Story by 13 News Now of Norfolk, VA. What if they approach you?
RELATED: Keeping a Safe Distance.
Author: Western Horse Watchers
Swimming Lessons on the Salt River
Young colt crosses the river with his band, courtesy of SRWHMG.
Caliente Update
Sixteen wild horses have been captured as of today. One death was reported.
The gather may remove as many as 100 wild horses from the Caliente Complex, which includes nine Herd Areas in eastern Nevada: Applewhite, Blue Nose Peak, Clover Creek, Clover Mountains, Delamar Mountains, Little Mountain, Meadow Valley Mountains, Miller Flat and Mormon Mountains. See Map 1 on page 5 of the Final EA.
All of them were HMAs but were zeroed out according to section 4.2.2 in the EA.
The news release from last week said they didn’t have enough forage and water to sustain wild horses.
Yet the horses are there, over 2,000 of them.
The Complex is overlapped by 26 grazing allotments, per Table 3.2 in the EA, which are permitted for 39,920 AUMs per year. That means they can support 5,617 cow/calf pairs over a weighted-average grazing period of 7.1 months per year.
Or 3,326 wild horses over a twelve month period.
But the goal is to achieve and maintain a thriving ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on these lands (section 1.1), which apparently means no wild horses.
RELATED: Mustangs to Be Removed from Eastern Nevada Starting Today.
Tassi-Gold Butte Gather Starts This Week
BLM said yesterday that up to 40 wild burros would be removed from private lands in the Tassi-Gold Butte HA in northwestern Arizona. The gather will be carried out with bait traps and will not be open to public observation, according to the news release.
The HA has no AML and is not managed for wild horses or burros.
Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Florence, AZ.
Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.
The announcement did not indicate if Arizona was a fence-out state.
Horse Watching in New Mexico
On the Pueblo of Laguna, west of Albuquerque, with Johanna Maynard.
Red Rock Gather Complete
BLM said today that 237 wild horses were removed from the Red Rock HMA west of Las Vegas, NV. The gather began on 07/29/19. No deaths were reported.
Approximately 50 horses remain in the HMA, according to the news release.
Mustang Monday
On Shackleford Banks, NC, with Activated Adventures.
Horses in Antelope Complex Get Short End of Stick
The Antelope Complex in eastern Nevada includes the Antelope HMA, Antelope Valley HMA, Goshute HMA and the infamous Spruce-Pequop HMA, site of a wild horse shooting in August 2018.
A roundup begins this week at the Antelope and Antelope Valley HMAs so let’s see how resources will be allocated once the gather plan has been fully implemented.
The ranchers and their allies want AMLs achieved ASAP, you know.
The complex, which covers 1,183,340 acres, has a combined AML of 789 wild horses, according to Table 1. The forage demand would be 9,468 AUMs per year and the target population density would be 0.7 animals per thousand acres.
The average density for all HMAs is one animal per thousand acres.
The four HMAs are overlapped by 31 grazing allotments per Table 8. The forage allocation for livestock inside the complex can be estimated as the sum of 31 AUM fractions, each based on the percentage of the allotment falling inside the complex.
For example, the Boone Springs allotment, which is permitted for 2,947 AUMs per year, lies entirely within the complex. Therefore, it contributes 2,947 AUMs per year to domestic livestock grazing. Only 5% of the Cherry Creek allotment falls within the complex, so it contributes just 454 AUMs per year to privately owned livestock.
The total forage contribution is 72,946 AUMs per year.
The AUM fractions can be converted to cow/calf pairs by dividing them by the annual grazing periods. The Boone Springs allotment is active for five months. Therefore, it can accommodate 2,947 ÷ 5 = 589 cow/calf pairs. The Cherry Creek allotment, active for 12 months per year, can host 38 cow/calf pairs. (Wild horses and cow/calf pairs are said to be equivalent in terms of their resource loading.)
The total number of cow/calf pairs is 10,429, which yields a planned population density of 8.8 cow/calf pairs per thousand acres. (The weighted-average grazing period across all 31 allotments is 7 months per year.)
These figures are presented in the following charts.
Another fine example of ‘thriving ecological balance,’ on land set aside for the horses!
A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), one of the steps in approving plans like this one, must pertain to everything but wild horses.
The forage allocated to livestock in those 31 allotments, 124,466 AUMs per year (inside and outside the complex), would support 10,370 wild horses, about 1/8 of those roaming freely on public lands in the western U.S.
That these and other lands can only support 27,000 wild horses and burros is pure BS.
RELATED: Roundup Starts Next Week in Lower Half of Antelope Complex.
Sunday Morning Reflection
The world is circling the drain because the Church is circling the drain.
Roundup Starts Next Week in Lower Half of Antelope Complex
BLM announced yesterday that 1,250 wild horses would be removed from the Antelope and Antelope Valley HMAs in eastern Nevada, starting on 08/05/19. The operation will require 60 days and will not be open to public observation, according to the new release.
The gather will be carried out with bait traps and will prevent further degradation of public lands by balancing herd size with what the land can support [after deducting a nominal amount—at least 60%—for privately owned livestock].
Captured animals will be taken to the Indian Lakes Off-Range Corrals in Fallon.
The size and AML of Antelope are 399,761 acres and 324 horses, respectively, for an aimed-at population density of 0.8 animals per thousand acres. The size and AML of Antelope Valley are 502,909 acres and 259 horses, for an aimed-at density of 0.5 animals per thousand acres.
The target density for all HMAs is one animal per thousand acres.
Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.
The roundup will include horses from the Antelope HMA that are in a pilot program, led by a ‘wild horse advocate,’ involving the GonaCon-Equine pesticide.
Sorry, but on-range management of free-roaming horses with this or any other fertility control drug DOES NOT QUALIFY as wild horse advocacy. The practice aligns nicely with the anti-horse agenda, putting its adherents in the same camp as the ranchers.
PLF: Window Into the BLM?
The mission of the Public Lands Foundation, according to the statement on the first page of their Summer 2019 Newsletter, is to keep America’s public lands in public hands, which, of course, means keeping them in the hands of the federal government.
The belief is explained in a position statement. Political orientation: Liberal.
The organization has many members who have retired from the BLM, according to the page with other position statements. Where do they come down on other issues?
Centralized Government – PLF opposes the relocation of the BLM headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction, CO, which is consistent with the principle of subsidiarity. Political orientation: Liberal.
Climate Change – “…the warming of the Earth’s climate system is unequivocal as is now evident from observations of global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level,” according to their position statement. Political orientation: Liberal.
Wind and Solar – PLF says they are needed to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions from traditional energy conversion technologies. Political orientation: Liberal.
Illegal Immigration – PLF believes that policies should be changed so illegal aliens can enter the country legally “…through established ports of entry…instead of…crossing fragile public lands on foot and in vehicles.” Political orientation: Liberal.
Public-Lands Ranching – PLF supports it. They are as hostile to WHB as the ranchers, see item 7 on page 4 of their position statement.
Wild Horses and Burros – PLF believes the “WHB program is unsustainable” and that roundups should be increased “…to achieve AML as soon as practical, selling, without limitation, un-adopted WHBs that have been gathered.”
How would you classify the last two statements, given they were written by a left-leaning organization located just outside of Washington D.C.? How closely do they correspond to the beliefs of current BLM administrators and staff?
Pine Nut Helicopters Grounded, Bait Traps Next
BLM said today that 36 wild horses were forced off their home range this week, with additional horses to be removed later this month.
Captured animals were taken to the Palomino Valley Off-Range Corrals 20 miles north of Sparks, NV, according to the news release.
One death was reported. An adult mare with a broken leg was put down on 07/31/19.
RELATED: Pine Nut Roundup to Resume Next Week.
North Hills Gather Plan Inches Closer to Implementation
A story published yesterday by St. George News of St. George, UT said the BLM issued a Finding of No Significant Impact, allowing a plan to move forward that would remove most of the wild horses from the North Hills Joint Management Area in southwest Utah.
The JMA includes the North Hills HMA and North Hills WHT. It contains 50,127 acres of BLM land (shown in tan on the following map), 24,006 acres of USFS land and 10,511 acres of state and private lands (shown in light green), for a total of 84,646 acres.
The herd size is now about 270 wild horses, according to the report, for a pre-gather population density of 3.1 animals per thousand acres.
A district ranger interviewed for the story went slightly off narrative, saying “The land is supporting that number right now, but that doesn’t mean that that’s a healthy herd.”
The aimed-at population density, based on an AML of 60, is 0.7 horses per thousand acres (60 ÷ 84,646 × 1,000). The horses would consume 720 AUMs annually (60 × 12).
The Forest Service prohibits domestic livestock grazing on the WHT but the BLM allows it on the HMA, which is intersected by five allotments. Privately owned cattle and sheep are eligible for 1,967 AUMs per year inside the HMA, according to page 27 of the plan.
Given an average grazing interval of roughly four months (see page 28), the AUM budget converts to 492 cow/calf pairs (1,967 ÷ 4). This yields an aimed-at population density of 9.8 cow/calf pairs per thousand acres (492 ÷ 50,127 × 1,000).
These figures are presented in the following charts:
The proposed gather will come very close to achieving these goals. As usual, the horses get the short end of the stick, on land set aside for them.
It’s time to end public-lands ranching.
This Is Why Wild Horses Have No Natural Predators
Refer to this story, posted today by The Statesman Journal of Salem, OR.
The animals that would control wild horse populations would also be attracted to the ‘other authorized users’ of lands set aside for the horses.
Double Devil Corrals Emptied
A report posted yesterday by the Herald and News of Klamath Falls, OR said all of the wild horses that were shipped to the Double Devil Corrals in Alturas, CA have been placed into homes, by sale or adoption.
The Forest Service is moving ahead with plans to remove another 500 horses from the Devil’s Garden Plateau WHT later this year, according to the report.
Estimates before the 2018 gather put the herd size at nearly 4,000 animals.
After forcing approximately 1,000 wild horses off their home range, the herd is now thought to contain about 1,800 horses, including this year’s foal crop!
If the figures from last year were truthful, the herd should be twice that size, assuming a 20% growth rate:
(4,000 – 1,000) × 1.2 = 3,600
This may explain why the 2019 goal is now 500 broomtails, down from 1,000.
RELATED: Forest Service: You Adopt, We Haul Devil’s Garden Horses.
Silver King Horses Get Short End of Stick
The announcement yesterday of a gather involving the Silver King HMA, among others, included a link to the final environmental assessment for a large roundup that occurred there in late 2018.
The EA looks at the effects of a proposed action along with those of its alternatives.
Table 1 on page 5 of the document says the HMA has an AML of 128 wild horses and a size of 606,000 acres, for an aimed-at population density of 0.2 animals per thousand acres. The average density for all HMAs is one animal per thousand acres (27,000 wild horses and burros on 27 million acres).
The 128 horses allowed by plan would consume 1,536 AUMs annually, given they graze 12 months per year.
Table 3.3 on page 73, titled ‘Grazing Use Within Silver King Herd Management Area,’ shows eight livestock grazing allotments overlapping the HMA. Only four percent of the Fox Mountain allotment falls within the HMA, compared to Ely Spring, which lies completely within the HMA.
The forage allocated to livestock must be calculated according to the percentage of land falling within the HMA. For example, the Wilson Creek allotment contributes 43,450 × 0.36 = 15,642 AUMs, because 36% of its land is inside the HMA (assuming that forage is uniformly distributed across the parcel).
The eight fractions, added together, yield 24,048 AUMs for livestock inside the HMA.
In a similar manner, the forage allocations can be converted to cow/calf pairs using the annual grazing period (also given in table 3.3). Wilson Creek livestock graze 12 months per year, so the number of cow/calf pairs inside the HMA would be 15,642 ÷ 12 = 1,304.
These eight results yield 2,332 cow/calf pairs inside the HMA, for a population density of 3.8 animals per thousand acres. Note that one cow/calf pair is equivalent to one wild horse in terms of its resource loading.
These figures are presented in the following charts:
Land that can only support 0.2 wild horses per thousand acres can support eighteen times as many privately owned livestock. Wild horses receive 1/15 (6%) of the forage allocated to livestock.
There’s your thriving ecological balance, on land set aside for the horses.
These alternatives were rejected in section 2.6 of the EA:
- Raising the AML
- Reducing or removing livestock
- Managing the HMA principally for wild horses
Instead, the plan calls for additional roundups, fertility control and sex ratio skewing.
Table 3.3 in the EA also gives the allotment sizes, from which the planned population densities can be computed. First, determine the number of cow/calf pairs on each allotment (inside and outside the HMA) using the permitted AUMs and annual grazing periods. Then, divide those results by the size of the allotments.
For example, the number of cow/calf pairs on Wilson Creek, allowed by plan, would be 43,450 ÷ 12 = 3,621. The population density would be 3,621 ÷ 1,090,414 × 1,000 = 3.3 pairs per thousand acres.
Note that the Ely Spring allotment, all of which falls within the HMA, can support 32 times as many cow/calf pairs as wild horses (6.5 ÷ 0.2).
These data provide more evidence that the WHB Act, which has been altered several times by ranching interests, no longer affords the protections sought by Velma.
The numbers also suggest that AMLs do not reflect the carrying capacity of the land.
Mustangs to Be Removed from Eastern Nevada Starting Today
BLM announced this morning that up to 100 wild horses would be gathered from the Caliente HA Complex, Eagle HMA and Silver King HMA starting today. All three areas were the subjects of roundups last year, although Caliente was blocked by legal action.
Operations will not be open to public observation.
The free-roaming animals are crossing roadways and damaging private property, according to the news release, which failed to mention that Nevada is a fence-out state.
The announcement did not say if the removal was authorized on an emergency basis.
Captured animals will be taken to the Indian Lakes off-range corrals in Fallon.
Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.
RELATED: BLM Urged to Fight Caliente Legal Action, BLM Concludes Eagle Gather, BLM Ends Silver King Roundup.
Mustang Monday
On the Virginia Range.
Comments Invited on EA for Range Creek Gather Plan
BLM announced on 07/12/19 the beginning of a comment period for an environmental assessment of the Range Creek HMA Gather Plan. The assessment looks at the effects of a proposed action along with those of its alternatives.
The HMA, in eastern Utah, contains 55,023 acres, according to the EA. (The HMA page says 83,410 acres.) The upper limit of the AML is 125, for an aimed-at population density of 2.3 animals per thousand acres. The current population, estimated to be 282 wild horses, yields a pre-gather density of 5.1 animals per thousand acres.
The density target for all HMAs managed by the BLM is one animal per thousand acres.
The plan allocates 3,267 AUMs per year to privately owned livestock. The allocation for wild horses is 1,500 AUMs per year (125 × 12).
The AUM budget for livestock yields 544 cow/calf pairs, assuming they graze six months per year, for a population density of 9.9 pairs per thousand acres. (The resource loading for one wild horse is the same as one cow/calf pair per BLM guidelines.)
These figures are summarized in the following charts:
There’s your thriving ecological balance. Land that only support 2.3 wild horses per thousand acres can support almost five time as many cow/calf pairs.
The proposed action (page 12 in the EA) would remove up to 263 wild horses from the HMA, skew the sex ratio of the remaining herd, and apply contraceptives to mares returned to their home range.
The proposal will shift approximately 3,100 AUMs per year from the horse column to the cattle column, on land set aside for the horses.
This is because the WHB Act no longer affords the protections sought by Velma.
RELATED: Livestock Grazing in Utah, Range Creek Gather Ended.
Bowed Up
It’s a horse term.
Western Horse Watchers Association 