The resources have already been apportioned.  The project will decide how to enforce them.

Starting today, interested persons can identify issues, suggest alternatives and provide data that could be useful in preparing an environmental assessment that supports the decision-making process.

The proposed action will likely include, among other things, removal of wild horses to the low end of AML and one or more fertility control methods.

Comments must be submitted March 5, according to the news release.

The HMA covers 411,636 acres west of Salt Lake City.  The 390 horses allowed by plan require 4,680 AUMs per year.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is 0.9 horses per thousand acres.

The current population is thought to be around 790, excluding foals.

The HMA intersects four allotments according to the Western Watersheds map and appears to be 100% subject to permitted grazing.

The amount of forage assigned to livestock inside the HMA is not known.

The proposed roundup would occur no sooner than the fall of 2022.  The removal goal would be at least 600.

RELATED: New Resource Enforcement Plan for Cedar Mountain HMA?

Another reader responds to the January 27 column in the Reno Gazette Journal about the importance of roundups, only this time in the Sierra Nevada Ally, a nonprofit news organization based in Carson City.

RELATED: Criticize Livestock, Dart Horses.

The case was handled by the De Castroverde Law Group, which specializes in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense and immigration law, according to an article posted yesterday by Nevada Business.

RELATED: Pancake Judge Appointed by Barack Obama.

The new rules won’t keep more wild horses on the range but may keep more of them in off-range holding.

The rising cost of feed is another deterrent.

Changes to the incentive were authorized under a categorial exclusion.

Described as a “marketing tool” in the CX, the AIP is now subject to the policies and procedures of IM 2022-014.

The feedlot, sometimes referred to as a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), covers 160 acres northeast of Fallon, NV and has a capacity of 3,200 wild horses and burros, according to the Determination of NEPA Adequacy signed on November 15.

The expansion will add 238 acres on three adjacent parcels owned by the contractor, increasing the capacity to 7,600 wild horses and burros.

Map 2 in the DNA shows the arrangement.

The project was not announced at the BLM news site.

A BLM Natural Resource Specialist told the county Public Lands Council on Tuesday that the horses are very astute and the sound of loading the dart can make them run, according to a report by ETV News.

The agent said the drug can be effective for five years, suggesting that they are using GonaCon Equine.

The story did not indicate if any advocates had offered to help with the field work.

The Sinbad and Muddy Creek HMAs are in Emery County and both are 100% subject to permitted grazing, as shown on the Western Watersheds map.

The incident began on January 11.  Gather stats through February 2:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Captured: 1,510, up from 1,413 on Day 20
• Average daily take: 65.7
• Capture goal: 2,060
• Removal goal: 2,030
• Returned: 4, no change from Day 20
• Deaths: 13, no change from Day 20
• Shipped: 1,431, up from 1,258 on Day 20

Helicopters did not fly on Day 22 due to high winds.

The death rate is 0.9%.

The cumulative total includes 635 stallions, 693 mares and 182 foals.

Youngsters represented 12.1% of the horses captured, consistent with a herd growth rate of 7% per year, assuming a 5% death rate.  A growth rate of 20% per year is often used by land managers to predict herd sizes.

Of the adults, 47.8% were stallions and 52.2% were mares.

Body condition scores were not reported.

The location of the trap site within the Complex was not provided.

Day 23 ended with 62 unaccounted-for animals.

The number of horses removed to date is 1,506.  Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with fertility control of unspecified type.

Other statistics:

• AML: 638 (across two HMAs, one WHT and one HA)
• Forage assigned to horses: 7,656 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,244
• Forage liberated to date: 18,072 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 15,060 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 43,344 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 3,612
• True AML: 4,250
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.5 wild horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Pancake Roundup Day 20.

The incident will begin on February 8, according to today’s news release, even though the Decision Record, signed on January 24, is subject to a 30-day appeal period.

Helicopters will push the horses into the traps and operations will be open to public observation.

The capture goal is 376 and the removal goal is unknown.  Population suppression of unspecified type will be applied to slow the herd growth rate.

The HMA covers 265,675 acres in western Utah and the 250 horses allowed by plan require 3,000 AUMs per year.  The stocking rate allowed by plan is 0.9 wild horses per thousand acres.

The pre-gather population is thought to be around 600 wild horses.

The HMA intersects nine grazing allotments, according to Table 3.1 of the Final EA for resource enforcement actions therein, and livestock receive an estimated 10,256 AUMs per year, assuming the resource is evenly distributed across the allotments.

The HMA is 100% subject to permitted grazing and the horses receive 23% of the authorized forage, but it does have a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP).

Captured animals will be taken to the Axtell off-range corrals.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.

RELATED: Sulphur Resource Enforcement Plan Approved, First Awareness.

Participants will be able to offer comments, feedback and suggestions regarding current traffic and safety issues related to the horses, according to the announcement.

A link to the Zoom meeting was provided.  Questions can be submitted online.

Although the advocates will be present, Western Horse Watchers does not know if the darting program qualifies as hazard abatement.

The Sulphur HMA, mentioned in a column by St. George News, is overpopulated with 497 wild horses, while the government authorizes privately owned livestock equivalent to 854 horses in the same area, on top of the 250 allowed by plan.

The advocates believe that the horses are the problem but they can’t agree on the best way of getting rid of them.

Meanwhile, the ranchers operate under the cover of a media blackout, evident in the article.

The story may contain material from older columns, suggested by the reference to Deniz Bolbol of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, reffered to on these pages as the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.  No such person could be found at their staff directory.

It did, however, identify the new Virginia Range Fertility Control Program Coordinator.

RELATED: Excess Horses in Sulphur HMA?

Which species will be declining in numbers?  Which one will become the primary consumer of resources on the range, if it isn’t already?

What would you say about the sincerity of the writer in this response to the January 27 column in the Reno Gazette Journal about the importance of roundups?

Western Horse watchers believes that the setting of AMLs is a discretionary process, while the determination of the available resources—and thus the carrying capacity of the land—is scientific, contrary to the statement in the article.

If you write a budget, are you going to collect data and test hypotheses to decide how much to spend on meals and entertainment?

You can have 100% livestock, neglecting wildlife, 100% wild horses, or anywhere in between, as long as the sum of the allocated AUMs does not exceed the available AUMs.

In practice, AMLs correspond to 20% or less of the authorized AUMs.

RELATED: Rangelands, Roundups and Sustainability in Nevada.

This report by KOLO News in Reno is an advertisement for the Montana Solution.

Friends of Animals would likely object to the use of their logo in a story about PZP.

The other two would not.

The advocates protect the public-lands ranchers, not the horses.  Why are you still giving them money?

Craig Downer responds to the January 27 opinion piece in the Reno Gazette Journal about wild horse roundups.

The views expressed in the article are those of its author and not necessarily those of Western Horse Watchers.

RELATED: On the Necessity of Roundups.

The incident began on January 11.  Gather stats through January 30:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Captured: 1,413, up from 1,182 on Day 17
• Average daily take: 70.7
• Capture goal: 2,060
• Removal goal: 2,030
• Returned: 4, no change from Day 17
• Deaths: 13, up from 11 on Day 17
• Shipped: 1,258, up from 999 on Day 17

Helicopters did not fly on Day 19.  The trap site was moved to a new location.

Two horses were euthanized on Day 18.  The death rate is 0.9%.

The cumulative total includes 595 stallions, 641 mares and 177 foals.  The number of mares captured on Day 14 was changed from 14 to 19.

Youngsters represented 12.5% of the horses captured, consistent with a herd growth rate of 8% per year, assuming a 5% death rate.  A growth rate of 20% per year is often used by land managers to predict herd sizes.

Of the adults, 48.1% were stallions and 51.9% were mares.

Body condition scores were not reported.

The location of the trap site within the Complex was not provided.

Day 20 ended with 138 unaccounted-for animals.

The number of horses removed to date is 1,409.  Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with fertility control of unspecified type.

Other statistics:

• AML: 638 (across two HMAs, one WHT and one HA)
• Forage assigned to horses: 7,656 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,244
• Forage liberated to date: 16,908 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 14,090 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 43,344 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 3,612
• True AML: 4,250
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.5 wild horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Pancake Roundup Day 17.

The document was released for review and comments two years ago today.  If the project is approved, it will rank among the greatest losses to America’s wild horses.

The Proposed Action, Alternative D in the EIS, will effect these changes:

• The Rock Springs Field Office portion of the Adobe Town HMA will become an HA and be managed for zero wild horses.  In the Rawlins Field Office portion, all checkerboard land and the area north of the existing Corson Springs southern allotment boundary will become an HA and be managed for zero wild horses.  The remainder of the HMA will be managed for an AML of 259 – 536.
• The Divide Basin HMA will become an HA and be managed for zero wild horses
• The Salt Wells Creek HMA will become an HA and be managed for zero wild horses
• The White Mountain HMA will become an HA and be managed for zero wild horses

Resources assigned to the horses may be shifted to wildlife or livestock.  (If wildlife could consume that much forage, the ranchers would be screaming for their removal.)

Grazing allotments in the Rock Springs Field Office are shown in this map.  Table 3-2 in the EIS shows the allotments that overlap the HMAs.

The allotment master report for the RSFO has 80 listings, including 34 allotments in the Improve category, 17 in the Maintain category and 29 in the Custodial category.

The Rock Springs allotment, in the Maintain category, intersects three of the HMAs.

The largest permit holder, from an AUM viewpoint, is the Rock Springs Grazing Association, instigator of the project.  Refer to the executive summary for details.

The terms of the RSGA consent decree and Alternative D in the EIS are not identical.

With 2.6% of the authorized forage assigned to wild horses, the Little Colorado HMA, included in the recent roundup but not in the RMP scope, has, in effect, already been zeroed out.

RELATED: Management Priorities at Rock Springs HMAs.

On the Currituck Outer Banks with Andy’s Awesome Adventures.