Love Is Love and Not Fade Away.
We Are The Stars. We Are The In-Between.
Join Us In Saving Idaho Wild Horses At Home.
Please DONATE TODAY.
Four Area Where We Need Collective Support in 2017
Video ©2016 Andrea Maki
Official Wild Love Month
February 2017 Marks Our 6th Annual Wild Love Month at Wild Love Preserve! In honor, we are kicking off a February Fundraising Campaign to raise immediate funding that is absolutely critical in saving wild lives and supporting lasting wildness. Will you join us in saving our iconic wild horses and their respective native habitats? Collective support is needed in these areas: YOU MATTER
Thank You For Your Support!
4 Years Ago We Made Big History Together!
Wow, time flies! Four years ago this week our Wild Love Preserve Adoption Project made BIG national history when we successfully adopted every available Challis, Idaho wild horse from the government’s 2012 Helicopter Roundup, to remain wild and together on their home turf with Wild Love. This remains the second largest adoption in BLM history, but first of its kind in intent, and more importantly, we brought stakeholders from all sides together to bring this one home. Love Rules!
Read: How We Saved 130 Challis, Idaho Wild Horses from the 2012 Challis Roundup
Meanwhile, we are currently getting pounded by extreme winter conditions this year. Snow and ice and temps dropping to -34 degrees. It’s hardcore and we've had to increase hay consumption to two tons per day for the 135 Idaho wild horses at Wild Love Preserve. In the name of our special 4th adoption anniversary, we are rallying donations to raise $15,000 by January 30 to purchase 130-tons of winter hay. Your support at this time is appreciated beyond measure.
Tax-deductible donations to help us purchase and transport this 130 tons of winter hay can be made on-line, via PayPal or mail, click: http://bit.ly/wlp-winter-hay
Big Love, Big Thanks for your consideration and participation!
DONATE TO 130 TONS OF WINTER HAY
As a 501(c)3 non-profit, effective 2010, Wild Love Preserve relies on grants and donations. Your contributions are tax-deductible and 100% of every dollar supports to this hay and transport.
Wild Love Preserve Tax ID #27-3729450
Donate To Winter Hay Fund
Please Donate to WLP's Hay Fund So We Can Purchase 130 Tons of Winter Hay
Winter Alert: We are getting hammered by extreme winter conditions with temps dropping between -34 to -20. As result, we've had to increase hay consumption to two tons per day for the 135 Idaho wild horses at Wild Love Preserve. Your kindness and contributions will help us collectively raise $15,000 for 130 tons of winter hay and delivery by the end of January.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit, Wild Love Preserve relies on grants and donations to support our work. Your contributions are tax-deductible with 100% of every dollar going directly to this hay and transport. Your support has an immediate impact in wild lives and is deeply appreciated. Thank You for making a difference today!
-OR- Via PayPal Donate Here:
Wild Love Preserve • 8202 NE State Hwy 104, Suite #102-33• Kingston, WA 98346
Wild Love Preserve is a Registered 501(c)3 Non-Profit, Effective August 2010, Tax ID #27-3729450
Thank you for your support at this time, Andrea and Team Wild Love
Video filmed and produced by Andrea Maki. ©Andrea Maki 2016
Holiday Greetings
As We Pass From 2016 to 2017... May Your Holidays + New Year Resonate in Pure Wildness!
Call To Action
It is the Giving Season and we really need your support. In light of current happenings, this re-post from WLP blog: LINGERING MISCONCEPTIONS
Founded in 2010, Wild Love Preserve is a “we” project created to protect and preserve wild horses in their native habitats while nurturing the health and balance of respective indigenous ecosystems as an interconnected whole. Our model is being sourced as a framework for other regions throughout the west, and our programs have saved taxpayers $7.5 million since 2013. However, presently, I am having to sell my home and studio of 23 years because of Wild Love Preserve and extended delays in receiving donations and project funding. We have a minimum $50K to raise by year's end for our 2016 400-acre lease expenses and winter hay. It is currently 15 below zero and hay is critical. Thank you for considering a year-end/holiday contribution to Wild Love Preserve, your donations are tax-deductible. -Andrea Maki
To Donate on-line, via PayPal, or by mail, click here: DONATE TODAY
Click Here To Visit Our Hay Fund Drive
Wild Love Preserve is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit, Effective August 2010, Tax ID #27-3729450
"Wild Love Preserve is a reflection of our humanity, this is about all of us and it is for all of us. It is about working together on behalf of our greater good and collective well-being. That which we do today, carries on for generations to come." -Andrea Maki
Support WLP Field Work
Another day out on the range, saving Idaho wild horses on their native turf with Wild Love Preserve and Andrea Maki: Founder
Friends - This cannot be overstated, we need you more than ever. Please spread your love today. 100% of your giving to Wild Love Preserve directly supports the preservation of wild horses in their native habitats and nurtures the health and balance of respective indigenous ecosystems as an interconnected whole. We serve wild horses throughout Idaho. As we wrap 2016, your tax-deductible donations towards our $50K (minimum) goal, saves wild horses and habitat.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO WILD LOVE PRESERVE TODAY
Thank You! You make a difference and together we save wild lives!
SUPPORT THE WILD LOVE PRESERVE LAND TRUST
Wild Love Preserve is a Registered 501(c)3 Non-Profit, Effective August 2010, Tax ID #27-3729450
Video filmed and produced by Andrea Maki. ©Andrea Maki 2016
Year-End T-Shirt Fundraiser
We're wrapping 2016 with this T-Shirt fundraiser for Wild Love + wild horse preservation and we've brought back two favorite designs for this special collection. Thank you for supporting Wild Love Preserve by getting a Wild Love T-shirt or Sweatshirt for guys and gals here: https://www.booster.com/wrapping-2016-wild-love
Our goal is to sell at least 100 t-shirts. Thanks for sharing, wearing, and spreading the love!
Today is #GivingTuesday 2016!
Happy #GivingTuesday 2016! Thank You for considering Wild Love Preserve on this special day of giving. Wild Love Preserve continues to make historic moves in Idaho which serve to benefit the whole, but funding is required to keep this ball rolling. Your support directly benefits the preservation of wild horses in their native habitats and nurtures the health and balance of respective indigenous ecosystems as an interconnected whole. Donations can be made on-line, via PayPal or by mail, and go towards our goal of $50k.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO WILD LOVE PRESERVE TODAY.
Thank You Much, Andrea + Team Wild Love
Four Generations
Our Four Generations: A fitting story and family portrait for this holiday weekend.
I love this photo, albeit one family member in the foreground didn't fit in the frame, and only the ears of another appear behind Izzy. Yet, still, caught in a single photo, our band representing four generations of Challis wilds at Wild Love Preserve, from our eldest wild love, Nootka, on the left to one of our youngest, little Mickey, on the right.
This documentation is treasured beyond compare because Nootka was not in good health when we purchased her, and lovely Annie who stands to her right, for $10 each back in 2012 prior to our mass adoption. Immediately following the 2012 Challis roundup, it was critical to secure the lives of high-risk wild horses deemed unadoptable by the BLM, so our starting point was to purchase the 9, and later a total of 14, high-risk Idaho wilds for $10 each.
After a long and wild life running free, Nootka took her removal from the range very hard. She kept us concerned for close to two years and I would remind her of our big picture time and again, asking her to hold on just a little longer. Sure enough, when the day finally arrived thanks to a generous donation from The Earth and Humanity Foundation, and we witnessed the pure joy our 130 Idaho wilds exuded upon being released to our leased 400-acres on August 31, 2014, Nootka literally blossomed overnight with everyone together.
It was a dream come true to see numerous wild bands take shape, just as in the wild, including our three older gals joining up as a unified front. We affectionately refer to the elder trio as our "bingo gals" and their bonds are tried and true, and I can only imagine the stories they share.
That said, with the arrival of little ones last spring their purposes in life took on new meaning, becoming grandma Nootka and aunties Annie and Izzy. Their once band of three has organically evolved into a family of nine crossing four generations, all members serving to protect and nurture little Mickey. Their family roles and hierarchy mirroring their natural and wild ways on the range. All are happy, healthy and wild, and Nootka is flourishing as our respected elder.
Over the years and by design, this project serves as a sustainable solution in wildness, both on and off the range. Observations and monitoring of family bands and herd dynamics have resulted in field research that benefits and strengthens our work in wild horse preservation as a whole. Eyes wide open, driven by truth and follow through, we remain steadfast in our mission to protect and preserve native wild horses on their home turf, and for future generations to equally nurture and treasure. Wild love, indeed.
- Andrea Maki
DONATE TO WILD LOVE PRESERVE TODAY
Thank you much.
Our Timeless Message
Our timeless message, cornerstone to the mission of Wild Love since inception in 2010: Be thankful for one another 365 days a year. Walk in all shoes. Be kind, respect differences, act on behalf of our greater good, spread love. -Andrea Maki
This Day
Regarding this new day.
I have received many messages expressing extreme fear and concern for the future of our public lands and wild horses. No matter the side you stand, the present and future are on us and we must all be fully engaged. In this moment we must galvanize in the name of our oneness, love, kindness, and respect for all living beings. This is what we teach our children. We stand against darkness, hatred, and fear. We mustn't give away our energy and take any bait that pulls us off course. We do not concede to these lowest frequencies of being, this not our true humanity. We must rise together on behalf of our collective well-being. We must assure our children of our deep roots in truth, strength, and unity. We must act our love, more than ever before, show our children that we do not buy into division, xenophobia, lies, disrespect, misogyny or vindictiveness. This outcome does not dim our lights, this requires us to shine even brighter than before. This is the wall we will build by standing together and not allowing darkness to take root and grow. We see clearly what we are not, and what we will not allow ourselves to become. We're the same, we are together. We are compassion, love, and unity, not fear and anger. Darkness has not won this election because we will not sit idly by and allow such a thing to happen. Complacency has no home here, only constructive action, strength, and wherewithal. All must walk their talk, not sit on the sidelines. We outshine as one, for our greatest strength is in working together on behalf of our greater good. Love is action.
-Andrea Maki
We Need Your Support More Than Ever. Please Donate Today. Thank You.
Video filmed and produced by Andrea Maki. ©Andrea Maki 2016
Big Thanks To Duff McKagan
Big Love, Big Thanks to Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses for his support, donation towards our $50K deadline and for tweeting his fans to join him! Our appreciation is beyond measure.
We still have $36,625 to raise by Nov. 7 for our May-December 400-acre lease for Wild Love's 135 adopted Idaho wild horses. This is a humanity project and the impact Duff and our donors are having in the preservation of our iconic wild horses + their native habitats is monumental. Love is action, thank you!
Click Here To Help: DONATE TODAY
Video filmed and produced by Andrea Maki. ©Andrea Maki 2016
Sunday Kind of Love
A Sunday Kind of Love.
I want to send big love and appreciation to everyone who has stepped up and supported Wild Love Preserve. This is a humanity project which works to protect and nurture our wild places as an interconnected whole with native wild horses leading the way.
From the onset, over six and a half years ago, my intent has been in activating and engaging stakeholders on all sides of the issue and offering opportunity for folks to walk their talk and chip in on behalf of our greater good, now and for future generations.
Wild Love is a "we" project which speaks to achieving the lasting health and balance of indigenous ecosystems, on and off our public lands, by working together. I am incredibly appreciative of all who have supported and continue to support this project at their respective levels.
As many know, I made a promise to help some Idaho wild horses I met in 2010 and set my art career on the back burner to pursue this relevant issue. I thought it would be a short turn around of my time and I would then return to my career and livelihood. Little did I know this commitment to help would evolve into a monumental and history-making project that would require 150% of my time and energy year after year.
I have experienced the best and the worst in people with this project. I am taken aback by the number of folks who do not follow through on their words and the number of folks who have looked at me as a source for their personal gain, versus them giving to our collective well-being on behalf of what we achieve together.
So, to all of you who have helped, participated, donated and walked your talk on behalf of our present and future wildness and collective well-being: Thank You. Thank you for acting outside of your self and for our whole. You are deeply appreciated.
❤️Andrea Maki
Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam Donates $10K
Big, big love and thanks to Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam and the Vitalogy Foundation for supporting Wild Love Preserve since our inception in 2010. Today, October 28, Stone stepped up to support wild horse preservation, yet again, with a $10K donation towards the $50K we must raise by November 7 for our May-December 400-acre lease for Wild Love's 135 adopted/rescued Challis, Idaho wild horses. Pearl Jam shared the wonderful news on their website and social media channels as means of inspiring others to take action and donate what they are able to Wild Love Preserve so that we meet our deadline. Our appreciation is truly beyond measure for Stone, Pearl Jam and the Vitalogy Foundation. This is a humanity project and the impact that they are having in the preservation of our wild horses and their native habitats is monumental. Love is action and this love is wild.
Special thanks for following Stone's lead and donating to Wild Love Preserve. We still have $37,425 to raise by November 7, 2016. Visit our donate page here: DONATE TODAY or click button below.
Donate Today and We Will Add You To Our WLP Giving List.
THANK YOU!
Seattle's Wild Side
Big Love, Big Thanks to everyone who volunteered, helped, donated, attended and supported Wild Love Preserve's Special Night in Wildness on October 19 in Seattle. It was a fantastic night and you are deeply appreciated. For more, photos and videos from the night, click here: http://bit.ly/wlp-seattle
Seattle Benefit For Wild Love
A SPECIAL NIGHT IN WILDNESS WITH WILD LOVE + SHAWN SMITH
OCTOBER 19, 2016 • 7-10 PM • METROPOLIST SEATTLE
Icons. Music. Art. Love. Join us for a special evening in wildness with Wild Love and Shawn Smith, good eats and no-host bar. Proceeds benefit Wild Love Preserve, a humanity project founded in 2010 by Seattle native and contemporary visual artist, Andrea Maki, to protect and preserve wild horses in their native habitats and nurture the legacy of respective indigenous ecosystems as an interconnected whole by way of bridging divides and bringing stakeholders together in a new light.
The one and only, Shawn Smith performs, along with a special artist installation of Andrea Maki's large scale wild horse constructs, "In Wild Eyes," available for purchase to support the 135 native wild horses Wild Love Preserve has adopted out of the government system of roundups and removals to remain forever wild and together.
Fifty Candles
In light of news on September 9, today, on my 50th, I have a Birthday Wish!
On September 9, all but one, of the nine-seat BLM Advisory Board, voted to recommend euthanization of all wild horses deemed unadoptable in BLM longterm holding to offset taxpayer expense on the back-end of wild horses being rounded up by helicopter and removed from our public lands. Up to 45,000 of our, supposedly protected by law, wild horses and burros. This is an absolutely outrageous and unacceptable solution. So, while they backed off the push for surgical sterilization experiments of wild mares on the range, their hands are not yet clean.
Yet again, the man-made, self-serving, hierarchies that created the crisis, include certain humans operating at their lowest frequencies, deeming other beings as disposable. This is not a humane, nor responsible, nor sustainable solution. This is egregious. We cannot allow this mentality, this narrow belief system, to represent our humanity. This is not who we are, it is not who we can be. We are better than this, and collectively we must act on behalf of our whole as a reflection of our true humanity.
Please send your thoughtfully written comments, minus expletives, to the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board: whbadvisoryboard@blm.gov
More than ever, we need you to care enough to take action. Funding is required to save wild lives. My 50th birthday wish is that everyone PLEASE support our ongoing work to evolve as a whole, and permanently safeguard wild horses in their native habitats. Founded in 2010, Wild Love remains a WE project and your tax-deductible giving save lives by helping us do the work we do, together.
Time is of the essence, and there is much work to do.
Thank you much, Andrea Maki
To Mail: Wild Love Preserve
126 SW 148th Street, Suite C100, Box 326 • Burien, WA 98166 -1984
*Please inquire for wire transfer details.
Thank you for caring enough to act. We will add you to our growing WP Giving List, estb. 2010.
Read featured Story Behind Wild Love by founder, Andrea Maki, in September Idaho Magazine.
Wild Love Preserve: How We Are Saving Them At Home
Idaho Magazine Feature Story
The Story Behind Wild Love Preserve Featured In IDAHO MAGAZINE
Story + Photos By Andrea Maki, September 2016
It happened in a split second. He felt the subtle release of his lead rope and was off. They yelled for me to let go, but I held on with all my might, in disbelief they wanted me to fall and determined to defy their demands as he ran with me in the saddle.
Four year old Andrea in the saddle,1970.
In my four-year-old mind, I was going to make them proud by staying on his back, as my dad and uncle ran after us, yelling. But then, where pasture met woods, I was thrown with intention, landing on the forest floor. I looked up to see the underside of that horse over me, and even in that moment realized he could have stepped on me, but instead he placed his hoof just next to my side. He knew his surroundings, his parameters and exactly what he was doing. He had thrown me at that point for the same reason my dad and uncle were yelling at me to let go. All three of them understood what my four-year-old self did not - the extreme danger of fast approaching low hanging branches in the dense forest. I still marvel at that horse’s smarts and the lessons he impressed upon me, to include my aunt’s subsequent insistence that I immediately get back in the saddle.
If I were to select a single experience to exemplify my life’s journey, that is it. While it was not for me to comprehend and appreciate at the time, that horse was gifting me life lessons in being, and a glimpse into my future travels. I can still feel his larger-than-life presence standing over me, as a purposeful teacher and guide. I have absorbed his gifts of truth, awareness, and endurance, which shape me to this day, and are at the heart of Wild Love Preserve and my efforts to preserve Idaho wild horses on their home turf in central Idaho.
Running wild with Challis wild horses, 2014.
In 2010, I inadvertently founded a nonprofit called Wild Love Preserve with a goal of hammering out a collective new solution to the wild horse crisis, which, in reality, is a human relations issue. Wild horses are wild horses. The land is the land. Wildlife is wildlife. Two-leggeds, however, can be a tricky bunch.
Even though it was an inadvertent project start, after making a commitment to wild horses in central Idaho that I would do what I could to help them remain wild on their home turf, I’ve found myself on a purposeful detour over the last six years. Little did I know at the time, my offer to help would result in a monumental project, viewed as a paradigm shift and sourced as a model for other wild horse regions in the West.
I've always believed that if you go in looking for a fight, you're going to get a fight. There is extreme controversy in the West as it relates to wild horse populations on our public lands, however, my tactic has been in wild horses offering us a beautiful opportunity to come together, establish new and fluid communications, and to coexist in a manner that benefits the wild horses, wildlife, environment, livestock where applicable, and all stakeholders. By design, Wild Love Preserve is a reflection of our humanity and is for all of us. My interest has been in listening to all sides, finding common ground within differing perspectives, and honoring our wild places in a way that engages and recognizes the heritage of surrounding communities.
Andrea's "In Wild Eyes" Exhibition, 2010-11.
For three decades now, my career is that of a contemporary visual artist, with interrelated experience in project management and art directing. Loving horses, riding horses, drawing horses - I was a horse-crazy kid who grew up in the city, and larger contemporary art world, because of my dad, sculptor Robert Maki. After I graduated from New York University in 1988 and came into my own as a professional visual artist, I began integrating wild horses into my mixed-media artwork as a conceptual element. From the time I can remember, animals, a thirst for truth, and accountability, have been central to who I am. I was born an observer, but even as a quiet child, I was innately fierce with determination when it came to honesty and justness, whether for myself or others, I wouldn’t hesitate to speak out when necessary.
Experiences in life are like breadcrumbs, leading the way to future destinations, and I savor the moments when things come together and “make sense.” Wild Love Preserve is truly a culmination of many paths I have walked before and is not my first experience in working to benefit wild horses, wildlife, and the environment. Over the years, I have used my art and photographs as purposeful tools to spread awareness and garner respective support. In 1999, for a solo-exhibition, I produced a body of mixed-media work with wild horses I photographed in eastern Washington, and in 2005, I traveled to California to photograph wild horses for related artwork, however, that production was put on hold after I learned Senator Burns (MT) had attached a rider to an appropriations bill in the wee hours, successfully undermining the 1971 Wild and Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. Without hesitation, I turned my efforts to saving wild horses in ways I could offer.
In April 2010, I traveled to Ketchum for my German shepherd, Kiowa, to have elbow surgery. Friends who were collectors of my art suggested the idea and offered a place to stay. After speaking with Dr. Randy Acker at Sun Valley Animal Hospital, I knew it was the right choice for us, and having spent time in the area skiing, and later art directing and styling for corporate clients, it was a familiar and comfortable trip to make from Seattle.
I had a limited window of time to get Kiowa to Ketchum and I welcomed a brief respite from living in hospitals regarding my mom's well-being. I called a friend and she flew up to help me with carrying Kiowa and for a little wild horse adventure. My hope had been to photograph some regional Challis wild horses on the range for artwork, while Kiowa was recuperating, and possibly visit some adopted Challis wild horses in the area that my friend learned about from a friend of hers with family roots in Ketchum. As it turned out, wild horses weren't in the cards, so I dropped my friend at the airport and loaded my truck. The next morning, Kiowa and I hit the road, but as we turned onto the highway I received a game-changing phone call, thanks to my friend.
In my truck, at the side of the highway, I had a lengthy phone conversation and learned about the circumstances surrounding these adopted Challis wild mares from the Bureau of Land Management’s 2009 Challis helicopter roundup, and was given permission and directions to visit them. My original interest had been in photographing, but this encounter was something else altogether. As I stood alone amidst these wild mares, their energy was all-consuming, and the message was clear: with the privilege of visiting, comes a responsibility to help. So, in that moment, eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart with these wild wonders, I made a commitment that I would do what I could to help them return to their home on the other side of the hills, which they gazed upon in the distance.
Band on the run, Challis wild horses.
Wheels set in motion, I presumed my efforts would be brief. Determined to keep my promise to help these horses, I was immediately on the phone, researching names and places, during the road trip back to Seattle. To my delight, stars were aligning in a surprising fashion and within a few weeks, I had connected with a pivotal property owner.
Our first phone conversation lead to an office meeting and then a unique deal to purchase his property as a wildlife preserve, because it was adjacent to the Challis Herd Management Area (HMA), and the existing home of two bands of Challis wild horses. The Challis HMA is a 154,150-acre expanse of multi-use public land and high desert wilderness, which not only is home to numerous bands of the Challis herd, but is rich in other native wildlife and habitat, and is also used for outdoor recreation and livestock grazing.
Buying a wildlife preserve hadn't been my initial intent, but I was following where steps were leading. The playing field was taking shape and my quick turn around of help was replaced with concept modifications and a business plan. I found myself in regular communications with a highly respected mentor and was advised to create a non-profit corporation for raising funds for operations and land acquisitions.
Idaho wilds at Wild Love Preserve.
This entire project has been shaped by asking questions, doing research, listening, and persevering. It has been most important to heed the advice of trusted supporters and listen to stakeholders on all sides, in an effort to better understand differing perspectives, find common ground and ways of working together. Many people told me it wouldn’t be possible to bring these opposing sides together, but I’ve always believed such goals can be achieved through open communication, kindness, and mutual respect. Some thought me a traitor for working with the BLM and ranchers, but the fact is, our public lands are multi-use, which means we must work together and share.
For the first couple years of the project, I was under the radar, connecting dots, meeting face to face with folks in the community, building trust and working alliances. I had thought being an outsider would be a problem, but instead, it seemed to work in my favor. I was not aligned with anyone or any group, which I discovered was imperative to bridging divides. I was simply representing the wild horses and asking stakeholders if they would be willing to share their stories and to work with me and Wild Love Preserve to create a new, inclusive model in regional wild horse management that would prove beneficial for the whole. In achieving this goal, diplomacy, patience and learning from one another, shifted pre-existing mindsets.
Boys will be boys at Wild Love Preserve.
Our wild mustangs are revered as an American icon, symbolizing unbridled freedom, power, determination, and the Wild West. This wildness is essential to our whole. Evolutionary studies have revealed that the North American continent is the original birthplace of the genus Equus. Wild horses are a native species, and most notable among them is Idaho’s state fossil, the Hagerman Horse, a species of equid from the Pliocene and Pleistocene periods that first appeared about 3.5 million years ago. Hagerman fossils, discovered in 1928 by an Idaho rancher, were reconstructed into twenty complete skeletons, which can be found in the Smithsonian and museums across the country, representing the oldest widely-accepted remains of the genus Equus. Before the extinction of North American horses about ten thousand years ago, many wild horses had drifted across the Bering Land Bridge to Eurasia, which proved advantageous to man. The horse’s return to indigenous soil came with European explorers by sea. The horse has been instrumental in humankind’s survival and development, and I believe we owe great respect, gratitude and debt to the horse.
As a two-part wildlife preserve, the objective of Wild Love Preserve is the protection and preservation of our native wild horses and their respective indigenous ecosystems as a balanced and interconnected whole. By walking new paths together and establishing fluid communications between stakeholders, we can achieve this goal. A cornerstone of our mission is that we are holistic, focusing on total range health on our public lands, and as a private wildlife preserve, we mirror this balanced co-existence, versus being a single-focused fenced wild horse sanctuary.
As it turned out, the wild mares that had set the ball rolling were moved to a sanctuary out of state. But by then, the project had grown to such a degree that there was no turning back. In addition to daily fundraising efforts, I was entrenched in multi-faceted logistics and negotiations in an effort to curtail the 2012 Challis helicopter roundup by offering the BLM a new collaborative option to wild horse population management, that would engage and benefit the regional community while saving federal dollars.
Band of wild Challis horses remains wild on the range.
We didn’t succeed in curtailing the 2012 helicopter roundup, but we were present to monitor daily activities. The BLM removed 150 wild horses from the range and left an estimated 185 free-roaming, but they kept their word by leaving two specific bands of Challis wild horses untouched to be part of our joint pilot program in humane fertility control with Native PZP-1YR. This biodegradable fertility vaccine as designed by Dr. Jay F. Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., of The Science and Conservation Center in Billings, MT, has proven safe and effective for over a quarter century with the famous Assateague Island Ponies, and at the time in 2012, was being used successfully with a handful of wild horse herds in the west, such as McCullough Peaks in Wyoming and Little Book Cliffs in Colorado.
My goal was to be proactive in maintaining the population of the Challis herd after the 2012 roundup in an effort to avert future roundups by addressing total range health and including all stakeholders. That same year, we trained five volunteers, including myself, at The Science and Conservation Center, and we purchased necessary equipment, thanks to grants and donations. Preparation is always key, and it was necessary that we became certified in remotely darting wild mares in the field. Since our pilot program commenced in 2014 with treating five wild mares, our collaborative efforts with the BLM have expanded annually, and we have demonstrated the positive effects of new working relations that benefit the wild horses, environment, community, and taxpayers
Andrea sits on rise at 2012 Challis BLM Roundup with helicopter running band of wild horses into trap below.
During the 2012 roundup, my mind was spinning in regard to the wild horses that would be permanently removed. If they were to go through the usual BLM process of adoptions, with unadopted wild horses being shipped to long-term holding facilities out of state, we would have accomplished nothing. And therein lies, another monumental shift in this project.
In addition to our collaborative work on the range with the BLM, Wild Love Preserve adopted all of the removed Challis wild horses the BLM made available so that not one was shipped out of state to longterm holding at taxpayer expense. Instead, we set in motion our creation of a native wild expanse on home turf where they will remain a wild herd. Our mass adoption remains the second largest in BLM history, but first of its kind in intent. Presently, I continue to pursue funding for acquisitions of our wildlands from private donors, not from federal coffers.
The term that best describes Wild Love Preserve is “organic evolution,” because we have been shaped by responding to the array of logistics that arise at every turn. So far, we have adopted 136 wild horses, work collaboratively on the range, and our creating a permanently protected wild expanse in the heart of Idaho wild horse country. We work with the BLM, cattle ranchers, environmentalists, wildlife biologists, wild horse advocates, youth employment groups and regional communities, and our mission is driven by kindness, mutual respect, science, and education, as we engage public and private lands to address all facets of regional wild horse conservation at home.
Since the 2012 Challis roundup, we have helped to ensure that no Idaho wild horse has been shipped to an out-of-state government holding facility. There are over 50,000 wild horses in longterm holding facilities, and an estimated 40,000 remain wild on public lands in ten western states. Government roundups, removals, transport, and long-term holding costs American taxpayers over $77 million annually, while wild horses pay the ultimate price in capture, loss of freedom, family, and often, life.
At the government's estimate of savings to taxpayers of fifty thousand dollars per lifetime for each wild horse, our programs, on and off the range, have saved American taxpayers $7.5 million dollars since 2013. By design, we have turned Challis wild horses into an asset for the local community, region, and state.
Some of the 135 Idaho wild horses, forever wild and together, on their home turf at Wild Love.
Four years into this project, in 2014, I experienced a revelation that brought Wild Love Preserve full circle for me as a contemporary visual artist. The extended separation from my art and studio had me feeling very disjointed, but then, in a flash, everything coalesced and I realized this project is, in fact, a living, breathing and evolving embodiment of my conceptually based work. Suddenly I understood, I have been living within my own art—walking, talking, producing, and nurturing a three-dimensional environmental “installation” in real time which will live on as a reflection of our enduring humanity.
This was pivotal for me because my artwork always has centered on what I refer to as “the concept of one,” which is to say, we are all of the same energy, simply in different packages, whether you or I, animals, birds, plants, trees, water, or wind. This awareness nurtures mutual respect, understanding, compassion, and action on behalf of our collective well-being, for one understands that to harm another is to harm one’s self. This oneness is also the inspiration of Wild Love Preserve and the reason behind our name.
Andrea with baby Paiute and surrogate mom, Ginger.
Wild Love Preserve is rooted in two-legged accountability. I believe we have a responsibility to care for the whole. While I love wild horses and all wildlife, this project is not merely passion-based. Passion is wonderful, it is to be honored, respected, and nurtured, however, this project speaks to cause and effect. Man-made conditions must be addressed in a responsible and all-encompassing manner. This is not someone else’s problem to fix, it is ours, and it impacts all of us, whether one is aware of this fact, or not.
- Andrea Maki, Idaho Magazine Story, September 2016
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WildLove Preserve: How We Are Saving Them At Home
Lingering Misconceptions
So, I usually don't mention this sort of thing because I don't like to give it energy, choosing instead to stay focused on matters at hand. However, being this far down the line with so much hard work under my belt, while also inspiring and helping many others along the way over the years, I'm going to take a moment to comment.
From the onset of Wild Love Preserve, many have assumed I have personal deep pockets or some sort of financial support because, many believe, no one would make such a commitment otherwise. Why on earth would someone make a commitment to help save wild horses, their respective environments, and make an agreement to buy a wildlife preserve, if they had to rally and raise the funds from others to actually succeed?
To that I respond, "Wild Love Preserve is a reflection of our humanity, this is about all of us and it is for all of us. It is about working together on behalf of our greater good and collective well-being. That which we do today, carries on for generations to come."
This lingering misconception has also proven detrimental when folks haven't donated because they assume we already have financial support and are not in need of their support - no matter how many times and ways I have stated otherwise. It never ceases to amaze, that hard work, due diligence, quality presentation, and dedication are presumed to be in motion only because of dollars being already secured to support such activities.
That said, I am contacted regularly by people who want to pick my brain for the advancement of their own activities, while I continue to work daily to source support for our project. I've spent the last six years working non-stop to raise project funds to fully implement Wild Love Preserve programs and our inclusive model in wild horse conservation is being sourced as a framework for other regions in the west by the BLM and wild horses advocates alike.
There have been teases of full project funding over the years, but to no fruitful avail as of yet. While shopping this project and tirelessly fundraising, we have continued our boots-on-the-ground work which includes policy change, and have inspired and helped others, including some wealthy folks I was hoping would support or partner with Wild Love Preserve, but instead, sourced our project for their own activities.
Recently I received yet another familiar inquiry, "We want to do what you are doing and we have a group of people with the money to buy land, etc. You are the one actually doing it and are the expert. Will you tell us what we need to do and how to build a project like Wild Love Preserve?"
I spoke with this individual for a bit and clarified the fact we have created this new model but still need the funding to fully implement our programs and, at long last, acquire our identified lands in Idaho, noting that time is of the essence. You might imagine how that sits to hear they have funds to do what you have been working six years to achieve. I invited them to support WLP and let them know how big it would be for wild horses everywhere if they were to join with us and help us finally fund our land acquisitions. That we have 135 Idaho wilds we need to get moved to our permanent wild expanse, and additional wild lives to secure. That this is a "we" project and funding to implement our programs is especially critical as we work to curtail future roundups and removals.
But, like so many before, they want their own, versus support that which they admire. Clearly, I want to see all wild horses secure, but this is very frustrating. Our commitments are great and we need to have our existing work and established platform funded. We have worked very hard to set in motion a model with a solid foundation. We are not singular, in that, the work we are doing in Idaho also helps wild horses and communities in other regions, and already has in many ways.
Video filmed and produced by Andrea Maki. ©Andrea Maki 2016
The fact that remains the same, year after year, is that we have walked our talk and proven our worth. We have all logistics in place and simply need to match the solid foundation we have built with project funding that will enable us to fully implement WLP programs, which in turn, also help others. This project is about the wild horses and their respective indigenous habitats as an interconnected and balanced whole. From the onset, I have emphasized that this is a "we" project which focuses on engaging all stakeholders because I believe, that as two-leggeds, we have a responsibility to care for the whole and nurture our today, for future generations. Time is of the essence.
So, there is my comment.
Andrea Maki, Founder + President
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