FOIA – Chris Kman

Hello and Happy Saturday. 

We have more to share from the 400+ documents that were obtained from American Wild Horse Campaign through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

If you have not read AWHC’s blog from yesterday, it is a MUST read – https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/media/foia-records-raise-questions-sterility-theodore-roosevelt-mares?fbclid=IwAR3QXIHvpA5XqO07e7Uth7TkDq-oR8OADSw56MNoBowI8AAiTbdb40HpPcs

Patrick Springer from the Fargo Forum also weighed in: https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dakota/why-birth-control-could-spell-the-end-of-north-dakotas-wild-horses

Here is a smaller piece from the FOIA document to share today.

Here is one of the handwritten notes from the FOIA.  This is Paul Griffin from the BLM’s notes after a conversation with Blake McCann believed to be in 2019 or 2020. 

You might be asking WHY Blake McCann from the National Park Service is talking to someone at the BLM.  The BLM provided A LOT of the funding for this experiment.  Blake was a key person working on this experiment.  That was shown yesterday in the emails from Dan Baker where he talked about speaking at great lengths to Blake and his staff about the 19 of 24 mares that Dan wanted to take back to CSU for a lifetime of experimentation. 

A lot of information in this piece relates directly to ME.  Yep – me!  Chris Kman (not Kaman)

For starters, my name should have been redacted from this document.  That is a FOIA requirement. 

While I can understand why Blake and Paul were talking to each other, there is no explanation that they can give that explains why my name is coming up.  The comments about the FOIA request and NPS Ramona are about our FOIA that we sent in.  Why is the BLM concerned about our FOIA request? And then there is the lovely comment at the end…

“Every phone conversation from a particular advocate “gets weaponized” Chris Kaman”

There is also a lot of talk about us in other handwritten notes like advocacy groups threatening lawsuits etc.

Again, why is my name and our organization involved in phone conversations between Blake McCann and the BLM?

Another wild horse advocacy friend told me that if my name is being mentioned, take it as a compliment.  It means I am asking the RIGHT questions that are making them uncomfortable.

You will also notice that there was talk in 2019 about the need for a management plan.  We have said all along that while Superintendent Angie Richman isn’t scoring any brownie points with people, these plans were in place long before she was given her current position. 

You can see there is also talk about concerns about the lethal white gene in this herd and then the first of many times that there is talk about having a non-reproductive herd. 

Like AWHC said, and you can see by this example shared, the handwritten notes are sometimes really hard to read.  Then there are just phrases that don’t give a full explanation.

We will have more to share so be sure to check back. 

Thank you for your support and have a great day!

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Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is committed to advocating for a wild horse management plan and protection for these unique wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home!  We are fighting for a management plan that is guided by science especially when it comes to decisions regarding the removal of horses and the administration of birth control.  Many other wild horse management plans have proven to be successful with their science-based plans.  We are asking for the same for this amazing group of wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home.