The current statute, and the program arising therefrom, have a downstream focus that can be summarized as ‘Off the Range.’ This is the realm in which the advocates operate.
The proactive approach, codified in the original Act, is gone.
Today we recognize the importance of an upstream focus in protecting these animals, which requires an understanding of cause and effect.
A process is a series of steps that must be carried in a specified order to achieve the desired results. The steps are often described in a procedure.
Causes are upstream in the process, effects are downstream.
If a plane crashes, do the investigators look at events that occurred 24 hours after it hit the ground?
Of course not! They look upstream in the flight process to identify actions or conditions that may have contributed to the crash. The investigation may take them through events that occurred minutes, days or months before.
Improvements to safety and reliability, designed to prevent future crashes, focus on those actions and conditions, which, in the final report, are identified as causes.
If you want to help America’s wild horses, don’t focus on the horses. The advocates focus on the horses.
Instead, look upstream in the management process, understand why they’re being forced off their home range, and address those causes for a lasting solution.
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Western Horse Watchers Association 