.  On the wings of the angel Charles our hope rests. 

Someone Got Rich and Someone Got Sick. Nature is the 99%, Too.

Yes it is sad, we donkeys are indeed the 99% who are left behind.  We are not really considered when decisions are made about our environment, and land stewardship.  This is THE most important issue of our lifetime.  We must protect this precious jewel we call earth and mother.  We are killing her, and destroying her, and all of my lovely innocent fellow living things who need her to survive.  Clearly, it would be wise to let me, Miss Abby take over running this planet.  As much as I hate to say anything against my beloved humans, the ones making these decisions are not wise, not ethical, and are extremely selfish.  I speak to the persons they call corporations.  It is time to take away the title of person-hood from entities that don't need air to breathe or food to eat.  Who do not have children to love and family to care about.  They are cold, lifeless, destroyers of the planet.  Their appetite for our finite resources is insatiable and non sustainable.  My cousins, who are on the brink of complete annihilation in Big Bend Ranch State Park, want little.  Their foot print is small.  Why must we kill the animal most likely to survive our planet's warming?  We may well look to burros in the future as a means of transportation again, when all our resources are used up, and the planet itself stands where we burros stand today, on the brink of man made collapse.

Please join Wild Burro Protection League and myself, Miss Abby  at the Granada Theatre in beautiful culturally historic Alpine TX at 7 pm at the Granada Theatre.  We plan to demonstrate that my cousins have been falsely accused of destruction they did not do.  There is no burro problem.  In fact, what we have is a people problem.  It is time to wake up, look around, and decide if our planet is worth saving, because we truly are at the tipping point, and we burros are not the cause.

Someone Got Rich and Someone Got Sick
Nature Is the 99%, Too
By Chip Ward

What if rising sea levels are yet another measure of inequality? What if the degradation of our planet’s life-support systems -- its atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere -- goes hand in hand with the accumulation of wealth, power, and control by that corrupt and greedy 1% we are hearing about from Zuccotti Park?  What if the assault on America’s middle class and the assault on the environment are one and the same?

Money Rules: It’s not hard for me to understand how environmental quality and economic inequality came to be joined at the hip.  In all my years as a grassroots organizer dealing with the tragic impact of degraded environments on public health, it was always the same: someone got rich and someone got sick.

In the struggles that I was involved in to curb polluters and safeguard public health, those who wanted curbs, accountability, and precautions were always outspent several times over by those who wanted no restrictions on their effluents.  We dug into our own pockets for postage money, they had expense accounts.  We made flyers to slip under the windshield wipers of parked cars, they bought ads on television.  We took time off from jobs to visit legislators, only to discover that they had gone to lunch with fulltime lobbyists.

Naturally, the barons of the chemical and nuclear industries don’t live next to the radioactive or toxic-waste dumps that their corporations create; on the other hand, impoverished black and brown people often do live near such ecological sacrifice zones because they can’t afford better.  Similarly, the gated communities of the hyper-wealthy are not built next to cesspool rivers or skylines filled with fuming smokestacks, but the slums of the planet are. Don’t think, though, that it’s just a matter of property values or scenery.  It’s about health, about whether your kids have lead or dioxins running through their veins.  It’s a simple formula, in fact: wealth disparities become health disparities.

And here’s another formula: when there’s money to be made, both workers and the environment are expendable.  Just as jobs migrate if labor can be had cheaper overseas, I know workers who were tossed aside when they became ill from the foul air or poisonous chemicals they encountered on the job.

The fact is: we won’t free ourselves from a dysfunctional and unfair economic order until we begin to see ourselves as communities, not commodities.  That is one clear message from Zuccotti Park.

Polluters routinely walk away from the ground they poison and expect taxpayers to clean up after them.  By “externalizing” such costs, profits are increased.  Examples of land abuse and abandonment are too legion to list, but most of us can refer to a familiar “superfund site” in our own backyard.  Clearly, Mother Nature is among the disenfranchised, exploited, and struggling.

Democracy 101: The 99% pay for wealth disparity with lost jobs, foreclosed homes, weakening pensions, and slashed services, but Nature pays, too.  In the world the one-percenters have created, the needs of whole ecosystems are as easy to disregard as, say, the need the young have for debt-free educations and meaningful jobs.  

Extreme disparity and deep inequality generate a double standard with profound consequences.  If you are a CEO who skims millions of dollars off other people’s labor, it’s called a “bonus.”  If you are a flood victim who breaks into a sporting goods store to grab a lifejacket, it’s called looting.  If you lose your job and fall behind on your mortgage, you get evicted.  If you are a banker-broker whodesigned flawed mortgages that caused a million people to lose their homes, you get a second-home vacation-mansion near a golf course. 

If you drag heavy fishnets across the ocean floor and pulverize an entire ecosystem, ending thousands of years of dynamic evolution and depriving future generations of a healthy ocean, it’s called free enterprise.  But if, like Tim DeChristopher, you disrupt an auction of public land to oil and gas companies, it’s called a crime and you get two years in jail.   

In campaigns to make polluting corporations accountable, my Utah neighbors and I learned this simple truth: decisions about what to allow into the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat are soon enough translated into flesh and blood, bone and nerve, and daily experience.  So it’s crucial that those decisions, involving environmental quality and public health, are made openly, inclusively, and accountably.  That’s Democracy 101.

The corporations that shred habitat and contaminate your air and water are anything but democratic.  Stand in line to get your 30 seconds in front of a microphone at a public hearing about the siting of a nuclear power plant, the effluent from a factory farm, or the removal of a mountaintop and you’ll get the picture quickly enough: the corporations that profit from such ecological destruction are distant, arrogant, secretive, and unresponsive.  The 1% are willing to spend billions impeding democratic initiatives, which is why every so-called environmental issue is also about building a democratic culture.   

First Kill the EPA, Then Social Security: Beyond all the rhetoric about freedom from the new stars of the Republican Party, the strategy is simple enough: obstruct and misinform, then blame the resulting dysfunction on “government.”  It’s a great scam.  Tell the voters that government doesn’t work and then, when elected, prove it.  And first on the list of government outfits they want to sideline or kill is the Environmental Protection Agency, so they can do away with the already flimsy wall of regulation that stands between their toxins and your bloodstream. 

Poll after poll shows that citizens understand the need for environmental rules and safeguards.  Mercury is never put into the bloodstreams of nursing mothers by consensus, nor are watersheds fracked until they are flammable by popular demand.  But the free market ideologues of the Republican Party are united in opposition to any rule or standard that impedes the “magic” of the marketplace and unchecked capital.

The same bottom-line quarterly-report fixation on profitability that accepts oil spills as inevitable also accepts unemployment as inevitable. Tearing apart wildlife habitat to make a profit and doing the same at a workplace are just considered the price of doing business. Clearcutting a forest and clearcutting a labor force are two sides of the same coin.    

Beware of Growth: Getting the economy growing has been the refrain of the Obama administration and the justification for every bad deal, budget cut, and unbalanced compromise it’s made.  The desperate effort to grow the economy to solve our economic woes is what keeps Timothy Geithner at the helm of the Treasury and is what stalls the regulation of greenhouse gasses.  It’s why we are told we must sacrifice environmental quality for pipelines and why young men and women are sacrificed to protect access to oil, the lubricant for an acquisitive economic engine.  The financial empire of the one percenters and the political order it has shaped are predicated on easy and relentless growth.  How, we are asked, will there be enough for everyone if we don’t keep growing? 

The fundamental contradiction of our time is this: we have built an all-encompassing economic engine that requires unending growth.  A contraction of even a percent or two is a crisis, and yet we are embedded in ecosystems that are reaching or have reached their limits.  This isn’t complicated: There’s only so much fertile soil or fresh water available, only so many fish in the ocean, only so much CO² the planet can absorb and remain habitable. 

Yes, you can get around this contradiction for a while by exploiting your neighbor’s habitat, using technological advances to extend your natural resources, and stealing from the future -- that is, using up soil, minerals, and water your grandchildren (someday to be part of that same 99%) will need.  But the limits to those familiar and, in the past, largely successful strategies are becoming more evident all the time. 

At some point, we’ll discover that you can’t exist for long beyond the boundaries of the natural world, that (as with every other species) if you overload the carrying capacity of your habitat, you crash.  Warming temperatures, chaotic weather patterns, extreme storms, monster wildfires, epic droughts, Biblical floods, anavalanche of species extinction… that collapse is upon us now.  In the human realm, it translates into hunger and violence, mass migrations and civil strife, failed states and resource wars.

Like so much else these days, the crash, as it happens, will not be suffered in equal measure by all of us.  The one percenters will be atop the hill, while the 99% will be in the flood lands below swimming for their lives, clinging to debris, or drowning. The Great Recession has previewed just how that will work.

An unsustainable economy is inherently unfair, and worse is to come.  After all, the car is heading for the cliff’s edge, the grandkids are in the backseat, and all we’re arguing about is who can best put the pedal to the metal.

Occupy Earth: Give credit where it’s due: it’s been the genius of the protesters in Zuccotti Park to shift public discourse to whether the distribution of economic burdens and rewards is just and whether the economic system makes us whole or reduces and divides us.  It’s hard to imagine how we’ll address our converging ecological crises without first addressing the way accumulating wealth and power has captured the political system.  As long as Washington is dominated and intimidated by giant oil companies, Wall Street speculators, and corporations that can buy influence and even write the rules that make buying influence possible, there’s no meaningful way to deal with our economy’s addiction to fossil fuels and its dire consequences.

Nature’s 99% is an amazingly diverse community of species.  They feed and share and recycle within a web of relationships so dynamic and complex that we have yet to fathom how it all fits together.  What we have excelled at so far is breaking things down into their parts and then reassembling them; that, after all, is how a barrel of crude oil becomes rocket fuel or a lawn chair. 

When it comes to the more chaotic, less linear features of life like climate, ecosystems, immune systems, or fetal development, we are only beginning to understand thresholds and feedback loops, the way the whole becomes greaterthan the sum of its parts.  But we at least know that the parts matter deeply and that, before we even fully understand them, we’re losing them at an accelerating rate.  Forests are dying, fisheries are going, extinction is on steroids. 

Degrading the planet’s operating systems to bolster the bottom line is foolish and reckless.  It hurts us all.  No less important, it’s unfair.  The 1% profit, while the rest of us cough and cope. 

After Occupy Wall Street, isn’t it time for Occupy Earth?  

OCCUPY BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK!!!!! BRING YOUR CAMERAS AND LONG LENSES AND LET THE PARKS PEOPLE KNOW YOU ARE THERE.  ASK THEM WHERE THEIR SHOOTERS ARE LOCATED.  THEY MUST TELL YOU AS A MATTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

WHAT CAN DONKEYS DO? MEET A HEALER~BARTOLO THERAPY DONKEY

Bartolo was named student of the year !

Donkeys Can Do!

I am so proud of my smart Spanish cousin Bartolo!  I wonder if I would make strait A's in donkey therapy school?  I think it would be such an honorable profession to pursue!  Yes, I'll have to see if I can get a student loan from Johnny.  I bet he would help me out.  I am after all his favorite donkey.  (He says so, but I heard him say the same to Jerry...hmmm) Well, I'll quit bending your tiny ears about me.  
Here is the story about my Spanish cousin. He has graduated from school with the highest of marks!  I always knew he was going to be a doctor!!! 

BARTOLO'S STORY

Bartolo is a gorgeous looking, hard working donkey. He came to us from another charity, CYD Santamaría, that deals with horses. They had found him abandoned in the Guadalhorce Valley area, near Málaga, wandering around aimlessly.

Ever since his arrival to El Refugio del Burrito he has turned his life around and now has decided to complete his studies with a degree in Donkey Assisted Riding Therapy for Children With Special Needs, and has already won an award to go and work at Córdoba Zoo, where fellow therapist Carmelo is retiring after working with children for the past two years.

Bartolo is very conscious of the task ahead and gets really involved in his training sessions. It is very rare nowadays to see such a dedicated student. He is always on time for his lessons and you can hear him braying with joy when meeting his proud trainers.

Bartolo’s marks are excellent, he never wants less than an A+ ! And so far, he’s managed to get those results in the following subjects: Grooming, sports, patience, motivation, Calming Therapy and saddlery. For all of the above he will also be awarded with the Student of the Year award.

We are sure he will be a fantastic addition to our Riding Therapy programme in Córdoba, and cannot wait for him to finally get his full degree and start working with children, which is his biggest wish.

Well done Bartolo, welcome to our team!

If you wish to help other donkeys like Bartolo, and therefore help children with special needs who benefit from our Donkey Assisted Therapy programme, please go to our Ways You Can Help button on the website, or call our fundraising office on 952 73 50 77.

KILLING BABIES

Okay, now I am Angry!  Really angry!  This is a mom and her baby they are talking about killing and throwing away like garbage.  Life!  Beautiful, innocent, young life, and they decided to shoot them.  Just shoot them AFTER they were captured!!!  Unbelievable.

MARJORIE!!! JOHNNY!!! KAREN!!! CAN'T YOU STOP THEM? Why can't you stop them? Why? This is unethical, unrelenting, persecution of my family. What did they do? What? They must have been so frightened!!  

The following is an excerpt out of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents we just received: 

"I interviewed Dr. William Brown by phone today to get. more specifics about the project. He estimated about 100 man-hours of APHIS time went into locating and building the trap near the mouth of Rancherias Canyon. TPWD invested at least 40 man-hours of meeting, planning and purchasing time. The burros would not take the bait in the trap. Sometime in late October or early November he then went out with a crew of eight vaqueros and cowboys to try a drive. This drive consumed another 40 man-hours. After gathering a "bunch" and trying to herd them, the net result was one roped jenny with a foal at her side. They were euthanized and disposed in the Presidio dump for $5.00 per head."

Grahamn Jones  

(Texas Parks and Wildlife employee)

More excerpts from the report on this incident:

According to Dr. Brown the official APHIS policy in regard to feral burros is to quarantine them and test them for foreign animal diseases. This is a more comprehensive test than just the "Coggins Test" for only equine infectious anemia known to horse owners in the U.S. The foreign animal disease test costs APHIS $85.00 per animal plus $5/day for keep while in quarantine. If the feral burros do not test positive, then they are offered to the market. If there aren't any takers, then they are euthanized. When asked if there 

was any market for them he replied "Not much. Maybe a couple of dollars.~ When asked what he thought was the best way for us to deal with the feral burro problem in Big Bend Ranch State Park, he replied "Shoot 'em. That's the best way. Any other way would be expensive." He stated that his superiors in Austin told him to discontinue the feral burro project with us "because it was too expensive". Dr. Brown suggested that I call a sale barn in El Paso to get a more accurate value. I called Joe Rios auction sale barn and asked for a market estimate for an "unbroken, adult, burro." The woman with whom I spoke said about 10 cents a pound "if you even get a bidder." She said that turns into $20 to $30 per animal. When I asked· her to give me a call if she wanted a bunch of them. .... she just laughed.

Joe Carter (TPWD)

DEATH BY CORRUPTION

I am so sad, and twisted inside.  My heart breaks everyday, and Charles wants me to do more, more, more.  The burros throughout the Chihuahuan Biosphere are being shot to death, he says.  His little wings are so agitated, we must hurry, he says.  We are all grieving this week, I know.  But we are seeing the sweet face of an angel telling us to SAVE THE LAST HERD OF WILD BURROS IN TEXAS!!!  And, my angel has told us something else.  He pointed out where to find the corruption.  And, we did.  Charles is still with us.
http://info.tpj.org/reports/PerryJuly2011Update/Perry100kContributorsJuly2011.html

This is what this simple domestic donkey is up against.  The people who are on the board of directors for the Texas Bighorn Society are some of Rick Perry's biggest donors.  Now we know that all of this is connected to Mexico where a huge bighorn restoration project is taking place, and guess what?  They are connected to the Texas Bighorn Society.
http://www.texashuntfish.com/app/view/Post/31398/Texas-Desert-Bighorn-Sheep-Restoration-Hits-New-Milestone

Today, I ask you to please help us find a way to stop the killing.  There are only a few left.  The AP reporter was at the Park today, and came out without finding a single burro.  Hardly an over-population is it?  Why can't we live?  What have we done to you?
http://www.texasbighornsociety.org/index.php/history-information-about-texas-bighorn-sheep-society/texas-bighorn-society-board-of-directors.html

I am a really smart donkey, but my mind does not understand deceit for we are honest as a species, and humble.  We don't like for humans to see our pain, for it is ours to shoulder, as we have always done.  We believe in justice, and if you give us that, we will follow you where ever you go.  All we ask is just treatment, nothing more.  Beyond that is friendship and love.  I am so happy that I have that here at Todd Mission Ranch. And now I have an angel on my shoulder too.

For my Big Bend Ranch State Park cousins life hangs in the balance.  This hurts me deeply, and I see the pain it causes Marjorie and Johnny.  They are so upset over all of it.  Try as hard as we all have,  now it is a matter of whether people care enough to make the effort to help save them.  They have called those canyons and arroyos home for centuries.  What have they done to have their homes stolen from them?  They can easily live in harmony with the mountain top climbing bighorn, in a 300,000 acre park that hosts over 250 springs and a large river called the Rio Grande!  No, it cannot be that, they just hate us, even though they call themselves Christians.  Jesus would tell them how wrong they are if they really followed his word.

This is not science motivated killing.  This is not conservation or preservation.  If it were, they would recognize the CULTURAL value of our wild burros.  They would recognize that the burro ORIGINATED in North America.  They would recognize that the wild burro is genetically linked to E. Africus Asinus which is Critically endangered.  They do not practice science or they would know that taking out my cousins who have lived there since 1527, without a single study, might cause the collapse of another species or several species that are dependent on them for survival.

Charles, dear angel guide me through the deceit and lies so that we can give you the peace you seek.  Help me reach the people so that they know what we know.  We will save them for you, Charles.  We will save them for all the children you love too.  We won't give up.