Horses have the day off.  Near Pahrump, NV with Triple777Seven Channel.

A project has been created in ePlanning but no documents have been posted.

The Proposed Action features cruel and costly helicopter roundups, treatment of mares with PZP-22 and sex ratio skewing over a ten-year period, according to the project description.

The new EA builds on an assessment from 2007, available from the UNR Wild Horse and Burro Collection.

The Complex covered approximately 162,000 acres in central Nevada and included the Roberts Mountain HMA, Whistler Mountain HMA and a small portion of the Fish Creek HMA.  Refer to Section 1 and Map 3 of the old EA.

The Western Watersheds map shows the current arrangement.

The Complex was subject to permitted grazing.  The old EA indicates in Section 3.2 that livestock in Roberts Mountain received 89.6% of the authorized forage.

The numbers may change in the new EA but old EA tells you that the HMA had resource management issues, like many others.

The advocates won’t talk about that but will tell you that the horses can be protected from removal by getting rid of them with PZP.

“We’re changing the way wild horse herds are managed, not their land.”

They are shills for the public-lands ranchers.

The comment period begins August 22 and runs through September 20 so the document folder will likely be populated within the next 24 hours.

Western Horse Watchers was unable to find a scoping announcement at the BLM news site and a press release kicking off the public review may or may not be posted.

Operations concluded today, according to a statement at the gather page, with 305 horses captured, 304 shipped and one dead.

The number of unnacounted-for animals was zero.

The capture goal was 450 and the removal goal was 410.

The reason for the early finish was not provided.

RELATED: Roundup Announced for Bible Springs Complex.

The incident began on July 17.  Gather stats through August 19:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 1,416, up from 1,287 on Day 32
• Average daily take: 41.6
• Capture goal: 1,900
• Removal goal: 1,800
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 21, up from 20 on Day 32
• Shipped: 1,336, up from 1,211 on Day 32

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

A foal was put down on Day 33 after it was kicked by another horse.

The death rate is 1.5%.

The capture total includes 494 stallions, 682 mares and 240 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.9% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 42.0% were male and 58.0% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 17% per year.

A better estimate would be 12% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.

The observed percentages of stallions and mares cannot be attributed to a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are often found in herds subject to the Montana Solution but not double-digit birth rates.

Body condition scores were not provided.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 34 ended with 59 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares treated with fertility control may be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 821
• Forage assigned to horses: 9,852 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,475
• Forage liberated to date: 16,992 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 14,160 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 49,188 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 4,099
• True AML: 4,911
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.0 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Triple B Roundup, Day 32.

The Reno Gazette Journal posted a story yesterday for subscribers only, so Western Horse Watchers did not read it or link to it.

The snippet provided by online services indicated the area can only support 600 wild horses when it’s been supporting five times that many for years.

The figure was likely provided by bureaucrats at the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The preferred value is 300—one wild horse per thousand acres.

Where have you heard that before?

It’s the average stocking rate for wild horses and burros on lands managed by the BLM, 27,000 animals on 27 million acres.

The goal of the darting program is to destroy evidence that contradicts the government’s claim and bring the Virginia Range in line with the narrative pushed by the bureaucrats and ranchers.

The advocates are willing partners in the destruction.

“Useful idiots” might be a better term.

The incident began yesterday, according to the BLM news release, due to extreme temperatures and lack of water.

Up to 60 wild burros will be captured and removed with bait traps and operations will not be open to public observation.

The Decision Record states that Fenner Spring, the only perennial water source within the Piute Mountains, is recognized as part of the Piute Mountain Herd Area, although it may be outside the HA to the west.  No maps were provided in the DR.

The HA is not managed for burros and has an AML of zero.

The HA lies within the Lazy Daisy allotment, not mentioned in the announcement.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Ridgecrest.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.  No activity has been reported as of this morning.

The DR was posted with other project documents in ePlanning.

RELATED: BLM to Remove Piute Mountain Burros from Fenner Spring?

The Decision Memorandum was signed on August 10 and operations began on August 11, with no opportunities for appeal.

The incident was not announced at the BLM news site and does not appear in the latest schedule.

The gather page indicates 136 burros captured, 136 shipped, none released and no deaths, as of August 18.

The capture total includes 63 jacks, 49 jennies and 24 foals.

Youngsters represented 17.6% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 56.3% were male and 43.8% were female.

The location of the trap was not specified.

Day 8 ended with no unaccounted-for animals.

RELATED: Chemehuevi Nuisance Roundup in the Works?

The August edition of Horse Tales is out with a Q&A about the Pine Nut darting program by the real estate agent and PZP fanatic in the Minden-Gardnerville area.

Perfect topic for Foal-Free Friday, starting on page seven.

The article builds on remarks of the “No Major Side Effects” and “Exposing the Lies of the Advocates” episodes.

Question: Does BLM pay for your birth control program?

Answer: No, our program is paid for by donations.

Would you be surprised if they accept donations from the Pine Nut permittees?

Question: Are you concerned about making the horses extinct?

Answer: Our goal is to aggressively dart mares until we reduce the population to a number that the BLM believes is the Appropriate Management Level.

The AML for the Pine Nut HA, where she operates, is zero.

Question: Does the birth control sterilize them?

Answer: We use PZP.  It requires a one-time primer vaccine and then any time after two weeks a booster.  After that she can receive an annual booster.  If you dart the mares and they do not foal about 7 years in a row it is possible they will self boost and could be sterile.  We are careful to only boost 5 years in a row if the mare has already contributed a live healthy foal to the gene pool.

Might be preceeded by one or two dead ones but who’s counting?  Self-boosting means the ovaries have been destroyed, a gradual process that begins with the first injection.

Question: Why can’t you just leave them alone?

Answer: We have already interfered by building homes, airports, industrial projects, streets and parks in their historic rangelands.  Thousands of acres have been removed from only a few decades ago.  We do our best to be sure they have adequate food and water by not allowing their numbers to increase to a point that BLM feels they need to remove them.  Our goal is to keep our horses out of a long term holding facility at a high cost to the taxpayers.

Not one word about permitted grazing and the number of horses displaced thereby.

Question: Do you need more volunteers?

Answer: I think all the groups need volunteers who can work as a team.  They all need people to ID the horses, photograph them for the database and get certified to provide the birth control vaccine and then trained on the range.  It is essential we reduce the reproduction rate in order to protect them from removal.

Let that sink in.  If we get rid of them they can stay.

The advocates want horses taken off the range as much as the bureaucrats and ranchers.

But they want it done with PZP, not helicopters.

On-range management, code words for the Montana Solution, means off the range.

Pay attention to what the advocates do, not what they say.

Q. What’s harder to find on the Virginia Range than foals?

A. Darting teams affiliated with Friends of Animals.

Ever notice that?

Same for the Salt River and any of the HMAs in the fertility control section of the latest roundup schedule.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Pesticides and Cherished Horses Edition.

The incident began on August 7.  Gather stats through August 17:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 285, up from 224 on Day 9
• Average daily take: 25.9
• Capture goal: 450
• Removal goal: 410
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 1, no change from Day 9
• Shipped: 237, up from 153 on Day 9

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The death rate is 0.4%.

The capture total includes 86 stallions, 137 mares and 62 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.8% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 38.6% were male and 61.4% were female.

A birth rate of 22% is consistent with a growth rate of 17% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.  Land managers often use 20% per year to predict herd sizes and justify resource enforcement actions.

The observed percentages of stallions and mares cannot be attributed to a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are often associated with the Montana Solution but not double-digit birth rates.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 11 ended with 47 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares treated with fertility control would be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 170
• Forage assigned to horses: 2,040 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 831
• Forage liberated to date: 3,420 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 2,850 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 9,890 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 817
• True AML: 987
• Stocking rate at new AML: 4.6 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Bible Springs Roundup, Day 9.

The Decision Record, which authorizes the Proposed Action with modifications, was copied to the project folder today along with the FONSI and Final EA.

The BLM will gather and remove excess horses in and around the HMA, suppress population growth with one or more fertility control vaccines and equip some animals with GPS tracking devices over a ten-year period.

The initial roundup may occur by the end of the year, which was not mentioned in the news release.

RELATED: New Resource Enforcement Plan for Cedar Mountain Announced.

The incident began on July 17.  Gather stats through August 17:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 1,287, up from 1,189 on Day 30
• Average daily take: 40.2
• Capture goal: 1,900
• Removal goal: 1,800
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 20, no change from Day 30
• Shipped: 1,211, up from 1,168 on Day 30

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

Gather ops resumed on Day 31 after a three-day hiatus.

The death rate is 1.6%.

The capture total includes 451 stallions, 624 mares and 212 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.5% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 42.0% were male and 58.0% were female.

The herd can’t be growing at a rate of 20% per year with a birth rate of 17% per year.

A better estimate would be 12% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.

The observed percentages of stallions and mares cannot be attributed to a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females.

Abnormal sex ratios are often found in herds subject to the Montana Solution but not double-digit birth rates.

Body condition scores were not provided.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 32 ended with 56 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares treated with fertility control may be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 821
• Forage assigned to horses: 9,852 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 3,475
• Forage liberated to date: 15,444 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 12,870 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 49,188 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 4,099
• True AML: 4,911
• Stocking rate at new AML: 3.0 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Triple B Roundup, Day 30.

The August 16 announcement stated that the agency planned to remove 1,869 horses and 339 burros from the HMA.

The August 17 update says 1,996 horses and 339 burros will be removed, acknowledging the larger capture and removal targets for horses noted in the daily report for August 8.

The roundup schedule still shows the original values.

RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup Ends.

Friends of Animals filed suit in U.S. District Court yesterday alleging that the BLM illegally approved plans for the facility, to be built by JS Livestock, according to a report posted this evening by AP News.

The complaint said the 2022 roundup schedule was based on the availability of the new feedlot, to be built on private land north of Winnemucca, NV.

RELATED: Winnemucca CAFO Approved.

UPDATE: The FOA news release includes a link to the complaint, which claims in paragraph 77 that JS Livestock does not have any experience in the containment, feeding and care of wild horses and burros.

The incident will begin on or around September 10, as noted in today’s news release.

The capture goal is 400 and the removal goal is 350, according to the latest schedule.

Horses will be pushed into the traps by helicopters and operations will be open to public observation.

Up to 25 mares will be treated with the Montana Solution and returned to the range, along with 25 stallions.

The HMA covers about 134,000 acres in southeastern Oregon.

The 304 horses allowed by plan require 3,648 AUMs per year.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is 2.3 horses per thousand acres.

The current population is thought to be 1,370 including foals.

Most of the HMA is subject to permitted grazing.  Livestock receive an estimated 10,299 AUMs per year, enough to support 858 wild horses.

The BLM will collect $13,904 in grazing fees from ranching operations inside the HMA, while it spends about $1.6 million per year to care for the 858 horses displaced thereby.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Hines.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.

RELATED: South Steens Wild Horses Get Short End of Stick.

The BLM has offered a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for shooting five wild horses in November 2021, according to a news release dated August 17.

The incident occurred about 30 miles west of Ely, NV, which puts it on the east side of the Pancake HMA and south side of Triple B, near Highway 50.

This story has been going around for several days but now it’s on Drudge.

The link pointed to a story on MSN that was lifted from The Atlantic.

The incident concluded on August 15, according to a statement at the gather page, with 2,111 horses captured, 2,075 shipped, 27 released and 31 dead.

More horses were processed than captured.

The totals, based on the daily reports, were 2,111 horses captured, 2,076 shipped, none released and 31 dead, leaving four unaccounted-for animals.

The death rate was 1.5%.

The operation also took 339 burros off the HMA, according to the gather page, with 339 shipped, one released and none dead.

More burros were processed than captured.

The totals, based on the daily reports, were 339 burros captured, 236 shipped, none released and no deaths, with 103 unaccounted-for animals.

The unaccounted-for burros likely correspond to those gathered on August 11, when no shipments were reported.

Foals represented 16.6% of the horses gathered and 10.6% of the burros, considerably less than the 25% needed for herd growth rates of 20% per year.

Data quality was poor.

The capture goal for horses increased from 1,978 to 2,106 on August 8.

The removal goal increased from 1,868 to 1,996.

The capture and removal goals for burros were unchanged at 339.

A CBS film crew documented the action on July 26.

The BLM news release, posted today, omits most of these details.

RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup Announced.

The incident began on August 6, according to the gather page, with 30 burros captured, none shipped and no deaths.

As of August 14, 61 animals have been trapped, 49 have been shipped and no deaths have been reported.

The capture total includes 24 jacks, 28 jennies and nine foals.

Youngsters represented 14.8% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 46.2% were male and 53.8% were female.

The location of the trap site is not known but the burros are associated with the Cibola-Trigo HMA, which overlaps the Yuma Proving Ground.

Day 9 ended with 12 unaccounted-for animals.

The capture and removal goals are 80 each according to the latest schedule.

The roundup was not announced at the BLM news site.

RELATED: BLM to Remove Wild Burros from Yuma Proving Ground?

The incident began on August 7.  Gather stats through August 15:

• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly
• Captured: 224, up from 184 on Day 7
• Average daily take: 24.9
• Capture goal: 450
• Removal goal: 410
• Returned: None
• Deaths: 1, no change from Day 7
• Shipped: 153, up from 110 on Day 7

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The death rate is 0.4%.

The capture total includes 71 stallions, 105 mares and 48 foals.

Youngsters represented 21.4% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 40.3% were male and 59.7% were female.

A birth rate of 21% is consistent with a growth rate of 16% per year, assuming a death rate of 5% per year.  Land managers often use 20% per year to predict herd sizes and justify resource enforcement actions.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap was not disclosed.

The Complex and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

Day 9 ended with 70 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares treated with fertility control would be returned to the area at a later date.

Other statistics:

• Horses allowed by plan (AML): 170
• Forage assigned to horses: 2,040 AUMs per year
• Pre-gather population: 831
• Forage liberated to date: 2,688 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 2,240 gallons per day
• Forage assigned to livestock: 9,890 AUMs per year (estimated)
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: 817
• True AML: 987
• Stocking rate at new AML: 4.6 horses per thousand acres
• Horses displaced from Complex by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

RELATED: Bible Springs Roundup, Day 7.