BLM announced today that 750 wild horses will be removed from the Paisley Desert HMA, beginning on October 10, due to lack of water.

The operation will be carried out with helicopters, according to the news release, and will be open to public observation, except for horses found on private land.

The HMA covers 271,667 acres in central Oregon and has an AML of 150, for an aimed-at stocking rate of 0.6 wild horses per thousand acres.

As noted earlier this year, the fractional stocking rate may indicate large amounts of forage diverted to privately owned livestock.

An environmental assessment from 2009 indicates the HMA intersects four grazing allotments, with livestock receiving 10,151 AUMs per year, compared to 1,800 AUMs per year for the horses.  Curiously, the HMA has a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP).

The pre-gather population is thought to be around 1,050.  The true AML is 996.

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

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

The loss of a popular stallion at Sand Wash Basin HMA over the weekend has prompted a meeting with the Colorado Department of Transportation to discuss fencing along Highway 318, according to a report posted this morning by Craig Press of Craig, CO.

RELATED: Volunteers Push for Fencing at Sand Wash Basin.

BLM is aware of the contraption but describes it as “unproven” in Section 2.4.11 of the Final EA for wild horse management actions in the Confusion HMA.  If the machine is modified to read RFID chips in the neck, it may be suitable for providing booster doses of GonaCon-Equine in the field, according to the discussion.

RELATED: New Machine Darts Wild Horses Automatically.

The fire is not near the gather area but the BLM corrals at Rock Springs, one of the destinations for captured horses, are on standby in case the horses at Deerwood Ranch must be evacuated.

A roundup in the Red Desert Complex was cut short two years ago due to inadequate corral space.  The 2020 roundup is set to begin this week.

RELATED: Deerwood Off-Range Pasture Threatened by Mullen Fire?

BLM announced today the signing of a Decision Record, allowing plans for a roundup to move ahead, subject to a 30-day appeal period.  The DR authorized the Proposed Action (Alternative D) in the EA.  Both documents were posted as one file.

The operation would capture 560 wild horses and return 60, including those who received ‘population growth suppression.’  The news release did not indicate if the treatments applied to males and females.

The Confusion HMA covers about 235,000 acres in western Utah and has an AML of 115, for an aimed-at stocking rate of 0.5 horses per thousand acres.  As mentioned earlier this year, fractional stocking rates may indicate large amounts of forage diverted to privately owned livestock.

The current population is thought to be 661, including 546 excess horses.

The HMA intersects five grazing allotments, with the horses receiving just 12% of the total authorized forage, excluding wildlife.

The forage allocated to livestock puts the true AML at 932, meaning there are no excess horses in the HMA and the roundup is unnecessary.

RELATED: Confusion Wild Horses Get Short End of Stick.

The Forest Service reported this morning that the operation ended on October 3, with 506 horses gathered and one death.  The number of horses shipped was not provided.

The sum of the daily reports indicates 502 horses captured.  Foals accounted for approximately 16% of the total.

Do the numbers balance?  Who knows.

The WHT was not overpopulated.  The AML was minimized to maximize the resources available to privately owned livestock, referred to as the ‘economy of Modoc county’ in the news release.

RELATED: Devil’s Garden Roundup, Part 3, Starts Next Week.

The daily reports show no activity since September 18, when the incident began.

RELATED: Pokegama Roundup Underway.

Horses have the day off.  On the Black Mountain HMA with Ednei Ferreira.

The Red Desert roundup begins this week, affecting five HMAs.  The news release said the current wild horse population in the Complex is approximately 3,000, compared to a total AML of 724.

If each HMA is at 4X AML, the need for this and other management actions, such as fertility control, is obvious.

The operation was originally authorized in 2016 but the supporting documents were revised in 2017.  Data in the Final EA are not sufficient for a report on the entire Complex but do allow reports for a few of the HMAs.

The Stewart Creek HMA covers 168,000 acres and has an AML of 175.  The horses allowed by plan require 2,100 AUMs per year and the stocking rate is approximately one wild horse per thousand acres, in line with the average rate across all HMAs.

The HMA intersects one allotment, shown in white on the following map.  The EA states on page 54 (page 58 in the pdf) that the allotment boundary is similar to the HMA boundary except the allotment includes about 5,000 acres outside the HMA.  Thus, the estimated size of the allotment is 173,000 acres.

Table 5 in the EA provides the grazing season and authorized forage.  Livestock calculations are based on cow/calf pairs for a direct comparison to wild horses.  The resource requirements of wild horses and cow/calf pairs are said to be equivalent.

The portion of the allotment inside the HMA is 168,000 ÷ 173,000 = .971.

The estimated forage available to livestock inside the HMA is 8,138 AUMs per year, assuming the resource is evenly distributed across the parcel (97.1% of 8,380).

The Stewart Creek permittees would have to place 1,292 cow/calf pairs inside the HMA to graze off 8,138 AUMs in 6.3 months.  The stocking rate would be 7.7 cow/calf pairs per thousand acres.

These management indicators are compared in the following charts.

The HMA is managed primarily for livestock, with the horses receiving 21% of the total authorized forage (excluding wildlife).

If the HMA is at 4X AML, the pre-gather population of 700 would include 525 excess horses and the area would be classified as ‘overpopulated.’.

However, the forage assigned to livestock would support an additional 678 wild horses, for a true AML of 853.  There are no excess horses in the HMA, there is no need for a roundup and there is no justification for a fertility control program.

RELATED: Red Desert Horses Get Short End of Stick?, Rationale for AMLs?

The daily reports stopped on September 30.  The goal has been reached but no news release has been issued.  Here are the totals based on the daily results:

• Burros captured: 307
• Goal: 300
• Deaths: 1
• Shipped: 327
• Returned: 5

A jenny died on September 23 after colliding with a panel.  Foals accounted for roughly 16% of the burros captured.  The number of foals on September 17 was not provided.

Do the numbers balance?  Given that more animals were shipped than gathered the answer is probably ‘No.’

Animals gathered = Animals shipped + Animal deaths + Animals returned

Therefore,

Animals gathered − Animal shipped − Animal deaths − Animals returned

should be zero.

307 − 327 − 1 − 5 = −26

The numbers don’t balance.  Send in the auditors.

RELATED: Cibola-Trigo Roundup Resumes, Data Quality Program Needed at BLM.

The incident started on September 9.  Gather stats through October 1:

• Horses captured: 463
• Escaped: 5
• Goal: 500
• Deaths: 5
• Shipped: Not reported

No deaths occurred on Days 22 and 23.  The Forest Service reported a total of 467 horses captured in this week’s summary but the sum of the daily results is 463.

Foals accounted for 14.7% of the total.  The number of horses held on site is not known.

The daily reports can be found here.

Contrary to the statement in the weekly summary, the horses remaining in Devil’s Garden don’t have more food to eat and more room to roam.  The forage and land allocated to wild horses are specified in resource management plans and RMPs aren’t affected by roundups.

RELATED: Devil’s Garden Roundup Day 21.

The incident began on September 23 with no news release.  Gather stats through September 30:

• Burros captured: 71
• Goal: 500
• Deaths: 1
• Shipped: Not reported

BLM is reporting 74 burros gathered but the daily results yield 71.  Foals accounted for 15.5% of the total.

One animal was found dead in the corrals on September 28.

The HMA is in northwestern Arizona and includes the old mining town of Oatman.

RELATED: Black Mountain Decision Record Signed, Roundup Pending.

Here are the totals based on data in the daily reports:

• Horses gathered: 1,176 (1,196 in news release)
• Deaths: 26 (not in news release)
• Shipped: 1,153 (not in news release)
• Returned: −3 (43 in news release)

That’s right, minus three horses returned (1,176 – 26 – 1,153).

The number removed is 26 + 1,153 = 1,179, compared to 1,139 in the news release.

The figures need to be audited.

RELATED: Diamond Roundup Over, Roundup Checks and Balances.

The incident started on September 9.  Gather stats through September 29:

• Horses captured: 426
• Escaped: 4
• Goal: 500
• Deaths: 5
• Shipped: Not reported

No horses were gathered on Day 20 due to trap relocation.  The Forest Service is reporting 429 horses captured but the sum of the daily results is 426.

The total number of foals and the number of horses held on site are not known.

The daily reports can be found here.

The operation may conclude later this week.

In the statement that was released when he signed the WHB Act, President Nixon noted that wild horses were being wiped out because they competed with domestic livestock, among other things.

That’s what’s going on here.

RELATED: Devil’s Garden Roundup Day 19.

The operation concluded September 28, according to the daily reports, with 218 horses gathered, no deaths and 218 horses shipped.  A news release has not been published but at least the numbers balance.

Foals accounted for 24.3% of the horses gathered.  Mares outnumbered studs by a factor of 1.6, not exactly what you’d expect for a herd that’s 50% males, 50% females.

The goal was 200 horses gathered.  The incident occurred on private lands at the south end of the HMA.

RELATED: South Steens Roundup Starts Next Week.

The operation is complete, according to the daily reports, with 143 horses gathered, two deaths and 141 horses shipped.  The news release is pending (maybe) but at least the numbers balance.

Foals accounted for 17.5% of the horses gathered.  No horses were returned to their home range.

One death occurred yesterday due to a pre-existing condition.

The goal was 200 horses gathered.

The status of the mares fitted with GPS collars is not known.  Their purpose is described in Section 2.2.1 of the Final EA for wild horse roundups in the Frisco and Conger HMAs.

RELATED: Frisco Wild Horse Roundup Starts Next Week.

BLM said today that the operation was complete, with 1,196 horses gathered, 26 deaths and 1,139 horses shipped.

The number of horses returned to their home range was 43, according to the news release, which is not possible given the previous data.

If 21 mares were treated with contraceptives prior to release, they would have to be joined by ten studs, for a total returned of 31.

The goal was 1,225 horses gathered with 60 returned.

RELATED: Diamond Wild Horse Roundup Starts Next Week

That’s what Richard M. Nixon noted about America’s wild horses and burros when signing the WHB Act almost fifty years ago.

Things are better today.  They’re only 95% extinct.

The 20,000 survivors in 1971 have grown to 95,000 in 2020, but the current population is far less than the two million animals found on western rangelands in 1900.

BLM has started a page to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the WHB Act.

A concept paper, posted with the WHBAB meeting materials from last week, identifies objectives and messaging for the year-long event.

All but one of the suggested activities can be classified as ‘off the range.’  The last item in the bullet list was captioned ‘Taking America to the Field.’

A preliminary timeline was also included.