The HMA is a subset of Allotment #4, which offers 5,502 active AUMs on 58,369 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report.
The HMA covers 22,381 total acres, including 21,819 public acres, according to the 2023 HA/HMA Report, and the AML ranges from 30 to 50.
The forage assigned to livestock inside the HMA would be 21,819 ÷ 58,369 × 5,502 = 2,057 AUMs per year, assuming the resource is distributed evenly across the parcel.
The number of horses displaced from the HMA by permitted grazing is 2,057 ÷ 12 = 171.
The True AML would be 50 + 171 = 221, to be achieved by confining the ranchers to their base properties and expecting them to pay the going rate to feed their animals.
The stocking rate at the new AML would be 221 ÷ 21,819 × 1,000 = 10.1 wild horses per thousand public acres, ten times higher than the target rate across all HMAs of one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 anmials on 27 million acres).
The BLM collects 2,057 × 1.35 = $2,777 per year from ranching activity inside the HMA, while it spends 171 × 5 × 365 = $312,075 per year to care for horses displaced thereby.
Would you say that’s a wise use of public lands?
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Western Horse Watchers Association 