Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
On the range
BLM said today that additional groups have pledged their support, bringing the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the deaths of 42 wild burros to $58,000. The events occurred along I-15 near the CA-NV border.
Each count carries a penalty of one year in prison and a $2,000 fine, according to the news release. The announcement did not indicate if any of the shootings took place on permitted grazing allotments.
BLM said today that approximately 600 excess wild horses would be removed from the Fish Creek HMA in central Nevada beginning September 6, with fifty to be returned.
Mares released back to the HMA will be treated with contraceptives, according to the news release.
The HMA covers 252,771 acres and has an AML of 180, for an aimed-at population density of 0.7 horses per thousand acres. The average density for all HMAs is one animal per thousand acres.
The operation will be open to public observation and captured animals will be taken to the Palomino Valley off-range corrals, twenty miles north of Sparks, NV.
The announcement said the roundup will reduce wild horse overpopulation and prevent rangeland degradation by balancing the herd size, but did not say what’s on the other side of the scales.
The HMA intersects four grazing allotments (see map on page four of the environmental assessment along with section 3.3 beginning on page 66).
The roundup will liberate 6,600 AUMs per year, allowing higher utilization rates by privately owned livestock…on land set aside for the horses. (The action will not increase permitted AUMs on those allotments.)
Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund wants 2,000 signatures on its request to the FWS asking for a safer alternative, according to a story by WTKR News of Norfolk, VA. The petition is hosted by left wing political action group Moveon.org.
RELATED: Corolla Stallion Dies After Hitting Barbed Wire Fence.
Reward has increased to $50,000, according to 8 News Now of Las Vegas.
Note the plug by AWHC for ‘humane management practices.’ When all you have is a darting rifle, everything else looks like a mare’s butt.
RELATED: Deaths of Clark Mountain Burros in the News.
UPDATE: See this story in the Las Vegas Sun for more information on the reward.
On the Virginia Range with Nancy Kilian.
State and local officials were on hand yesterday to dedicate the Wild Horse Highway, a portion of highway 14/16/20 near the McCullough Peaks HMA in northern Wyoming.
Grant Bulltail of the Crow Nation blessed the ceremony and sang a Crow song, according to a report by KULR News of Billings, MT.
On the other side of the road is the Fifteenmile HMA, target of a roundup later this year.
RELATED: ‘Wild Horse Highway’ Created.
At the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center with Venessa Carpenter.
BLM reported today that a wildfire twenty miles southeast of Alamo, NV in the Delamar Mountains was ten percent contained. The incident began Friday morning.
The map at InciWeb puts the blaze at the southwest corner of the Delamar Mountains Herd Area, one of nine HAs in the Caliente Complex (site of ongoing nuisance gather).
The news release did not indicate if any of the Delamar horses were at risk or if gather operations were affected. The area is also subject to permitted livestock grazing.
The report at InciWeb says the fire is 80% contained.
RELATED: Mustangs to Be Removed from Eastern Nevada Starting Today.
BLM said today that limited opportunities for viewing the temporary holding facilities at the Antelope gather will begin on September 4. Holding activities will be open to public observation if wild horses are in the pens and the ongoing gather is not disrupted by the visitors, according to the news release.
The operation, which began on 08/10/19, has taken 393 wild horses from their home range, with five deaths. Refer to this page for details.
RELATED: Roundup Starts Next Week in Lower Half of Antelope Complex.
BLM said today that rewards amounting to $18,500 have been offered for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the deaths of over 40 wild burros in the Mojave Desert near the CA-NV border. The shootings have occurred along the I-15 corridor between Halloran Springs, CA and Primm, NV, according to the news release.
The Clark Mountain Herd Area is on the north side of the interstate, has no AML, and is not managed for wild burros. See page eight in the California HMA maps.
Curiously, the advocacy groups who supplemented the BLM reward are upset with the situation, yet they all want fewer wild horses and burros on western rangelands, either through application of contraceptives or outright removal. Shame on them.
Back-country adventure in Grayson Highlands State Park with Jonathan Lovelace.
RELATED: Free-Roaming Horses in Virginia.
A report posted today by Carson Now says the Nevada Department of Agriculture has joined forces with Wild Horse Connection of Reno to manage the free-roaming horses of the Virginia Range.
Accordingly, WHC will respond to citizen concerns regarding public safety, including wild horse removal and adoption, diversionary feeding and installation of fencing.
The agreement follows one signed earlier this year for fertility control (PZP darting).
Blue roan on the Virginia Range. Or is he a bay roan?
On the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range with The Cloud Foundation.
Foreground, on the left, and at the water tank on the right. Base color is definitely not black. Strawberry roans? Trailcam photos from the Virginia Range.
The four year old was put down after a vet said his leg injury was beyond repair, according to a report by WFMY News of Greensboro, NC.
RELATED: Corolla Mare Hits Guy Wire.
BLM said today that the number of wild horses in the Fifteenmile HMA, northwest of Worland, WY, would be reduced from nearly 700 to around 100 this fall, the point at which the HMA can support the horses and other mandated uses of the land (privately owned sheep in this case).
Horses that have moved onto private and state lands will also be removed, according to the news release.
Supporting documentation, including the final environmental assessment and herd management plan, can be found on this page.
The HMA intersects five grazing allotments, according to the EA, with 3,370 AUMS per year allocated to sheep (60%) and 2,300 AUMs per year allocated to the horses (40%).
There isn’t one. See this report, posted today by The News & Observer of Raleigh, NC.
RELATED: Deputies Issuing Citations for Approaching Corolla Wild Horses.
Camping and hiking at Theodore Roosevelt National Park with Reel Diel Outdoors.
