To achieve a ‘thriving ecological balance’ with ‘other uses and values’ on this blog.

The body was spotted near the edge of State Highway 318 in mid February, according to a report posted yesterday by the Craig Press.  The cause of death is unknown.

The mare’s home range, in northwestern Colorado, was hit by drought last summer, but the horses survived on water hauled in by volunteers.

Today the BLM authorized the removal of 213 wild horses from the North Hills JMA in southwestern Utah.  The roundup would occur later this year.

The area, consisting of the North Hills HMA and North Hills WHT, is managed jointly by the BLM and Forest Service.  It is northwest of Enterprise.

The roundup would restore a balance between the horses and other public land resources, according to the news release.  Given that livestock grazing occurs on the HMA (but not on the WHT), those resources are probably cattle or sheep.

The distribution of AUMs among the inhabitants of the JMA was not provided in the announcement but odds are that the lion’s share goes to livestock, with some crumbs going to horses and wildlife.

Never mind that the land was set aside for the horses.

RELATED: Wild Horse Overpopulation?, Livestock Grazing in Utah.

UPDATE: Added chart from page 28 in the Decision Record.

Wild horse AUM consumption, pre-gather, is about 3,000 AUMs per year.  Post-gather AUM consumption will be 500 AUMs annually, assuming forty horses remain on the HMA (which puts the herd in the ‘Not Genetically Viable’ category).

Flashing beacons were installed along Highway 48 last month but legal protections for the horses could be severely eroded if the legislature allows the New Mexico Livestock Board to manage them.  This story by Ruidoso News, posted today, has the details.

RELATED: Advocates Fight ‘Arrogant Special Interest Agency.’

A report that appeared today in Delmarva Now says they are presumed dead.

No problems though, mares outnumber studs on the island by a margin of almost three to one according to the census from November 2018.  Can’t possibly be related to the ‘humane management practices’ sanctioned by the Park Service and supported by most of the wild horse ‘advocates.’

The report also indicated that (only) four of the mares were in foal.

Video from BLM’s Rangeland Management page.  Fun facts, with their timestamps:

• 600 cow/calf pairs graze on 50,000 acres (0:12)
• 20% of the forage is utilized (5:29)

Public lands in Idaho can sustain twelve cow/calf pairs per thousand acres at a 20% forage utilization rate, suggesting a carrying capacity of sixty cow/calf pairs per thousand acres.

However, public lands in the state can only support 1.5 wild horses per thousand acres, according to the Herd Management page.

Probably because climate and resources vary wildly from allotment to allotment, with wild horses finding themselves in one of the bad spots.

Refer to this news release for his C.V.  He spoke at the rancher-friendly Wild Horse and Burro Summit of 2017, birthplace of the infamous BLM Report to Congress.

Wild horses are allowed on 3.5% of the public lands managed by the BLM in Idaho.

Other mandated uses of those lands include livestock grazing, mining, conservation and recreation, according to the announcement.

See this report posted today by KRQE News in Albuquerque.  Will it be subject to ‘other mandated uses?’

A segment yesterday on Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson briefly discussed the wild horse ‘problem’ in the western U.S.  Although it did mention the costs of helicopter roundups and long-term holding, it did not consider ‘other mandated uses’ of the territory where the horses roam.

Much of the information was sourced from the BLM so, of course, the public-lands ranchers get a pass.  No wild horse advocates were interviewed.

An aerial view of the Palomino Valley Off-Range Corrals appears at 1:27 and ranching shill Chris Stewart makes a few remarks at 2:26.  The guy is bought and paid for.

At best, the piece is incomplete.  At worst, it is biased against the horses.

RELATED: Wild Horse Overpopulation?

On the Big Island (Waipio Valley) with Christine Laria.

Their colors are spectacular!  Filmed 02/06/19 by Corey Stohlquist.

To achieve a thriving ecological balance and multiple-use relationship on this blog.

Public-lands ranchers will pay the BLM $1.35 per AUM in 2019, down from $1.41 in 2018, according to a news release issued today.

An animal unit month is the amount of forage consumed by one cow/calf pair, one horse, or five sheep per month.

The new fee goes into effect 03/01/19.

RELATED: Grazing Fee for 2019 Pending.

Helicopters were grounded today, due to weather, but they won’t be flying again anytime soon.  The roundup has been suspended according to a note at the top of this page, with 340 wild horses removed from the HMA at a cost of roughly $400 per head.

The BLM can expect to receive about $17 per year from the rancher to whom the excess AUMs are sold.  The cost of caring for the displaced animal, assuming he’s not adopted, is about $730 per year.

That’s like buying a machine that costs $400 and earns $17 per year, while driving up your electric bill $730 per year.  Nobody’s going to do that!

Unless you’re in government.

RELATED: Pine Nut Gather Resumed.

UPDATE: Refer to this BLM news release, posted today.

A report posted yesterday by YubaNet of Nevada City, CA, based on a press release issued the day before by the Animal Welfare Institute, says some of horses removed last fall for sterilization experiments will be returned to HMA.

The number and timing are unknown at this time, and an announcement has not appeared at the BLM news page.

Over 800 wild horses were driven from their home range, to provide test subjects for the ovary cutters at the off-range corrals in Hines, OR.

RELATED: BLM Abandons Wild Horse Sterilization Research.

The Forest Service continues its investigation, according to a report that appeared today in the White Mountain Independent, but no new information has been provided since the news release of 02/11/19.

Personnel from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the 1-800-78-CRIME hotline, have also refrained from commenting.

At one time a $2,500 reward was posted by NCSO for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible but that has not been mentioned in recent reports.

RELATED: Investigation of Heber Wild Horse Deaths Continues.

Wild Horse Annie: Friend of the Mustangs shows how one woman, working tirelessly over a 20 year period, persuaded Congress to protect America’s wild horses and burros.

“When she saw mustangs being rounded up and killed to make room for ranchers’ livestock, she knew she had to speak up.”

Refer to this listing at Barnes & Noble for details.

What you will find in the book is a woman who truly understood wild horse advocacy, not like the wild-eyed feminists you have today pushing contraceptives and zero population growth onto unsuspecting herds everywhere.

RELATED: Remembering Velma.

Helicopters were back in the air yesterday, with seven more horses pushed off their home range, bring the total to 323.

The goal of the roundup is 575, which will free up 6,900 AUMs annually.  As many as 1,150 additional cow/calf pairs could be placed on the HMA, assuming they graze six months per year.

The BLM is likely paying around $400 per animal removed, based on the cost of the Colville roundup, for a total of $230,000.

For this they can expect to receive up to $9,700 per year in additional grazing fees, for a simple payout of at least 23 years.  If you add the cost of long-term holding, roughly $420,000 per year for 575 horses, there is no payout at all.

Where is the logic in this?

There isn’t any.  It can only be described as redistribution of wealth, from American wage earners to the public-lands ranchers.

Is there any wonder that the ranchers, the contractors, the stock growers associations and cheerleader groups like Protect the Harvest want this gravy train going on forever?

All at the expense of America’s wild horses and burros.

RELATED: Pine Nut Roundup Delayed by Weather.

On the Salt River with Laurel Strohmeyer.

Helicopters were grounded Wednesday through Saturday last week, according to the BLM gather page, with 316 wild horses driven from their HMA.  That means 3,800 AUMs per year can now be allocated to ‘other rangeland resources.’

Almost certainly the roundup was demanded by oil and mining companies, but you’d never know it because the government has done a great job of hiding the derricks and frac tanks.

Pay no attention to the cattle gates, stock tanks and T-post fences.  They are decoys, to make you think the government is actually covering for the public-lands ranchers.

RELATED: BLM Preps Pine Nut Mountains for Spring Turnout.