Yes, We Have No Authority?

Here is a list of HMAs subject to the Montana Solution, according to the April 18 roundup schedule.

Ask the culprits for a copy of the DOA, or other such document, naming them as designated agents of the federal government.

Please leave a comment if you can fill in the unknowns.

PZP darting also occurs in these areas.  Ask for documentation naming these groups as designated agents of state governments.

The EPA limited application of the pesticide to federal and state governments, among others, and their designated agents.

Restricted-Use Pesticide 04-24-23

Some states may have additional requirements, such as licensing, to procure, possess, apply and dispose such chemicals.

RELATED: Advocates Authorized to Apply Montana Solution?

Advocates Authorized to Apply Montana Solution?

The EPA limits the application of PZP to the DOI and its designated agents, state departments of agriculture and wildlife and their designated agents, federally recognized Indian tribes and their designated agents, Department of Defense and its designated agents, public and private wild horse sanctuaries and reserves, Humane Society of the United States designated agents, and the USDA and its designated agents.

Go to Section 5 in the pesticide fact sheet.

The advocates can get diplomas from the Billings School of PZP Darting and Public Deception but have you ever seen Delegations of Authority from the BLM or Forest Service naming them as their designated agents?

On the Virginia Range, the Nevada Department of Agriculture would grant the DOA.

What about the ponies on the barrier islands?

Ask for copies.

The advocates may be easier to contact than the bureaucrats.

Caisson Platoon Going on Hiatus

Operations will be suspended for 45 days effective May 1, according to a story dated April 21 by Military.com.

The unit employs military working horses as escorts during funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.

Given their mission, you’d think they’d be treated like royalty, but they live in small lots covered with excrement, suffer from illness and are fed low-quality hay.

RELATED: Horses of Caisson Platoon Find New Pastures on BLM Land.

BLM to Trial New Herbicides on Cherished Plants and Weeds

The agency proposes to add seven active ingredients to its list of approved ingredients, according to a Draft EIS posted to ePlanning on March 10.

The new products are discussed in Section 2.2.

The project folder includes a scoping report, also released on March 10.

The comment period ends June 5.  Online comments are not being accepted at this time.

No online public meetings have been scheduled as of today.

Invasive plants can develop resistance to herbicides over time, according to yesterday’s news release, so new active ingredients are developed to overcome such problems.

RELATED: How Do Advocates Treat Their Cherished Horses and Burros?

For Your Cherished Ants and Roaches 08-30-22

Depositions Filed in Wyoming Corner-Crossing Case

The civil complaint, brought by the owner of a ranch that covers public and private parcels in the Wyoming checkerboard, follows criminal trespass charges that were dropped last year.

The ranch owner wants the judge to declare that the hunters trespassed, then leave it for a jury to determine later how much they should pay in damages, according to a story dated April 18 by WyoFile.

The hunters want the suit dismissed completely, arguing that the Unlawful Inclosures Act of 1885 prevents landowners from fencing others out of public lands or using threats and intimidation toward that end.

The case could establish precedent in claims involving access to 8.3 million acres of “corner-locked” public lands in the American West.

The plaintiff believes the corner-crossers devalued his ranch by $7.75 million, not by setting foot on his property, but by crossing its air space!

Damages could go as high as $9.4 million.

The story did not indicate if the plaintiff had sued any commercial airlines for flying over his property.

RELATED: Wyoming Checkerboard Lands Missouri Hunters in Hot Water.

Professor Says His Generation Created Wild Horse Problem?

His generation tried to fix it, but the solution wasn’t acceptable to the public-lands ranchers, whom he now serves.

Although horses appear in the North American fossil record, he is silent about the predominant nonnative species on America’s public lands, privately owned cattle and sheep, to whom most of the food and water on said lands have been assigned by the bureaucrats, even in the lawful homes of wild horses.

That’s why the off-range corrals are flooded with “excess” animals.

As for predators, the advocates rely on them to take out any foals that slip through their darting programs.

Beebe Ranch Fundraiser Adds Matching Gift

A philanthropist who has supported many island organizations has offered a matching grant up to $100,000, according to the April 18 update.  That means a $5 donation turns into $10, a $100 donation doubles to $200, etc.

The donation total now exceeds $350,000.

The museum has until April 30 to match the developer’s bid of $625,000.

Donations can be made online at this GoFundMe page.

RELATED: Beebe Ranch Fundraiser Passes 50% Mark.

Misty of Chincoteague Beebe Ranch Fundraiser 03-23-23

Roundup Schedule Updated

The plan for FY 2023 has expanded considerably, with new goals of 7,194 animals captured and 5,857 removed.

Previously, the schedule was dominated by fertility control programs.

This year there are 16 such programs, compared to 14 in 2022.

Eight incidents were classified as nuisance.

Sand Wash Basin is on the list again, along with Black Mountain and Calico.

Roundups ensure that ranchers receive their allocated share of the food and water in the lawful homes of wild horses and burros.

The advocates snuff out new life with their ruinous darting programs, prolonging the effect of the roundups.

Last Day to Comment on Kirtley Creek Permit Renewal

The permittees have asked the BLM to convert 46 sheep AUMs to cattle AUMs, according to the scoping information package.

The allotment covers 2,902 total acres near Salmon, ID, according to the Allotment Master Report.

It is in the Custodial category and does not intersect any HMAs.

The project folder includes a rangeland health assessment.

The Authorization Use Report indicates the grazing seasons are short but the stocking rates are high.

Why look at such projects?

Livestock grazing represents the largest segment of resource supply and demand on America’s public lands, but the advocates won’t talk about it.  If they did, the rationale for their darting programs would fall to the ground.

The parcel offers 257 active AUMs on 2,197 public acres, which works out to 117 AUMs per year per thousand public acres, equivalent to 9.7 wild horses per thousand acres.

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

You don’t need to wait until permits come up for renewal to get the numbers.

You can locate allotments anytime with the NDV and pull the reports at RAS.

Kirtley Creek Allotment Map 04-11-23

Explosion Spares Life of Spirit of the Wild Horse Director

Judy Barnes, founder of the nonprofit, was house-sitting in Santa Fe when the incident occurred, according to a story by KRQE News of Albuquerque, NM.

Her home was destroyed, along with $5,000 worth of horse supplies.

Investigators have not determined the cause.

Barnes has been looking after the free-roaming horses of Wild Horse Mesa for nearly twenty years.

RELATED: Wild Horse Mesa Confirmed.

Wild Burro Found Dead Near Pahrump, Reward Posted

The remains were discovered November 28 on private property near the Last Chance Mountain Range, according to a BLM news release.

The agency has offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible.

The Last Chance Mountains are in the Johnnie HMA, the lawful home of wild burros.

The HMA is not subject to permitted grazing.

Private lands are shown in white in the following map from the National Data Viewer.

Pahrump Burro Shooting 04-18-23

Should Wild Horses Be On or Off the Range?

Consider one such animal.

If he’s on the range, the government loses 12 AUMs per year × $1.35 = $16.20 per year in grazing fees but saves $5 per day × 365 = $1,825 per year in holding costs.

If he’s off the range, the government collects 12 AUMs per year × $1.35 = $16.20 per year in grazing fees but spends $5 per day × 365 = $1,825 per year in holding costs.

The price of hay has doubled in the last 18 months, so the cost of short-term holding is likely more than $5 per day.

The cost of long-term holding is around $2 per head per day.

There are currently around 62,000 animals in off-range holding, with about one third in short-term holding and two thirds in long-term holding.

For simplicity, let’s assume that the weighted average cost across all facilities is $3 per animal per day and that they’re all horses.

.33 × 5 + .67 × 2 ≅ 3

If they were returned to their lawful homes, the government would forfeit 62,000 × 12 × $1.35 = $1 million per year in grazing fees while saving 62,000 × 3 × 365 = $68 million per year in holding costs.

Who wouldn’t jump on that?  The bureaucrats, ranchers and advocates.

We need to beat down the population with helicopters and snuff out new life with PZP so ranchers can access most of the food and water in the lawful homes of wild horses.

The forage assigned to livestock in areas identified for wild horses would support more than 62,000 animals, enough to empty all of the off-range facilities several times over.

How to achieve?  Confine the ranchers to their base properties in a year-round off season and restore the WHB Act to its original form.

PSA 12-03-19

CAAWH Seeks More Land in Pine Nut Mountains?

The 3,335 acres acquired by the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses were placed into a trust, according to an article in the April edition of Horse Tales by the real estate agent and PZP darter involved in the transaction.

She did not indicate if she benefitted financially from the deal.

There are no remarks about base properties, permitted grazing and active AUMs.

Now, CAAWH is searching for ways to raise funds to purchase another 6,000 acres.

Only about half of the land originally identified for the Pine Nut horses has an AML, as explained by the author at the beginning of the column.

Resources in the other half have been assigned to livestock, the driver of the safe, proven and reversible fertility control program.

RELATED: CAAWH Acquires Pine Nut Base Property?

Problem Identified 04-16-23

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

Only Congress can do that, but it won’t stop them from trying.

A new regulation, announced in a March 30 news release, would designate conservation as a use, on par with other uses of the public lands under FLPMA’s multiple-use and sustained-yield framework, but did not indicate what those other uses were.

The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on April 3, establishes conservation leases to promote protection and restoration of public lands, while providing opportunities for public involvement.

It would also amend the ACEC regulations to ensure that the BLM gives priority to the designation and protection Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.

Comments will be accepted through June 20.  For more information, including a section-by-section discussion of the proposed rule, go to the Federal Register’s published document page.

The principal uses of public lands include, and are limited to, domestic livestock grazing, fish and wildlife development and utilization, mineral exploration and production, rights-of-way, outdoor recreation, and timber production, according to §1702(l) of FLPMA.

Conservation leases would be issued for a maximum of ten years, and a permittee would be any person that has a valid permit, right-of-way grant, lease, or other land use authorization from the BLM.

RELATED: New Reg Would Treat All Public Lands Like Grazing Allotments?

AML-1

TRNP Mares Sterile?

Do not be misled by this article that points the finger at GonaCon Equine.

PZP, the safe, proven and reversible fertility control vaccine endorsed by 98.6% of the wild horse advocates achieves the same result over a slightly longer timeframe.

As for the efficacy of GonaCon, Pendley indicated three years ago that it would inhibit the mares with one application.

RELATED: NPS Getting Rid of TRNP Wild Horses with GonaCon?