Partners Against the Pipeline!

Gary Dorr – Nez Perce and Nebraska rancher Ben Gotschall.
Photo credit: Mary Anne Andrei / Bold Nebraska


This posting today may seem a bit off topic, but wait, it really is not.
It will also be posted to both of my Blogs,  as it concerns both people and animals!
When was the last time that Cowboys and Indians found an Issue that they could agree upon in this Country?
Hmmm.
Can’t seem to recall, can you?
Well an Issue that is critical to both sides right now,  saving their land and water,  has these unlikely partners  joining forces for a very important Weeklong Event called the:    Reject and Protect Campaign.
This page says it all:   Call to Action
The group is called the Cowboy and Indian Alliance from Nebraska and they have organized what will be a week of events from April 22-27, that will culminate in Washington, D.C.
And if you are now asking what the connection is to this Blog about Wildlife,  oh, it is only life, simply put, ALL LIFE, in these affected areas,  is depending on what happens with the dreaded Keystone Pipeline.
If this continually failing, leaking, rupturing, disastrous mess called the Keystone Pipeline is allowed to run through this country unimpeded,  it will, when it fails, as is has repeatedly done throughout its history, kill every living thing in its path, Human, plant and animal alike, they will all succumb to the deadly toxins that this pipeline will carry across our country.
This is a monumental, devastating decision that is about to be made and the wrong one spells death for millions.
We must never forget what lies directly under this pipeline on its journey,  the Ogallala Aquifer  and the life-giving water it brings to millions of those in the affected states.
Once water is contaminated, it’s all over.
How long can you politicians, masquerading as Humans, making these life altering decisions, drink sand?
Oh, I forgot, the people in Washington, D.C.  making these critical decisions, will never have to worry about having  clean water, to drink, they can always buy it in bottles, as they are quite well compensated for their few days annually of so-called work!
But for the millions of Indigenous People and other just average Americans, who are now living in the states where this pipeline will run, this may,  or may not be an option.
Many of them, especially on Reservations, are already living at or below the poverty level and will not have the extra money to run to the store and buy bottled water, when theirs becomes poisoned with  dirty tar sands crude oil.
Can we now talk about the Wildlife that will be affected by all of this?
The beautiful Sandhills of Central Nebraska,   a place I have been to many times,  are  home to my beloved Sandhill Cranes by the millions,  as well as countless other threatened Wild animals.

In just this area,  there are:  243 Bird Species, 10 Butterfly Species and 37 Mammal Species.

The numbers that will die if this pipeline is put in, will be in the millions, think BP and the Gulf!
Now these Wild animals and the many poor Native people and others, who will be devastated by their decision,  are not at the top of any politicians list in Washington, I can  promise you.
Why you ask?
Because, Wildlife do not vote, or write big campaign checks, so whether they live or die is not a high priority to Politicians.
And Native Americans will never support any candidate or politician, who poisons the very  lifeblood of their people,  the Ogallala Aquifer.
If you are able, perhaps you might join them in April in their desperate efforts to stop this Environmental train-wreck, known as the Keystone Pipeline.
 
Here are a few places to learn more:
Keystone XL pipeline may threaten Aquifer
3 Nebraska Senators sign letter urging rejection of Keystone
Keystone XL opponents express concerns