The move was applauded by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, according to a story posted yesterday by Fox21 News of Colorado Springs, a group that views the contractors as competitors in the wild horse removal business.

In their quest to become the industry leader, legislative action that knocks the pilots and wranglers out of contention would be most welcome.

The article did not indicate if the amendment would ban the use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for catch-treat-release, which the advocates support.

RELATED: Move Over Cattoor, Advocates Want Larger Share of Market.

They claim that wild horses in Nevada are threatened by drilling and mining, and the loss of water associated therewith, according to a bulletin picked up by AP News.

Are they suggesting that those companies are draining ponds and creeks to supply their operations?  Or maybe they’re tapping into underground sources that will somehow deplete surface water needed by wildlife and the horses?

Sounds like rape and pillage.  How did that get through the NEPA process?

Where are the environmental impact statements and findings of no significant impacts that authorized the destruction?

As for the HMAPs, they must comply with land-use plans, as noted earlier this week.

If the plans allow water to be used for drilling and mining in HMAs, then so will the HMAPs.

If the plans assign most of the authorized forage to privately owned livestock, then so will the HMAPs.

If you disagree with that, the problem is not HMAPs or the absence thereof.

The problem is in the planning and decision documents that determine how the HMAs are managed.

The advocates don’t want you thinking about them because changes would actually help the horses and they prosper under the status quo.

Drilling and mining require anywhere from a few acres to a few thousand acres while pubic-lands ranching devours entire HMAs and beyond.  There’s no comparison.

RELATED: The Three R’s of HMAPs.

From Section 2.5.2 in H-4700-1, Wild Horses and Burros Management Handbook:

HMAPs tier to and must be in conformance with the applicable LUP.  If the proposed management strategy is not consistent with the LUP, then the LUP should be amended, or the proposal should be modified or rejected.

If the land-use plan assigns 86% of the authorized forage to privately owned livestock, do you think you can write a new HMAP that allocates 98% of the resource to wild horses, with 2% to wildlife, and put it into practice?

Pay no attention to the advocates, they are full of crap.

The problem is in the planning and decision documents that determine how HMAs are managed, as well as the statutes and regulations that precede them.

RELATED: The Three R’s of HMAPs.

1. Review the planning and decision documents that determine how the HMA is managed.

2. Ratify those provisions by copying them into the HMAP.  If the RMP assigns 86% of the authorized forage to privately owned livestock, then so shall the HMAP.  Describe how the horse population will be controlled to achieve the resource allocations on a continuing basis.

3. Reinforce the mismanagement of the HMA by putting the new HMAP out for public review, followed by minor revisions and approval.

RELATED: HMAPs Are Not the Answer.

Celeste Carlisle and Eric Thacker lead the Population Management Working Group.

Carlisle serves as Biologist and Science Program Manager for Return to Freedom.

Thacker, Rangeland Extension Specialist for Utah State University, explained his role in a lecture last December that was covered in this post.

Carlisle also leads the Outreach and Communication Working Group.

Collaboration with the FREES Network, a ranching advocacy group hosted by Utah State University Extension, further undermines the credibility of Return to Freedom, signatory to the ill-advised “Path Forward.”

RELATED: FREES Conference Announced.

Refer to this news release dated July 11.

They’d have to cure themselves of Trump derangement syndrome and put their January 6 show trial on the back burner.

The Wild Horse and Burro program would receive $156 million in FY 2023, according to the summary for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, including $11 million for research on reversible immunocontraceptive fertility control and its administration.

How much of the funding will actually go to research, including the long-term effects of the Montana Solution?

The Pine Nut advocates did some unplanned bait trapping to remove a small tire caught on a mare’s leg, as explained in the July edition of Horse Tales by the real estate agent and PZP darter in the Minden/Gardnerville area.

The account begins on on page 16 and continues on page 19.

The listings are on page 24.

The incident could have been avoided by a more aggressive darting program that would take more horses off the range, leaving more food and water for the permittees (who are never mentioned in these stories).

APN 1322-00-002-041, a 161.8 acre parcel, has been marketed with an image of the animals she’s trying to eradicate.

Same for APN 1322-00-002-050, 80 acres.  No youngsters allowed.

As stated previously, the advocates have no scruples.

Support for the Pine Nut darting program comes in part from the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, No Major Side Effects Edition.

As the second half of the FY 2022 gather season ramps up, here are two provisions from the current statute to keep in mind as the action unfolds.

§1331. Wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands

§1332. “Range” means the amount of land necessary to sustain an existing herd or herds of wild free-roaming horses and burros, which does not exceed their known territorial limits, and which is devoted principally but not necessarily exclusively to their welfare in keeping with the multiple-use management concept for the public lands

The undefined concept of Appropriate Management Levels was not in the original statute, nor were there any provisions for privately owned livestock, yet today the land that remains is managed primarily for livestock and AMLs correspond to a tiny fraction of the available resources.

What you are seeing on the range could be described as lawlessness, yet the advocates are consumed with HMAPs, drilling and mining, and the Montana Solution.

So says Scott Wilson, who sits on the Board of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, in a story about the Piceance roundup by The Colorado Sun.

What he didn’t say is that his group, a purveyor of the Montana Solution and a leader in the wild horse removal business, believes there shouldn’t be any foals or pregnant mares for helicopters to chase.

He’s in good company.  Most of the advocacy groups feel the same way.

RELATED: Piceance Roundup in the News.

The incident will begin on August 1 according to the latest schedule, increasing the FY 2022 capture target to 23,141, compared to 22,991 in the previous schedule.

The original goal, announced in January, was 22,000.

RELATED: Bible Springs Complex Added to Roundup Schedule.

The action begins on July 23 with the southern herd roundup, as explained in the official guide, followed by the northern herd roundup on July 24.

The annual swim occurs on July 27.

The herd includes 150 adults and 60 to 70 foals according to the guide, putting the birth rate above 40%!

The growth rate probably exceeds 35% per year, assuming a 5% death rate.

Most of the foals will be auctioned.  A few will be returned.

When the incident is over the island will resemble the Salt River and Virginia Range, where the advocates are ruining the herds with the Montana Solution:

• Barren mares
• Confused stallions
• Disruption of natural order
• Breeding patterns determined by humans

The incident would qualify for an episode of Foal-Free Friday.

Here are the headlines on Drudge.  The first link pointed to a story by CNBC.

The price of alfalfa-grass hay in this area went from $19 per bale last July to $36 per bale this July, an 89% increase.

Democrat supporters didn’t get a return on their investments in 2016 so now the party is under great pressure from our enemies, foreign and domestic, to destroy the country and its standard of living.

RELATED: Price of Hay Hits New Record.

The incident, set to begin on August 7, increased the FY 2022 capture goal from 22,541 in the previous schedule to 22,991 in the latest schedule.

The EA for the new resource enforcement plan went through the planning process like red clover through a bull.

The project was created in ePlanning on February 24, no documents posted.

An announcement for the scoping phase does not appear in the project documents and cannot be found at the BLM news site.  That step was skipped?

The Draft EA was released for public review on May 18, comments accepted through June 17.

The Decision Record was signed on July 7.

Maybe the permittees and their cheerleaders were big donors to the Biden Campaign?

RELATED: Bible Springs Decision Released.

When they’re part of catch-treat-release.  Otherwise they’re cruel and costly.

The advocates have no convictions.  They’ll hop on any bandwagon that leads to greater use of the Montana Solution and more attention from the bureaucrats and ranchers.

RELATED: Bold Prediction for Fertility Control Solicitation.

The 2016 incident, prompted by an exposé that turned public support away from the group, led to the removal of approximately 900 horses from the sanctuary, in harsh conditions during the winter.

ISPMB released a statement in 2018 in response to the actions.

The advocates eliminate that many horses every year with the Montana Solution, to the delight of the bureaucrats and ranchers, and will get rid of more if given the chance.

Some may be negotiating with roundup contractors right now to submit proposals for catch-treat-release.

If successful, the case brought by ISPMB against the Forest Service might actually help the horses.

The advocates should try that sometime.

RELATED: The Advocates Have No Scruples.

Body slamming is not mentioned in this column dated July 8 by a public affairs specialist in the Lassen County Times.

All can be forgiven when you’re liberating resources for the public-lands ranchers.

RELATED: Advocates Condemn Foal Abuse at Buffalo Hills Roundup.

They’re outraged, according to a news release on EIN by Animal Wellness Action.

What do they prefer?  The Montana Solution.  No foals at all.

• Injuries and infections
• Destruction of ovaries
• Abnormal sex ratios
• Increased death rates
• Shrinking herds
• Disruption of natural order
• Subordination to livestock

Stalking the bands with clipboards and darting rifles, injecting the mares with pesticides and shifting their food and water to the public-lands ranchers is their raison d’être.

RELATED: So Long, Helicopter Ban?

The bill was was prompted by film from the Pancake roundup showing a foal running on a broken leg and now film from the Buffalo Hills roundup showing a foal being thrown to the ground may kill it.

It was a stupid idea anyway.

The video owner said today in an interview with KLAS News of Las Vegas that imagery of a wrangler body slamming a foal will hopefully boost public support for the ban, after which the removals would be carried out by wranglers!

Are these people nuts or what?

Consider these two scenarios for helicopter roundups of wild horses.

A. A foal was found dead on Day 1, cause unknown.  A mare was found dead on Day 2 because of a rattlesnake bite.  A stallion was put down on Day 3 due to a physical defect.

B. A foal was found dead on Day 1, cause unknown.  A mare was found dead on Day 2 because of a rattlesnake bite.  A stallion was put down on Day 3 due to a physical defect.

Which one is acceptable?

Both cases are based on the Buffalo Hills roundup.

The first one corresponds to a cruel and costly helicopter roundup that puts more horses in off-range holding.

The second one corresponds to a safe and efficient helicopter roundup that puts more horses into a catch-treat-release program.

Scenario B is better because it leads to greater use of the Montana Solution.

Next time there will be fewer horses to gather.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses voiced support for catch-treat-release during the scoping period for the new Cedar Mountain pest control plan, which ran from February 4 to March 5, yet the solicitation for those services was not announced until May 10.

Refer to comment #500236786 in Appendix G of the Draft EA.

How did they know about that?  Perhaps they were working with the bureaucrats behind the scenes to steer more business in their direction?  Equivalent to insider trading?

They seem to be more concerned about the welfare of livestock than horses.

Hard to believe, isn’t it?

RELATED: Helicopter Roundups Were Bad Before They Were Good.

As suspected, the voices in favor of the removal are those of the ranchers and advocates, as explained in a June 30 letter to the editor of the Rio Blanco Herald Times.

“The Makeover [chaired by the author, a public-lands rancher], along with the Piceance Mustangs volunteer work [the advocates], have shown the high level of community support our local White River office of the BLM have for their long awaited and much needed mustang gather.”

The writer went on camera a few weeks ago complaining about the horses and her grazing frustrations on two allotments near the HMA, identified in this map.

The advocates went on record in favor of the roundup a few days later.

The letter was signed by Deirdre Macnab, Meeker Mustang Makeover, not Deirdre Macnab, 4M Ranch.

The BLM has not posted any information about the incident in the usual location, a nice example of the bureaucrats, ranchers and advocates working together for a horse-free future.

RELATED: PZP Fanatics Worried About Piceance Foals!