Wild Love’s 13th Anniversary + First Anniversary at Our Forever Home
Somehow, another year has spun around, and we find ourselves celebrating two game-changing anniversaries in the life of Wild Love Preserve this April 2023.
As many already know, April 1 marks 13 years since Wild Love took root in Idaho with a promise I made to 21 adopted Challis wild mares from the BLM’s 2009 Challis roundup to help if I could. In addition, this year we're celebrating our first anniversary at our forever home in Oregon!
In 2022 a generous donor made our move to Wild Love’s permanently protected wildlife preserve a reality. It is a remarkable wild expanse that meets and exceeds our short and long-term conservation goals for our iconic wild horses, native wildlife, and their natural habitats. Our big move also resulted in Wild Love's wild horse conservation work expanding to include Idaho and Oregon.
Keep going. Suffice it to say, at this point I’m exhausted and wish there were more hours in a day. We’ve worked nonstop over the last year on numerous projects that nurture the well-being and lasting wildness of our 225 wild horses. We work for them daily. My dad and I make quick trips home every 2-3 weeks to check the mail, do laundry, and shower. Thankfully, I have a cousin living a couple of hours from the preserve, so some supply runs include swinging by for quick showers.
A year ago, we started out camping next to the horses. Through the spring rains, the extreme heat of summer, and crazy 115-degree days with no air-conditioning. I don’t miss having to break down camp to make a water and ice run to town every couple of days. The ticks almost did us in, and I’ll not forget almost stepping on a rattlesnake.
Fall brought shorter days and cooler temps, and in November, we transitioned to a makeshift indoor camping setup when we took on the remodel of a 2001 double-wide that had housed various ranch hands, all of whom left their marks behind. You've gotta work with what you’ve got, but in this case, it was utterly demoralizing when we first opened the door to find what remained. To best sum it up, one of the dogs walked in and did their business on the floor in response to the situation.
Regardless, we had to tackle the beast because we needed a roof over our heads through the winter and daily hay feeding of the horses. As my dad scraped the windows to let the light back in, I cleaned and painted the main bedroom for him to move in from his tent and be warm. Next was the living room and creating a clean space for our camp chairs and table. Then, in January, we got a couch, and Santa gifted us a television, both immensely appreciated when it's freezing outside and dark by 4 pm.
The kitchen is a work in progress. Everything seems to take longer than I'd like, even though we're going at it every day. I set up a temporary kitchen in the other bedroom with a single electric burner, a cheap microwave, and a mini fridge. We need to build a pump house and install a new water tank and filtration system for usable water inside. It’s been bottled water for the last year. The rest of the place, small bathrooms, roof, and replacement siding, will happen in time. Outdoor projects for the horses come first. To date, I'm still sleeping in my 2005 Suburban on the dog beds with my German shepherd Kodiak in the passenger seat. She loves the setup, but I’m looking forward to the day I can stretch out on a human bed after a long day's work.
As a wildlife preserve, wild horses continue to lead our way to protect and nurture this wild environment and all its inhabitants as an interconnected and balanced whole. Native wildlife and respective habitats are already benefitting from our work, and the horses are over the moon. Safely moving our 225 Idaho wild horses to our permanently protected home last June and July was a really big job. Now, we're working on the next steps by tackling the many infrastructure projects necessary to ensure their lasting wildness on their terms. We have vital irrigation and water projects facing us, roadwork to address, and miles of wildlife-friendly perimeter fencing to build and secure before we can release the horses to roam thousands of acres of permanently protected habitat at Wild Love Preserve. We have ranching equipment to purchase and repair, corrals to repair, outbuildings to restore, and more.
Time is flying by. The grasses are growing and greening in the high meadows. Wildflowers will soon follow, and we are working toward opening the gates for our 225 wild horses to roam the preserve on their terms, but we are in need of help to make it happen asap. My hope is that by sharing our position, some may be interested and able to help. I know the world is challenging to navigate these days, so your support at this time is all the more meaningful and appreciated. Our goal is to collectively raise a minimum $250K toward Wild Love's infrastructure and operations fund. While this is a large number, it's just a number that can be broken down into smaller bits. No donation is too small and every bit adds up.
As a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit, 100% of all donations benefit the well-being of our 225 adopted wild horses. As a legacy project, Wild Love Preserve is a reflection of us all and will carry forward for countless generations. Thank you for considering a special anniversary donation at this time. The difference you make is lasting.
