Seaman Range and White River Herds to Be Downsized

BLM said today that wild horses in and around the Seaman Range and White River Herd Areas—lands no longer designated for them—will be removed, starting next week.

The gathers will be carried out with helicopters and will be open to public observation, according to the news release.

The two former HMAs contain about 475,100 acres in eastern Nevada, south of Ely.

The Golden Gate and Seaman Range HAs were combined in the 1980s and are referred to as the Seaman Range HA in the Final Environmental Assessment for the roundups.

Seaman Range White River HA Map-1

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Ridgecrest, CA.

The two HAs have no AMLs and are not managed for wild horses, supposedly because they don’t have sufficient resources. But the horses are there.

So are thousands of privately owned cattle and sheep. Refer to Tables 2 and 3 in the EA.

The 31,000 AUMs per year offered to the public-lands ranchers would support 2,583 wild horses, but they are to be swept aside in favor of the crony capitalists.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.

A Brief History of Wild Horses in America

Mini-documentary by Delaney Tibbetts…as roundup season grinds across western rangelands and the ‘Path Forward‘ pushes through Congress.

How Much Does a Horse Poop?

These wheelbarrows contain the poop from three horses over two days. Their capacity is ten cubic feet. They are nearly full, holding around eight cubic feet each.

The individual contribution would be 16 ÷ 6 ÷ 2 = 1.33 cubic foot per horse per day.

That’s about ten gallons per horse per day!

How long did it take to scoop that poop? Around three hours. Photos taken 11-03-19.

Wheelbarrows 11-03-19

Mustang Monday

On the Onaqui Mountain HMA (pre-gather) with Karen King.

Lemonade Stand for Wild Horses

Trailcam photos of the water tanks on the Virginia Range. The one on the left had a thin layer of ice in it yesterday. Elevation 6,200 feet.

Water Tanks 09-12-19

GIGO in the Wild Horse World

You can’t look at the numbers and then agree with the premise of this story, namely, that WHB populations are outpacing what the range can support—not when there are many more cow/calf pairs on the same land.

The Antelope Complex and Silver King HMA are just two examples (listed in the sidebar on the right under Short End of Stick).

What about policies and programs derived from a faulty premise?

Garbage in, garbage out.

High Desert Travelers Revisited

Same band as in this post, different camera.

Water Tanks 10-02-19 PM Cam3

Wild Horse Training?

A fine example of what not to do. What are his prospects for adoption? How many times will he be handed off from owner to owner? How long before he’s put down or taken to auction because he’s ‘dangerous?’

Path Forward: Doing What’s Best for the Ranchers

Refer to this opinion piece in The Hill by a representative of the ASPCA, one of the signatories to the ill-conceived management plan for wild horses.

Forcing wild horses off their home range will ensure they’re not killed and sold for their meat—allowing ranchers to replace them with other animals that will be killed and sold for their meat. Brilliant.

RELATED: The ‘Path Forward’ is Wrong.

Twin Peaks Herd to Be Thinned

BLM announced today that a Decision Record and Finding of No Significant Impact have been issued for the Twin Peaks HMA on the CA/NV border near Susanville.

The move clears the way for a wild horse roundup, but a date for that has not been set, according to the news release.

As of today, the gather does not appear on the preliminary schedule for FY 2020.

No Contraceptives Applied to Fifteenmile Mares

A report by Northern Wyoming News says the mares returned to the Fifteenmile HMA after the roundup were not treated with contraceptives. The sex ratio of the herd was altered, however, by selective return of captured horses.