Author: Western Horse Watchers

Controlling Costs Not a Priority When Taxpayers Have Your Back

If you want to understand why there are so many wild horses in off-range holding, and why the government needs more corrals, more pastures and more adoptions, look no farther than the Little Colorado HMA.

It’s not in Colorado, but it explains why taxpayers are being asked to shoulder the growing costs of off-range management.

In general, the bureaucrats assign most of the forage in areas identified for wild horses to privately owned livestock.

At Little Colorado, the horses receive just 2.6% of the resource.  Table 8 in the 2021 EA for management actions in the Wyoming checkerboard has the data.

To keep the pests in check and ensure the ranchers have principal use of the HMA, the BLM takes them off the range and crams them into public and private feedlots.

None of this is intended to reduce costs.

More animals can be removed if there are more places to places to hold them.

The goal is ranching superiority in the lawful homes of wild horses, sometimes referred to as achieving and maintaining AMLs.

At Little Colorado, the AML ranges from 69 to 100.

Horse #70 is excess, the beginning of overpopulation.

The HMA can’t support more than 100, but it can sustain livestock equivalent to 3,750.

This accounts for six percent of the horses in off-range holding!

Off-Range Stats as of Sep-2024 12-26-24

If they really wanted to cut costs, they’d put the horses back on the range and confine the ranchers to their base properties in a year-round off season.

RELATED: What Are Musk and Ramaswamy Being Told About Wild Horses?

Thriving Ecological Balance-3

If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of Christmas

The allotment, located about 40 miles east of Florence, AZ, offers 496 active AUMs on 5,690 public acres according to the Allotment Master Report.

The forage assigned to horses is zero.

How many wild horses could live there?

Using the principle of forage interchangeability, the True AML would be 496 ÷ 12 = 41, the number of horses the land could support if it was managed principally for them as specified in the original statute.

The stocking rate would be 41 ÷ (5,690 ÷ 1,000) = 7.2 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Why is this important?

The bureaucrats and ranchers tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

The advocates reinforce the narrative with their darting programs.

If the allotment was an HMA, the AML would be 6 and 35 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

BLM allotments in Arizona carry livestock equivalent to 53,662 wild horses on 10,090,546 public acres, or 5.3 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring base properties associated with grazing allotments and flipping the preference to horses, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana.

RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.

Christmas Allotment 12-25-24

La Junta Base Property Available for $10.6 Million

Purgatory Basin Ranch covers 12,502 deeded acres in southeastern Colorado, with grazing preference on the 8,127-acre Higbee Allotment in the Comanche National Grasslands, according to the listing.

There is also a 640-acre state lease and 320-acre private lease.

The 2024 AOIs suggest the allotment offers 1,301 AUMs per year, equivalent to 13.3 wild horses per thousand acres.

The bureaucrats tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres.

The state charges $16.25 per AUM, according to the 2024 invoice, twelve times more than the Forest Service.

The land ratio is low.  You must purchase 12,502 deeded acres to access 8,127 public acres.

There are no HMAs or WHTs in the area.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring base properties associated therewith and flipping the preference to horses.

Equivalent Horses and Stocking Rates for Allotments

Consider the Eighteen Mile Allotment, located within the Little Colorado HMA, which offers 18,994 active AUMs on 228,494 public acres according to the Allotment Master Report.

A simple way to compare the management of the HMA with the management of the allotment is with these relationships:

Equivalent horses = Active AUMs ÷ 12

Equivalent stocking rate = Active AUMs ÷ 12 ÷ (Public acres ÷ 1,000)

The allotment, a subset of the HMA, supports livestock equivalent to 1,583 wild horses.

Equivalent horses = 18,994 ÷ 12 = 1,583

The HMA, consisting of 525,421 public acres according to the 2024 population dataset, can only sustain 100 wild horses.

The allotment carries livestock equivalent to 6.9 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Equivalent stocking rate = 18,994 ÷ 12 ÷ (228,494 ÷ 1,000) = 6.9

The HMA can only sustain 0.2 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Stocking rate = 100 ÷ (525,421 ÷ 1,000) = 0.2

Land that can only support 0.2 wild horses per thousand public acres supports livestock equivalent to 6.9 wild horses per thousand public acres.

You cannot have more than 100 wild horses in the entire HMA but you can have livestock equivalent to 1,583 wild horses in an area corresponding to 43% of it.

How is this possible?

They’re lying.

They tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

The advocates bolster the narrative with their HMAPs and darting programs.

They want the ranchers to win.

The allotment accounts for 1,583 wild horses in off-range holding.

The roundups and stockpiling of wild animals in government feedlots are symptoms of resource mismanagement, not inadequate carrying capacity.

The problem is man made.

RELATED: Thriving Ecological Imbalance at Little Colorado HMA.

Eighteen Mile Allotment 12-21-24

Fish Creek Roundup Announced

The incident will begin on or about January 6 according to the news release.

A helicopter will push the horses into a trap and operations will be open to public observation, conditions permitting.

The capture and removal goals are 196 and 144.

The pre-gather population is thought to be 245.

Up to 26 mares will be treated with PZP and be returned to the HMA with up to 26 stallions.

Animals identified for removal will be taken to the off-range corrals in Winnemucca.

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

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Fish Creek Decision Issued.

Fish Creek HMA with Allotments 11-07-24

Murderer’s Creek Roundup, Day 21

The incident started on November 29.  Results through December 19:

  • Scope: Murderer’s Creek HMA, WHT
  • Target: Wild horses
  • AML: 140
  • Pre-gather population: 650
  • True AML: TBD
  • Type: Emergency
  • Method: Bait
  • Capture goal: 350 – 400
  • Removal goal: 350 – 400
  • Captured: 166, up from 144 on Day 17
  • Shipped: 129, no change from Day 17
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 4, no change from Day 17
  • Average daily take: 7.9
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 33
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

No report was given for Day 19.

The death rate is 2.4%.

The capture total includes 61 stallions, 69 mares and 36 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.7% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 16% per year.  The Rule of 72 says the herd size will double in 4.5 years.

Of the adults, 46.9% were male and 53.1% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The name of the contractor was not provided.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

No decisions have made regarding the long-term disposition of horses, which means they could be treated or altered in off range holding, including the stallions.

The status of livestock grazing in the burned area is not known.

RELATED: Murderer’s Creek Roundup, Day 17.

Murderers Creek HMA with Allotments 10-24-24

Fish Creek Decision Issued

The DNA asserts that the 2015 analysis fully covers the Proposed Action, which is to capture and remove wild horses in and around the HMA.

Mares returned to the area would be treated with fertility control.

The document is not searchable in Edge.  You can’t select lines of text or copy everything into a text editor (CTRL+A > CTRL+C > CTRL+V).

But you can open it in Word and search from there.

There were no matches for “gona” but several for “zona.”

A roundup appears on the latest schedule with a start date of January 6, not mentioned in today’s news release.

The pesticide of choice has been changed from GonaCon to PZP.

The DNA was copied to the project folder with the DR and cover letter.

RELATED: Fish Creek DNA Out for Review.

Conflict of Interest at Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates?

The president of the nonprofit, a real estate agent, PZP darter and close supporter of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, frequently writes about the Fish Springs herd in Horse Tales.

This month, her column begins on page four, wherein she mentions the “strong birth control program” that has reduced the reproduction rate by over 90% at no cost to the taxpayers.  (This means the herd is vanishing, perhaps irreversibly, because most of the mares have been sterilized.)

Her listings appear on the back page.

Cioffi Real Estate Listings 12-20-24

Let’s take a look at her clientele.

The owner of these parcels holds most of the active AUMs in the Buckeye Allotment, an area where the horses roam, which means she’s protecting ranching interests, and her own financial interests, not wild horses.

We Want the Ranchers to Win 04-04-24

Almost certainly everybody on the Board knows about this, which means they all should resign in disgrace.

RELATED: Who Has Grazing Preference on the Buckeye Allotment?

Foal-Free Friday, Mergers and Acquisitions Edition

How much longer before the advocates join forces with the farm bureaus, stockgrower’s associations and cattlemen’s groups?

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses could become the Field Services Division of the Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, providing mass sterilization where it’s needed most.

Their flagship darting program on the Virginia Range proves they can be as ruthless as the helicopter pilots and wranglers.

Return to Freedom could align in a similar manner with the Public Lands Council.

Other groups have already demonstrated their mettle by demanding new management plans that ratify and reinforce policies and practices already on the books.

And who wouldn’t want an endorsement from Elko County?

A first step in coming out of the closet and signaling your interest in a partnership might be to support the Washoe Lake fencing project, which will hurt the older horses most by driving them into the higher elevations in search of water.

The impact on young horses will be negligible because their numbers are small, thanks to the advocates.

We Want the Ranchers to Win 04-04-24

RELATED; Foal-Free Friday, Hypocrisy and Lies Edition

USDA to Receive $100K for Wild Horse Fertility Control

The State of Colorado will pay $100,000 to USDA Wildlife Services to train four two-person teams to administer fertility-control pesticides alongside volunteers with BLM’s partner organizations in the state’s four HMAs according to today’s news release.

Given that they chose USDA over the Science and Conservation Center, the pesticide of choice is likely GonaCon Equine, not Zonastat-H.

RELATED: Colorado Wild Horse Working Group Meets Next Week.

Sand Wash Advocates 01-17-22

Picard Road Allotment: Good Things Come in Small Packages

The tiny allotment offers 21 active AUMs on 274 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report, equivalent to 6.4 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Equivalent stocking rate = 21 ÷ 12 ÷ (274 ÷ 1,000) ≅ 6.4

This is far more helpful than anything peddled by the advocates because it

  • Defies the carrying capacity narrative
  • Destroys the rationale for their darting programs
  • Discloses their role as accessories to the ranching agenda

The target stocking rate across all HMAs is one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres), far less than what the land can support.

A draft CX for grazing permit reauthorization has been copied to the project folder in ePlanning.

Comments are due by December 27.

The nearest HMA is Pokegama, about five miles to the northwest.

RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.

Picard Road Allotment 12-18-24

If Louse Canyon Was a Wild Horse Complex

As noted yesterday, if the allotments were a Complex (consisting of two or more HMAs), the AML would be 534 and 2,551 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

The horses allowed by plan would receive 534 ÷ 3,085 × 100% = 17.3% of the authorized forage, with the balance going to livestock.  A small amount would be reserved for wildlife, not considered in the analysis.

This is typical in areas managed for wild horses.

The low end of the AML would be 267.

Horse #268 would be excess, the beginning of overpopulation, even though the land can support him and many others.

Some advocates defend this philosophy with their HMAPs, guaranteeing that more and more wild horses will be crammed into government feedlots.

Others say the problem can be avoided by snuffing out new life with pesticide-laced darts.

Even the casual observer realizes they’re not playing for the home team.

We Want the Ranchers to Win 04-04-24

RELATED: If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of Louse Canyon.

San Bernadino County Removing Reche Canyon Burros

The method of capture was not identified in this report by KTLA News but as of today 68 animals have been taken into custody.

The next step may be a trip to Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in Texas.

The reporter said they’re federally protected but if that was true management actions would be preceded by a NEPA review and carried out by the BLM or Forest Service.

RELATED: New State Law Threatens Reche Canyon Burros?

Murderer’s Creek Roundup, Day 17

The incident started on November 29.  Results through December 15:

  • Scope: Murderer’s Creek HMA, WHT
  • Target: Wild horses
  • AML: 140
  • Pre-gather population: 650
  • True AML: TBD
  • Type: Emergency
  • Method: Bait
  • Capture goal: 350 – 400
  • Removal goal: 350 – 400
  • Captured: 144, up from 116 on Day 13
  • Shipped: 129, up from 102 on Day 13
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 4, up from 2 on Day 13
  • Average daily take: 8.5
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 11
  • Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
  • Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

Results for Days 15, 16 and 17 were posted today.  No report was given for Day 14.

A stallion was put down on Day 15 for poor body condition, followed by a mare on Day 16 for a fractured leg, lifting the death rate to 2.8%.

The capture total includes 55 stallions, 60 mares and 29 foals.

Youngsters represented 20.1% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 15% per year.  The Rule of 72 says the herd size will double in 4.8 years.

Of the adults, 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The name of the contractor was not provided.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

No decisions have made regarding the long-term disposition of horses, which means they could be treated or altered in off range holding, including the stallions.

The status of livestock grazing in the burned area is not known.

RELATED: Murderer’s Creek Roundup, Day 13.

Murderers Creek HMA with Allotments 10-24-24

If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of Louse Canyon

The project area covers five allotments in southeastern Oregon and two in northern Nevada, as discussed previously.

The forage assigned to wild horses is zero.

How many wild horses could live there?

The Allotment Master Report provides management status, acreage and active AUMs.

Louse Canyon Allotmment Calcs 12-16-24

The allotments support livestock equivalent to 3,085 wild horses on 534,407 public acres.

Approximately 97% of the land is in the Maintain category.

The stocking rate at the True AML would be 5.8 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Why is this important?

The bureaucrats and ranchers claim that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

The advocates bolster the narrative with their darting programs.

If the allotments were a Complex, the AML would be 534 and 2,551 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

BLM allotments in Oregon carry livestock equivalent to 87,934 wild horses on 13,130,302 public acres, or 6.7 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring base properties associated with grazing allotments and flipping the preference to horses, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana.

RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.

Louse Canyon Allotments 12-16-24