Black Mountain Roundup, Part 2, Day 111

The incident began on March 9, a resource enforcement action that follows a wild burro removal in 2020. Gather stats through June 27:

Burros captured: 209
Goal: 500
Returned: 0
Deaths: 0
Shipped: 154

Foals accounted for 15.3% of the burros gathered. Of the adults, 61% were male and 39% were female, barely inside the expected range of variation produced by a simple random process centered at 50% males / 50% females (p-bar = .5 and n = 209).

Fertility controls will not be applied this year and the incident is not open to public observation.

The number of burros in the unaccounted-for category is 55.

Data quality is good.

Some supplemental statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 1,254 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 1,045 gallons per day
Burros displaced from HMA by privately owned livestock: 1,222

Pokegama Roundup Rebooted?

A story in today’s online edition of the Herald and News of Klamath Falls, OR says the operation will resume on private lands but does not say when.

It will not be open to public observation.

Last year, five horses were captured in September but no further activity was reported.

Western Horse Watchers was unable to find an announcement for the event at the BLM news site.

RELATED: Pokegama Progress Report.

UPDATE: BLM issued news release on July 1.

Mustang Monday

At McCullough Peaks HMA with Stephanie Perry.

Virginia Range Mustangs at TRIC

WARNING: Although this video begins with an F-bomb, some viewers might be offended by the foal at 0:40.

This Is Not a Story About Horses Arriving at ‘Forever’ Homes

The video description says all of the beautiful young horses and pregnant mares in this film have been slaughtered by now.

Slaughter, like adoption events, sanctuaries, EMM and TIP, doesn’t get much attention on Western Horse Watchers because it does not address the causes of their removal from public lands. It’s too far downstream in the process to bring any improvement.

What good is it to shut the valve on the outlet of the tank when you haven’t stopped the flow going into the tank?

RELATED: Not the Same SAFE Act?

Have You Seen Any Videos Lately of Foals on the Salt River?

Didn’t think so.

Have You Seen Any Videos of the Oatman Burros Lately?

Didn’t think so. A roundup in the Black Mountain HMA has been going on since March 9, with 176 animals captured as of June 20. The goal is 500.

The incident was not announced on BLM’s news site.

The WHB roundup schedule, updated on June 15, shows a projected completion date of September 30.

Sterilization Plan Dropped at Confusion HMA

An article posted yesterday by Bloomberg Law says the BLM decided against the tactic, part of a broader effort to enforce resource allocations in the HMA, in response to legal actions by several advocacy groups.

A subscription is required to read the full story.

Crooked Creek Fire Stalled?

The June 24 fact sheet at Inciweb shows little if any spread in the past few days, with 5,400 acres burned and 25% containment.

Firefighters continue to monitor for any threat to the Pryor Mountain WHR.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests Shut Due to Fire Danger

The closure, which started yesterday, means the public is prohibited from entering any part of the forests at any time, according to a USFS news release dated June 22.

An expiration date was not provided.

The area is home to the Heber wild horses.

Extreme Fire Danger Prompts Closure of Tonto National Forest

Refer to this USFS news release. The order goes into effect today and will prevail until July 31 or until rescinded, whichever occurs first. The Lower Salt River is not affected.

Currituck Studs Demonstrate Herd Dynamics for Beachgoers

Refer to this report by The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, VA. Just another day at the office in the wild horse world.

WHBAB Call for Nominations

Three positions representing public interest, veterinary medicine and wild horse and burro advocacy will become vacant on September 20, according to a BLM news release issued yesterday.

Individuals and organizations may nominate one or more persons to serve on the Board, which typically meets twice per year. Terms are for three years. Hostility to wild horses and burros is not a disqualifier.

Interested parties may also nominate themselves.

The next meeting of the Board begins on June 30.

Wild vs Feral Debate at Park County Commissioners Meeting

Wild horse advocates disputed some of the language in a draft Natural Resources Management Plan at a June 15 meeting of the county commissioners, according to a story in yesterday’s edition of the Cody Enterprise.

The document gives the county a voice in the development of management plans for public lands by federal agencies.

Approval of the plan was the last item on the agenda before lunch.

Minutes of the meeting have not been posted and Western Horse Watchers has not been able to find a copy of the plan but has asked the commissioners’ executive assistant for a link to it.

The McCullough Peaks and Fifteenmile HMAs extend into the county.

As for non-native animals on America’s public lands, you can find them on just about any grazing allotment.

UPDATE: Commissioners are reviewing public comments on the draft NRMP and approval will occur at a future meeting. Discussion of wild horses begins on page 58 of the pdf. A map showing the two HMAs is on page 104.

Banker Foal Gets the ‘Zoomies’

Check out the video in this story by The Charlotte Observer. Filmed at Shackleford Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore.

What’s Next in Wild Lands Wild Horses Series?

A news release issued yesterday says future episodes will cover wild horse history, sustainability, herd dynamics, roundups, legislation and adoptions.

Not included in the list:

Management priorities and resource allocations in areas set aside for wild horses
Rationale for setting AMLs
Number of horses displaced from public lands by privately owned livestock
Number of horses displaced from public lands by drilling and mining
Rationale for fertility control programs
Economics of roundups and off-range holding
Current state of wild horse advocacy

Also missing from the announcement are the funding sources for the program and where the experiences, loyalties and political leanings of the hosts might take it.

Salt River Darting Program Taking Its Toll

Only one foal was born this year, according an update provided by the advocates.

With the birth rate driven to zero, mortality will thin the herd.

A photo shows a mare taking a dart so she can spend her life with her family—except there is no family and no turning over of the genetic soil.

Another photo shows the sorting of mares and stallions in a roundup.

Getting rid of horses with helicopters is bad, but getting rid of them with contraceptives is good.

Therefore, other herds, such as Onaqui and Heber, should receive the same treatment.

Never mind that they’ve already been decimated by resource management plans and the bureaucrats who wrote them.

This group, defeated, is of no use to America’s wild horses.

Mare’s Tail in the Sky?

Also known as cirrus uncinus clouds, according to a very short story in today’s edition of the Billings Gazette.

Court Affirms Caliente Decision

A District Court’s ruling in favor of the BLM, that it could go ahead with a wild horse roundup in the Caliente Complex, has been affirmed, according to a decision filed on June 18.

The Complex, which doesn’t have enough resources for wild horses, includes nine former HMAs and intersects 26 grazing allotments.

Table 3.2 in a 2018 EA for resource enforcement actions in the Complex, provides data for the allotments and the map in Appendix V shows the arrangement.

The Allotment Master report in RAS gives the public acres and active AUMs. Most of the allotments are in the Custodial category, with condition unknown, but most of the acreage is in the Improve category, approximately 56%.

Caliente Allotment Data 06-21-21

Although the forage assigned to livestock has decreased by 21% in the past three years, 31,445 AUMs per year are still active. The forage assigned to horses is zero.

To put that in perspective, the forage allocated to livestock would support 2,620 wild horses, in an area that doesn’t have enough food for wild horses!

The court said the plaintiffs waited too long to bring their case against the BLM’s plan, not that the agency wasn’t telling the truth about resource availability in the Complex.