The project is still in second place but there are probably less than two dozen original thoughts in the queue, and the rest are talking points furnished by the advocates.
RELATED: McCullough Peaks Now #2 in Top 5 (Most Active) on ePlanning.
Author: Western Horse Watchers
Another Rorschach Test for Wild Horse Advocates
What do you see in these data from the Pancake Complex in Nevada?
a. A wild horse problem, the ranchers only get 89% of the authorized forage.
b. A resource management problem, the horses get just 11% of the authorized forage.
c. The problem is drilling and mining.
d. We’re changing the way wild horse herds are managed, not their land.
e. You have to manage the numbers to fit what’s available for the horses.
RELATED: Rorschach Test for Advocates.
SHOCKER: HJR3 Co-Sponsor Runs Cattle on Public Lands!
The Operator Information Report at RAS indicates that Albert Sommers, co-sponsor of the resolution, has a permit to graze livestock on public lands managed by the Pinedale Field Office, authorization #4915862.
Go to this page for an overview of his ranch.
The Allotment Information Report ties the authorization to three BLM allotments, shown in the following map from the National Data Viewer (click on image to open in new tab).
The overview mentions grazing on the Upper Green River Allotment of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, which is not covered by the NDV, but you can find it on the Western Watersheds map.
The Allotment Master Report provides management status, acreage and active AUMs.
The nearest wild horse area is the Desert HA, last gathered in October 2001.
Unfit for free-roaming equids, it is well-suited to privately owned livestock, despite considerable dietary overlap between the two species.
RELATED: Wyoming Legislature Petitions Congress to Legalize Slaughter.
Acknowledging the History of Wild Horses at TRNP
If you’re new to the story, pull up a chair and sit a spell.
Wild horses pre-date the 1947 park by more than 60 years, as noted in a column posted today by INFORUM.
The original herd is gone. The horses you see today are an exhibit.
Some were rescued by Leo Kuntz and taken to his ranch near Linton.
He tells their story in a 2011 film titled “Nokota Heart.”
Sadly, Kuntz died in 2018.
RELATED: Lawmaker Seeks Extension of TRNP Comment Period?
Price of Hay Still in Stratosphere
A bale of alfalfa-grass mix fetched $36 today at the local feed store, 20 bales minimum, no change from November. The single-bale price was $37.
The average horse would need around five bales per month, putting the cost of feed at $180 per AUM.
As for the concentrates, in 50-pound sacks, Equine Senior was $35 and rice bran pellets went for $30 each.
Layena Crumbles, for chickens, sold for $29.
The one-horse pony says his policies are working, which would be true if the goal is to put average American families out of business.
Meanwhile, on the range, the new grazing fee should be announced within days.
Ranchers currently pay $1.35 per AUM to feed their livestock on public lands, a bit less than what they’re paying on private lands, including their own, which explains why they want more wild horses crammed into feedlots at taxpayer expense.
RELATED: No Change in Price of Hay.
Beware of the Advocates
A reference to the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses automatically makes them suspect. “You need to manage the numbers to fit what’s available for the horses.”
Less land + Fewer resources = More roundups + More fertility control, a formula that benefits everybody but the horses.
RELATED: Advocates Need New Touchstone for Wild Horse Management?
Lawmaker Seeks Extension of TRNP Comment Period?
A story posted this morning by KFYR News indicates that a North Dakota State Representative helped concerned citizens draft a letter to the acting Park Superintendent requesting another 60 days for public comments.
The comment period was set to close on January 31.
The extension would give the legislature enough time to decide if they would intervene in the planning process.
The report did not indicate if the letter had been submitted.
RELATED: TRNP Superintendent Says Genetic Viability Off the Table.
Reading the Pancake Tea Leaves
These AUM numbers came up in a Google search this evening, probably for the Pancake Complex in Nevada.
Western Horse Watchers believes the livestock AUMs are on the high side, as discussed previously, but let’s ignore that for now.
What can you conclude, without reaching for your calculator?
- The horses have been cheated by the bureaucrats in favor of the ranchers
- The Complex is managed primarily for livestock
- You don’t have a wild horse problem, you have a resource management problem
Reaching for a calculator,
- The AML ranges from 361 to 638
- The number of horses displaced from the Complex by permitted grazing is 4,952
- The True AML is 5,590
The current population was not given.
The BLM collects about $80,000 per year in grazing fees from ranching activity inside the Complex while it spends around $9 million per year to care for the horses displaced thereby. Would you say that’s a wise use of the public lands?
Advocates Behind Surge in McCullough Peaks Comments?
The comment count as of mid day was 344, compared to 267 yesterday morning.
Perhaps the advocates drafted a form letter and gave it to their drones to flood the project with the same comment?
“Less trapping, more darting.”
The Clan Alpine scoping period, which closes today, received just 19 comments.
RELATED: McCullough Peaks Now #2 in Top 5 (Most Active) on ePlanning.
PZP Doesn’t Grow on Trees
A story dated January 18 by WIRED magazine explains how undercover video of gas chamber operations was obtained from a meatpacking plant in Vernon, CA.
The facility is owned by Smithfield Foods, a producer of pork controlled by the Chinese conglomerate WH Group.
The footage, showing how pigs are suffocated in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere, was copied to the interloper’s Vimeo channel.
In the following example, the animals are pushed into a cage which is lowered into the chamber where they die. The camera was attached to the cage.
After a few minutes, the cage comes back up and they are dumped out for processing.
Is this where the folks at the Billings School of PZP Darting and Public Deception get their pig ovaries?
Who knows.
But the production process starts in plants like this.
Foal-Free Friday, Coddling the Ranchers Edition
Consider these two scenarios for wild horse removal.
A. Eliminate 150 excess horses
- Initial population – 400
- Final Population – 250
B. Eliminate 150 excess horses
- Initial population – 400
- Final Population – 250
In one case, 150 horses were removed from their lawful home and shipped to slaughter, as the Wyoming legislature desires.
In the other case, 150 horses died on the range and were not replaced because the advocates sterilized most of the mares with their safe, proven and reversible darting program.
In one case, the herd will rebound. In the other case, the herd is toast.
Which one is which?
Which one is a win for the horses?
Both cases liberated 1,800 AUMs per year for the public-lands ranchers, enough to support 300 cow/calf pairs on a six-month grazing season.
Sadly, the premise about excess animals was false. Both populations were well within their True AMLs. The actions were carried out to help the ranchers.
Unabashed and undeterred, the advocates want this for all wild horse herds.
Why are you still giving them money?
RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Getting Rid of Them Inconspicuously Edition.
McCullough Peaks Now #2 in Top 5 (Most Active) on ePlanning
The rankings change minute by minute but here’s a screen image as of this morning.
Comments must comply with land-use plans. If livestock receive four times more forage than the horses and you request a reduction in grazing activity, your comment will be dismissed out of hand.
“Such changes cannot be accomplished through a wild horse gather decision.”
If you express support for the project, which will keep the pests in check so ranchers can access most of their food, the response will likely be “Thank you for your comment.”
RELATED: McCullough Peaks Takes Third Place in ePlanning Top 5.
TRNP Superintendent Says Genetic Viability Off the Table
A story by KX News indicates the herd size under Alternative A, if approved, would not be maintained at a level that supports genetic viability.
The wild horse herd under Alternatives B and C would be reduced to zero.
Refer to the scoping newsletter for a discussion of the alternatives.
Public comments on the new livestock plan will be accepted through January 31.
RELATED: Park Service Has No Rationale for Keeping Wild Horses at TRNP.
McCullough Peaks Takes Third Place in ePlanning Top 5
The rankings change minute by minute but here’s a screenshot as of this evening.
The purpose of the project is to minimize the herd size over a ten-year period, so ranchers can access most of their food.
Suggestions that would help the horses, such as confining the ranchers to their base properties in a year-long off season, are outside the scope of the project.
Offering to provide an aggressive darting program at no cost to the government would likely receive a favorable review.
Oh wait, the advocates are already doing that.
RELATED: McCullough Peaks Makes Top 5 (Most Active) in ePlanning!
New Adjuvants to Boost Efficacy of PZP?
With the public-lands ranchers demanding more and more forage in areas identified for wild horses, the bureaucrats and advocates are always looking for new and novel ways to get rid of the horses without arousing public suspicion.
Now comes news from the University of Toledo that the safety, shelf life, effectiveness and durability of the Montana Solution can be improved by reformulating it with a different, current-generation adjuvant.
Adjuvants amplify the immune response following inoculation, making a vaccine more effective, only in this case, the vaccine causes illness instead of preventing it.
The results of a study, published last month, were promising, with one new adjuvant allowing vaccine preparation days before injection and yielding a strong immune response without injection-site effects.
The research was conducted in part by Dr. John Turner, a colleague of the late Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick of Eastern Montana College.
Colorado Legislature Considers Bill to Prohibit Slaughter
The measure was introduced last week, according to a story by The Denver Post.
The author noted that Colorado lawmakers passed legislation in 2010 declaring horses a cherished part of western heritage.
Curiously, all four of the HMAs in the state are subject to the Montana Solution.
RELATED: Wyoming Legislature Petitions Congress to Legalize Slaughter.
Improving Public Perceptions of Public-Lands Ranching
Public-lands ranching is government dependency and redistribution of wealth, hallmarks of liberalism and the domain of the Democrat Party.
The practice can’t be defended from an economic viewpoint, as each AUM sold to the ranchers brings in $1.35 in grazing fees while the government spends around $150 to care for the horse displaced thereby. (One AUM can sustain one cow/calf pair or one wild horse for one month. The cost of off-range holding is $5 per day or more.)
Undeterred, the folks at the Berryman Institute have embarked on a plan to help the ranchers and improve their image, as explained in this presentation by director and front man Terry “Can Cougars Eat Their Way to AML” Messmer.
References to Celeste correspond to the presentation by Celeste Carlisle, Chair of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, in cahoots with the ranchers up to her eyeballs.
Most advocates will concur with his observation that you need to put the crosshairs on the mares, not the foals.
The wild horse and burro program has been a drag on the grazing program for 51 years.
RELATED: Better if They Weren’t Even Born.
Wyoming Legislature Petitions Congress to Legalize Slaughter
The sponsor of the new resolution, an outfitter and rancher, was moved by a visit to the Red Desert last year, according to a story posted this evening by WyoFile.
He was accompanied by a rangeland specialist (from the BLM?) and members of the Rock Springs Grazing Association, instigators of the Rock Springs RMP Amendments.
The bill asks Congress to enact legislation and make other necessary policy changes to allow federal land management agencies and agency partners to implement best management practices for wild horses and burros, including equine slaughter and processing for shipment to markets within or outside the United States.
Why Are We Sickened by Images of Orphaned Calves and Foals?
The story in Colorado Politics of a calf calling for its mother, who had been gunned down by Forest Service personnel or their agents, carried to the scene by helicopter, is sad and terrifying as the author suggests.
Then there was the foal put down on Day 4 of the 2021 Jackson Mountains roundup not because of a pre-existing condition, but because it was an orphan. The BLM later edited the report to conceal the incident.
Why do these events make us sick?
Could it be they’re an affront to our innate understanding of family, and the importance thereof, written on our hearts by our creator?
Not the twisted notions promoted by liberals, such as two sodomites and their pet children, or the mergers and acquisitions of divorce and remarry, but the uniting until death of husband and wife in the holy sacrament of marriage and their subsequent cooperation with God to bring forth the future inhabitants of heaven.
Unauthorized Livestock Shot by Government Thugs?
The Forest Service has the authority to gather and remove estray cattle, not shoot them, according to a column posted this morning by Colorado Politics.
The incident occurred last spring in the Gila Wilderness of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.
The Western Watersheds map puts it adjacent to the Apache National Forest, known for wild horse shootings, near the Arizona state line.
The Heber WHT, also known for such incidents, is to the northwest, and the Bordo Atravesado HMA is to the northeast. Click on image to open in new tab.
The killing of escaped livestock in New Mexico opens up a new possibility in the Arizona shootings: The feds did it, or they were involved in it, which explains why the cases will never be solved.
The 2018 Spruce-Pequop roundup in Nevada started with the shooting of eight wild horses and the BLM knows who did it, making them complicit in the incident.
Western Horse Watchers Association 