The Proposed Action has been selected, effective immediately, and implementation can begin once funding and holding space become available.

The decision authorizes the removal of excess horses from lands in and around the HMA over a ten-year period and the use of various fertility control techniques to maintain the population within AML, according to today’s news release.

Birth rates would be limited by PZP, GonaCon, sex ratio skewing and sterilization per Section 2.2 of the Final EA.

The HMA intersects six grazing allotments, identified in Section 3.3.3, and livestock receive approximately three times more forage than the horses.  The new enforcement plan will assure that this ratio is maintained over the life of the project.

The Decision Record and Final EA were posted with other project documents.

The decision is subject to a 30-day appeal period.

RELATED: Draft EA for Jackson Mountains Gather Plan Out for Review.

There is no independent proof of the explanation given by the BLM, according to the writer of a column in the Pagosa Daily Post, and third-party verification of the cause of death and the disposition of deceased animals are needed.

RELATED: Cañon City Audit in the News.

A woman in Eastern Washington rescues wild foals from reservations such as Yakama, Colville and White Swan, and places them into new homes, according to a report posted today by FOX13 News in Seattle.

She expects more horses to be turned loose due to rising hay prices.

Statements in the story that may pique your interest:

• The foals have been separated from their family bands in Central and Eastern Washington, where officials said the wild horse population is growing too large
• The Bureau of Land Management controls the population of wild horses on state land through sterilization injections
• Babies are roped and hog-tied during roundups, and they can be left that way for a significant amount of time until they get back to a trailer
• Some orphans are purchased by horse traders who contact volunteers to rehabilitate them and when they get a home, they get their money

There are no HMAs or WHTs in Washington state.  What’s going on here?

Western Horse Watchers offers the following explanation, subject to further research:

Native peoples in Washington state are rounding up wild horses and shipping them to slaughter.  Pregnant mares drop their foals in feedlots while awaiting transfer.

The foals are rescued by non-profits that quietly carry out their work without pointing a finger at tribal leadership or their contractors.

If they were to speak publicly about the arrangement, the deal would be over and the foals would be lost because they have little or no value to the kill buyers.

Around twenty horses in this group.  No youngsters though, thanks to the advocates.

This is the best time of year to see them in the higher elevations.

Most of the land is privately held.  Photo taken 05-21-22.

In the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area with Stanford Dailey.

Images may be disturbing to viewers wearing “Stay Wild” caps.

UPDATE: Video fixed.

PZP darts are propelled by a compress gas, usually CO2, but a powder charge drives the payload into the animal upon impact.

Never let the truth get in the way of your anti-horse agenda.

The technique worked best with durable fabrics like denim.

RELATED: How Jacuzzis Worked in the Old Days.

The article in the May edition of Horse Tales gives the herd size.  What else do we know about the Pine Nut Herd Area?

• Identified for wild horses in 1971
• AML is zero
• Managed principally for livestock
• Could support over 200 wild horses
• Current population less than 90
• Subject to Montana Solution
• Herd dying off

Looks like the advocates are trying to protect the ranchers, not the horses.

RELATED: Still Not Convinced That the Advocates Are Frauds?

Additional laboratory investigations to understand the high mortality rate in the West Douglas horses are ongoing and could take several weeks or months to complete, according to a BLM news release dated May 27.

RELATED: Cañon City Incident, Day 35.

The idea is to move wild horses into remote wilderness areas not particularly suited to livestock grazing so ranchers can have all—not just some—of the food and water in their congressionally designated habitats.

Two were filed in the past two weeks, bringing the total to eleven.

Protests submitted by mail may not be included in the count.

Only persons or groups that participated in the planning process are eligible and new issues may not be introduced.

The Final EIS was posted with other project documents.

The protest period runs through June 6.

RELATED: Rock Springs RMP Complaints Grow Slightly.

A foal was lost on May 26, according to the sitrep for the week ending May 27.

The count for Day 1 was changed from ten to nine, dropping a foal that was originally thought to be part of the outbreak.

That leaves the total at 145.

All fatalities have occurred in pens occupied by the West Douglas horses, displaced from their home range by privately owned livestock.

Approximately 17% were foals.

Previous reports were posted to the Colorado HMA page.

Findings from an internal audit have been released to the public.

RELATED: Cañon City Incident, Day 31.

Report by CBS News of Denver.

RELAYTED: Cañon City Audit Yields Ten Major Findings.

On May 20, a BLM team compared current practices at the facility, where 145 wild horses from the West Douglas Herd Area have died, to applicable standards in the Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program, noting 13 deficiencies.

Ten were classified as major.

Overall compliance was 83%.

The findings, presented in a report dated May 24, include:

• Inadequate staff
• Poor maintenance
• Safety hazards
• Substandard fencing
• Stallions mixed with mares
• Lack of vaccinations

The team, which cannot be described as independent, offered several recommendations to improve compliance.

RELATED: Cañon City Incident, Day 31.

On the Virginia Range, documenting the war on procreation by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses and its army of volunteers.

Their goal is to take a larger share of the wild horse removal business by convincing the bureaucrats, ranchers and politicians that the Montana Solution is a viable alternative to helicopter roundups.

And they need more of your hard-earned donations to make the plan a success.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Barren Before It Was Cool Edition.