Two bachelors kicking up dust on the Virginia Range.

The BLM should not back away from its plan to remove over 1700 wild horses from the Caliente HA Complex, according to an opinion piece that appeared today in the Mesquite Local News.

Plaintiffs consider wild horses to be “…more important than the livelihoods of ranchers who graze 4,500 head of cattle and sheep in the area.”  That the animals were placed on lands set aside by Congress for wild horses and burros seems to have been overlooked by the writer.

The editorial contains several elements from the wild horse narrative and lays most of the blame for rangeland degradation at the feet of the horses.

Herd areas, like herd management areas, include lands where horses and burros were found when the WHB Act was signed into law (go to the 8:30 mark in this video).  Over the years BLM has argued that herd areas don’t have the resources to sustain horses and burros.  If that’s true, why are they planning a gather in the Caliente complex?  There’s nothing to remove.

And if the land is too harsh for horses and burros, it must be unfit for cattle and sheep?

If the land is suitable for cattle and sheep, it’s suitable for horses and burros, who take priority over the livestock because of the WHB Act.

RELATED: Lawsuit: BLM Can’t Remove Horses in Favor of Livestock.

The Salt River herd answers that question.  H/T Robert Koblewski.

Two youngsters grooming each other on the Virginia Range.

On the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Maybe we should call them the Salt Water horses.

RELATED: Salt River Horses Share Water with Vacationers.

BLM plans to remove 250 horses from the Cedar Mountain HMA in western Utah, according to a news release dated 07/11/18.  A start date for the gather was not provided.  Capture will be effected by water traps.  Public observation not allowed.

Animals removed from the range will be taken to the Wild Horse Facility in Delta, UT, where they will be prepared for adoption.

The HMA covers 411,636 acres and has an AML of 390, for a target population density of 0.95 horses per thousand acres.  Pretty much in line with the national average.  The news release did not indicate whether livestock were present on these lands.  It also stated that the HMA encompassed 197,275 acres.

Gather stats can be found at this page.

Still subject to testing by Nevada Highway Patrol but the final product is getting closer.

You can check the progress of the new license plate at this FB page.

Two opinion pieces posted yesterday in the Record-Courier of Minden-Gardnerville, NV.

• National support for Fish Springs herd
• Whoa on wild horse roundup

How do you argue a case when you agree with your opponent on its outcome?

RELATED: Pine Nut Gather Moving Ahead Despite Public Outcry.

Filmed at the Butcher Jones Recreation Site on the north side of Saguaro Lake, Tonto National Forest.  Just east of Phoenix, AZ on the Bush Highway.

Like the Virginia Range mustangs, these horses are managed at the state level.

Please drive carefully in the area.

RELATED: Salt River Mustang Killed Along Bush Highway.

A neurological condition of unknown origin has afflicted several wild horses in Waipio Valley, resulting in some deaths, according to a report dated 07/10/18 from Hawaii News Now.

Locals are worried the disease could spread to domestic horses.

The illness may be related to a toxin in spoiled feed.  Blood samples have been collected and tests are in progress.  H/T Kellyerin Claybaugh of Aramat Equine Services.

See this report from CBS4 in Denver dated 07/09/18.  Dry conditions in northwestern Colorado continue.

UPDATE 1: This report from Steamboat Today confirms the existence of a fence that prevents the horses from moving to other sources of water.  So much for self reliance.

UPDATE 2: Added video.

RELATED: Advocates Win Approval to Haul Water to Sand Wash Horses.

On Heber WHT in central AZ.

Birth of a mustang, near Carson City, NV.  Pine Nut Mountains?  H/T Kathy Klossner.

UPDATE: They are Virginia Range horses per Kathy Klossner.

Bachelors playing on the Virginia Range 06/29/18.

Last photo, moments before impact on 06/15/18.  Wonder who did it?  Probably got clocked by a passing hoof.  Still works but will mount it on a better support (pipe panel or T-post).

Raw video from Green Mountain HMA, southeast of Lander, WY, showing how things are, before the helicopters arrive.  Clearly, the horses are in poor condition and the land has been ruined by overgrazing.  H/T Lynn Hanson.

RELATED: Red Desert Gather Announced.

Bait-trapping will begin 07/09/18 with a goal of removing about 250 horses.  There is not enough water for the 2160 horses inhabiting the area, according to a BLM news release dated 07/06/18.  Gather operations are not open to public observation.

The Pancake HMA, which covers 850,000 acres, is southeast of Austin, NV.  Captured horses will be taken to the Indian Lakes off-range corrals in Fallon, NV, where they will be offered for adoption and/or taken to off-range pastures.

Livestock grazing has not been allowed on these lands since 2000.  The target population density of the HMA (at the upper end of the AML) is 0.6 animals per thousand acres.  The pre-gather density is 2.5 animals per thousand acres.

The Pancake Complex includes the Sand Springs West HMA, Pancake HMA, Jakes Wash HA and Monte Cristo WHT.  HMA boundaries are shown in blue, HA borders are red.

Virginia Range bachelors recharging their batteries on 06/29/18.  When the whistle blows, they’ll be back at each other’s throats.

There is no whistle, folks.  That part is fake news.  You knew that, right?

Refer to this BLM news release, dated 07/06/18.  The operation, which starts 08/06/18, will remove over 2600 horses from the five HMAs in the Red Desert Complex (Antelope Hills, Crooks Mountain, Green Mountain, Lost Creek, Stewart Creek).

Helicopters will be used to drive the horses into traps.  The area of interest is southeast of Lander, WY.

Some horses will be returned to the range but most will be put up for adoption and/or placed in off-range pastures.  Gather stats will be posted to this page.

The presence of livestock on these lands was not stated in the announcement.  However, the situation at Stewart Creek HMA is documented in the following video, starting at 4:40 (posted 06/20/17 by The Cloud Foundation).

BLM plans to remove roughly 70 wild horses from the Pine Nut Mountains HA later this month, according to a report dated 07/06/18 in The Record-Courier.  They are found on lands south of the Pine Nut Mountains HMA, which is east of Carson City, NV.

There are no AMLs for herd areas and they are not managed for WHB due to inadequate food and/or water.  But the horses are there.  Similar to the Caliente HA Complex.

The horses are followed closely by the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates group, with photos and videos posted to their FB page daily.

Personnel with PNMWHA are trained to dart mares with PZP, and although the practice is sometimes discussed on FB, they rarely if ever show how it’s done.  The goal of these ‘humane management practices’ is zero population growth.

So when the BLM comes along and decides to remove the horses, how can you argue against it?

Both parties want FEWER HORSES ON THE RANGE.  It’s only a question of technique.