They will be recognized today in a ceremony during the 2022 Public Lands Council Annual Meeting for their exemplary rangeland management and outstanding accomplishments in restoring and maintaining rangeland health, according to yesterday’s news release.

The event will be open to public observation starting at 1:00 PM Mountain Time.

The conference agenda says the awards luncheon runs from 12:30 to 2:00 PM.

The winner of the Rangeland Stewardship Award is Charles Hibner of Cebolla, NM, a retired soil conservationist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and BLM permittee since taking over his father’s operation in the 1970s.

The winner of the Sagebrush-Steppe Stewardship Award is the Cedar Creek Grazing Association of Glendive, MT.  Established in 1967, it’s managed by a board and employs an experienced manager focused on positive outcomes for the land and its members.

The Operator Information Report in RAS ties Hibner to authorization #3001044.

The Allotment Information Report associates that number with the Rio Cebolla, Daggett Canyon, Tanques and Navajo Peak allotments.

The Allotment Master Report puts all four in the Improve category, suggesting that they don’t meet standards for rangeland health.

Hibner holds all of the active AUMs.

The Operator Information Report links the Cedar Creek Grazing Association with authorization #2502899 and #2502946.

The Allotment Information Report ties those numbers to the Lange and Cedar Creek allotments.

The Allotment Master Report puts Lange in Custodial and Cedar Creek in Improve.

The grazing association holds all of the active AUMs.

Western Horse Watchers is unable to explain how these results qualify as exemplary rangeland management.

The allotments should be in the Maintain category.

There are no federally designated wild horse areas near Glendive.

The Hibner allotments are near the inactive Mesa De Las Viegas WHT, according to the Western Watersheds map.

The incident began on August 6.

As of August 21, 65 burros have been trapped, 49 have been shipped and no deaths have occurred, according to the gather page.

The capture total includes 28 jacks, 28 jennies and nine foals.

Youngsters represented 13.8% of the animals gathered.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 14%.

Of the adults, 50% were male and 50% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known but the burros are associated with the Cibola-Trigo HMA, which overlaps the Yuma Proving Ground.

Day 16 ended with 16 unaccounted-for animals.

The capture and removal goals are 80 each according to the latest schedule.

The roundup was not announced at the BLM news site.

RELATED: YPG Roundup in Progress.

The incident began on July 17.  Gather stats through August 23:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 1,854, up from 1,585 on Day 36
• Average daily take: 48.8
• Capture goal: 1,900
• Removal goal: 1,800
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 23, no change from Day 36
• Shipped: 1,616, up from 1,495 on Day 36

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The death rate is 1.2%.

The capture total includes 638 stallions, 891 mares and 325 foals.

Youngsters represented 17.5% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 41.7% were male and 58.3% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 18% per year.

A better estimate would be 13% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.

The observed percentages of stallions and mares cannot be attributed to a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are often found in herds subject to the Montana Solution but not double-digit birth rates.

Body condition scores were not provided.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 38 ended with 215 unaccounted-for animals.

The capture goal is 98% complete.  Operations will probably conclude this week.

Mares treated with fertility control may be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 821
• Forage assigned to horses: 9,852 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,475
• Forage liberated to date: 22,248 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 18,540 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 49,188 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 4,099
• True AML: 4,911
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.0 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Triple B Roundup, Day 36.

A report posted yesterday by the White Mountain Independent suggests they were disposed at the Navajo County Fairgrounds in Holbrook on August 10.

Some of them may have been acquired by the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group, a surrogate of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, as explained in this story by ABC15 News of Phoenix.

Eighteen wild horses were removed from a protected area near Alpine earlier this year in what the Forest Service described as a law enforcement action.

RELATED: Judge Sides with Forest Service in ISPMB Complaint.

The incident will begin on September 12, according to a story posted today by the Lake County Examiner, with 500 wild horses slated for removal.

Helicopters will push the horses into the traps and the incident will be open to limited public observation.

The WHT covers 258,000 acres in northern California and has an AML of 402.

The current population is thought to be 1,205.

The destination of captured animals was not given.

A link to the gather stats and daily reports was not provided.

The WHT is subject to permitted grazing.

Horses were removed from the area in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

RELATED: Another Devil’s Garden Roundup in the Works?

Table 15 in the Draft EA for resource enforcement actions provides data for the four allotments that intersect the Complex.  Map 2 in the SIR shows the arrangement.

The Allotment Master Report provides acreage, management status and active AUMs, which may differ slightly from the AUMs in the table.

The condition of Lucky C is unknown.  Western Horse Watchers is unable to explain how it qualifies for Custodial status.

The other three allotments, representing 73.5% of the public acres, do not meet one or more standards for rangeland health.  Our stewards of the public lands may not be taking their responsibilities seriously.

Forage production across the four allotments averages 49.7 AUMs per year per thousand acres, enough to support 4.1 wild horses per thousand acres.

When public lands are designated for wild horses, they can only sustain one such animal per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

Livestock receive an estimated 8,122 AUMs per year inside the Complex, which would support 676 wild horses, on top of the 184 allowed by plan.

The True AML would be 860, to be achieved by confining the ranchers to their base properties and expecting them to pay the going rate to feed their animals.

Meanwhile, the BLM will collect 8,122 × 1.35 = $10,965 per year in grazing fees from ranching activity inside the Complex while it spends 676 × 5 × 365 = $1,233,700 per year to care for the horses displaced thereby.

Would you say that permitted grazing is a wise use of the public lands?

RELATED: Roberts Mountain Pest Control Plan Goes Public.

The incident will begin on August 29, according to a BLM news release.

The August 10 schedule indicates a capture goal of 97 and a removal goal of 67, with 30 horses returned to the HMA, including 15 mares treated with fertility control.

The announcement said 100 would be removed.

Helicopters will push the horses into the traps and operations will be open to public observation.

The HMA covers about 60,000 total acres, including 49,000 acres managed by the BLM, in western Utah near the Bible Springs Complex.

The AML is 60 and the current population is thought to be 137, including foals.

The news release refers to the difference as “excess horses,” meaning more horses than allowed by plan, not more horses than the land can support.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is one wild horse per thousand acres, in line with the target rate across all HMAs.

The HMA intersects five grazing allotments according to the Western Watersheds map.

A 2016 EA indicates four allotments, with an estimated 2,959 AUMs per year assigned to livestock inside the HMA, compared to 720 AUMs per year for the horses.

The BLM will collect $3,995 per year in grazing fees from ranching activity inside the HMA while it spends $450,775 per year to care for the 247 horses displaced thereby.

Would you say that permitted grazing is a wise use of the public lands?

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

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

A roundup two years ago took 143 wild horses off the HMA.

The incident began on August 20, according to the gather page, with two burros captured, two shipped and no deaths.

On Day 2, four burros were trapped and shipped.

Up to 60 animals will be removed from the area due to lack of water.

RELATED: Piute Mountain Emergency Roundup Announced.

UPDATE: The incident started on August 19.  The gather page has been corrected.

The incident began on July 17.  Gather stats through August 21:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 1,585, up from 1,416 on Day 34
• Average daily take: 44.0
• Capture goal: 1,900
• Removal goal: 1,800
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 23, up from 21 on Day 34
• Shipped: 1,495, up from 1,336 on Day 34

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

A stallion died on Day 36 of a broken neck and a mare was put down because of a missing eye.

The death rate is 1.5%.

The capture total includes 549 stallions, 771 mares and 265 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 41.6% were male and 58.4% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 17% per year.

A better estimate would be 12% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.

The observed percentages of stallions and mares cannot be attributed to a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are often found in herds subject to the Montana Solution but not double-digit birth rates.

Body condition scores were not provided.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 36 ended with 67 unaccounted-for animals.

The capture goal is 83% complete.

Mares treated with fertility control may be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 821
• Forage assigned to horses: 9,852 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,475
• Forage liberated to date: 19,020 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 15,850 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 49,188 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 4,099
• True AML: 4,911
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.0 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Triple B Roundup, Day 34.

The project folder populated overnight.  The Draft Environmental Assessment and Supplemental Information Report are available for review and comment.

The project area is about three times larger than the HMAs.  Refer to Map 2 in the SIR, page 124 in the pdf, which also shows the overlapping allotments.

The numbers in Table 3 of the EA are a bit confusing.

The curent population is thought to be 1,176.  The initial roundup would target 1,000 wild horses and 809 would be removed.

That means 191 could be returned to the Complex, leaving a post-gather population of 367, but the table says 222.

The combined AML is 184.

The best way to protect them from removal is to get rid of them with the Montana Solution, according to the advocates.

Table 15 provides data for permitted grazing.  An estimate of the forage assigned to livestock inside the HMAs, the number of horses displaced from their lawful home by permitted grazing and the True AML should be possible.

Comments can be submitted online through September 20.

RELATED: New Resource Enforcement Plan for Roberts Mountain Complex?

UPDATE: Comment period announced in BLM news release dated August 22.

Horses have the day off.  Near Pahrump, NV with Triple777Seven Channel.

A project has been created in ePlanning but no documents have been posted.

The Proposed Action features cruel and costly helicopter roundups, treatment of mares with PZP-22 and sex ratio skewing over a ten-year period, according to the project description.

The new EA builds on an assessment from 2007, available from the UNR Wild Horse and Burro Collection.

The Complex covered approximately 162,000 acres in central Nevada and included the Roberts Mountain HMA, Whistler Mountain HMA and a small portion of the Fish Creek HMA.  Refer to Section 1 and Map 3 of the old EA.

The Western Watersheds map shows the current arrangement.

The Complex was subject to permitted grazing.  The old EA indicates in Section 3.2 that livestock in Roberts Mountain received 89.6% of the authorized forage.

The numbers may change in the new EA but old EA tells you that the HMA had resource management issues, like many others.

The advocates won’t talk about that but will tell you that the horses can be protected from removal by getting rid of them with PZP.

“We’re changing the way wild horse herds are managed, not their land.”

They are shills for the public-lands ranchers.

The comment period begins August 22 and runs through September 20 so the document folder will likely be populated within the next 24 hours.

Western Horse Watchers was unable to find a scoping announcement at the BLM news site and a press release kicking off the public review may or may not be posted.

Operations concluded today, according to a statement at the gather page, with 305 horses captured, 304 shipped and one dead.

The number of unnacounted-for animals was zero.

The capture goal was 450 and the removal goal was 410.

The reason for the early finish was not provided.

RELATED: Roundup Announced for Bible Springs Complex.

The incident began on July 17.  Gather stats through August 19:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 1,416, up from 1,287 on Day 32
• Average daily take: 41.6
• Capture goal: 1,900
• Removal goal: 1,800
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 21, up from 20 on Day 32
• Shipped: 1,336, up from 1,211 on Day 32

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

A foal was put down on Day 33 after it was kicked by another horse.

The death rate is 1.5%.

The capture total includes 494 stallions, 682 mares and 240 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.9% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 42.0% were male and 58.0% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 17% per year.

A better estimate would be 12% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.

The observed percentages of stallions and mares cannot be attributed to a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are often found in herds subject to the Montana Solution but not double-digit birth rates.

Body condition scores were not provided.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 34 ended with 59 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares treated with fertility control may be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 821
• Forage assigned to horses: 9,852 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,475
• Forage liberated to date: 16,992 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 14,160 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 49,188 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 4,099
• True AML: 4,911
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.0 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Triple B Roundup, Day 32.

The Reno Gazette Journal posted a story yesterday for subscribers only, so Western Horse Watchers did not read it or link to it.

The snippet provided by online services indicated the area can only support 600 wild horses when it’s been supporting five times that many for years.

The figure was likely provided by bureaucrats at the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The preferred value is 300—one wild horse per thousand acres.

Where have you heard that before?

It’s the average stocking rate for wild horses and burros on lands managed by the BLM, 27,000 animals on 27 million acres.

The goal of the darting program is to destroy evidence that contradicts the government’s claim and bring the Virginia Range in line with the narrative pushed by the bureaucrats and ranchers.

The advocates are willing partners in the destruction.

“Useful idiots” might be a better term.

The incident began yesterday, according to the BLM news release, due to extreme temperatures and lack of water.

Up to 60 wild burros will be captured and removed with bait traps and operations will not be open to public observation.

The Decision Record states that Fenner Spring, the only perennial water source within the Piute Mountains, is recognized as part of the Piute Mountain Herd Area, although it may be outside the HA to the west.  No maps were provided in the DR.

The HA is not managed for burros and has an AML of zero.

The HA lies within the Lazy Daisy allotment, not mentioned in the announcement.

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

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.  No activity has been reported as of this morning.

The DR was posted with other project documents in ePlanning.

RELATED: BLM to Remove Piute Mountain Burros from Fenner Spring?

The Decision Memorandum was signed on August 10 and operations began on August 11, with no opportunities for appeal.

The incident was not announced at the BLM news site and does not appear in the latest schedule.

The gather page indicates 136 burros captured, 136 shipped, none released and no deaths, as of August 18.

The capture total includes 63 jacks, 49 jennies and 24 foals.

Youngsters represented 17.6% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 56.3% were male and 43.8% were female.

The location of the trap was not specified.

Day 8 ended with no unaccounted-for animals.

RELATED: Chemehuevi Nuisance Roundup in the Works?