What if the herd was well within the True AML but the government got rid of them to protect the public-lands ranchers?
If “overpopulated” stirs you to a sense of duty, then you need to be in Florence, CO this weekend for the Sand Wash adoption, as described in this BLM news release.
RELATED: Sand Wash Roundup Over.
On Assateague Island with Margaret Long.
Now they have to be looking over their shoulders for the advocates.
They must sense that something is wrong. There are few if any youngsters and the herd is getting smaller, not because of the Montana Solution, but because of predators.
RELATED: (Un)Intended Consequences of Wild Horse Management?
The herd will cross the channel in late July, followed by the pony auction, according to a story posted yesterday by Delmarva Now.
Curiously, the incident is not mentioned at the web site of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, managers of the herd.
Refer to this article in Farm Progress.
Just wait until the BLM starts using them for roundups.
RELATED: Titus Admits Helicopter Ban Won’t Help Wild Horses.
The wild horse and burro program has been a drag on the grazing program for fifty years.
Nearly half of their land is managed principally for livestock. The remainder is managed primarily for livestock, with few exceptions.
AMLs are low relative to the available resources. Most of the forage has been assigned to privately owned cattle and sheep, with a small amount reserved for wildlife.
Pest control programs, the subjects of numerous environmental assessments, do not allocate resources. They cannot change resource allocations. They enforce resource allocations already on the books, in the land-use plans.
Findings of no significant impact don’t apply to the horses.
Roundups shift resources back to the ranchers in just a few weeks. Darting programs accomplish the same thing over a much longer timeframe but with the added benefit that the herds don’t bounce back.
Most of the advocates are frauds. Next to the federal government, nobody’s getting rid of more wild horses than they are.
At the Salt River and Virginia Range, they operate almost exclusively of the bureaucrats and ranchers, whose approval they seek at all costs. Residents, tourists, motorists, campers, hikers, predators and shooters can’t even come close.
RELATED: Story of ‘American Horses.’
Behind-the-scenes footage from the February 23 episode of NATURE, streaming through March 23.
RELATED: PBS to Look at American Horses.
Operations resumed on February 12, according to the gather page. No activity has been reported since February 16.
Fifty five animals have been trapped to date, with none shipped and no deaths.
The capture and removal goals are identical, 80 each.
The cumulative total includes 38 jacks, 14 jennies and three foals.
Youngsters represented 5.5% of the burros captured.
Of the adults, 73.1% were male and 26.9% were female.
Body condition scores were not provided.
The location of the trap site was not specified.
Roughly half of the HMA is subject to permitted grazing, as shown on the Western Watersheds map, and the AML corresponds to about 28% of the authorized forage.
The incident was not announced at the BLM news site but it does appear on the FY 2022 roundup schedule.
Animals outside the HMA on private lands are targeted.
Last year, 481 animals were removed from the area, according to figures at the gather page. The event has not been marked complete and no such announcement has been posted by the BLM.
The project appeared today at ePlanning. No documents have been posted and there are no opportunities for public comments at this time.
An announcement soliciting public input for the scoping phase of the project may or may not be posted to the BLM news site.
The Complex includes three HMAs in western Utah.
The HMAs are subject to permitted grazing, as shown on the Western Watersheds map.
The Proposed Action would remove excess horses until the herds are at the low end of their AMLs and apply fertility control to reduce growth rates thereafter, according to the project description.
The incident began on February 20. Gather stats through February 23:
The cumulative total includes 5 stallions, 8 mares and 2 foals.
Youngsters represented 13.3% of the horses captured, consistent with a growth rate of 8% per year. Land managers often use a rate of 20% per year to predict herd sizes.
Of the adults, 38.5% were stallions and 61.5% were mares.
Body condition scores ranged from three to five.
The location of the trap site within the HMA was not provided.
Day 4 ended with two unaccounted-for animals.
The number of horses removed to date is 15.
Mares returned to the HMA will be treated with fertility control of unspecified type.
Other statistics:
RELATED: Challis Roundup in Progress.
The Park Service said in a news release yesterday that 121 horses were living on the barrier island at the end of 2021, up from 117 at the end of 2020.
The growth rate was 3.4%.
Eleven foals were counted and seven deaths were reported.
The average lifespan was eleven years and no mares were treated with contraceptives in 2021, according to the annual report. Fertility control was introduced in 2000.
The herd was 39% male and 61% female, a characteristic observed in other areas where the Montana Solution has been applied for an extended period.
RELATED: Shackleford Herd Grows In Latest Census.
The House of Representatives is considering two bills that will force the BLM to keep the herds under control, according to a report posted today by Wyoming Public Media.
A spokesman for the Wyoming Farm Bureau pointed to adverse impacts on large game and sage grouse, even though its mission is to promote farming and ranching.
A reader of the February 17 opinion piece in the Reno Gazette Journal about saving western rangelands notes the arbitrary nature of AMLs and the artificial prices paid by ranchers in a column posted February 22.
RELATED: Save the Land Not the Horses!
The incident began on February 20, according to the gather page. Eight horses have been captured as of Day 2, with eight shipped and no deaths.
RELATED: Challis Roundup Pending.
The February edition of Horse Tales has been published.
You can still help the Pine Nut permittees by purchasing a calendar from the advocates, as indicated at the bottom of page 3.
Fifteen fun facts about burros are presented at the top of page 4. Fact #16 might be their disdain of coyotes.
The column written by the real estate agent and PZP darter in the Minden/Gardnerville area follows immediately, continuing on page 18. Listings appear on the back cover.
Some of the properties may be related, directly or indirectly, to a Pine Nut permittee, perhaps on the Buckeye Allotment. Who knows? But it would explain why she’s so eager to get rid of the horses.
An article by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses on page 19 discusses the Onaqui roundup and the rescue of a mom-baby pair. Don’t be fooled by the image, they despise youngsters and are only trying to separate you from your money.
Wednesdays are darting days at the HMA, where volunteers trained in the Montana Solution use Gen 2 projectors to keep the resource scales tipped in favor of the ranchers.
The advocates want the same thing as the bureaucrats and ranchers: Fewer horses on the range. Ever notice that?
RELATED: Nuttiness of Wild Horse World.
Note the change to the grassy area 24 hours after the horses were allowed into the space.
What might happen on America’s public lands when livestock fencing concentrates their numbers and impedes their movement?
Back to Assateague Island with td adventures. The video owners told Western Horse Watchers in a YouTube comment that they saw no foals during their two-week stay.
Refer to this report by OBX Today.
As the advocates get rid of the horses, other animals move in to fill the void.
Ever notice that?
Filmed on the Virginia Range.
Western Horse Watchers Association 