West Douglas Herd Area Unfit for Wild Horses?

How could it be unable to support the 457 horses living there before the roundup, when the BLM authorizes privately owned livestock equivalent to 832 wild horses in the same area?

Captured animals were taken to the Cañon City off-range corrals, where 136 have died as of May 7. The foals reported yesterday may have been born in the corrals.

News reports focus on the situation at the corrals, not on the mismanagement of their home range. Same for the advocates.

RELATED: Cañon City Deaths Preventable?

Park Service Goes Underground with Assateague Horse Census?

Earlier this week Western Horse Watchers sent an inquiry to the staff at Assateague Island National Seashore asking if the 2022 results had been released to the public but as of today no response has been received.

Is an FOIA needed now to obtain the same information that was posted every two months on the Assateague news page?

RELATED: Anticipation.

More Horses Lost at Cañon City

Five more deaths were reported on May 7, including a yearling and four foals, bringing the total to 136.

All fatalities have occurred in pens occupied by the West Douglas horses.

No other changes were noted in today’s sitrep.

RELATED: Cañon City Deaths Top 130.

Advocates Pleased with Sinbad and Death Valley Gather Results?

Foals represented seven percent of the burros captured at Sinbad and twelve percent of the burros captured near Death Valley.

We know what they think about youngsters.

Yes to privately owned cattle and sheep, no to wild horses and burros.

How else can you explain their zeal for the Montana Solution, the humane alternative to helicopters roundups?

Advocates are the Predators 11-30-21

Sinbad Roundup Ends Early

Operations concluded on May 5, according to a remark at the gather page, with 153 burros captured, 152 shipped and one dead.

The cumulative total included 75 jacks, 67 jennies and 11 foals.

Youngsters represented 7.2% of the burros captured. Of the adults, 52.8% were male and 47.2% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 7%.

The capture goal was 300 and the removal goal was 260.

The HMA is managed principally for livestock.

RELATED: Sinbad Roundup Announced.

Death Valley Auxiliary Roundup Ends Early

Operations concluded on May 5, according to a remark at the gather page, with 181 burros captured, 181 shipped and one dead.

The number of animals shipped is usually less than the number captured when deaths are reported.

The cumulative total included 76 jacks, 83 jennies and 22 foals.

Youngsters represented 12.2% of the burros captured. Of the adults, 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 12%.

The capture and removal goals were 490 each.

Three HAs were involved in the roundup.

Protest Period Begins for Rock Springs RMP Amendments

The original project in ePlanning has been superseded by a new project, to which the Final EIS and Notice of Availability were posted.

The protest period runs from May 6 to June 6.

The BLM will release a Record of Decision after the protest period, presumably after objections have been screened for validity and merit.

If approved, management actions analyzed in the EIS would amend the 1997 Green River RMP and the 2008 Rawlins RMP.

Any person or organization that participated in the planning process and has an interest that would or may be adversely affected by the decision may protest.

The protesting party may raise only the issues they submitted for the record during the planning process leading up to the publication of the Proposed RMP Amendments.

New issues may not be brought into the record at the protest stage.

The final decision may be subject to a 30-day appeal period.

Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Safe for Now?

The White Mountain HMA, home of the 24-mile self-guided tour, will not be altered in the latest iteration of the Rock Springs RMP amendments, announced earlier today.

Cañon City Deaths Preventable?

With vaccines, according to the executive director of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses in a story posted today by The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, CO.

It’s not clear if she meant vaccines that prevent illness or vaccines that prevent life.

She and her supporters are much more interested in the latter than the former.

VR Darting Injury 09-15-21

The 131 horses lost to date at Cañon City are all in a day’s work on the Virginia Range, where her foot soldiers deny life to perhaps five times that many every year with the Montana Solution.

The herd shrinks as the older ones die off, all part of a broader plan to take market share from Cattoor, Sun J and Uhalde while affording the same level of protection to the public-lands ranchers.

The deaths could have been avoided by leaving the horses on their home range, which is managed principally for livestock.

Why didn’t she mention that?

Cañon City Deaths Top 130

Two more deaths were reported on May 6, bringing the total to 131. All fatalities have occurred in pens occupied by the West Douglas horses.

Today’s sitrep acknowledges the efforts of veterinarians and laboratory scientists that have contributed to the investigation.

Currituck Filly #6 This Year

She was born May 3 according to a brief report by OBX Today.

The first foal of the year died last month for unknown reasons.

Birth rates and breeding patterns are determined by the advocates, not the horses.

Decision Pending in Rock Springs RMP Amendments

An announcement appeared today in the Federal Register.

Under the proposed amendments,

The Rock Springs Field Office portion of the Adobe Town HMA would no longer be designated as an HMA and would be managed for zero wild horses. For the Rawlins Field Office portion of the HMA, all checkerboard land and the portion of the HMA north of the existing Corson Springs southern allotment boundary fence would no longer be designated as an HMA and would be managed for zero wild horses. The remainder of the HMA would be retained and managed with an AML of 259-536
The Great Divide Basin HMA would no longer be designated as an HMA and would be managed for zero wild horses
The Salt Wells Creek HMA would no longer be designated as an HMA and would be managed for zero wild horses
The boundary of the White Mountain HMA would remain the same and would continue to include checkerboard land

The changes will likely be subject to a protest period before becoming permanent.

The project, instigated by the Rock Springs Grazing Association, will rank among the greatest losses for America’s wild horses if approved.

UPDATE: BLM just issued news release.

New Resource Enforcement Plan for Little Fish Lake JMA?

A new project appeared in ePlanning yesterday but no documents were posted.

The comment period for the Draft EA would run from May 11 to June 10.

The Proposed Action would remove excess horses and apply population suppression of unspecified type to reduce growth rates.

The scope may include the Little Fishlake HMA, managed by the BLM, and the Little Fishlake WHT, managed by the Forest Service.

The Joint Management Area covers approximately 104,000 acres west of the Pancake HMA in central Nevada and has a combined AML of 132.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is 1.3 horses per thousand acres, in line with the target rate of one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

The Western Watersheds map indicates both areas are subject to permitted grazing.

An announcement soliciting public input may or may not appear on the BLM news site.

The WHT is in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Foal-Free Friday, Cutting the Herds Down to Size

At the Salt River with Magnificent Horses. Everything you’d expect to see except the youngsters.

Concerns about herd size, genetic diversity and inbreeding go away with the Montana Solution, because there is no breeding at all.

Black Mountain Roundup Day 3

The incident began on May 2. Gather stats through May 4:

Target: Burros
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Captured: 124, up from 17 on Day 1
Average daily take: 41.3
Capture goal: 1,080
Removal goal: 1,080
Returned: None
Deaths: None
Shipped: 56, up from 17 on Day 1

The cumulative total includes 45 jacks, 58 jennies and 21 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.9% of the animals captured. Of the adults, 43.7% were male and 56.3% were female.

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

The location of the trap site within the HMA was not disclosed.

Day 3 ended with 68 unaccounted-for animals.

The number of burros removed to date is 124.

Other statistics:

AML: 478
Forage assigned to burros: 2,868 AUMs per year
Pre-gather population: 3,000
Forage liberated to date: 744 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 620 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: 7,333 AUMs per year (estimated)
Burros displaced from HMA by permitted grazing: 1,222
True AML: 1,700
Stocking rate at new AML: 1.7 burros per thousand acres
Burros displaced from HMA by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Black Mountain Roundup Begins.

Sinbad Roundup Day 6

The incident began on April 30. Gather stats through May 5:

Target: Burros
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Captured: 153, up from 123 on Day 3
Average daily take: 25.5
Capture goal: 300
Removal goal: 260
Returned: None
Deaths: 1, up from zero on Day 3
Shipped: 152, up from 123 on Day 3

A jack died on Day 5 trying to evade capture. The death rate is 0.7%.

The cumulative total includes 75 jacks, 67 jennies and 11 foals.

Youngsters represented 7.2% of the animals captured. Of the adults, 52.8% were male and 47.2% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 7% per year.

The location of the trap site within the HMA was not disclosed.

Day 6 ended with no unaccounted-for animals.

The number of burros removed to date is 153.

Other statistics:

AML: 70
Forage assigned to burros: 420 AUMs per year
Pre-gather population: 328
Forage liberated to date: 918 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 765 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: 5,547 AUMs per year (estimated)
Burros displaced from HMA by permitted grazing: 922
True AML: 992
Stocking rate at new AML: 10 burros per thousand acres
Burros displaced from area by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Sinbad Roundup Day 3.

West Douglas Horses Take Brunt of Cañon City Virus

Two more deaths were reported on May 5, bringing the total to 129. All fatalities have occurred in pens occupied by horses from the West Douglas roundup.

The May 5 sitrep includes results from additional lab tests.

How Many Wild Horses Can the West Douglas HA Support?

Map 2 in Appendix A of the 2015 EA for resource enforcement actions indicates that the HA overlaps most of the Twin Buttes Allotment and a small part of the East Douglas Creek Allotment.

The HA covers covers 128,141 total acres, including 123,387 public acres, according to Section 1.2 of the EA.

The AML is zero. No resources have been assigned to the horses, although the area was identified for them in 1971.

The Western Watersheds map does not show herd areas but Western Horse Watchers added its boundary based on the map in the EA. Click on image to open in new tab.

West Douglas includes 113,790 acres from Twin Buttes and 9,530 acres from East Douglas Creek per Section 5.6.1 of the EA. These values determine the percentage of the allotments inside the HA.

The Allotment Master Report from RAS provides acreage, management status and active AUMs. All of the land is in the Improve category.

West Douglas Allotment Calcs 05-05-22

The average forage density in the two allotments is 79 AUMs per year per thousand acres, enough to support at least six wild horses per thousand acres.

Resources in the allotments must be considered when estimating the carrying capacity of areas designated for wild horses. They are routinely ignored by the advocates in their efforts to spread the Montana Solution across the American west.

The forage assigned to livestock inside the HA would support 9,991 ÷ 12 = 832 wild horses, for a True AML of 0 + 832 = 832.

The stocking rate at the new AML would be 6.7 horses per thousand acres.

The 832 horses displaced from the HA by permitted grazing represent about 1.5% of the animals in off-range holding. Every horse in short-term and long-term holding can be explained by this principle.

Most of the horses were removed from the area last August in an emergency roundup prompted by wildfire and drought but the allotment data suggest otherwise.

The incident was not necessary from a resource viewpoint and was likely carried out to protect the public-lands ranchers.