Author: Western Horse Watchers

Twin Peaks Roundup, Day 9

The incident started on October 1.  Results through October 9:

  • Scope: Twin Peaks HMA
  • Target: Wild horses
  • AML: 758 horses (and 116 burros)
  • Pre-gather population: 1,800 horses (and 140 burros)
  • True AML: 2,992
  • Type: Planned
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Snuff out new life with pesticide-laced darts (according to advocates)
  • Capture goal: 940
  • Removal goal: 870
  • Captured: 731, up from 621 on Day 7
  • Shipped: 688, up from 578 on Day 7
  • Released: 39, up from 1 on Day 7
  • Deaths: 4, no change from Day 7
  • Average daily take: 81.2
  • Unaccounted-for animals: None
  • 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

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

No horses were caught on Day 9.  The trap was moved to Honey Lake, outside the HMA.

The death rate is 0.5%.

The sidebar says one horse released despite the incident on Day 3 when nine fell out of a trailer and the return of 38 stallions on Day 9.

The capture total includes 269 stallions, 327 mares and 135 foals.

Youngsters represented 18.5% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 13% per year.

Of the adults, 45.1% were male and 54.9% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Day 8.

The number of animals removed depends on the number released.  Up to 30 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine and be returned to the range with up to 42 stallions according to the FY25 schedule.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.  Resources liberated to date:

  • Forage: 8,304 AUMs per year
  • Water: 6,920 gallons per day

RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup, Day 7.

Twin Peaks HMA with Allotments 09-13-24

Virginia Range Darting Update for September 2024

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal and staunch opponent of principal use, reported today that 91 mares received 93 doses of PZP during the month, 13 given as primers and 80 as boosters.

Over the life of the program, which began in 2019, the advocates have pummeled 2,064 mares with 9,860 doses of the pesticide, for an average of 4.8 doses per mare.

The epicenter of the program is in and around the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, listed as USA Parkway in the page 3 chart.

Since the beginning of the year, 161 foals have been born and 54 died.

The current population is thought to be 3,501 with 299 horses listed as missing, compared to 3,515 with 302 horses listed as missing in August.

The population was 3,548 with 311 listed as missing in July and 3,521 with 302 listed as missing in June.

The Year 6 agreement with NDA has not been posted to the darting resources page.

The Year 5 summary has not been posted to the monthly reports page.

A goal for October is to maximize booster treatments so the herd will continue to shrink and to complete the training of newly certified darters.

Not discussed in the September update:

  • Long-term population goal
  • Number of viable mares
  • Size of breeding population
  • Loss of genetic diversity
  • Changes in death rate and sex ratio
  • Unlawful use of pesticides

The report will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

RELATED: Virginia Range Darting Update for August 2024.

Adjectives for Pests 12-01-23

Wild Horse Refuge Flips Rio Ro Mo Grazing Preference

The Operator and Allotment Information Reports at RAS give the following results for THE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY, parent of the refuge:

  • 0500504 – ROYAL GORGE FO, WALKER CANYON
  • 0500932 – LITTLE SNAKE FO, SUGARLOAF PEAK, LOWER BORD GL SEC 15
  • 0500933 – LITTLE SNAKE FO, SUGAR LOAF BUTTE

A search of ePlanning turned up a project for renewal of Authorizations 0500932 and 0500933, as well as 0500652.  Authorization 0500504 was not included.

The folder contains an EA and FONSI.

Western Horse Watchers was unable to determine if there were opportunities for public review and comment.  The project has been marked complete.

The Proposed Action is discussed in Section 3.1 of the EA.

The forage allocations did not change but the livestock types changed from cattle and sheep to horses.

The Authorization Use Report indicates the changes have been put into effect.

The Allotment Master Report indicates that most of the acreage is private, denoted by white in the map below, which may explain why there was little if any disagreement about giving up a few small parcels to help get more wild horses off the public lands in Colorado.

RELATED: Rio Ro Mo Ranch to Become Wild Horse Sanctuary.

Rio Ro Mo Allotments 10-08-24

Twin Peaks Roundup, Day 7

The incident started on October 1.  Results through October 7:

  • Scope: Twin Peaks HMA
  • Target: Wild horses
  • AML: 758 horses (and 116 burros)
  • Pre-gather population: 1,800 horses (and 140 burros)
  • True AML: 2,992
  • Type: Planned
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Snuff out new life with pesticide-laced darts (according to advocates)
  • Capture goal: 940
  • Removal goal: 870
  • Captured: 621, up from 390 on Day 5
  • Shipped: 578, up from 299 on Day 5
  • Released: 1, no change from Day 5
  • Deaths: 4, up from 3 on Day 5
  • Average daily take: 88.7
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 38
  • 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

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

A mare died of a broken neck on Day 7 after running into a panel during sorting.

The death rate is 0.6%.

The sidebar still says one horse released despite the incident on Day 3 when nine fell out of a trailer and ran to the top of a hill.

The capture total includes 230 stallions, 278 mares and 113 foals.

Youngsters represented 18.2% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 13% per year.

Of the adults, 45.3% were male and 54.7% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Day 6, the only day when they were given.

Trapping moved to the southern end of the HMA on Day 6.

The number of animals removed depends on the number released.  Up to 30 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine and be returned to the range with up to 42 stallions according to the FY25 schedule.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup, Day 5.

Twin Peaks HMA with Allotments 09-13-24

Roundup Base Property Available for $22 Million

Brand Rock Ranch covers 18,108 total acres west of Roundup MT, including 8,207 deeded acres, 9,261 public acres and 640 state acres.

It’s about 50 miles north of the Billings School of PZP Darting and Public Deception.

The property consists of three parcels, two with grazing preference on BLM lands, according to the agent’s listing.

The Operator Information Report at RAS tied the ranch to authorization 2500711.

The Allotment Information Report tied the authorization to these parcels:

  • OIL WELL
  • ELIASSON IND
  • CURRANT CREEK
  • ALKALI CREEK WEST

The allotments offer a combined 1,973 active AUMs on 9,482 public acres according to the Allotment Master Report.

That’s equivalent to 164 wild horses, or 17.3 wild horses per thousand public acres.

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 land ratio is on the low side.  You must acquire approximately 8,200 deeded acres to access 9,500 public acres, or 1.16 public acres per deeded acre.

Properties with ratios of three to five might be more attractive from the viewpoint of profitability and return on investment.

Brand Rock Ranch Allotments 10-07-24

Twin Peaks Roundup, Day 5

The incident started on October 1.  Results through October 5:

  • Scope: Twin Peaks HMA
  • Target: Wild horses
  • AML: 758 horses (and 116 burros)
  • Pre-gather population: 1,800 horses (and 140 burros)
  • Type: Planned
  • Method: Helicopter
  • Category: Cruel and costly (according to advocates)
  • Better way: Shoot mares with pesticide-laced darts (according to advocates)
  • Capture goal: 940
  • Removal goal: 870
  • Captured: 390, up from 260 on Day 3
  • Shipped: 299, up from 95 on Day 3
  • Released: 1, no change from Day 3
  • Deaths: 3, up from 2 on Day 3
  • Average daily take: 78.0
  • Unaccounted-for animals: 87
  • 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

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

A mare was dispatched on Day 5 for a bleeding injury.

The death rate is 0.8%.

The sidebar still says one horse released despite the incident on Day 3 when nine fell out of a trailer and ran to the top of a hill.

The capture total includes 136 stallions, 189 mares and 65 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 41.8% were male and 58.2% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The trap is in the North Observation home range, which may correspond to one of the grazing allotments.

The number of animals removed depends on the number released.  Up to 30 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine and be returned to the range with up to 42 stallions according to the FY25 schedule.

RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup, Day 3.

Twin Peaks HMA with Allotments 09-13-24

Buffalo Hills Comment Period in Progress

The cover letter offers two options: By mail or by email, due by October 31.

Comments are not being taken online at the project site in ePlanning.

The roundup, billed as Catch-Treat-Release on the FY25 schedule, would require temporary holding of at least 90 days if the mares receive two doses on GonaCon.

Anything less constitutes unlawful use of the pesticide.

RELATED: Buffalo Hills EA Refers to Old GonaCon Registrations.

UPDATE: BLM acknowledged ongoing comment period in October 7 news release.

Sand Wash Roundup, Day 47

The incident started on August 19.  Results through October 4:

  • Scope: Sand Wash Basin HMA
  • Target: Horses
  • AML: 362
  • Pre-gather population: 409
  • True AML: 1,764
  • Type: Planned
  • Method: Bait
  • Goals: Gather 60, remove 45
  • Captured: 10, up from 6 on Day 17
  • Shipped: 10, up from 6 on Day 17
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: None
  • Average daily take: 0.2
  • Unaccounted-for animals: None

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

No activity was reported between September 4 and October 3.

The Day 46 report gave the total only, no breakdown.  Results were calculated from Day 16 and the figures in the sidebar.

The capture total includes 3 stallions, 6 mares and 1 foal.

Youngsters represented 10% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 33.3% were male and 66.7% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site is not known.

Up to 15 mares will be treated with PZP and be returned to the range according to the FY25 schedule.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Sand Wash Roundup in Progress.

Sand Wash Basin HMA with Allotments 08-02-24

Piute Mountain Roundup, Day 122

The incident started on May 31.  Results through September 29:

  • Scope: Piute Mountain HA
  • Target: Burros
  • Type: Emergency
  • Method: Bait
  • Goals: Gather 50, remove 50
  • Captured: 47, up from 41 on Day 27
  • Shipped: 47, up from 41 on Day 27
  • Released: None
  • Deaths: 1, no change from Day 27
  • Average daily take: 0.4
  • Unaccounted-for animals: -1

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

No activity was reported between June 28 and September 29.

The animal put down on Day 27 was included in the shipping total, throwing the numbers out of balance.

The capture total includes 29 jacks, 15 jennies and 3 foals.

Youngsters represented 6.4% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 65.9% were male and 34.1% were female.

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

The HA has no AML and is subject to permitted grazing.  Resources liberated to date:

  • Forage: 282 AUMs per year
  • Water: 235 gallons per day

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Piute Mountain Roundup, Day 27.

Piute Mountain HA 06-04-24