OCTOBER 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 19
WAS BORN TO REWILD
Are you any more optimistic that
things will change for the better
with the new administration? I was
more optimistic initially, but like all
bureaucracy, change is just an arduous
task. The United Nations Environmental
Program came out with
a scathing statement in September
about how much trouble we are in due
to climate change and global warming.
With every decade, it’s going to be
harder and harder to stop the loss if
all of us don’t take this seriously.
What is the significance of the
finding that horses are a North
American native species, despite
claims to the contrary? That is
groundbreaking. The government
doesn’t want the horse to be a native
species: They don’t want the horse to
have certain protections that a native
species would have because they want
to use the lands for other things, other
businesses and industries. They treat
these horses as invasive species that
are like cockroaches on the land
so they can round them up by the
hundreds. It’s horrifying to see. The
perception that is being portrayed
about the horses is simply not true.
Stephanie Boyles Griffin, the senior
scientist of the Humane Society of
the United States’ Wildlife Protection
Department, was quoted recently
saying that the greatest threat to
mustangs isn’t BLM, ranchers, or
miners, it’s climate change, but you
say otherwise. Why is that? Climate
change is the greatest threat to all of
us, but the government’s mismanagement
of our public rangelands is
a key contributing factor to climate
breakdown. Cattle ranching without
properly managed grassland
ecology and grazing practices is a
quantifiable contributing element
to environmental decline. One of the
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largest contributors to methane emissions,
the largest contributor to ozone
destruction, is cattle ranching, not
to mention fracking, oil, coal mining,
and other destructive threats to the
land. It’s part and parcel of the same
thing. If the horses live on the land
that the cattle are continually being
farmed on and they are continually
eating down the grass in a way that
the horses don’t (pulling it out by the
roots with their tongues rather than
slicing it with their teeth), and they
keep defecating in the way that they
do, releasing methane emissions, then
it’s all part of the same story. The land
will be stressed and it is becoming
harder and harder for the land to
recover. Yes, climate change is the
greatest threat to all species, but you
have to go back and look at why we
have climate change.
What was the reaction like to the recent
op-ed you wrote in the Los Angeles
Times titled “Let wild horses do
their part to save the West?” I am so
pleased and excited that journalists
are wanting to know more about the
climate and environmental pieces
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now; they’re not just focused on the
surface. People are more interested
now, because everyone’s living this
experience of erratic weather patterns
and diseases — this is our future.
People are now paying attention
and interested in what we are talking
about, the whys and the whats.
Washington state Department of
Fish and Wildlife commissioner
Kim Thorburn called your letter
to the Los Angeles Times “wildly
off base” and that it’s the overpopulation
of wild horses in the West
that’s creating a crisis. How do you
respond? I’m happy to have a conversation
about that. They say, you’ve
never seen destruction until you see
what it looks like from horses. I understand
that some people have been
trained and educated to see things
through this lens and sure, because
the public lands have been mismanaged
to such a degree, and so much of
this land allocated to the horses has
been taken away from them over the
years, of course there is going to be
land that is destroyed. But it’s from
the imbalance, the mismanagement,
the overuse we have created that has
become a vicious cycle causing the
effects of global warming. You can’t
just tell one part of the story without
knowing the beginning.
What are the most important goals
you still have ahead? The awareness
is the most important thing, so we
need to create a huge groundswell.
We want a grassroots movement.
The next piece of this is that we want
everyone to know, and question, and
ask, and be a part of the solution and
get these horses on lands — tribal
lands, public lands, native lands,
private lands — and get the boots on
the ground for rewilding projects
and going out West as well as in our
backyards. Every single one of us can
play a role in helping, no matter how
big or small. We must take all of this
seriously: The future of our planet
and our children are dependent on it.
Manda Kalimian is the president and
founder of CANA Foundation, which
supports rewilding in the American
West. Her book “Born to Rewild” was
published Oct. 1.
FEATURE
continued from page 18
The planet may or may not be dying, humans
may or may not be at risk of extinction, and
American wild horses may or may not be at the
11th hour before they go the way of the Dodo.
Here is Manda Kalimian’s literary shake and
wake to say, “Honey, it’s even worse than that.”
The author decided to strip away the noise and
share her journey to reveal a simple truth. The
frozen, immutable facts that foretell our destiny.
These emburdened and inspired pages will unveil the tears, blood, and horse-sweat that
offer an encrypted key to our very salvation. Ok, you think that’s a bit dramatic. Cast
it aside and imagine you are in need of personal empowerment and permission to
unleash your true self in honor of your soul’s weeping desire to break free. When
you meet Manda Kalimian, you will be swept up in her spirit—her inimitable power to
love and understand. Your vexations will be laid to rest with her inherent peace. Yet,
she will challenge you to be accountable to our home and to take a stand against the
abhorrent challenges that not only face us but pound at the door, beseeching us to act or
wither. Even men will benefit from the power of this triumphant woman who dares to
step forward and claim a future that she knows—in her emboldened soul—is not only
achievable but what was intended. Seat yourself, stop the world, and let Manda’s words
wash over you while you reconsider our future. But buckle up, babe—Manda Kalimian
is a true believer, and she was Born to Rewild.
“The federal government spends hundreds of millions in tax dollars to inprison wild horses. They can be
rewilded into native lands. This is just common sense.”
~Congressman Steve Israel—Cornell University Institute of Politics and Global Affairs
“There are simple solutions to complex questions around why flora, fauna, and animals are in crisis. This
book speaks to the heart of the matter.”
~Dr. Ross MacPhee—Senior Curator, American Museum of Natural History
“Without the horse, we are going to forget how to be humans. When that happens, we are cancer to the
habitat. This book offers a solution to humanity.”
~Moses Brings Plenty—America Indian Liaison, Cana Foundation
“This book was a tonic for my heart and soul. Manda’s words helped me to make sense of my own journey
becasue strong women need other strong women. We sharpen each other like iron sharpens iron.
~Jacqueline Kapur—Entrepreneur, founder, and corporate CFO
“The natural world will survive in some form—but we may not.
We must rewild to rebalance the environment.”
~Sir David Attenborough
Triumphs of a Now Fearless Woman
www.ImagineAndWonder.com
ISBN: 9781953652881
9 781953 652881
52999
Manda Kalimian’s book was published on Oct. 1.
“The government’s
mismanagement of
our public rangelands
is a key contributing
factor to climate
breakdown.”
PARTNER CONTENT
/www.ImagineAndWonder.com
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