Kickfest at the Salt River with Mark Storto.
Poor guys, the mares won’t bear any fruit thanks to the advocates.
Author: Western Horse Watchers
American Prairie Using Leverage to Achieve Conservation Goals
Put simply, they buy small amounts of land to achieve landscape-scale results.
They can assemble three million acres of public lands by acquiring and managing 500,000 acres of private lands, creating a fully functioning ecosystem complete with migration corridors and all native wildlife.
This is how you turn 5,000 deeded acres into a 40,000-acre ranch.
Madeleine Pickens purchased base properties in Nevada fifteen years ago with the goal of returning wild horses to the range, but the plan was thwarted by the BLM at the behest of ranching interests.
Will the same thing happen to American Prairie?
The wild horse advocates use the Montana Solution to achieve their land-use goals, which align with those of the bureaucrats and ranchers.
Curiously, the Billings School of PZP Darting and Public Deception is only about 150 miles from the American Prairie project area.
RELATED: State Tries to Block American Prairie Grazing Decision.
Abandoned or Betrayed?
The look on your face when you realize that even the advocates want to get rid of you.
Speaker of House Elected, New Congress Seated
McCarthy succeeded on the 15th ballot and House lawmakers took their oaths of office shortly thereafter, according to a story dated January 7 by The Hill.
The one-horse pony acknowledged the result.
The advocates can now mobilize their lobbyists to resurrect the stupid ideas from 2022, including the helicopter ban (removal of wild horses by wranglers), the veterans for livestock act (get rid of them with the Montana Solution) and the surgical sterilization is bad act (but not chemical sterilization if achieved with their favorite pesticide).
RELATED: What the House Conservatives Are Trying to Prevent.
State Tries to Block American Prairie Grazing Decision
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has joined forces with the Montana Department of Agriculture, Montana Department of Livestock, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in opposition to a change in livestock type on seven allotments requested by American Prairie and granted by the BLM in 2022.
Not mentioned in the article by Western Livestock Journal is that American Prairie obtained preference by acquiring base properties tied to the allotments, a customary, legitimate and necessary step in applying for grazing permits on public lands.
Almost certainly the governor acted in response to butthurt ranchers, their overlords, cheerleaders and political allies who see the decision as threat to their domination and control of government agencies and the lands they manage.
The planning area included lands near the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in northern Montana.
RELATED: American Prairie Grazing Decision Finalized.
Purpose of Three Fingers and Jackies Butte Pest Control Plan?
As in other areas, the goal is to eliminate unauthorized native species (excess horses) in favor of authorized non-native species (lifestock).
In this map from the National Data Viewer, areas of critical environmental concern are marked in gray, HAs are black, HMAs are orange and grazing allotments are green.
The two HMAs are in eastern Oregon near the Idaho state line.
Click on image to open in new tab.
RELATED: Decision Pending for Malheur County Pest Control Plan?
Foal-Free Friday, Everything’s Going According to Plan Edition
Many more horses will be lost to the Virginia Range darting program, now moving into its fifth year, than harsh winter conditions.
With few if any new foals hitting the ground, the death rate is going up as the average age of the herd increases.
Many of the mares are now at risk of sterility.
Advocates with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses and bureaucrats with the Nevada Department of Agriculture are responsible for the destruction.
RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Auld Lang Syne Edition.
Decision Pending for Malheur County Pest Control Plan?
A story by the Malheur Enterprise of Vale, OR indicates the BLM will publish a ten-year plan later this month but does not specify the target HMA(s).
You must subscribe for details.
Western Horse Watchers suspects it’s Three Fingers and Jackies Butte.
No documents have been posted to the project folder since May 6.
RELATED: Draft EA for Three Fingers and Jackies Butte Out for Review.
What the House Conservatives Are Trying to Prevent
They don’t want another rat like Boehner, who gave Obama everything he wanted.
Be patient and let the election process play out. More in this story by The Hill.
Advocates Need New Touchstone for Wild Horse Management?
With the Assateague herd ruined by the Montana Solution and the Park Service mum, the advocates need a rising star they can point to as an example of the safety of their darting programs, before the American people realize they’re liars and frauds.
The Virginia Range is one contender. It’s the largest program of its kind and, although the effects are not yet obvious, the long-term goal may be to take a herd of 3,000 wild horses down to 600 or less as suggested by the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Massive sterilization will be required to hit the target in a reasonable timeframe.
But the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses is up to the challenge, aided by four nitwits who have delivered over 1,000 doses each of the pesticide.
The Salt River was also a candidate, but the program lost some of its luster recently when the ringleader admitted she’s trying to get rid of the horses.
As always, the truth will be their undoing.
But now, an article written by a PZP darter about another PZP darter offers new hope.
The Spring Creek Basin HMA in Colorado has been roundup free since 2011, thanks to the efforts of a volunteer and her safe, proven and reversible darting program, the same type that ruined the Assateague herd.
The AML increase was underwritten by changes to forage allocations in a management plan update.
Also included were population growth suppression, introduction of horses from other areas and forced age distribution.
As for the dearth of roundups, you can find any number of HMAs that haven’t been gathered in the last ten years by looking at the March 1 HA/HMA Report. The last gather date is given in the second column from the right in the tables for each state.
RELATED: Spring Creek Herd to Die Off in Ten Years?
Wild Horse Management Trends in Northern Wyoming
From the National Data Viewer.
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern are shown in gray.
Areas identified for wild horses are shown in black.
Areas managed for wild horses are shown in orange. McCullough Peaks is east of Cody, Fifteenmile is southeast.
Areas managed for livestock are shown in green, an indication of what the McCullough advocates are trying to protect with their ruinous darting program.
While ACECs may be an impediment to management of wild horses, they don’t appear to be a major obstacle to permitted grazing.
Although horses are often blamed for poor rangeland health, most of the BLM land in this map, denoted by tan, is horse free.
RELATED: Wild Horse Management Trends in Southwestern Wyoming.
Advocates Ideally Positioned to Help Park Service at TRNP
Under Alternative C, the Proposed Action, NPS would get rid of wild horses they put there after the original herd, thought to be descended from Sitting Bull’s horses, was eradicated.
Waaaaaah!
Those upset by the plan are a day late and a dollar short.
If approved, a reduced herd of fully contracepted horses would be established and allowed to remain in the park to live out their lives.
Fully contracepted means sterile, nonreproducing, let the herd die off.
What’s the least controversial way to achieve the goal? The Montana Solution.
Who’s best equipped to get the job done? The network consisting of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, its affiliates, offshoots and supporters.
RELATED: Online Scoping Meeting Next Week for TRNP Livestock Plan.
Online Scoping Meeting Next Week for TRNP Livestock Plan
The meeting will be held on January 12, starting at 6:00 PM Mountain time.
The meeting notice includes a link to join.
Comments on the scoping newsletter will be accepted through January 31.
Three management options have been identified and the Park Service has designated Alternative C as the Proposed Action – Phased Reduction of Herds to No Livestock.
RELATED: More Angst at TRNP.
That’s a Lot of Water!
News reports said the storm on December 31 dumped five inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
That’s equivalent to 135,771 gallons, or 563 tons, on a one-acre parcel.
The ranch covers 20 acres, for a total of 2.7 million gallons.
Your host spent most of the day cleaning drains and trenches to alleviate flooding.
The creek across the street, which drains a much larger area, was gushing.
RELATED: How Much Rain Did We Get?
Wild Horse Management Trends in Southwestern Wyoming
From the National Data Viewer.
First, the HAs in black, areas identified for wild horses.
Next, in orange, the HMAs, areas managed for wild horses. A subset of the HAs with roughly half of the land now designated for other purposes.
Finally, the grazing allotments in green. The principal use of America’s public lands.
Areas unfit for wild horses are almost always suitable for livestock production, as if there was no dietary overlap.
Under the Rock Springs RMP Amendments, two more HMAs will be closed and a third will be downsized, continuing a trend that puts ranching interests far above those of wild horses.
RELATED: Caliente Complex in Pictures.
Mustang Monday
At or near the Pine Nut Mountains HMA with Cheryl Broumley.
May be offensive to viewers wearing “Stay Wild” caps.
What Happened to the Pine Nut Mountains AUMs?
From the National Data Viewer.
First, the HA in black, just east of Carson City, an area identified for wild horses.
Next, the HMA, in orange, an area managed for wild horses, much smaller than the HA.
Finally, the grazing allotments, in green, an indication of what the Pine Nut advocates and their overlords at the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses are trying to protect.
RELATED: Population Explosion Coming to Carson Valley?
Colorado Grazing Project Offers Hope for Wild Horses
The Proposed Action, Alternative B, would reissue 24 grazing permits on 36 allotments with updated terms and conditions to protect the Colorado hookless cactus and DeBeque phacelia, according to the scoping document.
The allotments and the affected species are shown in Figure 2.
Not shown in the map is the Little Book Cliffs WHR, which is west of and adjacent to Red Rock. Click on image to open in new tab.
Although comments will be accepted through January 10, Western Horse Watchers was unable to find the “Participate Now” button mentioned in the “How to Get Involved” section of the project.
Of interest to the wild horse world is Alternative C, the No Grazing option.
Under this alternative, public lands within the allotments would be devoted to a public purpose that precludes livestock grazing. The grazing permits would be canceled on the 36 allotments, and use of the allotments by livestock would be discontinued.
The permittees would be given two years’ prior notification before their grazing permit and grazing preference were canceled as specified in 43 CFR 4110.4-2.
Further, no livestock grazing would be authorized after the termination date unless a new environmental analysis is completed which determines that livestock grazing could be authorized on all or some portion of the area.
Any private acreage within the allotments or private lands in close proximity to the allotments could continue to be grazed at landowners’ discretion. However, landowners would be required to keep their livestock off BLM-administered public lands and additional fencing may be needed to prevent livestock from trespassing on said lands.
Livestock-related range improvements would be abandoned and/or removed and reclaimed where there is no clear benefit to other programs.
In short, confine the ranchers to their base properties in a year-round off season and let them pay market rates to feed their animals.
This is a much better option for our wild horses than the Wild Horse Fire Brigade.
RELATED: Wild Horse Fire Brigade Serves Ranchers, Not Wild Horses.
Ringleader Admits Her Group Is Getting Rid of Salt River Horses!
“Through our humane fertility control program, we make sure the population is reducing without ever removing one horse.”
Yep, we’re protecting them from removal by getting rid of them with PZP.
You won’t see one foal in the video. How can that possibly bode well for the horses?
RELATED: Words Have Different Meanings in the Wild Horse World.
How Much Rain Did We Get?
You know you got a lot of rain when the level in your water buckets went up over the last 24 hours and you couldn’t fill them if you wanted to. Photos taken today.
