Category: Range

On the range

BLM Returning Horses to Hardtrigger HMA

Forty five wild horses will be released later this month in three separate areas, according to a news release posted today.  One of the releases will be open to public observation.

The Hardtrigger HMA was damaged by the Soda Fire of 2015, which also affected the nearby Sands Basin HMA.

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The announcement did not say if the mares will be treated with contraceptives or if the land is subject to permitted livestock grazing.

RELATED: BLM Returning Horses to Sands Basin HMA.

UPDATE: Added video by KTVB News of Boise, ID.  Pay attention to the remarks from 0:15 to 0:17.

Sterilization Research to Resume

A news release by the Animal Welfare Institute yesterday said the BLM is rebooting its plans to sterilize wild horses, at the behest of a group funded by Lucas Oil Products.

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Hacks at the off-range corrals in Hines, OR will cut the ovaries out of mares gathered from the Warm Springs HMA last year.  Complications and fatalities related to the procedures will likely be high but are of no concern to these people.

Some of the survivors will be returned to the range to form non-reproducing herds, a dream-come-true for the public-lands ranchers.  Others may end up in the demonic Wild Spayed Filly Futurity.

Critics say wild horse populations should be controlled by contraceptives, which can lead to sterilization.  In both cases the result is the same—fewer horses on the range.

There is no meaningful opposition here, only a debate on methods and timing.

The ranchers want the horses gone quickly, the wild horse ‘advocates’ want them to decline slowly.

RELATED: BLM Abandons Wild Horse Sterilization Research.

Park Service Denies Media Access to Mesa Verde Roundup

The Park Superintendent said news coverage would not be allowed, consistent with the wishes of personnel doing the work, according to a report dated 04/30/19 by the Pine River Times of Durango, CO.

Public observation is often refused when bait-traps are used to gather the horses, but critics say access to government activities such as wild horse roundups is protected under the First Amendment.

RELATED: Wild Horses to Be Removed from Mesa Verde National Park.

Photographer Claims Man Was Shooting at Heber Wild Horses

A woman says she saw a man shooting directly at the horses on 05/02/19, according to a report posted today by the White Mountain Independent of Show Low, AZ.  The incident was reported to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and a deputy arrived on scene.  The man said he was only shooting at a tree stump and was allowed to leave.

RELATED: Another Wild Horse Found Shot at Heber WHT.

Another Wild Horse Found Shot at Heber WHT

The deceased animal brings the total to 19 since October, 2018, with eleven of the horses showing signs of gun shots.  Three shell casings were collected at the scene, according to a report posted today by the White Mountain Independent of Show Low, AZ.

The news release featured in the story does not appear on the Heber WHT home page as of this evening.

RELATED: Forest Service Says ‘Hands Off’ at Heber WHT.

Forest Service Says ‘Hands Off’ at Heber WHT

The Forest Service asks anyone who discovers a dead horse at the Heber WHT to report it to the Black Mesa Ranger District, according to a report posted today by the Eastern Arizona Courier, but do not disturb the scene in any way.  A news release dated 04/16/19 said evidence collected by the public may be unusable in the investigation.

RELATED: Another Horse Found Dead at Heber WHT.

Another Horse Found Dead at Heber WHT

The cause of death has not been established, according to a report posted yesterday by KJZZ-FM of Tempe, AZ, which brings the total to 17 since October.

The WHT and surrounding lands are subject to—wait for it—permitted livestock grazing (see map on page seven of this document).

The Forest Service omits it from the list of WHTs, as though it doesn’t even exist.

RELATED: No New Details on Heber Wild Horse Shootings.