The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs will consider the bill on May 16 according to the meeting agenda.

Testimony will not be taken for items in the work session.

RELATED: New Billboard Promotes SB90?

Today’s news release indicates that the animals infected with strangles have recovered.

The facility held 345 horses and 316 burros in March according to the Facility Report.

RELATED: Strangles Outbreak Closes Litchfield Off-Range Corrals.

Fifty to eighty new lives are created each year on the Virginia side of Assateague Island, according to a report dated May 11 by Shore Daily News.

On the Maryland side, five foals have been observed in 2023, seven years after the safe, proven and reversible fertility control program was shut off.

Petitioners have asked the court to set aside and remand the amendments, the Record of Decision and Final EIS pending BLM’s compliance with the Wild Horse and Burro Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act, according to the complaint.

The Animal Welfare Institute said in today’s news release that it has joined forces with the American Wild Horse Campaign, Western Watersheds Project, author and instructor Dr. Chad Hansen, and wildlife photographers Kimerlee Curyl and Carol Walker to defend the free-roaming horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard against the Rock Springs Grazing Association, instigator of the case.

RELATED: Rock Springs RMP Amendments Cleared for Implementation.

Times and locations have been added to the list in today’s news release.

RELATED: Meetings Scheduled for New Public Lands Rule.

A new ordinance has been drafted, to be considered by Sandoval County commissioners at their May 24 meeting, according to a report dated May 9 by the Rio Rancho Observer.

The measure is accompanied by a resolution that would establish a permitting process for feeding the animals, and only 501(c)(3) nonprofits with demonstrated experience and knowledge in wild horse management and protection would be eligible.

Given the remarks about overpopulation in the preamble, applicants that poison mares with restricted-use pesticides, such as Zonastat-H and GonaCon Equine, would likely receive highest priority.

A public meeting to enable residents and others to share their opinions and suggestions has been set for May 17, as described in a county news release dated May 8.

RELATED: Commissioners Reject Placitas Feeding Ban.

Looks like it promotes the Montana Solution and the unlawful use thereof.

Although hunters, trappers and ranchers who want wild horses eradicated from public lands have come out against the legislation, as stated in a new eBlurb from the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, they are not getting rid of any horses.

That role belongs CAAWH.  Hundreds every year, rivaling the largest of roundups.

The news flash appears on the propaganda page hosted by Lucky Three Ranch.

Apparently, repudiation of the Virginia Range darting program by Nevada senators has not dampened their enthusiasm for the bill, or at least the illusion of it.

If their followers understood their true intentions and loyalties, financial support would dry up overnight.

RELATED: SB90 Debuts in Assembly.

The BLM published a Record of Decision and Approved RMP Amendment today, finalizing these changes:

• The Rock Springs Field Office portion of the Adobe Town HMA will revert to HA status and be managed for zero wild horses.  In the Rawlins Field Office portion of the HMA, all checkerboard land and the portion of the HMA north of the existing Corson Springs southern allotment boundary fence will revert to HA status and be managed for zero wild horses.  The remaining lands (within the RFO) will be retained as an HMA and managed with an AML of 259 – 536.
• The Great Divide Basin HMA will revert to HA status and be managed for zero wild horses.
• The Salt Wells Creek HMA will revert to HA status and be managed for zero wild horses.
• The White Mountain HMA will continue to be managed with an AML of 205 – 300, including checkerboard lands.

The agency received 26 letters from various individuals and organizations during the protest period and determined, after careful review, that none had merit, according to today’s news release.  Refer to the Protest Resolution Report for details.

Decisions are usually subject to a 30-day appeal period, but this was not indicated in the announcement.

For a history of the case, refer to Section 3.0.

The decision is discussed in Section 4.0.

The ROD and PRR were copied to the project folder with other related documents.

RELATED: Protest Period Begins for Rock Springs RMP Amendments.

An article dated April 26 by Taos News says the home was leveled by a fire, but founder Judy Barnes told Western Horse Watchers that insurance investigators believe it was an explosion.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with rebuilding.

Barnes started the nonprofit in 2007 to care for the mustangs of Wild Horse Mesa.

RELATED: Explosion Spares Life of Spirit of the Wild Horse Director.

The state Senate voted yesterday to concur with House amendments and repass the bill.

Once signed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, the measure can be sent to the Governor for signature.

RELATED: Colorado Wild Horse Project Clears House.

The Assateague Island Alliance counted 79 horses on the Maryland side of the island in May, up from 77 in April.

Five foals have been born this year.

The number of deaths was not reported.

The ratio oF males to females is unknown.

The herd shows little if any growth since the safe, proven and reversible fertility control program was shut off in 2016.

RELATED: Assateague Pony Census, April 2023.

The measure passed its third reading on May 6 with no new amendments, according to the bill history.

In the current version, text with gray shading denotes House amendments, double underlining marks Senate amendments.

The bill will likely go back to the Senate for review and approval.

Section 1 notes that local volunteers undertake the majority of care and management of the state’s wild herds, but those groups have insufficient resources to meet the need and they often struggle to find and retain qualified volunteers to perform critical activities.

Who knows, the pool of donors and field workers may be going down as the risk of legal trouble goes up?

These hard-working individuals apply restricted-use pesticides in the state’s HMAs, all of which overlap or abut federal grazing allotments.

RELATED: Colorado Wild Horse Project Amended, Passed and Referred.

On the trail to Grayson Highlands with Lisa Wild and Free.

The Environmental Protection Agency registers pesticides and their use on specific pests and under specific circumstances.

For example, a pesticide registered for use on apples may not be used legally on grapes, and an insecticide registered for outdoor use may not legally be used inside a building.

The advocates use Zonastat-H (the Montana Solution) to control pests (horses and burros) that interfere with animal agriculture (permitted grazing), a purpose for which the pesticide was not registered.

Some groups may not have Delegations of Authority or other such documents naming them as designated agents of state and federal governments, a violation of federal law.

Most the areas identified for horses and burros, shown in black on the following map, intersect or abut one or more allotments, shown in green, an indication of the potential for unlawful activity on America’s public lands.  Click on image to open in new tab.

RELATED: Immunocontraceptive Wish List.

At least five have vanished recently and a spokesman for the Wilburn Ridge Pony Association told WSET News in a story posted yesterday that it could be a bear, mountain lion, or pack of coyotes.

Eventually the animal will run out of ponies, he warned.  “It’s only a matter of time before it’s someone’s pet or child.”

Hikers on the Appalachian Trail often pass through the park, posting videos of the ponies on YouTube.

Scientists at the University of Wyoming and Oklahoma State University have concluded that current methods will fail because the animals are simultaneously viewed as wildlife, livestock and pets.

Choosing one of the labels, and tailoring plans accordingly, offers the best hope for success in wild horse management, according to an article dated May 4 by the University of Wyoming.

Why would they care about wild horses?

Why do we have to choose from those three?

Why are they silent about privately owned cattle and sheep, the predominant species on America’s public lands, found nowhere in the north Americal fossil record?

Why won’t they admit that there is enough food in areas identified for wild horses to support

• The 27,000 animals allowed by plan,
• The roughly 50,000 “excess” animals found therein, and
• The 62,000 animals stockpiled in off-range holding, several times over?

Maybe there is a hidden agenda.

Dates were announced in yesterday’s news release but not times and locations.

The first and last sessions will be online, separated by in-person meetings in Denver, Reno and Albuquerque.

The proposed rule would assert, not clarify as stated in the summary, that conservation is a valid use of public lands, on par with other such uses, with no statutory changes, an end-run around the legislative process.

The Public Lands Council, a ranching advocacy group, denounced the new rule.

As of this morning, over 13,000 comments have been submitted.

RELATED: Bureaucrats Trying to Amend FLPMA, Expand “Multiple Use?”

Today the House Committee on Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources added new language about fertility control, perhaps leaving the door open to new methods, and sent the bill to Appropriations, according to its history.

New pesticides are always of interest, especially if they’re approved for use in animal agriculture, a drawback of PZP and GonaCon.

RELATED: Colorado Wild Horse Project Debuts in House.

In these snippets from the video about the Virginia Range darting program, volunteers with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in the wild horse removal industry, hang themselves with their own rope.  Click on image to open in new tab.

RELATED: What Is PPE?

PZP and GonaCon are used for pest control in areas designated for animal agriculture, a purpose for which the pesticides were not registered.

• Pest control = Getting rid of cherished/beloved/innocent horses and burros
• Areas designated for animal agriculture = Grazing allotments

It is a violation of Federal law to use these products in a manner inconsistent with their labeling.

You don’t need to hire an attorney and file suit to stop these abuses.

They are criminal matters, to be investigated by state and federal law enforcement.

RELATED: Feeling Betrayed?