Month: July 2021

BLM Following the Law?

They must be, otherwise the Onaqui roundup could not occur, according to the writer of a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune published on July 30.

Current events do not confer legality.

The usurper and his illicit administration must be following the law, otherwise tens of thousands of illegal aliens wouldn’t be pouring across the southern border every month.

Well, they’re not.  That’s why it’s called illegal immigration.  And why should lawbreaking be confined to that part of the country?

Meaningful comparisons between wild horses and privately owned livestock are not possible according to the writer, because you don’t know the acreage and grazing seasons.

Those things don’t matter if you know the resource allocations, but they can be easily found in RAS.  The allotment names can be found in ePlanning.

The Onaqui allotments are reviewed in this post.

Management priorities in a given HMA can be easily assessed by comparing the forage allocation for livestock to that of wild horses.

This guy is a 30-year BLM veteran.  He should know that.

The comparisons often show that HMAs are managed primarily for livestock.  He should know that too.

He says that wild horses re-graze certain areas, thwarting the recovery of forage, but implies that cattle do not because they’re rotated between pastures.  Is he suggesting that livestock start on one side of a pasture and move uniformly across the area without retracing their steps?  Seriously?

What about reallocation of resources from livestock to horses?  Amendments to the Wild Horse and Burro Act and the Taylor Grazing Act are needed, according to writer.

Curiously, the environmental assessments for wild horse roundups usually say that such changes are only possible if the BLM first revises the land-use plans.  For example, go to the last paragraph on page 20 in the Final EA for resource enforcement actions in the Calico Complex (page 24 in the pdf).

The writer did not mention the effect of federal regulations—rules invented by the unelected bureaucracy—which may play a much larger role in the way public lands are managed than the statutes.

Stinkingwater Roundup Starts in Two Weeks

The incident was set to begin on August 1, according to the schedule, but has been delayed two weeks, according to the gather page.  An announcement has not appeared at the BLM news site.

Horses will be pushed into the traps by helicopters and the operation will be open to public observation.

The capture goal is 420.  Approximately 30 will be returned to the range, including mares treated with contraceptives, putting the removal goal at 390.

The HMA covers 78,000 acres east of Burns, OR and has an AML of 80.

The aimed-at stocking rate is one wild horse per thousand acres, in line with the target rate across all HMAs.

The horses allowed by plan require 80 × 12 = 960 AUMs per year.

The current population is thought to be around 450, including foals.  How does that figure compare to the True AML, which must be determined by calculation?  This is where the advocates go off the rails.

Stinkingwater HMA Map 07-30-21

The authorizing project can be found in ePlanning.

  • State: Oregon/Washington
  • Program: Wild Horses and Burros
  • Clear the Show Only Active Projects checkbox
  • Hit Search

Go through the list one page at a time until you see Stinkingwater.  Two projects appear, one from 2010 and another from 2017.  Click the link for 2017, Stinkingwater HMA Population Management Plan.

Click the Documents link on the left.  The Final EA is near the bottom of the list.

A keyword search for AUM eventually brings you to Table 3-4, which shows three grazing allotments associated with the HMA.

Current data for the allotments, including active AUMs, permittees, grazing seasons and management status (Improve/Maintain/Custodial) can be found in RAS, using the Allotment Master and Authorization Use reports.  The project home page tells you they’re in the Three Rivers Field Office.

The forage allocations in Table 3-4 sum to 8,455 AUMs per year, compared to 960 AUMs per year for the horses.  An estimated 8,455 ÷ 12 = 704 wild horses have been displaced from the HMA by privately owned livestock.

Calculation of the True AML is beyond the scope of this post but here’s a first pass:

True AML = Horses allowed by plan + Horses displaced by livestock = 80 + 704 = 784

The HMA is not overpopulated, it is mismanaged.

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

Gather stats and daily reports will appear on the gather page.

West Douglas Roundup Day 5

The incident began on July 26.  Gather stats through July 30:

  • Horses captured: 186
  • Capture goal: 450
  • Removal goal: 450
  • Returned: 0
  • Deaths: 3
  • Shipped: 135

Another foal was placed into foster care today.  The report did not say why it was separated from its mom.

Two more horses were put down on Day 4 due to pre-existing conditions, bringing the death rate to 1.6%.

Foals accounted for 17.7% of the horses gathered.  Of the adults, 45.8% were male and 54.2% were female.

Day 5 ended with 48 unaccounted-for horses.

Supplemental statistics:

  • AML: 0
  • Forage assigned to horses: 0
  • Pre-gather population: 450
  • Forage liberated to date: 2,232 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 1,860 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Unknown
  • Horses displaced from HA by livestock: Unknown

RELATED: West Douglas Roundup Day 3.

CAAWH Seeks Coordinator for Virginia Range Darting Program

Here’s your chance to save wild horses by getting rid of them.

You’ll lead a team that’s disrupting natural behaviors, driving birth rates to zero and letting the herd die off.  You’ll inflict injuries that last for weeks.  You’ll win the respect of ranchers everywhere.

The salary will be meager but the satisfaction will be great.

You need not be aborting/contracepting/sterilizing in your own life but that would definitely be a plus.

Sound interesting?  Apply here.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses is an equal opportunity darter, with operations across the western U.S.  No wild horses are safe.

Click to open image in new tab.

Progression of Injuries VR 07-30-21

Antelope Complex Emergency Roundup Starts This Weekend

The BLM will remove 2,200 excess horses from four HMAs in eastern Nevada starting on or about August 1.

Helicopters will push the animals into the traps and the incident will be open to public observation, according to a news release dated July 29.

The total AML is 789 and the current population is thought to exceed 6,000.

The HMAs cover approximately 1.6 million acres, for an aimed-at stocking rate of 0.5 wild horses per thousand acres.  The average rate across all HMAs is one wild horse per thousand acres.

The pre-gather stocking rate is about four wild horses per thousand acres, equivalent to 250 acres per horse.

Antelope Complex Map 07-29-21

Horses removed from the Complex will be taken to the off-range corrals at Palomino Valley, NV or Axtel, UT.

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

RELATED: Antelope Complex Horses Get Short End of Stick.

National Geographic Tells Half of Wild Horse Story

The writer mentions competition with livestock but does not explain how far the government has tipped the scales in favor of the ranchers—on land identified for horses.

The story includes remarks from the turncoats and allies of the ranchers, along with the usual pablum about wild horses.

  • They’re non-native (status of livestock ignored)
  • They’re overpopulated
  • They’re destroying western rangelands
  • Better to get rid of them with PZP than helicopters
  • Not enough food and water for horses and other local animals

As for the recent Onaqui roundup, the BLM gave fertility control injections to just over a hundred mares and stallions, according the story, before returning them to the wild.

Thriving Ecological Balance-3

Photographer Raises Awareness of Wild Horses

Refer to this story by CBS News.  Includes video.

The article said the photos are sold at art shows, with some of the proceeds going to charities that protect wild horses, but did not indicate who the beneficiaries were and what is meant by ‘protect.’

Nowadays, when the advocates talk about the brutality of helicopter roundups they’re really trying to convince you that attrition by PZP is better, when in reality there is no overpopulation, no excess horses and no justification for either.

The problem is public-lands ranching, not free-roaming horses.

West Douglas Roundup Day 3

The incident began on July 26.  Gather stats through July 28:

  • Horses captured: 125
  • Capture goal: 450
  • Removal goal: 450
  • Returned: 0
  • Deaths: 1
  • Shipped: 1

One foal was placed into foster care today.

The horse put down on Day 1 would be alive if it wasn’t for the roundup.  Charge to roundup.

Foals accounted for 17.6% of the horses gathered.  Of the adults, 46.6% were male and 53.4% were female.

There were 123 unaccounted-for horses at the end of Day 3.

Supplemental statistics:

  • AML: 0
  • Forage assigned to horses: 0
  • Pre-gather population: 450
  • Forage liberated to date: 1,500 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 1,250 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Unknown
  • Horses displaced from HA by livestock: Unknown

RELATED: West Douglas Roundup Begins.

Calico Decision Reached

The BLM has selected the Proposed Action to enforce resource allocations in the Calico Complex over the next ten years, according to a Decision Record signed today.

The Proposed Action features removal of excess horses and burros to low AML, fertility control vaccines, intra-uterine devices, sterilization of mares and sex ratio skewing.

The Final EA was posted with other project documents.

The news release did not indicate when the plan, which is subject to a 30-day appeal period, will be implemented.  Five HMAs are affected.

RELATED: Comments Invited on Draft EA for Calico Gather Plan.

New Safeguards for AIP?

The Adoption Incentive Program remains in effect, despite legal actions, but additional measures were announced today to provide greater oversight and protection of animals placed into private care.

The news release did not indicate if the new steps would apply to sale-eligible animals and those sold outright, sometimes for as little as $1 each.

RELATED: Adoption Incentive Backfiring or Working Exactly as Planned?

Tamarack Fire 45% Contained

The 9:00 AM report says Division L has merged into Division O and today’s map shows little if any progress toward the Pine Nut Mountains HA.

The total area burned is now 67,800 acres, with over 1,600 personnel involved.

Today’s forecast calls for thunderstorms, with the potential for heavy rains, according to the overview at InciWeb.

RELATED: Tamarack Fire Still Growing.

UPDATE: Added video of today’s briefing.