At or near the Heber WHT with Friends of the Heber Wild Horses.

The HMA covers 434,200 acres in southern Oregon, near the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, a recently established horse-free zone.

The AML is 250 and the stocking rate allowed by plan is 0.6 wild horses per thousand acres.  As stated earlier, fractional stocking rates may signify large amounts of forage diverted to privately owned livestock.

The horses allowed by plan require 250 × 12 = 3,000 AUMs per year.  The land must be able to produce at least 3,000 ÷ 434,200 × 1,000 = 6.9 AUMs per thousand acres per year to support the horses.

The HMA lies completely within the 575,495 acre Beaty Butte Allotment, according to page 28 of the EA.  Map 2 in the appendices shows the arrangement.

The Allotment Master report from RAS provides the acreage and active AUMs.  The average grazing season was computed from data in the Authorization Use report.

To fulfill the forage allocation for livestock, the land must be able to produce at least 26,121 ÷ 575,495 × 1,000 = 45.4 AUMs per thousand acres per year, reinforcing an observation made earlier that forage production goes up when land is designated for livestock.  In this case, by a factor of 6.6.

The forage allocation for livestock inside the HMA is approximately 19,000 AUMs per year, according to the discussion on page 55 of the EA.  The Beaty Butte permittees would have to place 3,106 cow/calf pairs inside the HMA to graze off 19,000 AUMs in 6.3 months, for a stocking rate of 6.9 cow/calf pairs per thousand acres.

These figures are compared in the following charts.

The HMA is managed primarily for livestock, with the horses receiving just 14% of the authorized forage, neglecting wildlife.

The stocking rate for horses is 8% of that for cattle.

The forage assigned to livestock would support an additional 1,583 wild horses, for a True AML of 1,833.

The current population, based on data from page 7 of the EA, is probably around 500 horses, well within that range, so there is no need for a roundup or darting program.

RELATED: History of Beatys Butte HMA.

In the 1930s and 1940s, an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 wild horses roamed the area, according to the discussion at the bottom of page 38 in a 2019 EA for resource enforcement actions in the HMA.

By the mid-1950s, fewer than 50 horses remained.

The EA does not say how that happened or who was responsible.

RELATED: Status of Beaty Butte Allotment?

Map 2 in the appendices of a 2019 EA for resource enforcement actions in the Beaty Butte HMA shows the 434,000 acre HMA (purple boundary) inside the 575,000 acre allotment (brown boundary).

Approximately 19,000 AUMs per year have been allocated to livestock inside the HMA, according to page 55 in the EA, compared to 3,000 AUMs for wild horses.

The forage allocation to wildlife is 762 AUMs per year.  The area of interest is in southern Oregon.

The Allotment Master report from RAS puts the allotment in the Improve category.

Most of the active AUMs are held by the Beaty Butte Grazing Association, authorization #3601261.

The Authorization Use report shows over 4,000 animals allowed by plan in the allotment, compared to 250 wild horses in the HMA.

Failure to meet standards for rangeland health in the allotment may be a consequence of the way the allotment is managed, not the HMA.

RELATED: A Place for Excess Horses Off the Beaty Butte Allotment.

Refer to this promo by CBS 5 in Phoenix, AZ.

RELATED: Forest Service Confirms Four Deaths In Heber Shooting Case.

UPDATE: Video posted to YouTube.

Operations concluded yesterday, Day 11, with 284 horses gathered, 256 shipped, 25 to be returned and three deaths.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is zero.

The treated mares may require a booster before they can be returned to the HMA, but that was not stated in the news release issued today.

No foals were caught.  Of the captured adults, 46% were male and 54% were female.

The overall death rate was 1.1%.

The incident liberated 3,108 AUMs per year and reduced water demand by an estimated 2,590 gallons per day.

RELATED: Silver King Roundup Day 9.

Operations concluded yesterday, Day 43, with 1,074 horses gathered, 995 shipped, 50 returned and 29 deaths.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is zero.

All of the treated mares were released into the Eagle HMA, according to a news release issued today.  The number receiving GPS radios was not given.

Only three foals were caught.  Of the captured adults, 45% were male and 55% were female.

The overall death rate was 2.7%.

The incident liberated 12,288 AUMs per year for other mandated uses in the Complex and reduced water demand by an estimated 10,240 gallons per day.

RELATED: Eagle Roundup Day 41.

The following statement appears on the page for the Durvet product:

WARNING!  NOT SAFE OR APPROVED FOR HUMAN USE, WHICH COULD CAUSE SEVERE PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH.

RELATED: Horse Paste for Covid?

UPDATE: Same statement appears on the DuraMectin page.

The incident began on January 6.  Gather stats through February 15:

• Horses captured: 1,070, up from 1,004 on Day 35
• Goal: 1,131
• Returned: 0
• Deaths: 29, up from 27 on Day 35
• Shipped: 939, up from 895 on Day 35

One death occurred on Day 37 as a result of the roundup and another on Day 41 due to pre-existing conditions.

The overall death rate is 2.7%, same as Day 35.

Three foals have been caught to date.  Roughly 45% of captured adults are male and 55% are female.  Some of the mares may have foaled in the off-range corrals.

The gather page says 28 deaths and 940 horses shipped.

The operation has liberated 12,840 AUMs per year for other mandated uses in the Complex.  Demand for water has been reduced by an estimated 10,700 gallons per day.

Body condition scores are not known.

The location of current activity is not known.  Three HMAs are involved in the roundup.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 102, up from 82 on Day 35.

Some of the mares will be treated with contraceptives and returned to the range but no such activity has been reported.  Some may receive GPS radio transmitters.

RELATED: Status of Eagle Roundup?

No activity has been reported since February 11, Day 37, with 1,020 horses captured, 940 shipped and 27 deaths.

The operation has liberated 12,240 AUMs per year for other mandated uses in the Complex.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 53.  The gather page does not say if the incident is over.

The Red Desert roundup ended with 359 unaccounted-for horses in November 2020.

RELATED: Eagle Roundup Day 35.

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

• Horses captured: 251, up from 213 on Day 7
• Goal: 283
• Returned: 0
• Deaths: 3, same as Day 7
• Shipped: 214, up from 173 on Day 7

No deaths occurred on Days 8 and 9.  The overall death rate is now 1.2%, down from 1.4% on Day 7.

No foals have been caught to date.  Roughly 47% of captured adults are male and 53% are female.

The operation has liberated 3,012 AUMs per year for other mandated uses in the HMA.

Body condition scores are not known.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 34, down from 37 on Day 7.

Some of the mares will be treated with contraceptives and returned to the range, but no such activity has been reported.  The effect on pre-born foals is not known.

Data quality has been good.

RELATED: Silver King Roundup Day 7.

In eastern Arizona with acemannw.

These guys need 4 × 12 = 48 AUMs per year.  Forage supply is another question.

The incident began on February 7.  Gather stats through February 13:

• Horses captured: 213, up from 201 on Day 5
• Goal: 283
• Returned: 0
• Deaths: 3, up from 2 on Day 5
• Shipped: 173, up from 85 on Day 5

Helicopters were grounded on Day 7 due to weather.

One horse was put down on Day 6 as a result of pre-existing conditions.  The overall death rate is now 1.4%, up from 1.0% on Day 5.

No foals have been caught to date.  Roughly 48% of captured adults are male and 52% are female.

Body condition scores are not known.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 37, down from 114 on Day 5.

Some of the mares will be treated with contraceptives and returned to the range, but no such activity has been reported.  The effect on pre-born foals is not known.

Data quality has been good.

RELATED: Silver King Roundup Day 5.

The project was picked up today by Drudge.  Both links pointed to a report by AP News that referred to the area as an ‘innovation zone,’ where companies would have powers like those of county government.

The story did not mention that the property, around 67,000 acres, is also inhabited by the Virginia Range mustangs.

RELATED: Horses of the Autonomous Zone.

The Draft EA for resource enforcement actions in the Desatoya HMA says on page 61 (of the pdf) that off-range pastures are usually located in grass prairie regions of the United States, such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Forage production is higher than the arid rangelands of the western U.S., with an average stocking rate of ten acres per animal.  That’s 100 wild horses per thousand acres, compared to an average rate on all HMAs of one wild horse per thousand acres.

Those same pastures should be able to support 100 cow/calf pairs per thousand acres.

The carrying capacity of the land may be different.

Ideally, stocking rates should be less than carrying capacities, from a sustainability viewpoint, and carrying capacity may vary from year to year, depending on rainfall, soil conditions and other factors.

RELATED: Stocking Rates in the Great Basin.

Gather operations through February 11 yielded 201 wild horses but no foals.

Do those numbers look like they came from a herd that’s growing at a rate of 20% per year?  Or is it just too early in the foaling season?

As in the Eagle roundup, the majority of captured animals are female but what does that tell you about the herd at large?

RELATED: Wild Horse Growth Rates.

The incident began on February 7.  Gather stats through February 11:

• Horses captured: 201, up from 162 on Day 3
• Goal: 283
• Returned: 0
• Deaths: 2, none reported through Day 4
• Shipped: 85, up from 39 on Day 3

Two deaths occurred on Day 5 as a result of pre-existing conditions.  The overall death rate is now 1.0%.

No foals have been caught to date.  Roughly 47% of captured adults are male and 53% are female.

Body condition scores are not known.

The number of unaccounted-for animals is 114, down from 123 on Day 3.

Some of the mares will be returned to the range after treatment with contraceptives, but no such activity has been reported.  The effect on pre-born foals is not known.

Data quality has been good.

Gather activity will likely conclude this week.

RELATED: Silver King Roundup Day 3.

A comment received yesterday on the forage supply and demand post said the government allows one cow per 20 acres but did not say where.

Most of the grazing discussion on Western Horse Watchers involves the Great Basin, characterized by a desert climate, because that’s where most of America’s wild horses are found.

The stocking rate in the comment, which works out to 50 cows per thousand acres, seems rather high for the Great Basin.  That’s equivalent to fifty wild horses per thousand acres—too high for year-round grazing in the high desert.

The highest stocking rate encountered on these pages is on the Virginia Range, ten wild horses per thousand acres.

Fractional stocking rates—less than one wild horse per thousand acres—are not uncommon in HMAs where large amounts of forage have been diverted to privately owned livestock.

The target stocking rate across all HMAs is one wild horse per thousand acres.

In an allotment, which is often divided into pastures, higher stocking rates may be allowed for shorter periods of time.  Pasture rotation prevents overgrazing, at least in theory.

But it doesn’t explain why so many allotments are in the Improve category.

RELATED: Assessing Stocking Rates, Allotment Categories Explained.

In 2013, the show was produced in two 30-minute segments, each opening with Wilson Pickett’s ‘Mustang Sally.’

Sue Wallis, mentioned in the first segment, was found dead three months after the program aired.

Filmed by Joann Spotted Bear, one of the co-hosts with Eddie Floyd, Cindy Hartzell, Shannon Windle and Lacy J. Dalton.

Production ended in 2018.