Category: Range

On the range

Allotment Categories Explained

Refer to this undated BLM document, an attachment to IM2009-018, Process for Setting Priorities for Issuing Grazing Permits and Leases.

Improve (I) – Not achieving rangeland health standards

Maintain (M) – Achieving rangeland health standards

Custodial (C) – Public lands produce less than 10% of forage

Category I allotments have the highest priority for processing authorizations, managing uses and monitoring rangeland health, according to IM2009-018.

These categories appear in some of reports from RAS.

RELATED: Rangeland Conditions in Horse-Free Areas.

Any BLM Land in Virginia Range?

Most of it is private but there is some BLM land on the east side, which coincides with the Horse Spring HA, and on the west side, between Virginia City and Washoe Lake.

Map taken from an information packet provided in 2018 by the Nevada Department of Agriculture during the proposed transfer of ownership of the Virginia Range mustangs.

Vriginia Range Land Ownership Map Large 01-25-21

The Horse Spring HA can be found on page 21 of this BLM map.

RELATED: Where is the Virginia Range?

UPDATE: Refer to this video on YouTube.

Eagle Roundup Day 19

The incident began on January 6.  Gather stats through January 24:

  • Horses captured: 612, up from 558 on Day 17
  • Goal: 1,131
  • Returned: 0
  • Deaths: 11, up from 9 on Day 17
  • Shipped: 502, up from 458 on Day 17

Two deaths were reported on Day 18, one acute and one chronic.

One foal has been caught to date.  Roughly 45% of captured adults are male and 55% are female.  Some of the mares are probably within a few weeks of foaling.  Some may have foaled in the off-range corrals.

Body condition scores are not known.

The HMA of origin was not reported.  Three HMAs are involved in the roundup.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 99.

Some of the mares are to be treated with contraceptives and returned to the range but no such activity has been reported.

RELATED: Eagle Roundup Day 17.

Eagle Roundup Day 17

The incident began on January 6.  Gather stats through January 22:

  • Horses captured: 558, up from 509 on Day 15
  • Goal: 1,131
  • Returned: 0
  • Deaths: 9, up from 8 on Day 15
  • Shipped: 458, no change from Day 15

One death was reported on Day 16, the result of a pre-existing condition.

Only one foal has been caught to date.  Roughly 44% of captured adults are male and 56% are female.  Some of the mares are probably within a few weeks of foaling.

Body condition scores are not known.

The HMA of origin was not reported.  Three HMAs are involved in the roundup.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 91.

Some of the mares are to be treated with contraceptives and returned to the range but no such activity has been reported.

RELATED: Eagle Roundup Day 15.

Eagle Roundup Day 15

The incident began on January 6.  Gather stats through January 20:

  • Horses captured: 509
  • Goal: 1,131
  • Returned: 0
  • Deaths: 8
  • Shipped: 458

No horses were captured on Day 14.  No deaths were reported on Days 14 and 15.

Only one foal has been caught to date.  Roughly 43% of captured adults are male and 57% are female.  Some of the mares are probably within a few weeks of foaling.

Body condition scores are not known.

The HMA of origin was not reported.  Three HMAs are involved in the roundup.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 43.

The number of mares that have been treated with contraceptives and returned to the range is not known.

RELATED: Eagle Roundup Day 13.

New Fence Coming to Sand Wash Basin

A report posted today by the Craig Press says the funds have been raised and the project has been given a green light by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The fence, to be 3.5 feet tall, will be installed along Highway 318, keeping the horses off the roadway without restricting access to food and water.

Horses placed into private care from areas like this one must be corralled by six foot fences until gentled.

RELATED: Sand Wash Fatality Renews Push for Fencing.

Management Priorities at Surprise Complex

Table 1-1 in the Draft EA for resource enforcement actions at the Surprise Complex provides the sizes of the six HMAs involved.  Table 1-2 provides the forage allocations and AMLs.

Table 3-2 provides the forage allocations and grazing seasons for the six allotments that overlap the HMAs.  The allotment master report created on January 17 by RAS provides the allotment sizes and permittees.

The map in Appendix G shows how the HMAs and allotments are related.

What do these data tell you about the management priorities at the Complex?

Surprise Complex Calcs 01-20-21

Land in the Bare Allotment, which overlaps the Fox Hog HMA, can produce 65.7 AUMs per thousand acres per year if you’re talking about livestock, but can only produce 21.4 AUMs per thousand acres per year if you’re talking about wild horses.

The Bare permittee would have to place 1,473 cow/calf pairs on the allotment to graze off 13,260 AUMs in a nine month season, for a stocking rate of 7.3 cow/calf pairs per thousand acres, while the management plan allows only 1.8 wild horses per thousand acres in Fox Hog.

In general, the land can produce almost four times as much forage for privately owned livestock than it can for wild horses, and can support an overall stocking rate for cattle that’s nearly seven times higher than the stocking rate for wild horses.

The HMAs are a subset of the allotments, with approximately 73% of the allotment acreage falling within the HMAs.  If forage is evenly distributed, that means the cattle receive an estimated 22,300 AUMs per year inside the HMAs, compared to 6,000 AUMs per year for the horses.

The forage assigned to livestock would support an additional 1,850 wild horses, for a true AML of 2,350.

The Complex is managed primarily for livestock.  The HMAs, and the crumbs assigned thereto, are concessions of the grazing program.

The Complex is not overpopulated.  There are no excess horses and there is no justification for a roundup or fertility control program.  The resources consigned to the public-lands ranchers are more than enough to support the current herd, thought to be around 1,300 animals.

RELATED: Surprises at Surprise Complex.

Big Summit Horses Await AML Decision

A decision notice was issued in November, subject to a 45-day appeal period.

That process ended on January 4, according to a report posted today by the Central Oregonian, and the Forest Service has 45 days to review the objections.

The WHT is subject to permitted livestock grazing, as noted in the article.

A login is required to read the full story.

RELATED: Big Summit AML Reduction Still In the News.

Eagle Roundup Day 13

The incident began on January 6.  Gather stats through January 18:

  • Horses captured: 503
  • Goal: 1,131
  • Returned: 0
  • Deaths: 8
  • Shipped: 358

Two deaths were reported on Day 12 and one on Day 13, due to pre-existing conditions.

A foal was taken on Day 12, the only one to date.  Roughly 43% of captured adults are male and 57% are female.  Some of the mares are probably within a few weeks of foaling.

Body condition scores are not known.

The HMA of origin was not reported.  Three HMAs are involved in the roundup.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 137.

Some of the mares will be treated with contraceptives and released but the gather page shows no such activity.

RELATED: Eagle Roundup Day 10.