Author: Western Horse Watchers

BLM Not Selling Wild Horses to Kill Buyers

See the report posted today at Intermountain Farm & Ranch about the Red Desert gather, which may begin next week.  The story addresses concerns about captured horses going to slaughter.

“Interested buyers are required to sign paperwork.”

No problems there.  Barack Obama took an oath to uphold the Constitution (and his administration was lawless).

The article also indicates that Wyoming is home to more than 7,000 wild horses, but the Appropriate Management Level is 3,725 horses.  Another case of misuse of figures.

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The BLM spokesperson quoted in the article said research projects are underway that will help find more effective facility [sic] control methods, probably meaning fertility control methods, which is a code word for fertility prevention methods.

The report did not mention if AUM curtailment would be considered as a means of preventing overgrazing or if the grazing fee on public rangelands would be raised from $1.41 per AUM to $25 per AUM, in line with the costs of private ranching.

The government serfs are riding a gravy train and they know it.  And who pays?  Our wild horses and burros.

RELATED: Red Desert Gather Announced.

What is a Gelding?

Stallions can reproduce, geldings can’t, because they’ve been castrated.  The procedure is not 100% effective.

There are no geldings in the wild, unless they escaped from their owners or were turned loose, or were selectively returned to the range after being rounded up and ‘processed’ by the managing agency.

In this example, the horse has a twig and berries, not a gelding.

Burning Man: Permit Approved

BLM announced yesterday that it had issued a Special Recreation Permit to Black Rock City LLC for Burning Man, to be held on public lands near Gerlach, NV.  The festival will run from 08/26/18 through 09/03/18.

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The permit allows up to 70,000 participants on approximately 4400 acres, for a population density of 15,909 humans per thousand acres.

As for the wild horses and burros that surround the place, they’ll probably just keep their heads down and avoid the chaos, trying to carry on their legacy at an average density of one animal per thousand acres.

RELATED: Vendor Advisory for 2018 Burning Man.

Congressman Holds Wild Horse ‘Unity’ Conference

Chris Stewart (R-UT) sponsored a roundtable yesterday in Salt Lake City to discuss WHB management in his state.  He’s no friend of the horses.  There are too many of them and they go outside their herd management areas, according to a report posted 08/01/18 by KMYU-TV.

The estimated WHB population in Utah is 5,000 animals, with an AML of 2,500 (stats cited in the story, numbers from the BLM put the AML at 1,911).

This is another example of misuse of figures.  You can’t compare 5,000 to 2,500 because they don’t have the same land-basis.

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The ranching industry appeared to be under-represented at the conference, judging by the list of guests, but maybe that was by design.  Perhaps the event was held to give the impression he’s interested in the advocacy viewpoint?  You know, they always kiss you before they screw you.

Chris Stewart is no conservative paragon.  Almost certainly he’s in the back pocket of the beef lobby.  He received a Liberty Score® of ‘D’ (67%) at Conservative Review.

Water Troughs at Fish Springs Destroyed by Vandals

Stock tanks placed on private property for the Pine Nut wild horses now have bullet holes in them and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for assistance in identifying the person(s) responsible.  The tanks were valued at $1400.  Refer to the report posted today at Nevada Appeal, with similar coverage in Carson Now.

Although the wild horse gather on the Pine Nut Mountains HA has been placed on hold, the gather on the HMA is moving ahead as planned.

RELATED: Fish Springs Gather On Hold.

BLM Starts Emergency Gather at Nevada Wild Horse Range

Bait traps will be used to remove approximately 800 wild horses from the Nevada Wild Horse Range, according to a BLM news release posted this morning.  Helicopters will not be used.

Insufficient water was cited as the reason for the roundup, which begins today or tomorrow.  Gather operations will not be open to the public.

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The HMA covers 1,301,637 acres and has an AML of 500, for a target population density of 0.38 animals per thousand acres.  It is the largest HMA in the Nevada, perhaps in the nation, but is part of Nellis Air Force Base and therefore has no public access.

The Nevada Wild Horse Range is one of three areas in the western U.S. managed primarily for wild horses.  Livestock grazing does not occur there.

Captured animals will be taken to the Palomino Valley Holding Corrals north of Reno, NV and Ridgecrest Holding Corrals in Ridgecrest, CA, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and prepared for adoption.  On the bright side, this will be the first time these horses have been seen by the public, due to the security requirements of their home range.

Gather stats and day-to-day reports can be found at this page.

BLM Seeks Comments on Future Gathers at Spring Creek Basin

On 07/27/18, the BLM asked for public input on an environmental assessment for bait trapping in the Spring Creek Basin HMA.  Refer to this news release for details.  No wild horse removals are planned at this time.  The HMA is in southwest Colorado near the Utah border.

An advocacy group that works with the BLM to manage the herd gives some background on the case at this post.  Like other HMAs, the Spring Creek horses are subject to fertility control.

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The HMA covers 21,932 acres and has an AML of 65, for a aimed-at population density of three animals per thousand acres, a bit higher than the national average of one animal per thousand acres (all HMAs).  Note from the map that the herd area (red border) is about twice the size of the herd management area (blue border).  HAs don’t have AMLs and are not managed for WHB due to inadequate resources.

The horses may graze the entire area if they’re not fenced in.  Not a big problem unless livestock have been placed there.  The ranchers will protest and eventually demand a roundup.

Keep in mind the red border marks an area set aside for horses in 1971.

The news release did not indicate if livestock were present on the HMA.

Utah HMA Population

Now for some wild horse tech.  The following chart shows the population target for HMAs in Utah as a function of HMA size.  Conclusions drawn therefrom:

  • Most HMAs are smaller than 300,000 acres
  • Most AMLs are 300 animals or less
  • AMLs are more-or-less proportional to HMA size

There are eight HMAs with an average size of 55,000 acres and average AML of 44 (some data points are so close to each other they overlap on the chart).  A line starting at (0, 0) would pass through (55, 44).

If population is proportional to size, an HMA four times as large as the reference group should have an AML four times larger than that group.  If x = 220, y= 4 × 44 = 176.  The two HMAs of that size (Onaqui Mountain and Muddy Creek) have an average AML of 168, which is close.

Extending the line to x = 440 gives y = 352, a bit less than the nearest observed AML of 390, but not bad.  That data point represents the largest HMA, Cedar Mountain.

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If WHB population is proportional to HMA size, population density should be constant across the HMAs (and can be estimated from the slope of the imaginary line).  That will be the subject of the next post in this series.

RELATED: Utah HMA Stats.

BLM Plan for Sterilization Puts Wild Mares at Risk

“It is a dangerous procedure.  They’re doing it sort of the cheapest way.  Therefore, there’s a potential for basically fatal complications.”

Agree.  See the report posted today by Oregon Public Broadcasting.  Both sides of the debate are presented.  The story did not indicate if a reduction in livestock AUMs was under consideration to alleviate damage attributable to overgrazing.

RELATED: Sterilization Research Proposed for Wild Horses.

Readers Debate Wild Horse Sterilization

Two opinion pieces in the East Oregonian:

How many elements of the wild horse narrative can you find in the response?

AMLs tell you how many animals can inhabit a parcel of land.  They don’t tell you anything about the available resources and how they’re allocated across that land.

The total AML of 26,690, cited in the response, corresponds to HMAs covering 26.7 million acres, for an average population density of one animal per thousand acres on lands managed by the BLM.  (The population density of the Virginia Range, not managed by the BLM, is ten animals per thousand acres.)

The estimated population of 81,951 animals probably corresponds to HMAs and lands outside HMAs, wherever WHB are found, for an unknown number of acres.  You can’t compare 81,951 to 26,690 because the figures don’t have the same land-basis.

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Instead of looking at AMLs, we should be looking at pie charts that show how the available resources are allocated among the various consumers (horses, burros, cattle, sheep, antelope, deer, etc).  A chart may indicate that, although the wild horse population of a given area is three times larger than AML, the horses only account for half the available resources.  The situation isn’t as serious as originally portrayed.

UPDATE: Added graphic.

RELATED: Sterilization Research Proposed for Wild Horses.

Wild Horse Narrative

Trailcam image of free-roaming bucks on the Virginia Range.  Probably the last ones, thanks to those damn horses.

  • They’re a non-native species
  • They’re overpopulated
  • They have no natural predators
  • They’re not special (mostly escaped ranch stock)
  • They damage rangelands
  • They’re a threat to wildlife

Livestock are blameless, always.  That’s the wild horse narrative in a nutshell.  You’re supposed to conclude that wild horses are bad for the environment and should be removed.  Removal was the answer all along, but it had to be justified.

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Wild Horse Gather Set for Muddy Creek

BLM announced today that 149 horses would be removed from the Muddy Creek HMA in central Utah, beginning in August.  Overpopulation and dry conditions were cited as the reasons for removal.  Fertility control will be applied to the remaining horses to slow population growth.

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The news release did not indicate if helicopters would be used for the roundup and if it will be open to public observation.  The presence of livestock on the HMA was not discussed nor the destination of captured animals.

A link for the gather reports and daily stats was not provided.

The Muddy Creek HMA covers 283,400 acres and has an AML of 125, for a target population density of 0.44 animals per thousand acres.  It’s managed for wild horses and burros.