State Asks Court to Lift American Prairie’s Grazing Reprieve

Attorneys for the state of Montana have asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a district court’s ruling that allowed American Prairie’s bison to stay on public lands after the BLM cancelled their grazing permits.

The state claims that federal grazing permits are limited to domestic livestock raised for production according to a report by KRTV News, an excuse manufactured by ranching interests who see the arrangement as a threat to their hegemony.

They’re also backing a plan by the BLM to insert “production-oriented livestock” into the grazing regulations in an attempt to preclude the use of grazing allotments for conservation purposes, such as wild horse preserves.

The proposal now stands on shaky ground.

An attorney for American Prairie stated in a September 4 news release that “The court’s ruling recognizes what American Prairie has argued from the beginning, that the Taylor Grazing Act does not require a grazing operation to focus exclusively on production and ignore conservation or restoration.”

PREVIOUS: Montana PBS Looks at American Prairie Grazing Controversy.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Restoring the Natural Order

Have you ever fallen off a bicycle and skinned your knee?

Guess what happens to the injury over the next few days?

Compensatory reproduction—skin cells growing back.

It’s how nature puts things back in order.

The advocates wish it didn’t happen.

Consider their remarks about roundups in an October 27 opinion piece:

Without on-range fertility management, herd populations will quickly recover, triggering another gather in just a few short years.

Recovery is what you want, unless you’re a hunter or rancher.

Their solution?  Never-ending fertility control, the path to extinction.

By neglecting on-range fertility management, BLM allows wild horse populations to surge past the population targets it has set, which inevitably leads to costly and disruptive emergency roundups as the agency scrambles to restore the status quo and protect the interests of permit-holders.

How much more evidence do you need?  They want the ranchers to win.

RELATED: Humane Management: Recovery Is Not an Option.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Swasey Roundup, Day 5

The incident started on November 3.  Results through November 7:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Swasey HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 100
  • Pre-gather population: 247
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: Cattoor
  • Contract amount: $86,849 (estimated)
  • Unit cost: $620
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Sterilize mares with PZP, pray for older horses to die (per advocates)
  • Capture goal: 140
  • Removal goal: 140
  • Captured: 109, up from 64 on Day 3
  • Shipped: 107, up from 64 on Day 3
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 2, up from zero on Day 3
  • Average daily take: 21.8
  • Unaccounted-for animals: None
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

A mare was euthanized for an abscess on Day 4.

A colt crashed into a pipe panel on Day 5, breaking his neck.

The death rate is 1.8%.

The capture total includes 42 stallions, 51 mares and 16 foals.

Youngsters represented 14.7% of the animals gathered, too low to sustain a herd growth rate of 15-20% per year.

Of the adults, 45.2% were male and 54.8% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control and return them to the range, which would prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.  Resources liberated to date:

  • Forage: 1,308 AUMs per year
  • Water: 1,090 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities will be closed to the public for the duration of the roundup.

PREVIOUS: Swasey Roundup, Day 3.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Alfalfa Cubes Killing Horses?

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is investigating several reports of illness and death that may be linked to contaminated feed according to its news release.

Inspectors are collecting samples for analysis and testing.

Laub’s Feeding and Cubing has issued a voluntary recall of its product although this is not mentioned at its website.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Wild Horses Threaten Livelihood of Ruby Valley Rancher?

A story by KOLO News says TI Ranches of Lamoille, NV ran 1,200 head of cattle in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before wild horse numbers increased, compared to 700 head today.

The article said the ranch includes a 224,000-acre BLM allotment, about 20,000 acres of private land and a Forest Service permit covering 30,000 to 40,000 acres.

The market value of the base property, an important factor in evaluating the financial status of a public-lands rancher, especially his net worth, was not given.

The operator information report at RAS tied the ranch to BLM authorization #2704021 in the Wells Field Office.

The allotment information report linked the authorization to the VALLEY MOUNTAIN and BIG MEADOWS allotments.

A search of the AOIs in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest tied the ranch to three allotments in the Mountain City, Ruby Mountains & Jarbidge Ranger District.

The ArcGIS Viewer showed no overlap between the Forest Service allotments and areas identified for wild horses.

The AOIs do not indicate rangeland health but suggest that the authorized use is less than the permitted use, which may account for the smaller herd or at least part of it.

Big Meadows is not inside an area identified for wild horses but that does not mean the horses avoid it.

Over half of the permitted use in the suspended column, according to the allotment master report, which may explain why it’s in the Maintain category and why the cattle numbers are smaller than they used to be.

Valley Mountain, overlapped by the Maverick-Medicine HMA, offers 4,532 active AUMs on 260,930 public acres, equivalent to 1.4 wild horses per thousand public acres.

It’s in the Improve category with 19% of the permitted use in the suspended column.

Although horses may be a factor in rangeland health, the equivalent stocking rate tells you that resources are scarce and the prospects for larger cattle herds are poor.

To the east is the Spruce allotment, which was to be repurposed as a wild horse preserve until ranchers got involved.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Planning Rule Overhaul to Target ACECs?

The BLM news release said the proposed changes would update planning terminology, eliminate duplicate requirements and simplify parts of the process that have become unnecessarily burdensome.

The regulations would right-size Areas of Critical Environmental Concern so the agency can focus on protecting those resources, rather than on oversized buffer zones that are supposed to be managed for multiple use.

In other words, shrink the protected areas and increase AUMs so ranchers can enjoy more of what their allotments have to offer.

A virtual public meeting, providing more information about the proposed regulations, is planned for December 3.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Foal-Free Friday, Competition for Resources Edition

This video helps you understand why the advocates want the horse populations reduced with no possibility of recovery.

“[R]eforms must mandate comprehensive fertility management alongside every future gather and establish a clear timeline to phase out roundups altogether” according to their commentary in PJ Media.

No roundups means no growth.

How many mares must they sterilize to being the birth rate in line with the death rate?

What will be the effect on genetic diversity and long-term viability?

What’s to stop them from driving the birth rate to zero?

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Fork in the Road Edition.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Swasey Roundup, Day 3

The incident started on November 3.  Results through November 5:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Swasey HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 100
  • Pre-gather population: 247
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: Cattoor
  • Contract amount: $86,849 (estimated)
  • Unit cost: $620
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Sterilize mares with PZP, pray for older horses to die (per advocates)
  • Capture goal: 140
  • Removal goal: 140
  • Captured: 64, up from 28 on Day 1
  • Shipped: 64, up from 28 on Day 1
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: None
  • Average daily take: 21.3
  • Unaccounted-for animals: None
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

The capture total includes 25 stallions, 28 mares and 11 foals.

Youngsters represented 17.2% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control and return them to the range, which would prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.  Resources liberated to date:

  • Forage: 768 AUMs per year
  • Water: 640 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities will be closed to the public for the duration of the roundup.

PREVIOUS: Swasey Roundup Begins.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Veterans for Pesticides Act Needs New Sponsor

Introduced by Nancy Mace in 2025, HR 2864 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to implement fertility controls to manage populations of wild horses and burros, and to encourage training opportunities for veterans to assist in management activities.

The bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources but no action was taken.

Mace did not seek reelection this year in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district, choosing instead to run for governor, but did not get past the primary.

She will return to the private sector at the end of year.

The bill, if a sponsor can be found, will need to be resubmitted in the new Congress.

PREVIOUS: It’s Official: HR 2864 Is the Veterans for Pesticides Act.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

2026 Midterms Punch Holes in Pesticide Caucus

The founding members were Dina Titus (NV-1), David Schweikert (AZ-1), Steve Cohen (TN-9), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6) according to last year’s news release.

Titus won reelection.

Schweikert did not seek reelection.

Cohen retired.

Ciscomani was defeated.

The advocates will need new sponsors for their mass sterilization programs, which they peddle as humane management.

RELATED: Humane Management: Recovery Is Not an Option.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Pryor Mountain Roundup, Day 9

The incident started on October 25.  Results through November 2:

  • FY: 2027
  • Scope: Pryor Mountain HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 120
  • Pre-gather population: 187
  • Type: Planned
  • Contractor: None (BLM staff)
  • Contract amount: N/A
  • Unit cost: N/A
  • Method: Bait
  • Capture goal: 100
  • Removal goal: 37
  • Captured: 24, up from 11 on Day 3
  • Shipped: None
  • Released: 5, up from 2 on Day 3
  • Deaths: None
  • Average daily take: 2.7
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 19
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

Although the traps may have been activated a few days earlier, Day 1 is defined as October 25, when the first horses were caught.

The capture total includes 3 stallions, 17 mares and 4 foals.

No information was given about the three horses released on Day 6.

Youngsters represented 16.7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 15% were male and 85% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

Up to 43 mares will be treated with fertility control and released, prolonging the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is not subject to permitted grazing but is adjacent to BLM and FS allotments.

PREVIOUS: Pryor Mountain Roundup, Day 3.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Nevada Horse Wrangler Jobs Now Open to Public?

The new job posting has the same pay range and locations as the original.

The duties, associated with off-range holding facilities, are identical.

The conditions of employment are similar.

You need not be a defeatist and pesticide pusher like the advocates.

Applications are due by November 17.

PREVIOUS: BLM Seeks Wild Horse Wranglers in Nevada.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Swasey Roundup Announced

A start date was not given in the news release but the gather page says November 2.

The capture and removal goals are 140 each.

The target is horses.

The pre-gather population is thought to be 247.

A helicopter will push them into the traps.

The contractor is Cattoor.

The contract amount is $397,025 but that covers 640 horses at Swasey and Cedar Mountain.  Proration gives $86,849 for Swasey at a unit cost of $620.

Operations will be open to public observation on a limited basis.

The BLM will close public lands around the trap sites and holding pens.

Animals identified for removal will be taken to the Sutherland off-range corrals.

There are no plans to treat the mares with fertility control and return them to the range, which would prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

Whenever you see statements about more wild horses on the land than it can sustain, you should be skeptical.  In many cases the resources are there but your faithful public servants gave them to livestock.

PREVIOUS: BLM Closing Public Lands for Swasey Roundup.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

BLM Closing Public Lands for Swasey Roundup

A new project has been opened in ePlanning and two documents have been uploaded.

Areas within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities will be closed to the public for the duration of the incident, with the exception of contractor personnel and observers escorted by BLM staff, according to the Decision Record.

The map of the closure areas was not provided.

PREVIOUS: Swasey and Cedar Mountain Roundups Go to Cattoor.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

How Is PZP Used?

A report by the Science and Conservation Center, a producer and distributor of PZP located on the grounds of ZooMontana, indicates that 93% of the doses shipped in 2025 were ordered for horses.

SCC’s partner organizations include many familiar names, some who participated in the 2026 pesticide roundtable.

A story by KTVQ News said the BLM has partnered with ZooMontana to implement PZP darting in the Pryor Mountain HMA.

RELATED: Pesticides, Not Roundups, to Destroy Pryor Mountain Herd.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.