The case involves a new, made-to-order interpretation of the grazing rules designed to limit grazing permits to production-oriented livestock, precluding the use of grazing allotments for conservation purposes, such as wild horse preserves.

If conservation herds were illegal, as the ranchers and their allies claim, the folks at Wild Horse Refuge would have been told to keep their animals on their own property, Mustang Monument never would have been proposed and American Prairie’s bison restoration project would have been dead on arrival.

Last month a federal judge ruled that the Taylor Grazing Act does not require a grazing operation to focus exclusively on production and ignore conservation or restoration.

PREVIOUS: Court Puts American Prairie’s Permit Revocation on Hold.

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

The news release says the Monticello Field Office issued a proposed decision authorizing the agency to drill a new well on the Spring Creek West Allotment but the DNA, copied to the project folder in ePlanning, indicates that installation and maintenance would be the responsibility of the permittee.

The allotment offers 150 active AUMs on 1,360 public acres, equivalent to 9.2 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.

The allotment master report puts Spring Creek West in the Improve category with no AUMs in the suspended column to help the land recover.

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

State legislators drafted a resolution asking Congress to remove restrictions on the management and disposition of wild horses and burros and to authorize additional methods for the management and disposition of said animals, and to amend federal funding restrictions to allow for the destruction of healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros by the BLM, according to a report by Wyoming Public Media.

A draft bill, sponsored by the same representative, would repeal the criminal penalty for killing these animals.

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

The incident started on October 2.  Results through October 12:

• FY: 2027
• Scope: Sulphur HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 250
• Pre-gather population: 560
• Type: Planned
• Contractor: Cattoor
• Contract amount: $287,650
• Unit cost: $959
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 300
• Removal goal: 300
• Captured: 196, no change from Day 9
• Shipped: 193, no change from Day 9
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 9
• Average daily take: 17.8
• Unaccounted-for animals: 1
• 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 gather stats say 194 shipped.

The helicopter did not fly on Days 10 and 11 due to bad weather.

The death rate is 1.0%.

The capture total includes 59 stallions, 98 mares and 39 foals.

Youngsters represented 19.9% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 15% per year.

Of the adults, 37.6% were male and 62.4% were female.  These numbers don’t look like they came from a population that’s 50% male / 50% female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site 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: 2,352 AUMs per year
• Water: 1,960 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities are closed to the public, with the exception of observers escorted by BLM staff.

PREVIOUS: Sulphur Roundup, Day 9.

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

Data from gather pages yielded 23 accidental deaths between July 1 and September 30, such as a mare crashing into a pipe panel and breaking her neck.

A pivot table for contractor versus horses captured and acute deaths gave these results:

At first you might think that Warner had the highest death rate but from a statistical viewpoint, using some basic calculations, you can’t tell them apart.  One contractor’s methods are no better or worse than the others.

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

At or near the Green Mountain HMA with Angelique Rea.

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

The incident started on October 2.  Results through October 10:

• FY: 2027
• Scope: Sulphur HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 250
• Pre-gather population: 560
• Type: Planned
• Contractor: Cattoor
• Contract amount: $287,650
• Unit cost: $959
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Destroy the breeding population with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 300
• Removal goal: 300
• Captured: 196, up from 167 on Day 7
• Shipped: 193, up from 118 on Day 7
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 7
• Average daily take: 21.8
• Unaccounted-for animals: 1
• 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 gather stats say 194 shipped.

The death rate is 1.0%.

The capture total includes 59 stallions, 98 mares and 39 foals.

Youngsters represented 19.9% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 15% per year.

Of the adults, 37.6% were male and 62.4% were female.  These numbers don’t look like they came from a population that’s 50% male / 50% female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site 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: 2,352 AUMs per year
• Water: 1,960 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities are closed to the public, with the exception of observers escorted by BLM staff.

PREVIOUS: Sulphur Roundup, Day 7.

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

The Decision Record authorizes Alternative A, the Proposed Action, discussed in section 2.4 of the Final EA.

• Implement new HMAP
• Remove excess animals to low AML
• Apply fertility control
• Shift sex ratio in favor of males
• Monitor genetic diversity

The new HMAP is considered in Appendix I.

Appendix XIII says a preliminary EA was made available for a 30-day public review starting on June 26 but Western Horse Watchers did not see the announcement and cannot find the document in the project folder.

The Eagle Complex consists of the Eagle, Choke Cherry and Mount Elinor HMAs.

The combined AML is 145–265.

The current population is at 10X AML according to the news release.

PREVIOUS: Scoping Begins for Eagle HMAP and Enforcement Plan.

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

The final planning documents were copied to the project folder on October 7.

The Decision Record authorizes Alternative One, the Proposed Action, discussed in section 2.1 of the Final EA.

Four allotments would be merged into one named Belleville.

The original allotments would become pastures.

A ten-year permit would be issued to the successful applicant.

The new allotment overlaps the Marietta Burro Range.  Refer to the map in Appendix D.

It’s not clear if AUMs have been always available to livestock in Marietta or have been taken from the burros without an RMP amendment.

Requests to shift AUMs from livestock to wild horses or burros are usually met with this response: “Changes to livestock grazing cannot be made through a wild horse gather decision and are only possible if BLM first revises the land-use plans to re-allocate livestock forage to wild horses and to eliminate or reduce livestock grazing.”

PREVIOUS: Marietta Grazing Plan Back on the Table.

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

The incident concluded on October 9 with 388 horses captured, 386 shipped, none released and two dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

Operations were suspended for over two weeks due to helicopter problems.

The capture total included 146 stallions, 161 mares and 81 foals.

Youngsters represented 20.9% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 47.6% were male and 52.4% were female.

The death rate was 0.5%.  All deaths were intentional.

There were no plans to inhibit the mares with PZP and return them to the range.

The contractor was Cattoor and the obligated amount was $269,383.

The reduction in forage demand means the ranchers can enjoy more of what their allotments have to offer, even if their potential has been diminished by drought.

PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Emergency Roundup Announced.

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

The incident started on September 4.  Results through October 8:

• FY: 2026
• Scope: Sheepshead/Heath Creek HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 302
• Pre-gather population: 1,200
• Type: Emergency
• Contractor: Cattoor
• Contract amount: $269,383
• Unit cost: $540
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Destroy the breeding population with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 499
• Removal goal: 499
• Captured: 387, up from 370 on Day 33
• Shipped: 355, up from 285 on Day 33
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 33
• Average daily take: 11.1 (includes two-week lull for helicopter repairs)
• Unaccounted-for animals: 30
• 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.

Aerial operations have concluded but the incident can’t be marked complete with 30 unaccounted-for animals.

The death rate is 0.5%.

The capture total includes 145 stallions, 161 mares and 81 foals.

Youngsters represented 20.9% of the animals gathered, a sign of genetic diversity and large enough to support a herd growth rate of 15% per year.

Of the adults, 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio (usually found in herds where the advocates are involved).

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

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

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

The area is closed to the public with no allowance for observers or reporters.

PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Roundup, Day 33.

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

Data from gather pages indicate that accidental deaths during roundups between July 1 and September 30, such as a mare crashing into a pipe panel and breaking her neck, accounted for a little more than a third of the total.

Intentional deaths, such as a stallion being euthanized for blindness or missing teeth, accounted for the remainder.

The advocates, interested in helping the ranchers and expanding their fertility control programs, argue that motorized removal must be stopped to prevent the fatalities.

But which ones?

In catch-treat-release, helicopters would be used to corral the herds, so no improvement there.

In field darting, deaths would be replaced by injuries and infections, and, over the long run, permanent infertility, loss of genetic diversity and herd collapse.

As for the intentional deaths, that effort goes on year around, not just during roundups.

If the advocates were successful, no foals would be born so there would be no deaths due to emaciation, blindness, club feet, etc.

The older horses would die and the ranchers would have all the resources to themselves.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Breaking the Mold Edition.

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

The incident started on October 2.  Results through October 8:

• FY: 2027
• Scope: Sulphur HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 250
• Pre-gather population: 560
• Type: Planned
• Contractor: Cattoor
• Contract amount: $287,650
• Unit cost: $959
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Beat the numbers down permanently with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 300
• Removal goal: 300
• Captured: 167, up from 126 on Day 5
• Shipped: 118, up from 81 on Day 5
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 5
• Average daily take: 23.9
• Unaccounted-for animals: 47
• 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 gather stats say 119 shipped.

The death rate is 1.2%.

The capture total includes 54 stallions, 81 mares and 32 foals.

Youngsters represented 19.2% of the animals gathered, large enough to support a herd growth rate of 13 to 14 percent per year.

Of the adults, 40.0% were male and 60.0% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site 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: 2,004 AUMs per year
• Water: 1,670 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities are closed to the public, with the exception of observers escorted by BLM staff.

PREVIOUS: Sulphur Roundup, Day 5.

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

The obligated amount is $393,488 according to a report at USA Spending.

The incident is on the schedule with a start date of October 15.

The tentative capture and removal goals are 931 and 827, respectively.

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

PREVIOUS: BLM Issues Red Desert Final Planning Documents.

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

The incident started on September 4.  Results through October 6:

• FY: 2026
• Scope: Sheepshead/Heath Creek HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 302
• Pre-gather population: 1,200
• Type: Emergency
• Contractor: Cattoor
• Contract amount: $269,383
• Unit cost: $540
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 499
• Removal goal: 499
• Captured: 370, up from 314 on Day 31
• Shipped: 285, up from 249 on Day 31
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 31
• Average daily take: 11.2 (includes two-week lull for helicopter repairs)
• Unaccounted-for animals: 83
• 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 death rate is 0.5%.

The capture total includes 137 stallions, 155 mares and 78 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.1% of the animals gathered, a sign of genetic diversity and large enough to support a herd growth rate of 15% per year.

Of the adults, 46.9% were male and 53.1% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio (usually found in herds where the advocates are involved).

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

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

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

The area is closed to the public with no allowance for observers or reporters.

PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Roundup, Day 31.

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

The incident started on October 2.  Results through October 6:

• FY: 2027
• Scope: Sulphur HMA
• Target: Horses
• AML: 250
• Pre-gather population: 560
• Type: Planned
• Contractor: Cattoor
• Contract amount: $287,650
• Unit cost: $959
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
• Better way: Stop the transmission of life with PZP (according to advocates)
• Capture goal: 300
• Removal goal: 300
• Captured: 126, up from 73 on Day 3
• Shipped: 81, up from 42 on Day 3
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 3
• Average daily take: 25.2
• Unaccounted-for animals: 43
• 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 death rate is 1.6%.

The capture total includes 45 stallions, 60 mares and 21 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.7% of the animals gathered, too low to support a herd growth rate of 15 to 20 percent per year.

Of the adults, 42.9% were male and 57.1% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site 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: 1,512 AUMs per year
• Water: 1,260 gallons per day

Public lands within two miles of active trapping locations and temporary holding facilities are closed to the public, with the exception of observers escorted by BLM staff.

PREVIOUS: Sulphur Roundup, Day 3.

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

The liars and frauds on socialist media far outnumber the kayakers and paddleboarders on the river.

The only way to save the herd is to bring in mares from other areas, which will invalidate the $325,000 genetic study, now in the planning stages.

RELATED: Board of Regents Authorizes Salt River Genetic Research.

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