The next meeting of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will occur in Washington D.C. October 29 – 31. The event will be live-streamed and public comments will be taken on October 31. Refer to this BLM news release for more information.
Month: September 2019
Senate Funding of ‘Path Forward’ in the News
Funding to carry out a sizeable chunk of the wild horse management plan, authorized last week by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, has ranchers celebrating and advocates fuming, according to an AP story posted today by KTLA News of Los Angeles.
The glorious ‘Path Forward,’ as it is known, will protect the animals from killing or sale to slaughter, according to the report, except that most of them will be removed from their home range (so they can be replaced with privately owned cattle and sheep).
Put them in sanctuaries or contracted pastures so they can live out their lives in segregated herds. No families, no foals, no legacy.
Dorian Lets Corolla Wild Horses Visit Town
The fence that confines them to beaches on the north side of town was damaged by the storm, allowing them to roam into populated areas. A story by The Virginian-Pilot says they are corralled each day and returned to their home range.
Assateague Filly Killed by Vehicle
The incident happened early yesterday, on the Maryland side of the island, according to a report by the Maryland Coast Dispatch.
UPDATE: Refer to this news release by NPS.
Mustang Monday
Short Trip to Cumberland Island
MooMoo Math and Science shows you the wild horses and other attractions.
RELATED: Cumberland Island Horses.
Who Added ‘Path Forward’ to Senate Spending Bill?
The legislation was drafted by the Subcommittee for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and approved by the Senate Committee on Appropriations last week. It still has to be put to a vote of the full Senate and be reconciled with the bill in the House.
The House authorized $6 million for a ‘Path Forward’ pilot program earlier this year.
The Senate authorized $35 million for the ‘Path Forward’ in FY 2020.
Almost all of the senators on the Subcommittee are liberals. The two in the ‘minority’ are not paragons of conservatism (grades from Conservative Review).
- Lisa Murkowski, Chair, R-AK, F
- Tom Udall, Ranking Member, D-NM, F
- Lamar Alexander, Member, R-TN, F
- Roy Blunt, Member, R-MO, F
- Mitch McConnell, Member, R-KY, F
- Shelley Moore Capito, Member, R-WV, F
- Cindy Hyde-Smith, Member, R-MS, F
- Steve Daines, Member, R-MT, C
- Marco Rubio, Member, R-FL, D
- Dianne Feinstein, Member, D-CA, F
- Patrick Leahy, Member, D-VT, F
- Jack Reed, Member, D-RI, F
- Jon Tester, Member, D-MT, F
- Jeff Merkley, Member, D-OR, F
- Chris Van Hollen, Member, D-MD, F
Look at the first page of the ‘Path Forward.’ There are no endorsements from oil companies, mining companies, timber companies.
So who on the Subcommittee is in bed with the public-lands ranchers? Which senators would benefit from fewer wild horses in their state?
The BLM manages wild horses and burros in ten western states, while the Forest Service manages wild horses and burros in nine western states.
The demonic plan was not discussed in the Appropriations Committee meeting last week, even though the Bill for Interior contained a large expenditure for the new item.
You can listen to the audio here. Remarks about the bill run from 30:37 to 43:30.
Apparently, the guilty parties don’t want to be identified.
Salt River Secrets
Like the Virginia Range mustangs, these guys are managed at the state level and are not subject to the glorious ‘Path Forward.’ Both herds are hunted by the PZP zealots.
Range Creek Gather in Progress
The roundup started yesterday, with 63 excess horses removed from their home range in eastern Utah. No deaths were reported and body condition scores were 4’s, according to the daily report. Public observation was not allowed because the operation was carried out on private land. Observers were present at the temporary holding facility.
RELATED: Range Creek Gather This Month.
Cedar Island Herd to be Rebuilt
The remnant, following losses attributed to hurricane Dorian, includes thirteen mares and eight geldings—a non-starter for those unfamiliar with horses.
But one of the herd managers has a stallion in reserve, and he will be allowed to rejoin the herd in the spring, according to a story posted earlier today by the Carteret County News-Times of Morehead City, NC.
Although two other stallions are available in South Carolina, questions of inbreeding and genetic viability remain.
The Cedar Island herd was established about 25 years ago as a ‘backup’ for the herd at Shackleford Banks.
IRRC Wins Stewardship Award
The Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission, the propaganda arm for public-lands ranching in the state, was recognized today by the BLM for involving students in rangeland education and policy formation. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Public Lands Council (another propaganda organ).
Also commended was their promotion of recreational activities involving livestock grazing, according to the news release.
RELATED: IRRC Expands Propaganda.
Senate Committee Allocates $35 Million for ‘Path Forward’
Today the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for FY 2020 that includes $35 million for the demonic wild horse management plan, according to a news release by Animal Wellness Action, a lobbying group in Washington, D.C.
UPDATE: See page 16 in the report that accompanies the FY 2020 appropriations bill.
Group Seeks Information on New Grazing Initiative
The Flathead Beacon of Kalispell, MT reported yesterday that the Western Watersheds Project filed a lawsuit earlier this week to obtain more information about a program announced in 2017 and launched in 2018.
BLM says the project will give land managers and permit holders greater flexibility in managing privately owned livestock on public lands.
WWP claims the program will put wildlife, including some endangered species, at risk.
Although the link to the map is broken, the project may involve lands set aside for wild horses, given the list of operators in the 2018 news release.
‘Path Forward’ Putting RTF Horses and Burros at Risk?
The article last week by The Washington Post said that Return to Freedom has lost donors because it signed on to the cattle-centric management plan for wild horses.
The video description (at YouTube) includes a link to their hay fund.
RELATED: ‘Path Forward’ in the News.
Dorian Achieves Same Results as ‘Path Forward’
Sixty percent of the Cedar Island herd is gone. You could argue that genetic diversity was lacking before the storm. If not, it is now. Can they recover?
The same thing could happen out west. A fast moving wildfire, a harsh winter or a fatal disease could ruin one or more HMAs.
Even in the face of these threats, the PZP zealots will not rethink their position, because they, like the public-lands ranchers, believe there are too many wild horses on western rangelands.
The glorious Path Forward, with its plan for massive roundups and widespread use of contraceptives, will make those rangelands look like they were hit by a natural disaster, at least from a wild horse viewpoint.
The fences will still be there. The forage will still be there. And the livestock will still be there, as they were before that pesky Wild Horse Annie got involved.
RELATED: Cedar Island Horses Swept Away by Dorian.
WHB Program Moving to Grand Junction
Office space rented last week by the BLM will house leaders of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, who will be moving from Washington, D.C. in the coming months, according to a story posted today by The Gazette of Colorado Springs.
RELATED: BLM Picks New Headquarters.
Cedar Island Horses Swept Away by Dorian
The Charlotte Observer is reporting that 28 wild horses were lost on Cedar Island when hurricane Dorian hit on 09-06-19. The horses roamed freely on 1,000 acres of privately owned land about 25 miles northeast of Shackleford Banks. Only 21 remain.
Videos of a dead horse being eaten by a tiger shark in that area were posted two days ago by Reel Hooker Fishing & Outdoor Adventures.
The story did not indicate if the Cedar Island herd was subject to humane management practices (see Lexicon).
RELATED: New Pony on Shackleford Banks But Did They Survive Dorian?
Fight or Flight
Some Virginia Range mustangs opt for the latter in these trailcam photos from 2018.
Mustang Monday
On Sand Wash Basin HMA with HighStakesRanch.
Surprise Valley Horses Ignore HMA Boundaries
Filmed near Cedarville, CA, not far from the Nevada border, these wild horses roam in an area between Round Mountain HMA and Carter Reservoir HMA.
The Round Mountain HMA is the BLM-managed portion of the Devil’s Garden WHT, most of which lies to the west of Round Mountain (above Alturas).
Surprise Valley, which includes the town of Cedarville, is on the western side of the Great Basin, home to many of the nation’s wild horses and burros.
Western Horse Watchers Association 