Natural Wildfire Abatement and Forest Protection Plan – Wild Horse Fire Brigade
Synopsis: Native Species American Wild Horses Published Scientific References Supporting ‘Wild Horse Fire Brigade
The ‘Natural Wildfire Abatement and Forest Protection Plan’, commonly called ‘Wild Horse Fire Brigade’ helps mitigate wildfire by restoring native wild horses as keystone herbivores into designated wilderness areas rich with forage and water where they benefit flora and fauna as they reduce and maintain grass and brush wildfire fuels, beyond conflicts with livestock and other public land uses.
Wild Horse Fire Brigade helps saves native species American wild horses by rewilding them from government holding facilities, and/or relocating them away from areas of contention with livestock production, and humanely placing them as family units into carefully selected designated wilderness areas that are economically and ecologically appropriate.
There is approximately 110-million acres of designated wilderness area in America, primarily in the western United States. These designated wilderness areas have abundant forage and water resources but are manifestly unsuited for livestock grazing due to existing law, existing populations of apex predators and excessive logistics and transport costs due to the difficult terrain and remoteness of such locations.
In such wilderness areas, wild horses that are restored back into their evolutionary roles as keystone herbivores naturally protect forests, wildlife, watersheds and wilderness ecosystems, which benefit through symbiotic grazing by wild horses that naturally maintain wildfire fuels (grass and brush) to nominal levels, thereby reducing the both the frequency and intensity of wildfire.
The goal of Wild Horse Fire Brigade is to naturally and sustainably save America’s remaining native species wild horses by establishing several wilderness wildfire-grazing pilot programs using wild horses that are sourced from government agencies using existing law (Humane Transfer of Excess Animals).
Another goal is to also support the amendment of Section 1339 of the 1971 Free-Roaming Wild Burro and Horse Protection Act, to allow federal managers to also directly rewild horses into designated wilderness areas outside existing herd areas.
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Director's Bio
Founder & Executive Director
William E. Simpson II
Founder & Chief Executive Officer – Capt. William E. Simpson II: Naturalist – Author, ‘Capt. Bill’ is a retired U.S. Merchant Marine Officer; commercial airplane and helicopter pilot; Master SCUBA Diver; gemologist and university instructor (Univ. of Hawaii – Maui Campus).
Bill spent his formative years on the family working-ranch raising livestock. He also worked in forestry-logging industry in Southern Oregon. After graduating high school, he attended Oregon State University as a pre-med science major, but ultimately earned his degree in Flight Technology.
He currently lives at his wilderness ranch among a herd of free-roaming wild horses in the Soda Mountain wilderness area on the Oregon-California border where he studies the behavioral ecology of wild horses on wilderness landscapes and wildfire. Bill is a published author with two books in print and has also authored over 150 articles on subjects related to natural resources management, with a focus on wildfire and wild horses. Over the last seven years he has been a been a guest on several radio and TV News shows relating to Wild Horse Fire Brigade. In 2019, William was nominated to the Bureau Of Land Management’s Wild Horse Advisory Board by numerous elected officials.