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This is very near to where I live. What a beautiful idea. Here’s the original link:
http://www.fundforanimals.org/news/press-releases/duchess_sanctuary.html
The HSUS Announces Creation of Major New Horse Sanctuary in Oregon
Facility Will Be Sister Operation to World-Famous Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch
June 9, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States announced that it will open a new 1,120-acre horse sanctuary and rescue facility in Douglas County, Ore. — the organization’s fourth major animal care facility. The Duchess Sanctuary, the facility’s new name, is made possible thanks to a $3.5 million donation from the Roberts Foundation, the Ark Watch Foundation and its founder Celine Myers. Named in honor of the first horse owned by Celine Myers’ family and after Black Beauty’s mother in Anna Sewell’s famous story, The Duchess Sanctuary will be a sister facility to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch located in Murchison, Texas, a 1,300-acre ranch operated by The HSUS and The Fund for Animals.
“The Humane Society of the United States is thrilled to add an extraordinary property to its network of animal-care operations,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. “Abused, abandoned and homeless horses will have a safe place at The Duchess Sanctuary, and we could not be more grateful to the Roberts Foundation and the Ark Watch Foundation for supporting this tremendously important and much-needed home for horses.”
The Duchess Sanctuary, located south of Eugene, consists of diverse terrain of forest and pasture, and will be managed for horses and for the native wildlife that live on the property.
The first equine residents of the sanctuary will come from The Ark Watch Foundation. Saved from the PMU (pregnant mares’ urine) industry, many of the older mares spent 6 months of the year for 20 years attached to urine collection devices in stalls where they could not even turn around. These mares were kept pregnant so their urine could be used to produce Premarin®, commonly prescribed for estrogen replacement therapy to relieve hormonal deficiency symptoms associated with menopause or hysterectomy.
“Collectively, the Ark Watch Foundation’s rescued mares spent nearly 500 years on the PMU lines and delivered almost 1,000 foals. Many of those foals and any mares that outlived their usefulness were sent to slaughter,” said Celine Myers, president of the Ark Watch Foundation. “We rescued our large family of draft mares literally 15 minutes before they were to be loaded onto trucks and sent to an auction near the former Cavel slaughter plant in Illinois where, according to the auction manager, they would be sold by the pound. Most of the mares were pregnant and just 10 weeks away from giving birth. After all these horses have been through, we are thrilled this family group will be able to live out their lives together at The Duchess Sanctuary. We are proud to have had the opportunity to partner with HSUS and extend our gratitude to Wayne Pacelle, The HSUS Board and most especially Katherine Liscomb for their dedication and commitment to the project.”
“These former PMU mares and many other abused horses will find a safe haven at the sanctuary,” said Katherine Liscomb, vice president for direct care operations for The HSUS. “Our goal is to adopt policies to protect horses and to promote personal responsibility for the care of horses so that animals do not come into a distressed circumstance in the first place. But where that occurs, we will have capacity to help these creatures and provide them a home.”
The HSUS operates an Equine Protection department from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In addition to the horse sanctuaries in Oregon and Texas, The HSUS works at the state and federal level to promote policies to protect horses from slaughter, soring and racing-industry abuses. Recently, The HSUS published a guide to humane horse care, and is in the second year of a wild horse contraception program funded by the Annenberg Foundation, in tandem with the Bureau of Land Management. The HSUS is working with partners at the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and the Homes for Horses Coalition to develop standards of accreditation for equine rescue facilities.
Scott Beckstead will serve as director of operations for the facility and Jennifer Kunz will serve as ranch manager. Former Mayor of Waldport, Ore., Scott is a nationally-renowned expert in the field of animal law and has run a foster care network and sanctuary for horses. Jennifer Kunz has spent the past decade working to rescue horses in need, facilitating the placement of more than 1,000 PMU mares and foals. For the past three and a half years, Jennifer managed Knightsbridge Farm Draft Horse Sanctuary in Alberta, Canada.
At the Duchess Sanctuary and the Black Beauty Ranch, The HSUS will care for hundreds of horses, burros and other equines rescued from abuse, homelessness or other dire circumstances. The group also operates two wildlife centers in Cape Cod, Mass., and San Diego, Calif., where injured and orphaned wildlife receive round-the-clock medical care. Collectively, these facilities make The HSUS and its family of organizations one of the largest provider of animal care in the nation.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.
The Ark Watch Foundation, founded in 2005, is a nonprofit public benefit corporation organized for the purpose of engaging in charitable and educational activities. The foundation’s mission is to improve the welfare of animals in need within the U.S. and Canada. The Ark Watch Foundation has overseen Knightsbridge Farm, a safe refuge in Alberta for horses rescued from the PMU (pregnant mare urine) industry that would otherwise have been sent to slaughter.
Posted: June 9, 2008
My daughter and her horse, who was taken from us.
From the American Clay website
I’ve read about this company and product in many magazines. It sounds wonderful. Would love to hear from anyone who has used it. Everything about it sounds appealing to me. I think it would be a fantastic alternative to toxic paints. I also like the company’s green philosophy. Be sure to read about Negative Ions on their Product page.
For me and, I believe, for most people self-sufficiency, green living and living simply all go hand in hand. Getting started on a pared down, minimalist life is often hard to do. I found a wonderful entry on a blog called Zen Habits that I think can help get anyone started. The posting is titled Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life. Check it out. I’m sure everyone will find something helpful in it.
http://zenhabits.net/2007/09/simple-living-manifesto-72-ideas-to-simplify-your-life/
I found a nice little blog that focuses on alternative housing and they had a short post on yurts. I think it has some good information. They also have posts on some more unusual housing solutions, like floating homes and RVs and trailers. My daughter and I lived in an unbelievably beautiful campground in Southern California for about 5 years. We had an old 40 ft motorhome and we both agree those were some of our best years. There were many families living in the campground year round like us. My daughter always had friends close by and a spectacular playground with swimming pool and catch and release pond.
I’ve also thought I would like to have a floating garden if we are able to buy the little house on the river that I love so much.
Here’s the link to the other blog. http://sicarius.typepad.com/althouse/2009/05/cost-of-yurt-homes.html
Taken from sicarius.typepad.com
I have not visited the site for the non-profit Natural Building Network in a while and it looks like it is in the middle of an update but it still has lots of good resources for different types of natural building styles and professionals who live the philosophy. Many different styles are addressed–strawbale, cob, rammed earth, stone, etc. I’m anxious to see the site when it is finished. I also love their logo. http://nbnetwork.org/ Check them out. They even have a shop and listings of upcoming events.
Permaculture is one of those things that I believe in strongly but have an irrational fear of. It all makes sense but I’m kind of paralyzed when it comes to getting started. I found a local (Eugene, OR) site that I need to explore a lot more. It has some great resources in addition to describing their own experiences. Be sure to check out their Painting Adventures link. I may have to do a separate post on that. Here are two before and after photos of a residence that was transformed through permaculture practices.
Sunroom before
Sunroom after
This site has some great information on cold frames, too. Here’s the link to the home page: http://www.suburbanpermaculture.org/index.htm
It’s been way too long since I wrote. I’m just going to include a link to my other blog, which explains my absence and catches up on things. Enjoy.
http://stuckincottagegrove.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/way-behind/
I only own 5 acres but I think it is one of the most beautiful places ever. It’s not worth a lot, money-wise, but we have deer and an endless variety of birds and wild irises and mushrooms and exotic-looking wildflowers and we even saw a mom and baby bear once. Streams run on both sides of our property and timber companies own the land behind us and across the street from us. I worry about this little slice of heaven someday being destroyed.
I heard about the Wildlife Land Trust (http://www.wlt.org/index.asp) and it seemed like the perfect solution. There are different options for donating your land to the trust. You can retain ownership of your land but provide a wildlife easement, you can donate the property outright and you can even donate the land but live on it until you die. The site offers a lot of information about legalities and tax benefits. I actually filled out a form online to see if my land was appropriate. I admit I never got a response, which was discouraging, but I still think it’s a worthwhile idea to explore, perhaps if not through this particular organization (The Humane Society of the United States) then through another one, like Nature Conservancy.
Here’s a great article from someone who actually lived in a yurt: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wolfe76.html It’s been a while since I read the article all the way through but it’s a neat story that covers everything from construction to history. Pacific Yurts is even mentioned.
The author is a woman and she says it took her and one friend to erect her used yurt in about 12 hours. Amazing. She also hauled the entire thing to her building site in a mini-pick up
. Those are the kinds of things that give me hope. There are so many alternatives to the destructive nature of standard, modern construction. And the best part is, living in a yurt or cob house or other more sustainable type of home often is reported to be more inspiring, uplifting and healthier.
I believe the original story appeared in Backwoods Home Magazine, a magazine I would like to explore further. The picture is from the site.
I’m not sure exactly how well this site (http://www.pooktre.com/) fits into the sustainable category but I love the idea of living furniture and art. I’ve heard of manipulating trees so that they can be houses and I’ve thought about planting bamboo in a pattern so that it grows into the walls of the rooms of a house. I think it would be wonderful if we could find practical ways to make our homes out of trees without cutting them down; if we could integrate our lives into the tree’s life. How beautiful would that be? Anyway, I thought this was a very interesting site and concept. Sort of reminds me of the art of Andy Goldsworthy. See some of his work here http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/1049936558039909072XdMbZv
