The writer of a column in the Arizona Capitol Times argues that decisions affecting public resources, such as wild horses, should be supported by transparent data and sound science, not by consensus or a show of hands.

The piece contains misleading information about herd size and genetic health while ignoring facts about long-term use of PZP.  That information is in the ISPMB report, starting on page 30.

Here’s the money quote:

Through fertility control and natural attrition, the population has fallen from approximately 450 horses five years ago to about 271 today — a reduction of more than 40% without mass removals.

Except the time frame is closer to eight years.  A reduction of that magnitude would require a death rate of about 10% per year, twice the normal rate.

If science and transparency had a role, the author would have told you that you can’t use PZP to shrink a herd by 40% without sterilizing the mares.

The population will continue to decline, even if the darting program is stopped.

Where does that leave the debate?

PREVIOUS: Rally Announced as Salt River Debate Drags On.

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Two bands have migrated into the Lahontan area according to the writer of a guest column in Carson Now and they might be captured and processed as BLM horses.

How would she know this?

She’s the Director of Conservation with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, instigator of the mass sterilization program in their home range.

Her volunteers will chase the mares to the ends of the earth for an opportunity to hit them with pesticide-laced darts.

The column is a sales pitch for nonmotorized removal, a service that CAAWH provides.

Starting tomorrow, wild horses “will lose their freedom forever.  Not because science says they must go but because our federal management system has failed to keep pace with modern conservation,” codewords for long-term use of PZP, with the inevitable result of permanent infertility and herd collapse.

Describing current management practices as a broken system, the writer notes that, after a roundup, populations are allowed to grow beyond levels deemed appropriate, which is how nature provides for genetic diversity and long-term viability.

What she proposes is a dead-end for wild horses, the greater of two evils.

RELATED: Roundup Season: Boon to Pesticide Salesmen.

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You could argue that they’re rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic but you’d be wrong.

The ship is already at the bottom of the ocean, thanks to the advocates.

Concerns about herd size, genetic diversity and planned removals, outlined in a story by AZ Free News, are too late, too far downstream.

The damage has already been done and a “Follow the Science” rally, set for July 22, won’t fix it, no matter how large the crowd and how many experts are invited.

The organizers—names unknown—should have called it the “Truth Harder to Find than Foals” rally.

The only way to save the herd from collapse is to bring in mares from other areas that haven’t been ruined by PZP.

The effort should be accompanied by an investigation of all parties involved since 2018.

RELATED: Salt River Horses Need Protection from Advocates.

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The wild horse world is corrupt from top to bottom, especially in the space occupied by the advocates.

With roundup season in full swing, they’re going all out to sell nonmotorized removal.

Except they don’t call it that.  They call it conservation.

They may even post images of wild horses grazing peacefully near a water hole.

Except there are no foals.

If you’re a hunter or rancher, you should recognize the limitations of motorized removal and the advantages of their approach:

• Helicopters can’t sterilize mares
• They can’t reduce the breeding populations to unsustainable levels
• They can’t destroy genetic diversity and long-term viability
• They can’t increase the average age along with the death rate
• They can’t make the herds disappear forever

But fertility control can.

So think twice before criticizing the advocates.  They offer the greater of two evils.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Ranchers, with the cooperation of your faithful public servants, want to control how grazing allotments are used.

Permits would be limited to animals they like, such as cattle and sheep.

Grazing would no longer be authorized for undesirable species such as bison and horses, precluding the use of public lands for wild animal preserves.

It’s anti-competitive, a barrier to those who would lawfully acquire base properties and petition the government for changes in livestock types and seasons of use.

It’s also the middle finger to those who bear the costs of off-range holding.

You can comment against the proposal at the Federal Register.

PREVIOUS: Allotment Conversion Not Illegal.

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Q. Did the helicopters sterilize any mares?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Was genetic diversity compromised?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Did the incident reduce the breeding population to an unsustainable level?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Did the roundup attract women?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Will the herd collapse?

A. No, fertility control programs do that.

Q. Are you surprised that the advocates push for the greater of two evils?

A. No, they want the ranchers to win.

PREVIOUS: Montgomery Pass Roundup Almost Over.

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In the following video one of the founding members of the Pesticide Caucus complains about motorized removal at the Callaghan Complex, which she describes as costly and inhumane, and the benefits of immunocontraceptives.

The capture and removal goals are 2,000 according to the gather page, not 5,000, and there are no plans to treat any of the mares with such pesticides and return them to the range, much to her chagrin.

Remember, “humane management,” “protecting them from removal” and “a better way” are codewords for long-term use of PZP, with the inevitable result of permanent infertility and herd collapse.

Refer to the AdvocateSpeak decoder for more examples.

RELATED: Callaghan Roundup Not a Rescue?

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Of course it is!  It’s the government throwing a lifeline to high-net-worth individuals whose livelihood is threatened by pests that are robbing forage from the most noble and deserving nonnative species on Nevada’s public lands.

The Day 1 results at the gather page give body condition scores of 3 to 5, discrediting the starvation hypothesis, at least for now.

Animals removed from their lawful homes will be placed in off-range holding at a cost of $6 per head per day, while the government collects about five cents per head per day for livestock grazing in their stead.

Makes perfect sense.

Pay no attention to the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses and its army of nitwits, they are public enemy #1 of America’s wild horses.

PREVIOUS: Callaghan Roundup in Progress.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

Exhibit A:

They’re obsessed with pesticides.

They’re as ruthless as the helicopter pilots and wranglers.

They hate foals.

They hate families.

They hate nature’s way.

The Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group is a forward base of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses in Arizona.

RELATED: Salt River Advocates Hitting Mares in the Back?

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A July 10 press release by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses says the incident is expected to become the largest wild horse removal effort in Nevada history, which is not true.

The mass sterilization program on the Virginia Range, targeting over 3,000 wild horses, is the largest removal effort in the state, and it’s inflicted by the writers of the news release.

As usual, the charlatans call for effective management strategies grounded in science, transparency and humane stewardship, codewords for long-term use of PZP, with the inevitable result of permanent infertility and herd collapse.

One of their dupes, who stars in the Yellowstone spinoff Marshals, said “This isn’t about population control.”

Yes it is.

They are pesticide salesmen, not conservationists, and don’t deserve a penny of your support.

PREVIOUS: Callaghan Roundup Closed to Public Observation?

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Princesses might be more accurate.

The advocates want you to think they’re the good guys.

If you’re a hunter or rancher, they are the good guys.

The rest of us know them as phonies, enemies of the horses, not worthy of our support.

Beware of the wild horse advocates.  They’re not who they say they are.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Ending the Lull Edition.

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Families were roaming the sage, foals were discovering the world and mares were carrying the next generation.

Oh the humanity!

Do you know who wrote this crap?

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal and instigator of the largest attempted eradication of wild horses in Nevada.

They hate foals.

They’re sterilizing the mares with PZP.

The only problem they have with Montgomery Pass is that the horses are being removed with helicopters not ovary-killing pesticides.

RELATED: Montgomery Pass Roundup in Progress.

► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.

If it was, your faithful public servants would not be trying to insert “production-oriented livestock” into the Part 4100 regulations, restricting grazing permits to operations that produce meat, milk or fiber.

They are, in effect, trying to make wild animal preserves illegal, even though the concept has been demonstrated in Montana, Nevada and Colorado.

Did you know the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, though its LLC in Nevada, holds 75% of the active AUMs in the Buckeye Allotment?

Refer to the Allotment Master and Authorization Use reports for details.

Why hasn’t the nonprofit converted its preference to wild horses, establishing the Pine Nut Wild Horse Preserve?  There would finally be winners of the Buckeye Lottery.

Approval of the grazing rule update would give it the perfect excuse to continue running cattle on the allotment, much to the delight of its allies, the public-lands ranchers.

RELATED: Advocates Opposed to Grazing Rule Changes?

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The Public Lands Council supports them.

The ranching advocacy group stated in a May 12 news release that the reforms were a clear signal of BLM’s commitment to restoring effective multiple-use management, which is not true.

The update would reduce the uses of public lands identified for grazing, limiting them to production-oriented livestock.

There would be no opportunities for conversion of allotments to wild animal preserves, a practice that has already been demonstrated in Montana, Nevada and Colorado.

If multiple use was really the goal, the rules would not only accommodate allotment repurposing but encourage it, at great savings to American taxpayers.

You can comment on the proposed changes at the Federal Register.

PREVIOUS: No Reciprocity in Grazing Rules Overhaul.

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Let’s see,

• They’re beating the horse populations down in favor of livestock
• Their sanctuaries are on deeded acreage
• They think drillers and miners are the greatest threat to wild horses

In consideration of the foregoing body of evidence, the answer is No.

They want the ranchers to win.

PREVIOUS: BLM Posts Video of Grazing Rule Online Meeting.

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The moratorium on helicopter roundups concluded on July 1.

The idea is that foals born in the spring are now strong enough to endure forcible removal from their lawful homes (in favor of privately owned livestock).

The largest roundup of FY26 will occur at the Callaghan Complex starting on July 10.

At least 25% of the captured animals will need to be foals to support claims that the herd is growing at a rate of 20% per year.

The incident has not been announced and a gather page has not been created.

The advocates want to replace motorized removal with long-term use of fertility control, resulting in permanent infertility and herd collapse.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Reading the Tea Leaves Edition.

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What would you say if the city cancelled your building permit, duly obtained, because your neighbors didn’t like the style of your roof, and the planning department imposes new rules later in the year to justify it?

That’s what the BLM is doing to American Prairie and anyone else who would lawfully obtain a base property and convert the preference to animals disliked by ranchers.

It’s wrong, there’s no statutory warrant for it and it must be stopped.

You can put an end to it by commenting on the proposed changes by July 13.

PREVIOUS: Should You Oppose the Grazing Rule Changes?

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There is no statutory basis precluding the use of grazing allotments for conservation herds.

If there was, Mustang Monument never would have gotten off the ground, American Prairie’s bison restoration project would have been dead on arrival and Wild Horse Refuge would have been told to keep their animals on their own property.

The avowed enemies of wild horses, consisting of hunters, ranchers, trappers and their supporters, not drillers and miners, know this so they’ve strongarmed their allies at the BLM into rule changes that would, in effect, amend FLPMA by prohibiting certain uses of public lands, without the approval of Congress.

Did you know that a rancher in New Mexico has a permit to graze burros?

It’s a devious plan that will funnel wild horses into private care on deeded acreage only, exactly what the ranchers want.

Now is the time for the advocates to put their darting rifles aside and comment against the changes.

If a proposed sanctuary does not include public lands and does not displace livestock therefrom, it’s not worthy of your support.

PREVIOUS: Grazing Rule Changes Reflect DOI Hypocrisy.

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The June 1 news release seeking public comments said the proposal would give ranchers more flexibility, improve the health of rangelands and support rural communities across the West.

But the goal is to limit the uses of public lands, contradicting a statement at the end of the announcement.

The concept of production-oriented livestock appears 28 times in the notice.

The idea of restricting permits to such animals, an attempt to thwart those would weigh the advantages of using grazing allotments for conservation purposes, such as wild horse and bison refuges, permeates the discussion.

It’s got the cattlemen’s fingerprints all over it.

The current administration is now guilty of using the same tactics as the previous administration, which it condemned, to, in effect, modify FLPMA while doing an end run around Congress.

The news release states in the final paragraph that DOI rescinded the BLM’s public lands rule, reaffirming the Department’s commitment to multiple use.

The rule elevated conservation, or what was described as “no use,” to the same level as other uses outlined in FLPMA.

But in the latest move, they’re trying to expand the use of America’s public lands, including increases to active AUMs regardless of management status, just not for wild horses and bison.

PREVIOUS: Grazing Regulation Overhaul to Codify American Prairie Decision.

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You know an idea is bad for wild horses if the advocates support it.

Likewise for the farm bureaus, stock grower’s associations and public lands councils.

You don’t have to understand all the issues, you just need to know who’s behind it.

Consider this example in the Arizona Daily Independent.

Arizona Congressmen Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert, members of the Pesticide Caucus, wrote a letter asking the USDA to work with them so management decisions for the Salt River and Heber herds are humane, transparent and on solid legal footing.

They went on to say that the animals deserve to be protected and treated humanely.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses praised them for their advocacy.

What you may not realize is that protection and humane management are codewords for long-term use of PZP, with the inevitable result of permanent infertility and herd collapse.

Like other advocates, CAAWH and its partner organizations work with their political allies to suppress wild horse populations in favor of livestock, under the guise of reform.

They’re pesticide salesmen, not conservationists.

They want the ranchers to win.

PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Moving the Goalposts Edition.

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