A Draft Environmental Assessment has been copied to the project folder with comments due by June 15.
Alternative A, the Proposed Action, features removal of excess animals to low AML, application of fertility control pesticides, sex ratio skewing and selective return of sterilized animals.
Table 11 provides data for livestock grazing.
The new HMAP is discussed in Appendix XIII.
The news release said the HMAP will set objectives for managing wild horses to maintain a thriving ecological balance within the HMA.
A Draft Environmental Assessment has been copied to the project folder with comments due on June 15.
Alternative A, the Proposed Action, features removal of excess animals to low AML, application of fertility control pesticides, sex ratio skewing and castration of stallions.
The footnote on page 6 (10 in the pdf) says that up to 1/4 of the population would be managed as permanently nonreproducing (roughly half of the stallions), on top of the mares sterilized by the pesticides.
The HMAP is discussed in section 2.2.
Table 8 has data for livestock grazing in the Complex.
The news release said that comments, including your identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time.
The method of removal would be in-house bait trap.
A roundup has not been announced and the incident does not appear on the schedule.
The CX said the burros have damaged the landowner’s fences but did not indicate if Oregon was a fence-out state and if the barriers met the requirements of a legal fence.
The ArcGIS Viewer puts the project area in the West Warm Springs Allotment.
Note that it has a green boundary but no orange boundary, suggesting that it’s part of the HMA but not part of the allotment.
An article by the North Dakota Monitor suggests that the Park Service, despite political intervention and public opposition, intends to eliminate the TRNP wild horses by inoculating the mares with a birth control drug that will reduce fertility and could cause complete sterilization.
“An intended sharp decline in the birth rate will mean the inevitable ruination of the herd.”
What you may not realize is that the method enjoys broad support from the wild horse advocates, with qualifications: Mass sterilization is OK if done with PZP.
They’re demonstrating this at the Salt River, Virginia Range and elsewhere.
You will not question the need for removal.
Horse advocates believe the herd’s health will be compromised, according to the story, in part by the loss of the very characteristics that made them suited to the challenging environment of the Badlands.
What advocates?
The writer did not tell you that the local advocacy group, Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates, is a forward base of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in mass sterilization.
The BLM’s decision is not grounded in resource damage, permit violations or failed stewardship, according to the news release, it reflects a political effort to target bison conservation despite overwhelming evidence that the nonprofit has managed the land responsibly for years.
Given that American Wild Horse Conservancy has a permit (#2700562), it must own the cattle.
The managing member of the LLC is American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, according to the Nevada Business Portal, also known as the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses. Search for entity number E5230582020-2 or business ID NV20201732447.
So while CAAWH tells you it’s protecting wild horses, it’s running cattle in their lawful home while its partner organizations drive the horse numbers down to protect them.
The agency issued its final decision today, revoking the permits granted in 2022.
Only production‑oriented livestock operations qualify for grazing permits, according to the news release, and the agency lacks the statutory authority to allow bison on federal grazing allotments for conservation and ecological restoration.
The about-face, which may be rooted in politics, appeases ranchers in Montana and sends a strong signal to those who would establish conservancies on public lands by purchasing or leasing base properties and flipping the preference to wild horses.
Western Horse Watchers opposes the decision and urges American Prairie to explore all options for reinstatement of the permits.