Jack,

As an award-winning wildlife photographer and photo tour guide, wild places — where the wind moves through the sagebrush and the land still carries the sound of hooves — are where I feel most at home and most connected to our earth.

But that sense of peace disappeared the moment I arrived on the ground as a Field Journalist to observe Wyoming’s Adobe Town wild horse roundup for American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC).

Jack, our AWHC observation team brings to light the cruel reality our wild herds face during these brutal operations. So I’m asking you to give today to expose what these helicopter roundups do to wild horses.

What I saw was brutal. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) helicopters rose early, slicing through the desert sky, driving hundreds of wild horses across dust-choked plains. There were mothers separated from their foals. Stallions panicked and powerless, calling for their families. Young colts struggling to keep up.

I witnessed a stallion escape the pen and gain his freedom, only to come back to the trap in search of his family. He was recaptured and sacrificed that chance of freedom for instinctive love. 

You don’t forget scenes like that. I certainly haven’t.

This isn’t “management.” This is trauma — sanctioned, taxpayer-funded cruelty playing out in the shadows. And it’s all across the West.  

That’s why observers like me show up. We watch, document, and bear witness. Because without us and the AWHC team, the government faces no accountability.

Will you help make sure we’re there the next time the helicopters rise? Your gift powers this work — and gives wild horses a fighting chance.

Thank you for your care,

Brian Clopp Observer, American Wild Horse Conservation