And you thought PZP darting was the only job that could be done by trained monkeys.
Category: Range
On the range
Draft EA for Rock Springs Wild Horse Removal Out for Review
An assessment of the environmental effects of zeroing out the Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek and northern portion of the Adobe Town HMAs has been copied to the project folder for public comment.
Alternative II, discussed in Section 2.2, calls for the removal of all wild horses from the project area.
Map 1 shows the arrangement.
The preferred method would be helicopter drive trapping but roping and bait may also be used.
Operations would commence on July 15, assuming there are no major findings, and would continue until all wild horses are removed, which may require several years.
The comment period will close on April 30 according to the news release.
RELATED: Scoping Begins for Rock Springs Wild Horse Removal.
SCR 4006 Receives Finishing Touches
Today the resolution was signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and delivered to the Secretary of State for filing.
RELATED: House Adopts SCR 4006.
Mustang Monday
From the old days on the Salt River, when wild horses, including foals, roamed on the Sunflower Allotment, sometimes referred to as the Butcher Jones Recreation Area.
BLM Releases Pryor Mountain Final Planning Documents
They were copied to the project folder on March 17.
The Decision Record authorizes a change to the Billings Resource Management Plan regarding genetic diversity, to be followed by a similar decision from the Forest Service.
Other parts of the Proposed Action, discussed in Section 2.3 of the Final EA, will be covered by separate decisions.
Appendix I still refers to outdated registrations for GonaCon Equine. suggesting that accuracy is not a desired characteristic of the planning process.
Recent observations suggest that PZP causes reductions in ovary size and function, described by the writers as a “complementary hypothesis” in a discussion of the direct effects of the pesticide.
Contradictory might be a better term, a rebuttal of the sperm-blocking theory peddled by the advocates.
New Mexico Cattle Growers Association Supports HB 284!
Everybody knows the issue is competition for resources not wrangler safety.
RELATED: New Mexico Legislature Passes Wild Horse Bill.
HB25-1283 Hearing Next Week
The Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee will consider the bill on April 3.
A form for submitting testimony was not provided.
RELATED: HB25-1283 Moves to Senate.
Adobe Town DNA Out for Public Review
The Proposed Action would gather and remove excess horses from the Adobe Town HMA and apply fertility control treatments of unspecified type.
The current population is thought to be 2,438.
No other documents were copied to the project folder.
The description does not indicate when the roundup would occur.
The deadline for submitting comments is April 28.
RELATED: Adobe Town Confusion.
UPDATE: A map of the project area was not included in the DNA but the BLM news release suggests it applies to the portion of the HMA that will not be zeroed-out by the Rock Springs RMP Amendments.
Foal-Free Friday, Cycle of Dependency Edition
The advocacy groups rely on their misguided followers to sustain their ruinous agenda.
They’re constantly inventing new gimmicks to keep them engaged and their donations rolling in.

Their followers depend on the advocacy groups to validate their ill-informed notions about wild horses and the way public lands are managed.
Together, they support legislation that marginalizes the horses in favor of hunters and ranchers.
Some try to masquerade as independent voices but they arrive at the same conclusions and promote the same policies as the advocates, a phenomenon known as groupthink.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Thinking Outside the Box Edition.

House Adopts SCR 4006
The resolution passed 87-4-3 in today’s session.
The measure urges Congress to establish federal protections for the wild horse herd at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
RELATED: Agriculture Committee Approves SCR 4006.
HB25-1283 Moves to Senate
It was referred to the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on March 24 according to the bill history.
RELATED: House Passes HB25-1283.
New Mexico Legislature Passes Wild Horse Bill
It’s headed to the governor’s desk according to a story by The Sandoval Signpost.
The bill targets free-roaming herds in Placitas and Ruidoso.
A similar measure passed in the Senate two years ago but did not advance.
Curiously, Placitas is surrounded by BLM grazing allotments.
RELATED: New Mexico Lawmakers Tackle Wild Horse Problem?
UPDATE: Placitas in Sandoval County is not surrounded by allotments although there are a few to the north and east.
Advocates to Discuss Salt River Wild Horse Sterilization Project
The puppet show will take place on March 29 at the Chandler Museum with Suzanne Roy pulling the strings.
The event is open to the public and there is no charge for admission. according to an undated announcement.

RELATED: Advocates, Not Forest Service, Destroying Salt River Herd.
Mustang Monday
At or near the Liggett Table HMA with Double T Rancher.
Virginia Range Census Results Pending?
An aerial count was carried out December 9 – 11 according to the Animal Industry Report for the March 19 Board of Agriculture meeting,
A BLM statistician is analyzing the data to provide a population estimate.
Foal-Free Friday, Thinking Outside the Box Edition
A 2020 post by the advocates explains habitat loss at the Salt River.
The prescribed course of action, which they were happy to fulfill, was to beat the numbers down with PZP until the population reached an acceptable size—even if it means sterilizing the mares.
How can that be good for the herd?
Why not start a war chest that could be used to buy a base property tied to one of the neighboring allotments and give the horses more space?
Appendix 5 in a 2018 report on forage availability said the Goldfield, Bartlett, St. Clair and Sunflower allotments were most similar in vegetation, soil and topography to the Salt River horse zone.
The horse zone is mostly in Goldfield, which has been closed to livestock grazing.
Sunflower contains Butcher Jones, one of areas where the horses roamed.
It is active while Bartlett and St. Clair are vacant.
Why don’t the advocates have their eyes on these parcels instead of the scopes of their darting rifles?
Agriculture Committee Approves SCR 4006
The resolution survived a roll call vote 11-1-2 in today’s hearing.
RELATED: SCR 4006 Hearing Next Week.
BLM Releases 2025 Wild Horse and Burro Population Dataset
The current population, as of March 1, is thought to be 53,797 wild horses and 19,333 wild burros, compared to AMLs of 22,637 and 2,919, according to the new report.
The total number of HMAs has dropped to 175 from 177, as a result of the Rock Springs RMP Amendments, now under appeal.
Western Horse Watchers was unable to find an announcement at the BLM news site.
The report was posted to the Program Data page.
The facility report has not been updated since September but, as of today, there are probably more wild horses in off-range holding than on the range.
AMLs represent the number of animals allowed by plan, not the number of animals the land can support.
Currituck Herd Grows by One
The first foal of the year has arrived according to a report by WTKR News.
The size of the herd and the number of mares ruined by the advocates are not known.
House Passes HB25-1283
The bill was approved today by a vote of 56-8-1.
It has not been considered by the Senate.
RELATED: HB25-1283 Third Reading Set for Tomorrow.


