AZDA Posts Salt River Contract Award Notice

The announcement, dated February 18, was published to its news site yesterday.

To wit, the new management plan balances the population with available resources while maintaining genetic integrity, which is nonsense, not when the advocates have ruined the mares with PZP.

Breeding, not mass sterilization, assures long-term viability.

Horses removed from their habitat can only go to sanctuaries approved by AZDA.

RELATED: Salt River Advocates Win New Contract with AZDA.

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

How Many Wild Horses Can the Callaghan HMA Support?

The HMA overlaps the Austin, Grass Valley and Simpson Park allotments, with 51% in Austin, 42% in Grass Valley and 7% in Simpson Park according to Table 5 of the Final EA for the Callaghan Complex.

The 237 wild horses allowed by plan require 2,844 AUMs per year.

Austin offers 14,478 active AUMs on 235,185 public acres, equivalent to 5.1 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Grass Valley offers 17,701 active AUMs on 267,201 public acres, equivalent to 5.5 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Simpson Park offers 3,406 active AUMs on 96,818 public acres, equivalent to 2.9 wild horses per thousand public acres.

These resources are present in the HMA, assuming they’re evenly distributed across the allotments, but they’ve been assigned to livestock.

To estimate the carrying capacity, shift them back to the horses.  Forage assigned to wildlife stays with wildlife.

The HMA covers 152,726 public acres so the forage allocated to the Austin permittees inside the HMA should support 152,726 × .51 × 5.1 ÷ 1,000 = 397 wild horses.

The forage allocated to the Grass Valley ranchers should support 152,726 × .42 × 5.5 ÷ 1,000 = 353 wild horses.

The forage assigned to the Simpson Park ranchers should support 152,726 × .07 × 2.9 ÷ 1,000 = 31 wild horses.

The HMA should be able to sustain 237 + 397 + 353 + 31 = 1,018 wild horses (4X AML) if it was managed principally for them as specified in the original statute.

The new stocking rate would be 1,018 ÷ 152,726 × 1,000 = 6.7 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.

The allotment master report puts all of the acreage in the Improve category.

Austin has more AUMs in the suspended column than active, while everything is active at Simpson Park.

The allotments would not make a good wild horse preserve because they overlap areas identified for wild horses and there is more than one authorization attached to each, so you’d have to acquire or control several base properties to access all of the AUMs.

Simpson Park contains Spencer Hot Springs, a water source for the Hickison burros.

RELATED: BLM Publishes Callaghan Final Planning Documents.

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

Scoping Begins for Muddy Creek HMAP?

Two projects have been added to ePlanning, both with the same NEPA numbers but different URLs.

The second project has an open comment period for a management evaluation report.

The scoping statement gives a due date of April 1.

Western Horse Watchers has not seen any announcements or news reports on the topic.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

UPDATE: The link in the news release, issued on March 3, points to the second project.

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

Would Sanpete Allotments Make a Good Wild Horse Preserve?

They’re on the small side and not contiguous but the permits are up for renewal with comments due by March 4.

The allotment master report puts Hayes Canyon, Little Valley, Swedes Canyon and West Side in the Maintain category with equivalent stocking rates ranging from 3.6 to 12.6 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Your faithful public servants claim that rangeland health will suffer if wild horse stocking rates exceed one animal per thousand acres.

If a lying contest was held next week, who would win?  The bureaucrats or advocates?

RELATED: How Many Wild Horses Can Public Lands Really Support?

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

Grants for Eco-Sanctuaries on Public and Private Lands?

Up to $20 million was available for partnerships with private landowners to provide sanctuaries for wild horses according to a notice from 2011.

The announcement does not explain the BLM’s expectations but a program that helps interested groups (not the advocates) acquire or control private properties attached to public lands would serve a useful purpose today.

The advocates would only be interested in a program that helps them buy pesticides so they can beat the horse populations down in favor of livestock.

If a proposed sanctuary doesn’t include public lands and doesn’t displace livestock therefrom, it’s not worthy of your support.

RELATED: Starting a Nonprofit That Actually Helps Wild Horses.

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

BLM Not Pulling Wild Horses from Hutchinson?

A report by KRNV News about the inmate training program at Carson City says the agency is working on a new agreement with Hutchinson.

The training program at Carson City is expected to continue according to the story.

RELATED: BLM Pulling Wild Horses from Hutchinson Correctional Facility?

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

BLM Approves Silver Peak Lithium Mine Expansion

The news release says it’s now authorized to operate on 8,058 total acres, including 1,601 public acres.

Table 1-3 of the Final EIS says there are no Herd Management Areas within the Plan of Operations boundary, but Figure 1-2, in combination with the ArcGIS Viewer, shows that it extends into Paymaster.

The mine, the only one producing lithium in the United States, is a few miles west of Alkali Hot Springs, a source of water for wild horses and burros.

The EIS can be found in the project folder with other planning documents.

RELATED: Wild Horses and Burros Losing Access to Alkali Hot Springs?

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

Diversionary Tactics in the Wild Horse World

They’re not putting out hay to draw wild horses away from populated areas, they’re putting out propaganda to distract you from the truth.

Such as the mass sterilization program on the Virginia Range.

Getting rid of nine times ninety-nine would be a lowball estimate.

How about the equivalent of nine Antelope-Moriah roundups?

Not because the land can’t support that many but because the bureaucrats said so.

Why don’t they write about that?

RELATED: Advocates Surpass Shooters in Race to Eliminate Wild Horses.

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

Foal-Free Friday, Oxymorons and Redundancies Edition

These two words don’t belong together: Honest advocate.

Why doesn’t Moonfire have any other colts to play with?

Will his mom be among the first to go?

Nobody says “evil demons.”  It’s redundant.

Likewise for the advocates.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Crossing the Line Edition.

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

ArcGIS Update Reflects Rock Springs RMP Amendments

The HMA layer in the Viewer was updated a week ago and gone are the polygons for Salt Wells Creek and Divide Basin.

The outline for Adobe Town was also updated.

With the exception of White Mountain, the Wyoming checkerboard has been cleansed of wild horses, at least from a planning viewpoint, despite a court order opposing it.

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

BLM Seeks Range Techs

In this role you will work under the supervision and guidance of professional range and natural resource specialists performing a variety of duties related to monitoring rangeland conditions and managing herds of wild horses and burros.

    The temporary position is based in Belle Fourche, SD, where public lands are scarce and there are no defined areas for wild horses and burros.

    Another possibility if you want to be around wild horses is to work for free as a certified applicator of fertility control pesticides—not for the BLM but for the advocates.

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

    Antelope-Moriah Emergency Roundup Over

    The incident concluded on February 25 with 344 horses captured, 338 shipped, none released and six dead.

    There were no unaccounted-for animals.

    All but one of the deaths were intentional.

    The death rate was 1.7%.

    The capture total included 131 stallions, 147 mares and 66 foals.

    Youngsters represented 19.2% of the animals gathered.

    Of the adults, 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female.

    A map of the project area was not provided.

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

    The roundup supported three tenets of rangeland management.

    RELATED: Antelope-Moriah Emergency Roundup Announced.

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

    Antelope-Moriah Roundup, Day 3

    The incident started on February 22.  Results through February 24:

    • Scope: Outside Antelope HMA and Moriah HA
    • Target: Horses
    • Type: Emergency
    • Method: Helicopter
    • Better way: Beat the populations down with ovary-killing pesticides*
    • Capture goal: 300
    • Removal goal: 300
    • Captured: 344
    • Shipped: 190
    • Released: None
    • Deaths: 3
    • Average daily take: 114.7
    • Unaccounted-for animals: 151

    *According to advocates.

    The figures above are based on the daily reports.

    Aerial operations concluded with 14.7% overreach.

    A stallion was dispatched on Day 3 due to poor body condition and a filly died of a broken neck.

    The death rate is 0.9%.

    The capture total includes 131 stallions, 147 mares and 66 foals.

    Youngsters represented 19.2% of the animals gathered.

    Of the adults, 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female.

    The gather page says 219 horses shipped.

    Body condition scores were not given.

    The location of the trap site is not known.

    The name of the contractor was not disclosed.

    The operation has liberated 4,128 AUMs per year.

    RELATED: Antelope-Moriah Emergency Roundup in Progress.

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

    How Many Wild Horses Can the South Shoshone HMA Support?

    The HMA overlaps the Carico Lake and Austin allotments, with 11% in Austin and 89% in Carico Lake according to Table 8 of the Final EA for the Callaghan Complex.

    The 100 wild horses allowed by plan require 1,200 AUMs per year.

    Carico Lake offers 24,954 active AUMs per year on 562,465 public acres, equivalent to 3.7 wild horses per thousand public acres.

    Austin offers 14,478 active AUMs per year on 235,185 public acres, equivalent to 5.1 wild horses per thousand public acres.

    If the resource is evenly distributed across the parcels, it’s present in the HMA but your faithful public servants gave it to the ranchers.

    To estimate the carrying capacity, shift it back to the horses.  Forage assigned to wildlife stays with wildlife.

    The HMA covers 132,401 public acres so the forage granted to the Carico Lake ranchers should support 132,401 × .89 × 3.7 ÷ 1,000 = 436 wild horses.

    The forage granted to the Austin permittees inside the HMA should support 132,401 × .11 × 5.1 ÷ 1,000 = 74 wild horses.

    The HMA should be able to sustain 100 + 436 + 74 = 610 wild horses (6X AML) if it was managed principally for them, as specified in the original statute.

    The new stocking rate would be 610 ÷ 132,401 × 1,000 = 4.6 wild horses per thousand public acres, a bit more than the target stocking rate across all HMAs of one wild horse per thousand acres.

    The allotment master report puts Austin and Carico Lake in the Improve category, which could be due to overgrazing or there may be some other environmental concern that needs monitoring.

    The allotments would not make a good wild horse preserve because they overlap areas identified for wild horses and there is more than one authorization attached to each, so you’d have to acquire or control several base properties to access all of the AUMs.

    RELATED: BLM Publishes Callaghan Final Planning Documents.

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

    Salt River Advocates to Become Full-Service Contractor?

    Look at their capabilities:

    • Mass sterilization – Active
    • Bait-trap removal – Developing
    • Helicopter roundups – Future
    • Placement into private care – Active

    The opponents of motorized removal have become its reluctant practitioners.

    Not really.

    How long before the mask comes off and reluctance transitions to enthusiasm?

    RELATED: Salt River Motorized Removal to Begin This Summer?

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