Red Desert Roundup Day 22

The event started October 10.  Gather stats through October 31:

  • Horses captured: 1,672
  • Goal: 2,400
  • Deaths: 4
  • Returned: 118
  • Shipped: 1,055

No deaths were reported over the last three days.

Foals accounted for 22.4% of the horses gathered since October 10.  Of the captured adults, approximately 46% were males and 54% were females.  Body condition scores are not known.

Three more horses were returned to their home since the last update.  The number treated with fertility control is now 59.

The number of unaccounted-for horses is 1,672 – 4 – 118 – 1,055 = 495.  The contractor may be holding them on site.

The reports don’t say where the horses were captured or returned.  Five HMAs are involved in the roundup.

RELATED: Red Desert Roundup Day 19, Roundup Checks and Balances.

Red Desert Roundup Day 19

The event started on October 10.  Gather stats through October 28:

  • Horses captured: 1,311
  • Goal: 2,400
  • Deaths: 4
  • Returned: 115
  • Shipped: 799

No activity on Day 18 due to weather.  One death occurred on Day 19.

Foals accounted for 22.5% of the total.  Of the captured adults, approximately 47% were males and 53% were females.  Body condition scores are not known.

Twenty five horses were returned to their home range over the last few days, bringing the total to 115.  The release may signify the end of gather operations in one the HMAs.

The reports don’t say where the horses were captured or returned.  Five HMAs are involved in the roundup.

There are 393 unaccounted-for horses as of October 28.  The contractor may be holding them on site.

RELATED: Red Desert Roundup Day 16.

Moriah’s Cousins

Two years ago, in the Caliente Complex, a decision by the BLM authorized wild horse management actions in an area not managed for wild horses.

Legal action by several advocacy groups halted the plan, although a nuisance gather occurred there last year.

The Complex includes nine HAs that were demoted from HMAs around the same time as Moriah, except for one that was dropped in 2000.

Caliente Complex Map

Like Moriah, they were evaluated for forage, water, cover, space and reproductive viability and found to be deficient in one or more of those characteristics and therefore deemed unsuitable for wild horses.  Refer to Section 1.1 of the Final EA for the removal of wild horses from the Complex.

The EA does not say which HMA suffered from what condition and does not explain how 1,744 horses could be living there at the time it was published.

Curiously, the 26 allotments that intersect the Complex were not zeroed out, although a few were idled voluntarily.  See Table 3.2 and the Appendix V map in the EA.

The forage assigned to livestock, approximately 40,000 AUMs per year, would support 3,300 wild horses at a stocking rate of four animals per thousand acres.

Together, Moriah and Caliente represent nearly one million acres of public lands originally designated for wild horses but now managed almost exclusively for privately owned livestock.

RELATED: What Happened to the Moriah HMA?

Confusion Wild Horse Decision Appealed

Wild Horse Education announced today that it has taken legal action opposing a decision by the BLM earlier this month authorizing certain wild horse management actions in the Confusion HMA.

The plan, which included sterilization of mares at private facilities (not open to public observation), would ensure over the long run that the Confusion wild horses consume no more than their fair share—around 12%—of the total authorized forage in the HMA.

RELATED: Confusion DR Setting New Precedent in WH Management?

Black Mountain Roundup Day 31

The operation started on September 23.  Gather stats through October 23:

  • Burros captured: 302
  • Goal: 500
  • Deaths: 2
  • Returned: 0
  • Shipped: 253

Foals accounted for 14.2% of the total.  Of the captured adults, approximately 53% were jacks and 47% were jennies.  The cumulative total says 300 animals captured.

One death occurred on October 23, when a four year old jenny was put down due to a broken neck.  Her foal was adopted out.  Neither animal was included in the Day 31 figures so the incident may have occurred in a holding pen involving animals previously gathered.  Should the foal be counted as an animal shipped?

There were 302 – 2 – 253 = 47 unaccounted-for burros as of October 23.  BLM staff may be holding them on site.

RELATED: Black Mountain Roundup Day 17.

Clark Mountain Roundup Over

The operation concluded on October 23 with 126 burros gathered, 126 shipped and no deaths.  The goal was 80.  The number of animals remaining in the HA is not known.

Foals accounted for 20.6% of the total.  Of the captured adults, 42% were jacks and 58% were jennies.

A foal refused to follow its mother into the trap on the last day of the roundup so the mom was released.

Figures courtesy of BLM, Ridgecrest Field Office.

RELATED: Clark Mountain Roundup in Progress.

Red Desert Roundup Day 16

The incident started on October 10.  Gather stats through October 25:

  • Horses captured: 1,060
  • Goal: 2,400
  • Deaths: 3
  • Returned: 90
  • Shipped: 688

No activity on Days 13 and 16 due to weather.  The haul on Day 14 was 263, the largest of the operation so far.  The cumulative totals show 1,062 horses captured.

One death occurred on Day 14 and another on Day 15.

Foals accounted for 22.6% of the total.  The sex ratio of captured adults is approximately 47% males, 53% females.

The reports do not indicate where the horses were captured.  Five HMAs are involved in the roundup.

Body condition scores are not known.

There are 1,060 – 3 – 90 – 688 = 279 unaccounted-for horses.  The contractor may be holding them on site.

RELATED: Red Desert Roundup Day 11.

Moriah Roundup Pending

BLM announced today the signing of a Decision Record for wild horse management actions at the Moriah HA in eastern Nevada, allowing a roundup to occur after a 30-day appeal period.

The DR authorized the Proposed Action (Alternative A) in the final Environmental Assessment.

The HA covers 53,300 acres on the Utah border and has no AML.  It was deemed unsuitable for horses in 2008 and demoted from an HMA, yet an estimated 714 horses live there today.

Moriah HA Map

The HA intersects five allotments and is almost entirely subject to permitted livestock grazing, as shown in Figure 1 of the EA.

The Proposed Action will remove all wild horses from the area.

RELATED: Comments Invited on Moriah Gather EA.

Paisley Desert Roundup Day 10

The incident started on October 11.  Gather stats through October 20:

  • Horses captured: 707
  • Goal: 750
  • Deaths: 13
  • Returned: 0
  • Shipped: 642

Foals accounted for 20.5% of the total.  Three horses were put down on Day 10 due to pre-existing conditions, bringing the total to 13.

The daily results yield 642 horses shipped but the cumulative total says 654.

Body condition scores are not known.

There are 707 – 13 – 642 = 52 unaccounted-for horses.  The contractor may be holding them on site.

If 70% of the horses had to be removed from the HMA due to lack of water, what was the impact on privately owned livestock?

RELATED: Paisley Desert Roundup Day 8.

Red Desert Roundup Day 11

The incident started on October 10.  Gather stats through October 20:

  • Horses captured: 671
  • Goal: 2,400
  • Deaths: 1
  • Returned: 90
  • Shipped: 475

No activity on Day 10 due to weather.  Foals accounted for 23.8% of the total.  The sex ratio of captured adults is approximately 44% males, 56% females.

The reports did not indicate the HMA(s) where the horses were captured.

Body condition scores are not known.

There are 671 – 1 – 90 – 475 = 105 unaccounted-for horses.  The contractor may be holding them on site.

Five HMAs are involved in the roundup.

RELATED: Red Desert Roundup Day 9.

Clark Mountain Gather Update

The start date is not known.  Gather stats through October 16, courtesy of BLM:

  • Burros captured: 117
  • Goal: 80
  • Deaths: 0
  • Returned: 0
  • Shipped: 117

Foals accounted for 21.4% of the total.  The sex ratio of captured adults is approximately 43% male, 57% female.

The method of capture is bait traps.  Animals removed from the HA have been taken to the off-range corrals in Ridgecrest.

The operation will probably conclude this week.

RELATED: Clark Mountain Roundup in Progress.