Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
On the range
The 10 AM report puts the burned area at 125,100 acres, the largest one-day jump since the fire started on July 31. Yesterday’s total was 87,200 acres.
The rapid growth was caused by 40 mph winds from a thunderstorm.
The map at InciWeb shows the fire has spread to the northwest, away from the Little Bookcliffs WHR.
Containment holding at 7%.
RELATED: Pine Gulch Fire Still Active.
Gather stats through August 18:
A foal was put down yesterday, due to a shoulder injury. The loss was placed in the ‘Acute’ category, suggesting it was attributable to the roundup and not a pre-existing condition such as blindness.
Foals represented 18.1% of the horses captured.
Most body condition scores have been 4 to 5. Observers have been present every day except August 16.
The south, east and north sides of the fire are now under fairly good control, subject to changes in the weather. The map at InciWeb shows containment along a portion of CR 204 on the east side.
Most of the growth is on the northwest and southwest sides, as explained in the meeting last night. The Little Bookcliffs horses were not discussed.
Approximately 87,200 acres have burned since July 31, according to the 10 AM report, compared to 85,400 acres yesterday.
RELATED: Pine Gulch Meeting Tonight.
The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet September 23 – 24, according to a BLM news release. Instructions for submitting comments or questions are provided in the announcement. The meeting will be livestreamed.
Meeting materials, including the agenda, will be posted to the WHBAB home page.
RELATED: WHBAB Meets Next Month.
Gather stats through August 17:
Helicopters were grounded on August 16 while a new trap was set up.
Foals represented 19.4% of the horses captured.
The five HMAs assigned to the Blue Wing Complex cover about 46% of the land in the Blue Wing-Seven Troughs allotment but the horses and burros receive only 18% of the authorized forage.
RELATED: Shawave Roundup, Day 12.
The online meeting, set for August 20, can be accessed by MS Live Event, according to a story published today by the Herald and News of Klamath Falls, OR.
Link provided in this announcement. The fire has grown on the northwest and southwest sides, according to the map at InciWeb.
Approximately 85,400 acres have been consumed since July 31, compared to 81,100 acres yesterday. Winds will be out of the north today, with gusts to 18 mph in the afternoon, carrying smoke into the Little Bookcliffs WHR.
RELATED: Pine Gulch Meeting Tomorrow.
A wild horse requires around 200 acres to find enough forage to survive, maybe more depending on the area. BLM says 1,000 acres (27 million acres ÷ 27,000 horses).
That land may or may not have a source of water.
If a drilling rig requires an acre to set up and operate, you’d have to close 200 of them, maybe as many as 1,000, to allow one wild horse to return to the range.
How many drilling rigs are on HMAs? Enough to allow maybe three wild horses back on the range?
We’re talking about drilling rigs, not completed wells, which might require 100 square feet (0.0023 acre). You’d have to get rid of at least 87,120 of them to put one wild horse back on the range.
Alternatively, if you eliminate public-lands ranching on just one HMA, hundreds of wild horses could come out of long-term holding and back to their home range.
RELATED: Hypothesis Revisited.
At Washoe Lake, between the Sierra Nevada and Virginia Range, with itsmissyvonne.
Human interest story by Robert William.
Rode through an area a few miles north of Virginia City. No mustangs found but did see a cow/calf pair. Photos taken August 7. Elevation approximately 6,200 feet.
An online meeting will be held at 6 PM (MDT?), according to a notice at InciWeb, but no details were given.
The fire has consumed approximately 81,100 acres since it was ignited by lightning on July 31, up from 74,800 acres yesterday.
An updated map has not been posted to the main page for the incident but an air quality advisory is now available. The Little Bookcliffs horses aren’t threatened by flames but are probably affected by smoke.
RELATED: Growth of Pine Gulch Fire Slows.
Gather stats through August 14:
Mares outnumbered studs by 59. Foals represented 19.9% of the horses captured.
One burro was put down on August 13 due to a pre-existing leg injury.
The HMA is second largest of the five assigned to the Blue Wing Complex.
RELATED: Shawave Roundup, Day 10.
A report published today by AP News said that President Trump intends to withdraw his nomination but did not offer an explanation for the decision.
When the nomination was announced in June, Trump said that Pendley had “worked to increase recreational opportunities on and access to our Nation’s public lands, heighten concern for the impact of wild horses and burros on public lands, and increase awareness of the Bureau’s multiple-use mission.”
RELATED: Pendley to Head BLM?
The map at InciWeb shows some expansion on the north side of the fire but the overall boundary hasn’t changed much since August 14. Total area burned is now about 74,800 acres, compared to 73,400 acres yesterday.
Light winds out of the northwest are expected today, according to the 10 AM report.
Containment holding at 7%, southern edge only. Little Bookcliffs horses appear to be in the clear for now.
RELATED: Pine Gulch Fire Stalled at CR 204?
Western Horse Watchers was unable to find a statement at their home page.
The group did dispute a claim by the BLM that the horses and burros had enough water, following the removal of temporary water troughs, but the agency did not name them, or anybody else, as the source of the unauthorized water.
RELATED: Sinbad Emergency Roundup Ends.
As of August 13, 78 studs, four mares and 14 foals have walked into the traps, according to the daily reports. All wild horses on the HMA are to be captured, with 50 returned, including mares that have been treated with contraceptives.
The post-gather population will require approximately five percent of the authorized forage in the area, with the remainder assigned to privately owned livestock.
That herd, now consisting of hand-picked animals (including infertile mares, if they can catch them), will no longer be a product of natural processes.
RELATED: Saylor Creek Roundup Pending, Saylor Creek Horses Get Short End of Stick.
The next meeting of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will be held online September 23 – 24, according to an unpublished announcement set to appear in the Federal Register on Monday.
Public comments will be taken both days.
The meeting will be livestreamed here.
RELATED: WHBAB Meeting This Summer?
Triple B / Maverick-Medicine HMAs
RELATED: Emergency Roundup Scorecard, August 12.
The map at InciWeb was not updated today but the 10 AM report says that crews are working along county road 204 on the east side of the fire and that the line has been holding well.
The report also said that crews will be monitoring previously constructed fire lines in anticipation of afternoon winds out of the northwest, which is not good news for the Little Bookcliffs horses.
The fire has consumed approximately 73,400 acres since it began on July 31, up from 68,300 acres yesterday.
RELSATED: Pine Gulch Fire Spreading Fast.
Western Horse Watchers Association 