Western Horse Watchers saw the gather pages but not the news release. It may have been published recently but backdated to July 31, burying it in the list.
The incident at Palomino Buttes is set to begin today.
A helicopter will push the horses into the trap, according to the gather page, and operations will be open to public observation.
The capture and removal goals are 225 and 200, respectively.
The current population is thought to be 254.
Around 25 mares will be treated with fertility control and returned to the HMA, which covers 74,234 total acres in eastern Oregon, including 72,359 public acres.
The AML ranges from 32 to 64, the number of horses allowed by plan, not the number of horses the land can sustain. This is why the BLM said “while allowing for other animals and resource uses” in the news release. The other resource use is animal agriculture (permitted grazing), indicated in the map below.
Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Hines.
The Stinkingwater roundup will begin on August 17, according to the gather page.
The incident will be carried out with a helicopter, and operations will be open to public observation.
The July 13 schedule indicates capture and removal goals of 85 and 65.
The current population is thought to be 103.
Around 20 mares will be returned to the HMA after receiving fertility control treatments of unspecified type.
The leading candidates are GonaCon Equine and Zonastat-H, both EPA-registered pesticides. The bureaucrats prefer the former while the advocates prefer the latter.
The AML ranges from 40 to 80.
Unlike Palomino Buttes, the Stinkingwater HMA is the same size as the HA, covering 92,086 total acres with 78,312 public acres. Refer to the 2023 HA/HMA Report for these and other such figures.
Like Palomino Buttes, captured animals will be taken to the corrals in Hines.
The following map from the National Data Viewer shows HA boundaries in black, HMA boundaries in orange and allotment boundaries in green. Click to open in new tab.
Much of the land identified for wild horses in 1971 (areas in black) has been declared unfit for them but not for privately owned livestock.
This is the pattern that has to be stopped and reversed.
Don’t look to the advocates for leadership. They were defeated a long time ago.
Western Horse Watchers Association 