Month: September 2020

Diamond Wild Horse Roundup Starts Next Week

BLM said today that approximately 1,165 wild horses will be removed from three HMAs in central Nevada, beginning on or about September 10, due to overpopulation.

The operation will be carried out with helicopters, according to the news release, and will be open to public observation.  Of the 1,225 horses to be gathered, 60 will be returned to the area, including 30 mares treated with contraceptives.

The HMAs cover 255,463 acres and have a combined AML of 210, for an aimed-at stocking rate of 0.8 animals per thousand acres.  Refer to Table 1 in the Final EA for wild horse management actions in the Diamond Complex.

Diamond Complex Map

The HMAs intersect nine allotments according to Map 2 in the EA and all of the acreage is subject to permitted livestock grazing.  The total estimated forage assigned to cattle and sheep inside the HMAs, based on data from Table 15 in the EA, is 17,950 AUMs per year, compared to 2,520 AUMs per year for the horses.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Palomino Valley.

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

Devil’s Garden Roundup, Part 3, Starts Next Week

The Forest Service will gather another 500 wild horses from the Devil’s Garden Plateau WHT, beginning September 8, to “address unsustainable impacts on aquatic resources, wildlife, hunting, grazing and other traditional cultural practices.”

In 2018, over 900 wild horses were removed from the area, followed by 500 in 2019.

The operation will be open to public observation on a limited basis, according to the news release, just two persons per day.

The WHT covers 232,520 acres in northern California and has an AML of 335, for an aimed-at stocking rate of 1.4 animals per thousand acres.

Devils Garden WHT Map-1

The WHT intersects eight allotments and is 100% subject to permitted livestock grazing.

An article published yesterday by the Houston Chronicle might give you the impression that the horses are being forced off their home range by drilling interests.  Curiously, the term does not appear in the Final EA for wild horse management actions at Devil’s Garden, but it does note wild horse impacts on the poor ranchers.  See Section 2.4.1.2.

The forage allocated to livestock would support an additional 1,309 wild horses, for a true AML of 1,644.  The current population, not mentioned in the announcement, may be below that value.

Gather updates and adoption information will be posted to this page.

RELATED: Devil’s Garden Pre-Gather Meeting This Week.