Late Summer Newsletter by Llama Association of North America

LANA NEWS! Llama Association of North America! Late Summer Edition 2019

TWICE AS NICE IN PARADISE

Contents

“Twice as Nice” Picture Contents President’s Message LANA Board of Directors LANA Business Office Calendar of Events Letter to the Membership LANA Youth Essay Sip and Stretch Emotional Needs of Llamas Felting,Spinning Yarn, Weaving Minerals - Which One is Best Univ. of Arizona Thank You Twice as Nice in Paradise Llama Ban in Alaskan NP Hobo Show Sly Park Llamping Trip Sponsors Disaster Preparedness sites LANA T-Shirts

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 8 12 14 18 20 22 26 30 31 32 41 42

Hello LANA members, I can’t believe how quickly this summer has gone by. Like most of you, I had lots of projects and trips planned that never were realized because life got in the way. However, your LANA board has been busy this summer serving its membership. For instance, the LANA office has a new telephone number (707-234-5510) if you ever need immediate assistance. Also, the LANA Hobo Show planning is well underway. The judges are Cheryl Juntilla and Rob Knuckles.

On June 21, the first cases of vesicular stomatitis of the season were diagnosed. Since then, vesicular stomatitis cases have been confirmed in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Because of the vesicular stomatitis outbreak of this summer, the Rocky Mountain Regional Llama Show was cancelled. To learn more about this disease, please read the article in LANA’s Early Summer newsletter from Alpaca Owners' Association.

UPCOMING LANA EVENTS

LANA Youth Essay deadline November 1, 2019

LANA Performance Clinic Black Cat Ranch Vacaville, California November

! I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable summer. !

LANA Hobo Show Stanislaus Co. Fairground Turlock, California February 8 - 9, 2020 LANA Llamping Sly Park, California May 29 - 31, 2020 2

Image from https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/ downloads/animal_diseases/vsv/sitrep-9-05-19.pdf

Michelle Kutzler, MBA, DVM, PhD, DACT LANA President

LANA Board of Directors

Michelle Kutzler President michelle.kutzler@oregonstate.edu

Kathy Nichols Vice President, Newsletter Editor KathySVA@aol.com

Sue Rich Secretary susan.rich9631@gmail.com

Joy Pedroni Treasurer, LANA Business Office, Webmaster joy@blackcatllamas.com

Lee Beringsmith Director LBering@outlook.com

Jana Kane Director kaneskritters@gmail.com

Maureen Macedo Director macedosminiacre@gmail.com

Dolly Peters Director ranchodollyllama@gmail.com

Cathy Spalding Advisory Chair

LANA BUSINESS OFFICE NEW PHONE NUMBER

Joy Pedroni  3966 Estate Drive  Vacaville CA 95688 707.234.5510 LANAquestions@gmail.com

Please contact the LANA Business Office for Member Services, Advertisements, Event Calendar updates, and any llama- , alpaca-, or LANA-related questions you may have. Visit LANA at: www.lanainfo.org

LANA News DISCLAIMER LANA News is published for educational purposes only. The information published herein is solely the opinion of the authors and does not necessarily represent the view of LANA, its Directors or Officers. LANA’s acceptance of advertising does not imply endorsement of any products or services whatsoever. Articles, letters, editorials and other contributions are welcome and may be edited for brevity. Inclusion and placement is solely at the discretion of the Editor. Before undertaking any herd work with your animals, you are advised to always consult with your veterinarian. THANK YOU for CONTRIBUTING Thank you to the following for their contribution to this newsletter: Chela Gray, Dr. Michelle Kutzler, Maureen Macedo, Elaine Partlow, Sue Rich, Tracy Weaver

cathy@gentlespiritllamas.com

! Editor’s Note: Please enjoy another article in our series of “What do You do With a Llama? (and/or alpaca) on page 4. Look forward to more in this series in upcoming issues. Your help is needed. Read the article on page 26 about the pack llama ban in the Chugach National Forest in Alaska. Check out what you can do to help.

Kathy 3

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

! ALPACA FARM DAYS September 28-29, 2019 www.alpacafarmdays.com

LANA HOBO SHOW Stanislaus Co. Fairground Turlock, California February 8 - 9, 2020 contact: KathySVA@aol.com www.lanainfo.org

GOLD COUNTRY GATHERING ALPACA SHOW September 12-13, 2019 Gold Country Fairgrounds Auburn, California

CALIFORNIA CLASSIC ALPACA SHOW March 28-29, 2020 Merced County Fairgrounds Merced, California contact: macedosminiacre@gmail.com www.calpaca.org

ALSA WESTERN REGIONALS October 4-6, 2019 Ramona Junior Fairgrounds Ramona, California contact: DandT22@aol.com www.alsashow.net

LANA LLAMPING TRIP Sly Park, California May 29 - 31, 2020 contact: lanaquestions@gmail.com

ALSA GRAND NATIONALS October 24-26, 2019 Kansas State Fairgrounds Hutchinson, Kansas www.alsashow.net

CAMELID SYMPOSIUM January 18-19, 2020 Courtyard Cal Expo Sacramento, California camelidsymposium.com

! WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Stephen Greenholz Yvonne Sumner

! September 13, 2019 Dear Llama/Alpaca enthusiast, The Boards of Directors of both Cal-ILA and LANA have good news to share! AHer several months of conversaIon and consideraIon of both boards and their respecIve directors, it was determined that it would be wise and efficient to consolidate the efforts and resources of the organizaIons. Therefore, Cal-ILA will be closing down its official status as an organizaIon; and where appropriate, resources (both fiscal and human) will be gathered under the umbrella of the Llama AssociaIon of North America (LANA). Once Cal-ILA completes some fiscal obligaIons, it will be transferring the balance of its funds to LANA. AddiIonally, the obstacle trailer and obstacles owned by Cal-ILA will be added to the obstacle collecIon currently owned and stored by LANA. This blended collecIon will be stored on behalf of LANA at Macedo’s Mini Acres in a shipping container soon to be purchased and placed. The Cal-ILA trailer will be housed there also to transport obstacles to various shows. Two members of the Board of Directors of Cal-ILA will be joining the LANA Board of Directors: Maureen Macedo and Lee Beringsmith. It is the intenIon of this expanded board to maintain the acIviIes of both organizaIons including the Hobo, Hot August Nights – now referred to as the Marvelous May Extravaganza, and the show at State Fair in Sacramento. We hope to conInue with the parade acIviIes tradiIonal to both organizaIons. And we want to proceed with hikes and backpacking experiences associated with both organizaIons. We hope to make this transiIon as smoothly as possible. There is no clear Imeline established for the official close of the Cal-ILA, but Lee and Maureen joined the monthly LANA conference calls starIng this September. When this announcement was made at the California State Fair in Sacramento this last July, the message was received with a standing ovaIon. We are all excited about this transiIon knowing that we will conInue with llama and alpaca acIviIes with a stronger, consolidated board embracing the noIon many hands make for a lighter load. We hope we can count on your conInued support as we move forward. Sincerely, Maureen Macedo, Cal-ILA President

Dr. Michelle Kutzler, LANA President

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! !

LANA Youth Article & Art Contest

! ! !

LANA invites youth member of all ages to submit an article on any camelid-related topic of interest to the youth. Articles should be 1000 words or less with four pictures or less.

Articles should be written in Times New Roman 12 point font and double-spaced, with the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name on each page in the header.

! ! ! ! !

Young members (11 years and younger) are also invited to submit a piece of original artwork. Pictures or scanned artwork should be submitted as .tiff or .jpeg files with a resolution of at least 300 dpi. The content should be the original work of the youth author.

Articles and scanned artwork should be submitted electronically to Sue Rich at susan.rich9631@gmail.com

One winner from each of the four age categories (sub-junior, junior, intermediate, and senior) will be selected twice a year.

Submission due: November 1, 2019

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! ! !

Winners will receive a $25 cash prize and articles will be published in the LANA Newsletter and on the website.

SIP AND STRETCH by Maureen Macedo

With the growing trend towards yoga sessions held at unique locaIons, or with goats, it was only a maaer of Ime before we ﬁnally found a yoga instructress who was interested in holding a class at our ranch.

Stephannie Schmit and a friend came to one of our Paint ParIes and asked if she could hold a “Sip and Stretch” class. She took care of the sign-ups and fee collecIon, tagging us on Social Media to help boost awareness of the event. We would receive a porIon of the proceeds. Our responsibiliIes are for creaIng an area on our ranch for the event to take place, make sure there is adequate parking and provide the alpacas. She has a photographer come along to take photos, which we receive copies of. Another beneﬁt is that we are tagged on diﬀerent Social Media sites, thus creaIng publicity for our ranch.

Within a week of opening the event, it was sold out! It was so successful that another one has been scheduled. ParIcipants received an hour of Yoga followed by Ime with our alpacas, including six cria. The alpacas wandered around during the class, oHen checking out to see if there was a “downward stretching llama” pose.

shopping in our store and scheduled family visits.

Folks all appeared to have a good Ime, many of them followed up with a liale

We heard that it was deﬁnitely more relaxing than goat yoga (which a couple had previously aaended) as the alpacas were curious but did not jump on anyone! The quiet humming that some of the alpacas exhibited was also thought to be very relaxing and enhanced the mood. 11

REGARDING THE EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF LLAMAS by Chela Gray Over the many years I have been blessed to work with and live with llamas, it has become more and more obvious to me that these creatures have very real emotional lives and are capable of feelings and a certain reasoning power. For those of you who are already poo-pooing this line of thought, please read on. You may not agree, but you may learn a way to look at the animals in a bit different light. I’m not out to convince anyone that what I say is “right;” I am only putting forth some interesting observations that may lead to spirited discussion and good thought exercise…and just maybe, better treatment of all animals.

Here are some anecdotes that support my contention that llamas are feeling, caring, thinking animals who form true “families” with many of the hierarchical rules contained in human families:

Recently, I placed two female llamas (a mother and daughter) as a team of sheep guards, believing from their behavior with their herd that they would be perfect for the task. The fact that I was quite mistaken about them being good candidates for guard duty is fodder for another article/ discussion, so I’ll stay with the emotional side of things for this one. Not even an hour after we had left them, I got a call from the new owners that the mother llama had jumped the fence and was running around the neighborhood, an approximately two-square mile area, with access to deep woods on two sides and several well-traveled roads in the vicinity. After an exhaustive three-hour search, culminating with a call from an observant neighbor and a slow ”chase” ending in blackberry bushes, the llama lady was haltered and led back to her trailer, where her daughter was awaiting the trip back to their original home. A note about these two girls: they have been on the same farm from the time the mom was two years old and the daughter from the day she was born. The herd has remained almost completely intact, with only one animal being sold away and two dying.

Another anecdote involving this A final example: The task of same pair and a friend of the picking up a young male llama from daughter; one of the other females his birth farm, where he was with his born on this farm suffered from mother and four other llamas, fell to megaesophagus and had to be me to me as I had for two years euthanized. She and the daughter managed the farm and knew the were best buddies, so when I took the animals. The youngster (10 months ill girl to the hospital, I took her buddy old) was to be given to another farm. along for companionship. The buddy When we arrived, it was obvious that stood right next to her friend, the mother and son were very watching her every move and attached to one another and were, in exchanging hums with her during the fact, being kept together in one small exams. When the x-rays showed pasture. After haltering the mom, the beyond a doubt how far down this girl son was haltered, and we led them had come and the decision was made both to the trailer. An aside â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no one to let her go over the Rainbow Bridge, had handled the llamas since I had I took the two of them to a stall so that left approximately two years prior, and we could all have some time together. I was the only one who could halter They seemed to communicate on a them. The mom was actually glad to profound level, see me, as she had staying very close always been. We together and looking enticed the son into It has become more at one another. The the trailer by putting and more obvious to vet came in and gave mom in first (dirty me that these the initial tranquilizer; trick), then removed the companion girl her. As we drove creatures have very watched this, and a w a y, m o m w a s real emotional lives. when the other girl running up and down relaxed and kushed, the fence humming and I held her head in and keening. The son my lap, the companion gave one last was doing the same inside the trailer. sniff at her, turned her back and When I went back to the farm kushed right next to her back. She approximately three months later to did not watch the vet do the final do toenails and shots on the mom injection and did not look back when and the other llamas, the mom all but we left the stall. When we arrived attacked me. She spit, kicked and back at their farm, it was quite dark. crowded me, refused to be haltered, As we opened the trailer door, the and just generally raised a terrific mother came running out of the dark, fuss. She had never done that with making that same keening sound and me before and has not done it since. was greeted in kind by her daughter. She was, in my opinion, very angry They ran off together into the dark with me for taking her boy away. We pasture. No other llama came to have since made our peace, but our meet us. relationship is not the same. reprinted from a previous LANA newsletter

FELTING, SPINNING YARN, WEAVING, KNIT OR CROCHET by Tracy Weaver I have owned llamas for over twenty years and really never connected the words above to these exceptional animals until I began my ALSA Fleece clinics, as an apprentice judge, in 2015!

Growing up, I watched my mother knit. She made many, many items. Although I understood that the product was made from some type of fiber, I never grasped, at that early age, that there are so many types of fiber that came from plants as well as animals!

Now after years of owning llamas and participating in judging and fiber classes, I appreciate the in depth process of the usable fiber. We raise an animal for the hair it produces. It is cleaned, shorn, skirted, washed, dried, carded, and made into batts, rovings or yarn to make very unique and beautiful items.

My earliest memory of using our llama ‘wool’ was when my daughter, Sarah, wanted to do a spinning demonstration for the State Fair. We had obtained a spinning wheel as a gift and that got us both interested in the product of our llamas.

Sarah became pretty good at the spinning technique. I, on the other hand, did not excel as she did. So, years gone by, I now have become a big advocate on using the product of our animals. It is just a waste to throw it away, or stash it in the garage in a plastic bag. It, as any other job, does take some time to learn the trade. I began to use our fiber more, when teaching middle school Agriculture. The ‘llama unit’ was an anticipated time, during the school year. I participated at an ALSA judging clinic in Indiana. The farm was also preparing for an open house for their farm the following week. They were making felted animals using cookie cutters. I was in awe! What a great project for students to take home at the end of the llama unit. 14

So, at school, after learning about the animals, we used their fiber to make felted cookie cutter animals. It was fabulous! They carded the wool, and then used felting needles to make various animals. The students realized that they were using a raw agricultural commodity and turning it into a usable product. Now, after attending numerous judging clinics and studying about the qualities of llama and alpaca fiber, I too, am having great fun sharing my knowledge about the animals’ fleece and delight in processing the fiber. There are so many talented people I have learned from through the years. The sharing of information and technique in the llama and alpaca community is extraordinary! All one has to do is ask! There are loads of great articles about the fleece and using the fiber of an animal online…just GOOGLE it! I also found many YouTube

videos about using the fiber. Many are very simple, but many require more expensive tools. As a beginner, look for the kids’ projects first, and practice with less money and time. Then you can decide; felting, spinning, weaving, knitting or crochet! Or all of the above! If you want individual help, there are many organizations and people that meet locally to help you with your p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t . We h a v e implemented into the Florida State Fair a workshop to help youth and adults to learn basic skills in the areas of crochet, knitting, weaving, spinning and felting. The participants seem to enjoy the challenge of creating something from their alpaca or llama fleece. My passion has become not only advocate these versatile and beautiful animals, but to educate about the products that can be made from their fleece.

“You will soon have dear friends willing to share their knowledge and experience with you, simply because they want to spread the joy of working with fiber. ” June Black, Discover Llama Fiber-Love at First Touch, 2007 15

(top left) Showing youth how to use a drop spindle

! (top right) Knitting on a loom

! (bottom right) Using a picture frame to make a woven article

Another area of weaving stick weaving

Dry felting

About the Author Tracy Weaver is a former Agriculture Instructor in Pasco County, Florida. She taught middle and high school agriculture for 33 years. She is a certified ALSA Halter/Performance/Fleece Judge for Llamas and Alpacas. She currently serves as Secretary for the FALA association (Florida Alpaca Llama Association) and member of SSLA (Southern States Llama Association). Tracy also has been a volunteer for the Florida State Fair Llama show for 19 years, the past nine as Superintendent of the Youth Llama/Alpaca Show.

Twice as Nice in Paradise !

by Elaine Partlow

Deciding to move to Hawaii in 2004 was both an easy decision, and a hard one. After living most of the last 26 years in the mountains of northeastern California, we were getting tired of worrying about forest fires in the summer and deep snow in the winter. So when my dad invited us to join him and his wife for a week on Maui to celebrate his 80th birthday, we made plans to extend the trip by a week and look at property on the island of Hawaii, the Big Island. I had lived on Maui for ten years when I was in my 20’s, but I knew we couldn’t afford acreage on that crowded island. Of course, wherever we moved, my animals were coming along. A week wasn’t much time, but we lucked onto a nice level parcel just under six acres that had a driveway and about a quarter acre cleared. Aptly named “spaghetti lots,” these properties are just 150 feet wide and 1640 feet long. The land is forested with tall, slender ohi’a trees (a flowering evergreen in the myrtle family), along with large rounded Glory bushes, and tough tangled ferns called uluhe. And no, it’s not oceanfront. We are about eight miles from the coast and fifteen miles from Hilo. At 1000’ elevation, this location gives us cooler weather, especially in the winter, when we actually fire up the woodstove on chilly nights. At this point, I was thinking we would consider moving in four or five years, but when we got home my husband started packing! He was hooked on tropical breezes and palm trees, and ready to relocate. But I had twenty llamas, ten miniature donkeys, two standard donkeys, two horses, two mules, four goats, an emu, a parakeet, five cats and two dogs -- I knew I couldn’t take them all. It took me a year and a lot of agonizing to whittle down the herd until I ended up with six llamas, nine miniature donkeys, two cats and one dog (the other dog died of old age in the interim). Then began a 60 day complicated dance with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, securing health certificates, rabies shots and blood work, microchipping, and parasite control -- all on a specific timeline. I made arrangements to ship the large animals by boat. We had to deliver them to a ranch in Bodega Bay a few days before our own departure, where they were boarded for a week until the next livestock ship departed from Oakland. The cats and dog flew with us and because of all the preliminary vet work, they didn’t have to go through quarantine. They arrived with us in Hilo where we picked up a VW camper van that was to be our home for the next several days. We quickly set up several pipe frame canopies, plus a two room camping tent, for protection from the frequent rains. This became our home for the next two years. We then bought cattle panels to make a temporary corral in preparation for the imminent arrival of the donkeys and llamas.

I flew to Honolulu to meet them at the Ag Dept. Facility where they were all inspected and released. Then I paid the extortion demanded by the only inter-island shipper who would agree to handle “exotics” --- nearly five times what it cost to get them from the mainland to Honolulu. Still, they would be arriving two days later on the other side of the island, nearly two hours away. I borrowed an additional truck and trailer so we could get them all in one trip. We arrived at the dock at 7:00 am, then, along with several other people with trailers, we waited. And waited. Finally, about 9:30, the two portable stalls with the donkeys were delivered by forklift and we transferred them to the borrowed trailer. But where were the llamas? Everybody else received their animals and left, and we kept waiting while the temperature climbed along with my stress level. At last a forklift was heading our way carrying a stall way up in the air with llama heads poking out of every opening. It was quite a sight and everyone on the dock stopped to stare. If I hadn’t been so freaked out, I might have thought to take a picture, and it would have been a classic! The next trick was to fit six llamas into a twelve foot stock trailer, which I basically did by using my body as a shoehorn to make space for the next animal. When the last one was squeezed in, I was standing in the center and had to shuffle this way and that until I could reach the gate and slither out. At least the two-hour trip home was uneventful, and an exhausted crew finally unloaded into their new digs. They did a lot of rolling and nibbling on interesting and unfamiliar greenery.

We managed to lease the lot next door and fenced in about six acres for the critters to roam and nibble on. They ate every fern, which allowed more grass to grow, but the trees and bushes that they didn’t eat still cover most of the land. One of the two girls that had been bred before moving held onto her pregnancy and delivered a boy the following summer. I sold him to a lady up the coast who had a lone female, and they produced three cria over the next few years.

Because I was under the impression there were several more llamas on the island, I neglected to bring along a stud. That was a big mistake. There are other llamas however, they are widely scattered. Their owners have been next to impossible to contact; very unlike the friendly llama communities on the mainland. So when in 2011, the lady who bought the male llama from me said she was moving and did I want Trooper back, I was happy to say yes and I paid for him. She gave me his 16 year old female companion who, she said, was likely pregnant and she didn’t know when she was due. Her belly was not especially big so I thought she had some time to go.

Shortly after this, my father passed away. I was back and forth to southern California dealing with his estate and readying his house to rent, and not thinking much about a pregnant llama. While there, I received a call from my caretaker telling me Kama had her babies.

“What do you mean, BABIES?”, I asked. “She had two, and they look exactly alike,” she told me.

I gave her instructions on caring for the very small, very weak newborns, and fully expected to be told that one or both had died overnight. Miraculously, both were standing and nursing the next morning and were still alive when I arrived home a couple days later. Four days after their birth, the two girls weighed 14 and 13 lbs. They continued to gain weight slowly but steadily, although I 23

did a lot of tube feeding or bottle feeding whenever the weight gain slowed or stalled. I was pretty much consumed for the next couple of months keeping the identical twins (I did a DNA test) healthy and growing, and keeping their mom well supplemented so she could care for them. Amber was slightly larger than her sister, Garnet with a cluster of white hairs on her chin. Otherwise, they were impossible to tell apart, both a dark red-brown with black points. The vet did find that Garnet has a heart murmur and cautioned that she could be affected by it when she grew bigger.

All was going well, four months along in late December, when one morning I discovered Amber unable to put weight on her left front leg. The three of them always spent the night in their own pen, so I knew she hadn’t been injured by a donkey or another llama. At first thought it was a sore foot, maybe bruised on a rock. I took her to the vet who examined her briefly then started saying

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…..but her leg is broken!” “Well, can’t you fix it?” I asked, starting to panic at her words. “Yes, I can do surgery and pin it. Do you want to talk to your husband and decide what to do?” “No, I want you to get her into surgery and fix her leg,” I replied.

Amber, her mom and her sister stayed in the hospital two more days. They came home on New Years Eve, and all three were on restricted movement for the next six weeks so Amber’s leg could heal. She was able to lie down and get up with the cast on, though her appetite fluctuated. She did lose some weight during the ordeal, but essentially bounced back and continued to grow. I will never know just how she broke her leg. Perhaps her mom accidentally slammed her into the side of their pen. It will remain a mystery.

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Amber and Garnet age 8 with their dam Kamaliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l age 24 1/2

Llamas Banned From the Chugach National Forest in Alaska Once again, the llama owners in Alaska need your help. Another park has tried to ban llamas as pack animals. They use unfounded information to claim that llamas and alpacas spread diseases to the wildlife in the parks. The real reason for the ban is that the people charging large amounts of money to take hunters into the wilderness with horses and mules are worried that they will lose their lucrative income to the llama packers. This time it is Chugach National Forest (CNF). Your support in the past (by submitting comments) has been very effective so we would appreciate your support again. Unless we can turn the tide the effect is that this can be used as a precedent to eliminate the pack llama in the lower 48 states. Please send your comments now in objection to the Chugach National Forest Land Management Plan during the 60 day objection period ending October 28, 2019.

See the sample comments below that you are welcome to use verbatim if you don't wish to craft your own. Please state that your comments are an objection to the Final Chugach National Forest Land Management Plan as signed by Jeff E. Schramm, Forest Supervisor and provide your full name with telephone number and/or email address.

! Objections must be submitted to the Objection Reviewing Officer by one of the following methods: ! !

Electronically to the Objection Reviewing Officer via the CARA objection web form: https://cara.ecosystemmanagement.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=40816. Electronic submissions must be submitted in a format (Word, PDF, or Rich Text) that is readable and searchable with optical character recognition software. An automated response will confirm that the electronic objection was received.

Via regular mail to the following address: USDA Forest Service Attn: Objection Reviewing Officer, Alaska Region 709 W. 9th Street Juneau, AK 99801

or P.O. Box 21628 Juneau, AK 99801

Via fax to (907) 586-7840. Faxes must be addressed to "Objection Reviewing Officer." The fax cover sheet should specify the number of pages being submitted.

I would suggest that you send your objection using the sample below. Because CNF did not allow us the opportunity to make comment during the prescribed NEPA public comment period. We are now forced to protest the final CNF decision. To do this we must follow several rules that can make writing an objection quite complicated. Sample comment: (Simply copy the sample below and sign using your name and contact information.)

I strongly object to the "final" Chugach National Forest Land Management Plan (CNFLMP) restrictions/prohibitions on pack llamas for the following reasons: The final CNFLMP decision states on page 55, "Personnel conducting Forest Service management actions or authorized activities (employees, contractors, cooperators, and special use permit holders)" shall not use or keep "lamas". While this apparently does not apply to public recreational pack llama users, it does not allow "lamas" for these specified activities (to include commercial llama packing). CNF's point of introduction through use by sanctioned personnel leaves the door wide open for banning private recreational use in a predictable, logical progression. If they

are established as a threat in official use, it would follow they are a threat in all types of use.

1. Chugach National Forest (CNF) has demonstrated an alarming lack of transparency. CNF avoided the intent of the NEPA process by not providing any public notice of their intent to prohibit/restrict pack llamas during the prescribed public comment process associated with the draft CNFLMP.

The draft CNFLMP says nothing about llamas so the public would assume that the CNFLMP would not change anything with regard to the use of pack llamas in CNF. Now the public is suddenly faced with a final CNFLMP that contains pack "lama" prohibitions/restrictions. Consequently, the public is now being forced by CNF to protest the final decision as opposed to being offered a fair opportunity to comment during the prescribed NEPA public comment processes.

To further support the very underhanded and secretive draft CNFLMP process, CNF successfully thwarted further public comment by misspelling llama as "lama". If CNF had intended to refer to the llama by genus rather than common name, then logic would have it that CNF would also have referred to goats and sheep by genus rather than by common name. 2. CNF provides no evidence of a pack llama disease risk. The sole reference in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the CNFLMP is a Canadian publication (Garde, E., et al. 2005) that discredits itself (within the document itself on page 2) as unscientific by stating that there is insufficient data to clearly assess the role of camelids as a source of disease.

CNF essentially "cherry picked" one unscientific document that consists of a hypothetical risk scenario to support their position that "lamas" present a disease risk to wild sheep and goats. The authors of Garde publication ignored the overwhelming amount of US scientific data that specifically identifies llamas as extremely low risk for disease transmission due to taxonomic characteristics that widely separate them from wild sheep over 40 million years of evolution. Wild sheep and goats are afforded strong disease barrier protection associated with this widely 27

separated taxonomy. Llamas are from the family Camelidae while wild sheep, domestic sheep, and goats are from the family Bovidae. CNF has demonstrated lack of understanding of fundamental taxonomic principles and disease epidemiology by categorizing "lamas" in with sheep and goats with complete disregard of the wealth of US scientific literature that is available on this subject.

3. Given the overwhelming amount of US scientific data that demonstrates the safety record of llamas (see packllamas.org) and given the taxonomic separation of llamas from wild sheep and goats, if CNF follows through with their arbitrary identification of pack llamas as a disease threat, CNF will be required to impose these same restrictions on pack horses (Equidae family) that they have placed on pack llamas (Camelidae family). Horses (equine species) are a greater disease risk than llamas as they have a number of endemic disease susceptibilities (equine influenza, equine encephalomyelitis, equine herpesvirus rhinopneumonitis-EHV, Potomac Horse Virus, vesicular stomatitis, strangles, etc.). Llamas have no identified endemic diseases and are naturally healthy and disease free. Additionally, llamas have an exceptionally strong, broad spectrum immunologic system such that their serum is being considered in development of flu vaccines for humans that give a wider spectrum and more enduring protection. See https:// www.health.com/cold-flu-sinus/llama-flu-vaccineI strongly object to the "final" Chugach National Forest Land Management Plan (CNFLMP) restrictions/prohibitions on pack llamas for the following reasons: All current information and history indicate llamas present less disease threat to wild sheep than horses and humans. Humans develop zoonotic infections (TB, MAP, and CE) which can be transmitted to wild sheep. In view of these considerations, it is arbitrary and prejudiced to eliminate llamas on the basis of "precautionary principle" while allowing continued access to horses and humans. 4. The final CNFLMP position on pack llamas is 28

at odds with the official position of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). Per a letter from ADF&G dated June 11, 2018, (see packllamas.org website) ADF&G's position is "at this time we have no intention to promote or support limiting the use of South American camelids on public land in the State of Alaskaâ&#x20AC;?.

This decision was made by ADF&G despite the fact that they supported and helped pay for a camelid disease study (RA) report. The ADF&G letter states "there is no significant information in the RA. After discussing the document internally and with other biologists from several jurisdictions (including the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency Wild Sheep Work Group - WSWG), we will continue to focus and enhance our evaluation of disease risk from species other than llamas or related camelids. There is not enough information presented in this report or other current publications to warrant spending additional resources on this issue." Furthermore, the ADF&G letter states "we understand that the WSWG pulled the RA report from their website partially due to some concerns about the report itself." The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) positions are foundational to ADF&G's stated policy. WAFWA is widely recognized among state and federal wildlife agencies as the scientific reference for wildlife disease issues. The CNFLMP position on "lamas" is in direct conflict with wildlife disease management recommendations of WAFWA wildlife researchers and veterinary authorities.

5. The CNFLMP appears to be inconsistent with USDA - Forest Service research and policy regarding the "pack llama disease issue" in other Forest Service jurisdictions. The Shoshone National Forest Land Management Plan Revision FEIS Volume II states "Pack animals that do not pose disease transference issues including llamas, horses, donkeys, and assistance dogs are not restricted for use by elderly forest visitors." Also see USDA - Forest Service research/technical publications entitled "A Review of Disease Related Conflicts between Domestic Sheep and Goats and

Bighorn Sheep". Both Forest Service publications specifically address pack llamas with disease research that is favorable to their use in wild sheep habitat. In summary, I request that CNF refrain from identifying "lamas" (pack llamas) as a disease threat and remove all reference in the final CNFLMP that implicate them as a disease threat. By this letter I am providing formal notice of objection to the Final Chugach National Forest Land Management Plan (signed by Jeff E. Schramm, Forest Supervisor) during the 60 day objection period ending October 28, 2019. Your full name Address Email Address Phone Date Should you want to write your own letter, please follow the rules spelled out below. An objection must include the following (36 CFR 219.54(c)): 1. The objector's name and address along with a telephone number or email address if available-in cases where no identifiable name is attached to an objection, the Forest Service will attempt to verify the identity of the objector to confirm objection eligibility.

management plan revision or Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern to which the objection applies, 6. A concise statement explaining the objection and suggesting how the draft record of decision may be improved. If the objector believes that the plan revision or Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern is inconsistent with law, regulation, or policy, an explanation should be included. 7. A statement that demonstrates the link between the objector's prior substantive formal comments and the content of the objection, unless the objection concerns an issue that arose after the opportunities for formal comment. 8. Documents referenced in the objection must be included with the objection (include the document, web link to document, or both), except for the following list of items that may be referenced by including the name, date, page number (where applicable), and relevant section of the cited document. a. All or any part of a federal law or regulation, b. Forest Service Directive System documents and land management plans or other published Forest Service documents, c. Documents referenced by the Forest Service in the planning documentation related to the proposal subject to objection,

2. Signature or other verification of authorship upon request (a scanned signature for electronic mail may be filed with the objection).

d. Formal comments previously provided to the Forest Service by the objector during the plan amendment comment period.

3. Identification of the lead objector when multiple names are listed on an objection. The Forest Service will communicate to all parties to an objection through the lead objector. Verification of the identity of the lead objector must also be provided if requested.

Sincerely, ILR Board of Directors Ron Wilkinson, Linda Hayes, Mark Smith, Ramona Simpson and Sharon VanHooser September 12, 2019

4. The name of the land management plan revision or Regional Forester's list of species of conservation concern being objected to, and the name and title of the responsible official.5. A statement of the issues and/or parts of the land

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(reprinted with permission from ILR)

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3rd Sly Park Llamping Trip May 29 - 31, 2020 Sly Park - Black Oak Equestrian Park Pollack Pines, CA

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$75 a site $100 a site

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