|
Issue: Protecting Nevada's Virginia Range wild horses (Part Two)
Please note: This is an archive copy of an historic document. To view current events please visit the main
War Room Index page.
Detailed Discussion
Governor Jim Gibbons is no friend to horses. In fact many Nevadans feel that he is no friend to the citizens, just to a close circle of cronies. The Governor seems too obsessed with texting his girlfriends from his state cell phone and raging over citizens photographing him with a former Playboy model with their cell phone cameras (while still married to Dawn Gibbons) to coherently deal with state affairs. Since Gibbons took office, the National Journal has rated Nevada as the second most dysfunctional state in America.
Governor Gibbons has treated the State Legislature like chattel, vetoing any bill that wasn't written to his particular specifications. In response the Legislature set a new record for overturning gubernatorial vetoes. The Governor is currently engaged in a war with the Legislature over control over Federal stimulus money that some predict will lead to a state constitutional crisis. Citizens and lawmakers are concerned that the Governor's attempt to personally appoint a "Stimulus Czar" and take the task away from the State Controller, who is accountable to the public, will allow these funds to be directed to benefit Gibbons' friends and supporters.
Governor Gibbons is also known for appointing arrogant supporters and friends to high places, people who appear to have little or no respect for public concerns and opinions. The most recent fracas in which a Gibbons appointee played a part involved Gerald Lent and what many considered to be
manipulation of Nevada Commission on Wildlife procedures to ensure his "election" as Wildlife Commission Chairman. The commission meeting in which this happened erupted in the usual
Nevada chaos.
The same holds true for the Nevada Department of Agriculture where Director Lesperance and top agency officials have been accused of all sorts of misdeeds including misappropriation of public property, malfeasance, making false reports, issuing false certificates, larceny and even extortion. Governor Gibbons, master of his own universe, nonetheless continues to "stand by his man." In the meanwhile the Nevada Attorney General's office is responding to various requests for investigations brought by Nevada citizens and horse groups, and most recently is discovering that records and documents required by law to be maintained by the Department have "disappeared."
Lesperance & Company's entire scheme was based on lies and corruption. He testified to the Legislature that the horses were starving. They weren't. He testified that there was absolutely no forage left on the range. The range actually looked pretty good. He testified that the state could not afford to feed the horses, which implied that the state was feeding the horses, which they never had. Any emergency feeding was provided by the VRWPA, Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund, and similar groups.
State law requires the Department to place horses through non-profit cooperators. Lesperance lied and told legislators that he had none. Volunteers received an out of state tip that slaughter dealer
Ole Olsen was expecting to receive a load of Virginia Range horses and they uncovered a scheme where Chris Collis, the head of the Department's Division of Livestock Identification and Investigation, was going to use state equipment to haul a load of horses from Carson City to Elko to hand over to Olsen.
Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, a long time adoption cooperator, contacted horse program manager Mike Holmes and arranged to take possession of the horses to place with adopters. Holmes later found himself "furloughed" due to "budgetary cutbacks."
The Wild Horse Preservation League submitted a formal public records request to review the cooperative agreements and was informed that the records has been disposed of (which would be a violation of state law.)
(Several of the horses "intercepted" by Lifesavers are still available for adoption and can be viewed
here.)
This incident comes on the heels of the Department's involvement in a scheme to dump some 34 horses on Oregon based
Whispering Winds Equine Sanctuary. Whispering Winds agreed to take in ten weanlings to halter train and place, and ended up having a whole transport of horses, including aged and pregnant mares, dumped on their doorstep, complete with falsified paperwork made out by Nevada Agriculture officials that made it look like Whispering Winds had purchased, and thus was responsible, for these horses. (Please see the related
video.)
Lesperance is also known for covering up for the criminal behavior of his friends. He ordered Department Personnel not to touch his buddy, cattleman Don Alt, when Alt vandalized property belonging to wild horse advocates and was caught by volunteers trying to trap Virginia Range horses on a BLM allotment. This matter was resolved in civil court, with Alt being ordered to pay damages. The volunteers released the horses and Lesperance, instead of pursuing charges, ordered Mr. Holmes not to do any further investigation relating to Mr. Alt nor have any communications with BLM or the volunteers involved. Here is a link to some of Mr. Alt's
shenanigans.
These are just some representative examples of the lies, corruption, and schemes involving corrupt public officials and the historic Virginia Range herd. Governor Gibbons wants to be rid of the horses and is letting his Director of Agriculture do what he wants. The Agriculture Director appears to be obsessed over these horses and cooks up one scheme after another. The Attorney General's Office is charged by law with the responsibility for both pursuing illegal misconduct by state officials and defending them and the state. So this agency, that claims to be overworked due to the current fiscal crisis, seems to also suffer from internal conflicts.
In the meanwhile Director Lesperance, Dr. LaRussa and Mr. Collis appear to still be involved in removing horses and slipping them out the back door.
Since Governor Gibbons appears to have little or no interest in getting his Department Head to follow the law and the will of both the State Legislature and Nevada citizens, the only apparent resolution lies in motivating the Nevada Attorney General to get moving on these investigations and file charges where warranted. When criminals go to jail, other people tend to pay more attention to the law. Otherwise the historic Virginia Range herd - the horses that Velma (Wild Horse Annie) Johnston first set out to protect - will be free for the taking.
What you can do.
- Learn the facts about the Virginia Range horses and tell your friends and those interested in the preservation and humane treatment of all of America's free-roaming horses and burros. Share the links to information provided on Page One of the Virginia Range Situation Report.
- Contact public officials. The Gibbons Administration doesn't seem to care, however messages and phone calls do seem to make some difference, even if it only involves getting the Attorney General to stay working on this case and motivating some officials to dial back some of their egregious behavior.
Governor Jim Gibbons
775-684-5670
Contact form: http://gov.state.nv.us/Contact_Us_NORTHX.htm
Office of the Nevada Attorney General
775-684-1100
Email: [email protected]
Nevada Department of Agriculture
775-353-3613
Email:
[email protected]
(Please note that the Department now has a new telephone number.)
- Learn about the Virginia Range Horse Wars.
The Virginia Range horses provide a classic example of a herd of horses that from time to time is the target by officials who deem that it is their right to bend the law to suit their agendas. While the Virginia Range story may sound somewhat dramatic, a little research on the web and through newspaper archives will reveal a pretty compelling situation. Since Nevada laws are not often respected, oftentimes it is the citizens complaining and demonstrating that they are watching that provide the greatest protection for these horses.
| 
