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.

Housecleaning at CAAWH?

Here’s an archive view of the staff last May.  Scroll down to “Our Team.”

Here’s the current roster.

These individuals are no longer on the list:

  • Abbey Benesh, Law and Policy Manager
  • Amelia Perrin, Sr. Communications Manager
  • Maddi Mincey, Virginia Range Fertility Control Coordinator
  • Olivia Lester, Legal Affairs Research Associate
  • Scott Wilson, Director of Strategy and Awareness
  • Steve Paige, Field Representative
  • Suzanne Roy, Executive Director
  • Tandin Chapman, Utah Conservation Operations Manager

In recent years, Roy transformed the nonprofit into a ranching advocacy group, with heavy reliance on pesticides to achieve the government’s population goals, while the board looked the other way.

Not really.

Her bogus land trust is in an area where livestock are welcomed but horses are not.

The title of largest attempted eradication of wild horses belongs to her for the mass sterilization program on the Virginia Range.

A sigh of relief must have gone up at her departure.

Western Horse Watchers does not know who’s currently driving the bus and if the reduction-in-force is part of a restructuring and rededication to its original mission.

RELATED: CAAWH Seeks Operations & Executive Support Manager?

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

Bait-Trap Removals Clash with First Amendment Rights?

They’re usually not open to observation, interfering with the public’s right to know what their government is doing.

The risks of injury and death, after the gate closes, are similar to those of forcible removal, as the writer of a commentary in Nevada Current points out.

Especially during foaling season.

As of this morning, the BLM has not posted any results for the roundups mentioned in the column (Antelope & Triple B, Caliente, Pancake, Spring Mountains).

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

BLM Releases 2026 Population Estimates

The dataset puts the on-range totals at 61,523 wild horses and 23,943 wild burros, compared to an overall AML of 25,592.

Approximately 61% of the horses are in Nevada and 57% of the burros are in Arizona.

New Mexico is at the other end of the spectrum, with 97 wild horses and no burros.

The aimed-at stocking rate across all HMAs is 25,592 animals on 25,572,687 acres, or one animal per thousand acres.

Overpopulation means more animals than allowed by plan, not necessarily more animals than the land can sustain.

The report was posted to the program data page.

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

Indigenous Livestock Grazing in Colorado

The authorization use report for Lower Middle Creek indicates 75 head on a three-month grazing season, species unknown.

The allotment master report gives the permittee as DWAYNE M. OSADCHUK TRUST.

A search for Dwayne Osadchuk associated him with Lucky 8 Ranch in Oak Creek, a small town southeast of the allotment.

Products and services include bison processing and meat sales according to a profile at the Rocky Mountain Bison Association.

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

Probably so, 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.

RELATED: BLM Reneges on American Prairie Grazing Permits.

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

BLM Publishes FY26 Roundup Schedule

The new plan, dated March 13, begins with 16 darting programs.

Nearly 1,500 animals are in the emergency/nuisance section, with 376 unassigned.

The next section, for incidents during foaling season, adds five more bait-trap removals to those announced last week.

The last section covers incidents after foaling season, with nearly 8,000 wild horses in that category.

The overall capture and removal goals are 14,830 and 14,378, respectively.

The fiscal year began on October 1.

The agency’s budget was not approved until late January.

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

CAAWH Seeks Operations & Executive Support Manager?

Key responsibilities include managing the executive director’s calendar, inbox triage, meeting preparation, follow-ups and travel logistics according to an undated job posting on Indeed.

Does that mean the executive director is suffering from mental illness or is in a state of cognitive decline?

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses and its partner organizations lead the nation in mass sterilization and undying service to the public lands ranchers.

Stay barren!

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

Ninth Circuit Wrangles with Meaning of Immediate

An article by Courthouse News Service does not identify the appellants but they may be permittees on the Stone Cabin allotments.

The case centers around the definition of “immediate,” as in immediate removal of excess animals when overpopulation exists.  Refer to §1333(b)(2) in 16 USC 30.

The term does not appear in the original statute.

Overpopulation means more horses that allowed by plan, not more horses than the land can support.

Not when your faithful public servants assign most of the resources to livestock.

RELATED: Stone Cabin Permittees Demand Immediate Removal of Horses.

UPDATE: A story by Western Livestock Journal indicates the appellants are the Stone Cabin permittees.

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

Would Tower Creek Make a Good Wild Horse Preserve?

It’s too small but the BLM seeks public input on a water improvement project.

The scoping report says the allotment met Idaho standards for Rangeland Health in 2004 but today it’s in the Improve category.

The parcel offers 567 active AUMs on 4,409 public acres according to the allotment master report, equivalent to 10.7 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Your faithful public servants claim that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring or controlling a base property and flipping its preference to horses.

In this case, there are three permits on the allotment, so you might have to buy several base properties to access all of the AUMs.  Not a good idea.

The authorization use report indicates that permit #1104620, held by BILL BERNT, is for horses while the other two are for cattle.

The operator information report at RAS did not show any other authorizations for BILL BERNT, no other permits to graze cattle, sheep or goats.

So what production-oriented purpose—a requirement to get a grazing permit according to the BLM’s new understanding of the meaning of livestock—do his horses serve?

This could be another permit to revoke if the agency decides to pull the grazing permits of American Prairie.

RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.

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

BLM Dispatches Pine Nut Stallion

He was hit in the knee by a ricochet bullet from nearby target shooting according to a story by The Record-Courier.

The report did not give the name of the allotment where the incident occurred.

The loss takes a little pressure off the darting program and liberates 12 AUMs per year for other mandated uses of public lands.

The Pine Nut advocacy group is a forward base of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.

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

Horse Grazing on the Bryan Allotment

The authorization use report at RAS shows 37 horses on 6.5-month grazing season, divided into two parts.

The allotment master report gives the permittee as MILLER, CHARLES & DIANA.

In its effort to nullify the permits of American Prairie and discourage those who might purchase a base property and convert the associated allotments to a refuge, the BLM claimed in its proposed decision that it cannot issue grazing permits for animals treated as wild or intended to be released into the wild but it can issue permits for animals used in production-oriented operations, or in support thereof, such as horses used to herd cattle.

The operator information report shows no other authorizations for the Millers, no permits to graze cattle, sheep or goats.

So what production-oriented purpose do their horses serve?

Maybe they run cattle on another allotment under a different name.

Do they need 37 horses for that?  Must be a big one.

Or maybe their permit doesn’t comply with the agency’s new understanding of the meaning of livestock.

If that’s true, they should be drafting more than one notice of permit cancellation.

RELATED: American Prairie Unfairly Targeted for Indigenous Livestock Grazing?

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

Foal-Free Friday, Social Engineering Edition

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, believed that contraceptives would be useful in reducing certain undesirable elements in society and avoiding the detrimental effects of overpopulation according to an article by Wikipedia.

So it is today on public lands in the western U.S., with the advocates and their political allies clamoring for wild horse birth control.

What they don’t tell you is that their fertility control vaccines are actually pesticides that sterilize the mares, leading to herd demise.

Like Sanger, who found favor with the eugenicists, the advocates are gaining the respect of those who want the range cleansed of wild horses.

Why are you still giving them money?

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Pesticide Delivery Edition.

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