Foal-Free Friday, Rangeland Eugenics Edition

Proponents of eugenics claimed they were trying to improve genetic quality while critics said they were trying to preserve the position of dominant groups in the population.

A disproportionate number of those identified for sterilization were African American, Asian American and Native American women according to an article by Wikipedia.

The idea was to diminish those who were seen as unfit for society—the poor, the disabled, the mentally ill and persons of color.

The movement may have fallen out of favor but some practices, such as sterilization, have spread to America’s public lands.

We need to cleanse the range of certain undesirable elements that rob forage from livestock and return little if any economic benefit.

What you may not realize is that today’s eugenicists, like their predecessors, have a hidden agenda.

They want the ranchers to win.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Downward Spiral Edition.

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

BLM Announces Black Mountain Bait Trap Roundup

The incident will begin on or about April 2 according to the news release.

The capture and removal goals are 500 each.

The target is burros.

The current population is thought to be around 3,900.

The HMA covers 773,136 total acres, including 543,307 public acres, according to the 2026 population dataset.

Operations will not be open to public observation.

Animals identified for removal will be taken to the Axtell off-range corrals in Utah.

There are no plans to treat any of the jennies with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

The roundup appears in the new schedule.

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

Forest Service Announces New Information Collection Request

The agency has drafted five new forms to collect information from the public regarding adoption or purchase of wild horses and burros.

  • FS-2200-0032, Request to Purchase Wild Horses with Limitations
  • FS-2200-0033, Bill of Sale with Limitations for Wild Horses and Burros
  • FS-2200-0034, Wild Horse and/or Burro Selection
  • FS-2200-0035, Agreement for Maintenance and Care of Wild Horses and Burros
  • FS-2200-0036, Wild Horse and Burro Title Application Inspection Form

Refer to this notice in the Federal Register.  There was no news release.

Comments on the forms will be accepted through May 26.

Unfortunately, they’re not available online but Western Horse Watchers has requested pdfs to post here.

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

Finance Committee to Consider HB26-1306

The hearing is set for April 6.

The bill would create a Colorado wild horse license plate, fees and compulsory donations notwithstanding.

The tags should feature an image of an advocate shooting a darting rifle, reflecting the state’s commitment to barren mares, shrinking herds, increasing death rates, abnormal sex ratios and loss of genetic diversity.

RELATED: Colorado to Offer Wild Horse License Plate?

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

Advocates Protest Spring Mountains Roundup

The announcement did not give the names of the organizers but the event was set for March 23 at the BLM office in Las Vegas.

The description included a link to material written by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.

Demands included cessation of motorized removal, implementation of fertility control and transfer of captured animals to sanctuaries.

Pesticides are referred to as vaccines.

The advocates want them off the range as much as the bureaucrats and ranchers.

As of today, the gather page shows no wild horses captured, with seven consecutive days of “No animals were in the bait and water corrals by EOB yesterday.”

RELATED: BLM Announces Spring Mountains Bait Trap Roundup.

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

Mesa Verde Roundup Continues

The Park Service hasn’t updated its page in almost a year but a story by The Journal says 60 horses have been removed since low-stress trapping began.

Wild horses have been found in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Weber Canyon according to the report.

RELATED: Mesa Verde Roundup Grinds On.

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

BLM Announces Bullfrog Bait Trap Roundup

The incident will begin on or about April 1 according to the news release.

The capture and removal goals are 500 each.

The target is burros.

The current population is thought to be around 1,100.

The HMA covers 157,180 total acres, including 146,701 public acres.

Operations will not be open to public observation.

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

There are no plans to treat any of the jennies with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

The roundup appears in the new schedule.

RELATED: Bullfrog Emergency Roundup?

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

BLM Defies Colorado Wild Horse Working Group?

The new roundup schedule ignores solutions developed by the task force according to a story by The Colorado Sun.

Despite the recommendations, Scott Wilson, former Director of Strategy and Awareness with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, said “…we are back where we were in 2022, with more than 1,000 horses being targeted for removals by helicopter.”

The group argued that strategic darting, not motorized removal, should be at the center of the state’s management efforts.

RELATED: Colorado Wild Horse Working Group Updates Eradication Plan.

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

SOWH Conference Moves to Park City

This year it’s called the National Wild Horse & Burro Conference, a successor to the Save Our Wild Horses Conference.

The field trip on Day 2 leads to the Onaqui Mountain HMA, where the advocates have added GonaCon to their darting repertoire, a practice they previously opposed, to beat the horse population down in favor of livestock.

Just another example of the downward spiral of wild horse advocacy.

Day 4 features presentations about rescues, sanctuaries, innovative programs and real pathways to getting horses into homes—exactly what the ranchers want.

Not to be discussed is the model employed by American Prairie and the Wild Horse Refuge: Owning or controlling private property tied to public lands and flipping the preference to horses.

The topic is of critical importance as the BLM has awakened to a new understanding of the meaning of livestock, a move prompted by ranching interests to discourage, if not preclude, the conversion of grazing allotments to wild animal preserves.

RELATED: Reminder About Sanctuaries.

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

Foal-Free Friday, Downward Spiral Edition

The last roundup schedule of FY25 showed 16 darting programs, nine employing PZP, six using GonaCon and one based on both.

In the new schedule for FY26, the program at Little Book Cliffs has shifted to the mix, bring the total in that category to two.

It’s a small change that reflects desperation of the advocates to remain relevant, keep their seat at the table and prove that fertility control is the preferred alternative to motorized removal.

Even if they resort to methods they previously opposed.

The move follows shifting attitudes in Arizona, where the advocates will supplement their mass sterilization program with motorized removal to hasten the decline of the Salt River herd, starting this summer.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Social Engineering Edition.

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

Rock Springs Roundups Delayed Until FY27?

They’re not on the schedule for FY26 and probably won’t be attempted before October according to a story by WyoFile, to make sure funding is in place and they’re on sound legal footing.

The changes authorized in the 2023 final planning documents have already been implemented in the ArcGIS Viewer.

Funding for FY26, which began on October 1, was not approved until late January.

RELATED: BLM Moves Rock Springs Roundups into Next Year.

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

Indigenous Livestock Grazing in Wyoming?

The authorization use report for Mosier Gulch indicates nine head on a twelve-month grazing season, species unknown.

The allotment master report gives the permittee as DEMATTEIS, JOHN AND LAURA.

A search for John Dematteis associated him with Yak Daddy Ranch in Buffalo, a small town east of the allotment.

Products and services include meat and live sales for starting your own herd.

Yaks were introduced to North America in the early 1900’s according to the site, putting them in the same category as cattle and sheep (not indigenous).

Does the permit comply with the BLM’s new understanding of the meaning of livestock?

Probably, in that the animals are used for production-oriented purposes.

They generate an income for their owners.

That’s what American Prairie needs to show in response to the agency’s flip-flop on their grazing permits.

An admission fee of 25¢ should do it.

RELATED: BLM Reneges on American Prairie Grazing Permits.

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