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.
Category: Range
On the range
Strangles Hits Salt River Horses
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.
Committee Maintains Ban on Horse Slaughter
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.
Devil’s Garden Progress Report
The Herald and News of Klamath Falls, OR reports that 212 wild horses have been forced off the WHT as of yesterday.
The Forest Service posts the daily results to this page.
RELATED: Devil’s Garden Roundup Begins, Devil’s Garden Horses Get Short End of Stick, Livestock Grazing in California.
Bullfrog Gather in Progress
BLM said on 09-06-19 that approximately 600 excess wild burros would be removed from the Bullfrog HMA, starting the next day. As of today, 302 animals have been captured, with no deaths reported.
The burros are a nuisance in the town of Beatty and a safety risk along U.S. highway 95, according to the news release. The size of the herd had already been reduced by about 400 head in a roundup conducted in 2018.
The HMA covers 157,180 acres in southern Nevada and has an AML of 91, for an aimed-at population density of 0.6 animals per thousand acres.

The gather employs bait traps to remove the burros from their home range, so it is not open to public observation. Captured animals are being taken to the off-range corrals in Axtell, UT.
The HMA intersects one grazing allotment, but only a portion of one pasture (about 12,000 acres) is currently active, according to Section 3.3 of the 2012 Environmental Assessment. See Figure 3 on page 33 of the EA.

Fish Creek Roundup Complete
BLM said today that operations concluded on 09-15-19, with 558 wild horses gathered from the Fish Creek HMA in central Nevada. Five deaths were reported (0.9%) and twenty horses were returned to the range, for a population reduction of 538 animals.
The seven mares allowed to rejoin the herd were treated with contraceptives, according to the news release.
The process reduced forage consumption on the HMA by 6,456 AUMs per year, some of which may be picked up by ‘other authorized users.’
The announcement said the roundup complied with Section 1333(b) of the 1971 WHB Act, except there is no Section 1333(b) in the 1971 Act. The reference should be to the WHB Act of 1976/1978/2004.
The original statute was ‘reshaped’ by the political allies of the public-lands ranchers.
RELATED: Fish Creek Roundup Starts Next Week, Fish Creek Horses Get Short End of Stick, Livestock Grazing in Nevada.
Fort Polk Herd Dwindles
The Natchitoches Times reported today that just 20 to 30 wild horses remain in the Kisatchie National Forest, suggesting that the end is near for the herd.
The horses are not protected by the WHB Act and are viewed by Fort Polk staff (U.S. Army) as ‘trespass livestock.’ Several rescues and advocacy groups are working to find new homes for the mustangs, according to the report.
A post dated 09-08-19 by Pegasus Equine Guardian Associates says 318 wild horses have been removed from the area since the roundup was announced in 2016.
RELATED: Fort Polk Horses Gunned Down.
Mustang Monday
On the Salt River with SRWHMG.
Wildlife and ‘Historical Values’ in Northwest Colorado
At Sand Wash Basin HMA with NSC Photography. The pinto at 2:10 initially appears to be a medicine hat but when you see his other side at 2:16 there is a patch of brown on his neck that likely disqualifies him. Medhats were prized by native peoples.
RELATED: Multiple Use Minute, What is a Medicine Hat?
Making Western Rangelands Great Again
Tell your U.S. Representative and Senators to end public-lands ranching and restore the WHB Act to its original form.

Where Are the Youngsters?
Virginia Range mustangs congregate at the water tanks on 09-03-19.

Multiple Use Minute
Trailcam photos of deer at the water tanks.
The BLM, which controls some land on the Virginia Range (most of it is privately owned), puts wild horses in the ‘historical values’ category—they are not regarded as wildlife.
Everything would change, of course, if horses were shown to be an indigenous species, not a re-introduced species. The wild horse narrative would fall to the ground.

New Pony on Shackleford Banks But Did They Survive Dorian?
A story posted today by The Coastland Times says a new filly was discovered on the island but did not give the condition of the herd now that the storm is gone!
RELATED: Ocracoke Ponies Survive Dorian.
Horse Heaven Hills in the News
Refer to this report by Capital Press, a trade publication based in Salem, OR.
Agricultural producers in the area like to use wild horses to market their products but they don’t like to talk about their history.
Moreover, videos that tell the story of HHH keep getting scrubbed.
What are they trying to hide?
RELATED: Replaced by Wind, Wine and Wheat.
Did the Clark Mountain Reward Yield Any Useful Information?
The story has faded from the headlines but a report posted today by KNPR of Las Vegas says most of the dead burros were found near water holes and some appear to have been shot from the highway (I-15).
The animals share the land with wildlife and livestock, according to the report, and the investigation continues.
An audio segment with Jason Lutterman of the BLM was provided.
RELATED: Clark Mountain Burros Still in the News.
Home Again
Filmed after the swim back to their home island by Those Aquatic Chickens.
RELATED: Chincoteague Ponies Make Annual Swim.
Devil’s Garden Roundup Begins
Ocracoke Ponies Survive Dorian
They’re not exactly free-roaming horses, but they’re okay according to a story posted today by WAVY News of Portsmouth, VA.
NPS says the Ocracoke Ponies have been housed in pens since 1959. They differ from other horses in their size and posture, as well as the number of vertebrae and ribs.
RELATED: Rachel Carson and Corolla Wild Horses Survive Dorian.
TRNP ‘Culls’ Adopted
A story posted today by Inforum of Fargo, ND says the fourteen young horses removed last month from Theodore Roosevelt National Park have been adopted.
Critics believe that current herd management practices at TRNP have produced low genetic diversity and a greater risk of inbreeding, according to the report.
RELATED: Wild Horse Roundup Starts Today at TRNP.
Scuffle at Water Tanks
Trailcam photos from the Virginia Range.

From a different angle.

