The next meeting of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will occur in Washington D.C. October 29 – 31.  The event will be live-streamed and public comments will be taken on October 31.  Refer to this BLM news release for more information.

Funding to carry out a sizeable chunk of the wild horse management plan, authorized last week by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, has ranchers celebrating and advocates fuming, according to an AP story posted today by KTLA News of Los Angeles.

The glorious ‘Path Forward,’ as it is known, will protect the animals from killing or sale to slaughter, according to the report, except that most of them will be removed from their home range (so they can be replaced with privately owned cattle and sheep).

Put them in sanctuaries or contracted pastures so they can live out their lives in segregated herds.  No families, no foals, no legacy.

RELATED: Who Added ‘Path Forward’ to Senate Spending Bill?

The fence that confines them to beaches on the north side of town was damaged by the storm, allowing them to roam into populated areas.  A story by The Virginian-Pilot says they are corralled each day and returned to their home range.

The incident happened early yesterday, on the Maryland side of the island, according to a report by the Maryland Coast Dispatch.

UPDATE: Refer to this news release by NPS.

On Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range with Pryor Wild.

MooMoo Math and Science shows you the wild horses and other attractions.

RELATED: Cumberland Island Horses.

Like the Virginia Range mustangs, these guys are managed at the state level and are not subject to the glorious ‘Path Forward.’  Both herds are hunted by the PZP zealots.

The roundup started yesterday, with 63 excess horses removed from their home range in eastern Utah.  No deaths were reported and body condition scores were 4’s, according to the daily report.  Public observation was not allowed because the operation was carried out on private land.  Observers were present at the temporary holding facility.

RELATED: Range Creek Gather This Month.

The remnant, following losses attributed to hurricane Dorian, includes thirteen mares and eight geldings—a non-starter for those unfamiliar with horses.

But one of the herd managers has a stallion in reserve, and he will be allowed to rejoin the herd in the spring, according to a story posted earlier today by the Carteret County News-Times of Morehead City, NC.

Although two other stallions are available in South Carolina, questions of inbreeding and genetic viability remain.

The Cedar Island herd was established about 25 years ago as a ‘backup’ for the herd at Shackleford Banks.

RELATED: Dorian Achieves Same Results as ‘Path Forward.’

Today the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for FY 2020 that includes $35 million for the demonic wild horse management plan, according to a news release by Animal Wellness Action, a lobbying group in Washington, D.C.

UPDATE: See page 16 in the report that accompanies the FY 2020 appropriations bill.

The Flathead Beacon of Kalispell, MT reported yesterday that the Western Watersheds Project filed a lawsuit earlier this week to obtain more information about a program announced in 2017 and launched in 2018.

BLM says the project will give land managers and permit holders greater flexibility in managing privately owned livestock on public lands.

WWP claims the program will put wildlife, including some endangered species, at risk.

Although the link to the map is broken, the project may involve lands set aside for wild horses, given the list of operators in the 2018 news release.

Office space rented last week by the BLM will house leaders of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, who will be moving from Washington, D.C. in the coming months, according to a story posted today by The Gazette of Colorado Springs.

RELATED: BLM Picks New Headquarters.

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that 28 wild horses were lost on Cedar Island when hurricane Dorian hit on 09-06-19.  The horses roamed freely on 1,000 acres of privately owned land about 25 miles northeast of Shackleford Banks.  Only 21 remain.

Videos of a dead horse being eaten by a tiger shark in that area were posted two days ago by Reel Hooker Fishing & Outdoor Adventures.

The story did not indicate if the Cedar Island herd was subject to humane management practices (see Lexicon).

RELATED: New Pony on Shackleford Banks But Did They Survive Dorian?

Some Virginia Range mustangs opt for the latter in these trailcam photos from 2018.

On Sand Wash Basin HMA with HighStakesRanch.

Filmed near Cedarville, CA, not far from the Nevada border, these wild horses roam in an area between Round Mountain HMA and Carter Reservoir HMA.

The Round Mountain HMA is the BLM-managed portion of the Devil’s Garden WHT, most of which lies to the west of Round Mountain (above Alturas).

Surprise Valley, which includes the town of Cedarville, is on the western side of the Great Basin, home to many of the nation’s wild horses and burros.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies (like the BLM) to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions, such as wild horse roundups, before making a decision.

Public participation is part of the process.

The four hour class in Burns, OR is open to anyone interested in NEPA and will focus on comment writing and review.

The news release did not indicate if the event would be live-streamed.

Example: Comments Invited on Range Creek Gather Plan.

Office space in Grand Junction was leased today to house senior leadership and support staff.  The new agreement provides significant cost savings compared to the current arrangement in Washington, according to the news release.

AZFamily said today that a respiratory infection known as strangles has been found in twelve wild horses that live on the Salt River, east of Phoenix.  The illness is contagious but usually not fatal according to the report.

The ‘advocacy’ group that administers contraceptives to the Salt River mares was undeterred by the incident.

Animal Wellness Action, a lobbying group based in Washington, DC, announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee added language to the FY2020 Agriculture Appropriations bill that denies funding for inspections of equine slaughterhouses, preventing their operation in the U.S.  Refer to this news release in EIN Presswire.