Bait traps will be used to remove approximately 800 wild horses from the Nevada Wild Horse Range, according to a BLM news release posted this morning.  Helicopters will not be used.

Insufficient water was cited as the reason for the roundup, which begins today or tomorrow.  Gather operations will not be open to the public.

The HMA covers 1,301,637 acres and has an AML of 500, for a target population density of 0.38 animals per thousand acres.  It is the largest HMA in the Nevada, perhaps in the nation, but is part of Nellis Air Force Base and therefore has no public access.

The Nevada Wild Horse Range is one of three areas in the western U.S. managed primarily for wild horses.  Livestock grazing does not occur there.

Captured animals will be taken to the Palomino Valley Holding Corrals north of Reno, NV and Ridgecrest Holding Corrals in Ridgecrest, CA, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and prepared for adoption.  On the bright side, this will be the first time these horses have been seen by the public, due to the security requirements of their home range.

Gather stats and day-to-day reports can be found at this page.

On 07/27/18, the BLM asked for public input on an environmental assessment for bait trapping in the Spring Creek Basin HMA.  Refer to this news release for details.  No wild horse removals are planned at this time.  The HMA is in southwest Colorado near the Utah border.

An advocacy group that works with the BLM to manage the herd gives some background on the case at this post.  Like other HMAs, the Spring Creek horses are subject to fertility control.

The HMA covers 21,932 acres and has an AML of 65, for a aimed-at population density of three animals per thousand acres, a bit higher than the national average of one animal per thousand acres (all HMAs).  Note from the map that the herd area (red border) is about twice the size of the herd management area (blue border).  HAs don’t have AMLs and are not managed for WHB due to inadequate resources.

The horses may graze the entire area if they’re not fenced in.  Not a big problem unless livestock have been placed there.  The ranchers will protest and eventually demand a roundup.

Keep in mind the red border marks an area set aside for horses in 1971.

The news release did not indicate if livestock were present on the HMA.

Now for some wild horse tech.  The following chart shows the population target for HMAs in Utah as a function of HMA size.  Conclusions drawn therefrom:

• Most HMAs are smaller than 300,000 acres
• Most AMLs are 300 animals or less
• AMLs are more-or-less proportional to HMA size

There are eight HMAs with an average size of 55,000 acres and average AML of 44 (some data points are so close to each other they overlap on the chart).  A line starting at (0, 0) would pass through (55, 44).

If population is proportional to size, an HMA four times as large as the reference group should have an AML four times larger than that group.  If x = 220, y= 4 × 44 = 176.  The two HMAs of that size (Onaqui Mountain and Muddy Creek) have an average AML of 168, which is close.

Extending the line to x = 440 gives y = 352, a bit less than the nearest observed AML of 390, but not bad.  That data point represents the largest HMA, Cedar Mountain.

If WHB population is proportional to HMA size, population density should be constant across the HMAs (and can be estimated from the slope of the imaginary line).  That will be the subject of the next post in this series.

RELATED: Utah HMA Stats.

Trailcam image of free-roaming bucks on the Virginia Range.  Probably the last ones, thanks to those damn horses.

• They’re a non-native species
• They’re overpopulated
• They have no natural predators
• They’re not special (mostly escaped ranch stock)
• They damage rangelands
• They’re a threat to wildlife

Livestock are blameless, always.  That’s the wild horse narrative in a nutshell.  You’re supposed to conclude that wild horses are bad for the environment and should be removed.  Removal was the answer all along, but it had to be justified.

BLM announced today that 149 horses would be removed from the Muddy Creek HMA in central Utah, beginning in August.  Overpopulation and dry conditions were cited as the reasons for removal.  Fertility control will be applied to the remaining horses to slow population growth.

The news release did not indicate if helicopters would be used for the roundup and if it will be open to public observation.  The presence of livestock on the HMA was not discussed nor the destination of captured animals.

A link for the gather reports and daily stats was not provided.

The Muddy Creek HMA covers 283,400 acres and has an AML of 125, for a target population density of 0.44 animals per thousand acres.  It’s managed for wild horses and burros.

On White Mountain HMA (Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour).

Short one from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit.  Filmed 07/22/18.

RELATED: Horses of the Badlands.  Other videos from TRNP posted to the Index under ‘Mustang Monday.’

Virginia Range mustang looks back, as if calling to other band members.  Elevation 6500 feet.  Most land is privately owned.

This has been in the news for a few days but was not formally acknowledged by the BLM until yesterday.  Bait trapping will be used beginning in late August, to remove up to 60 horses from the Little Bookcliffs Wild Horse Range near Grand Junction, CO.

Overpopulation was cited as the reason for the gather.  Horses younger than five years of age will be the focus of the operation.

Captured animals will be taken to a BLM facility in Cañon City, CO, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and prepared for adoption.

Little Bookcliffs Wild Horse Range is one of just three areas in the western U.S. managed primarily for wild horses.  Livestock grazing does not occur there.

The post-gather population density, based on 130 horses remaining and 36,113 acres of land available for grazing, is 3.6 animals per thousand acres, considerably higher than the national average of one animal per thousand acres on BLM-managed lands.  But it’s one of the smaller HMAs managed by the agency.

A page for viewing day-by-day gather statistics has not been created as of today.

See also this report in The Daily Sentinel posted 07/27/18.

On the Pony Express Trail, which passes through the Onaqui Mountain HMA.  Video is a bit jumpy but tolerable.  H/T Janice Vander Molen.

RELATED: Story of the Onaqui Horses.

A spokesperson for the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates said the planned roundup of wild horses on the Pine Nut Mountain Herd Area won’t happen, according to a report published yesterday in Nevada Appeal.

BLM argued there is not enough food and water to support the 78 horses that currently roam there and was preparing to remove all but 26.  The Herd Area covers more than 100,000 acres, which means the post-gather population density would be less than 0.26 animals per thousand acres, almost nothing.

See also this story in Carson Now, posted 07/27/18.

RELATED: One if by Helicopter, Two if by Trap.

Camping on the barrier islands of Maryland.  H/T Cassidy Sienna.

Mustangs on the Virginia Range, 06/15/18.  Ten animals per thousand acres up there, compared to one animal per thousand acres on lands managed by the BLM.  The carrying capacity of the land might be higher than previously thought.

It’s a 24-mile long gravel road that runs along the southern border of White Mountain HMA, beginning at Green River, WY.  Refer to this page for directions.  The area is marked by numerous Herd Areas (red borders), where wild horses were found in 1971 (when the WHB Act became law), but today have no AMLs and are not managed for horses.  Were they zeroed out to make room for livestock grazing?

Pilot Butte, seen in the following video, was a landmark used by pioneers in their westward migration.  Horses roaming the hills are remnants of that era.

BLM announced today that gather operations would commence next week on the Bible Springs Complex and Sulphur HMA in southwestern Utah.  The complex includes the Four Mile, Bible Springs and Tilly Creek HMAs.  The news release included the Blawn Wash region in the complex, but it is a herd area north of Four Mile.

The gather will be open to public observation.

Captured animals will be taken to an off-range facility in Axtell, Utah, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and prepared for adoption.  Gather stats can be found on this page.

The four HMAs cover 427, 349 acres and have a combined AML of 420, for a target population density of one animal per thousand acres.

The news release did not indicate if dry conditions were a factor in the decision to remove horses and if livestock were present on the HMAs and surrounding lands.

In southern Colorado, near the Sanchez Reservoir?  Feeding wild horses not recommended.

RELATED: Wild Horse Mesa.

Virginia Range bachelors thunder by on 06/29/18.

BLM announced today that it had ended bait-trapping operations at the Bullfrog HMA, with 404 wild burros removed from public and private lands near Beatty, NV.

Gather stats indicated two deaths, but details were not provided.  The number of burros remaining was not given.

Animals were shipped to an off-range facility in Axtell, UT, where they will be seen by a veterinarian and prepared for adoption.

RELATED: BLM to Gather Burros from Bullfrog HMA Starting Next Week.

The dispute between advocates and the BLM continues, regarding the disposition of wild horses in the Pine Nut HMA / Fish Springs HA near Carson City, NV.  WHB Specialist John Axtell said the BLM prefers to bait-trap the animals but will use helicopters if advocates “get in the way.”

Refer to the story posted yesterday by Nevada Appeal.  Every photo therein shows the horses behind fences.  Why is that?  To keep them away from busy roads?  Or away from food and water (that belongs to, ahem, cough-cough, livestock)?

The horses are no longer self-reliant.

Those in the photos look fine.  Presumably, the photos were taken during the six-hour field trip and not pulled from a file.

The stated AML of 179 applies to the Pine Nut HMA.  Does the stated population of 775 horses correspond to the HMA or the HA?  Probably the latter.  There is no AML for herd areas.  The figures should be reported on a consistent basis.

Assuming the HA (red and blue borders in the map) is twice the size of the HMA (blue border), maybe a bit larger, the total available land is about 210,000 acres.  That gives a population density of 3.7 animals per thousand acres.

A few miles to the north, on the Virginia Range, the population density is 10 animals per thousand acres and the horses up there look good.  (Look at the photos posted on these pages since mid June.  Go to the index and scroll down to ‘Virginia Range.’)

RELATED: Opponents of Fish Springs Roundup Protest in Reno.

The burro struck by an arrow in Reche Canyon, south of San Bernardino, CA, was captured yesterday and is receiving treatment, according to a report posted 07/23/18 by KTLA 5 News in Los Angeles.

Authorities are still searching for the shooter.  The reward for information on the person or persons responsible has been increased to $2000.

RELATED: Wild Burro Hit in Ear with Arrow.