Category: Range

On the range

Thriving Ecological Imbalance at Silver King HMA

Table 3 in the Management Evaluation Report gives the allotments that overlap the HMA, including the percentages therein.

The 128 horses allowed by plan receive 1,536 AUMs per year on 574,962 public acres according to the 2025 population dataset, or 0.2 animals per thousand public acres.

The Allotment Master Report provides management status, acreage and active AUMs.

In this case, three field offices are involved so three reports were run.

Caliente

  • Wilson Creek
  • Geyser Ranch
  • Pioche
  • Rattlesnake
  • Ely Springs
  • Highland Peak

Bristlecone

  • Fox Mountain
  • Sunnyside

Basin & Range

  • Narrows

The figures were copied into an Excel spreadsheet as follows:

Silver King livestock receive an estimated 30,356 AUMs per year, assuming the resource is evenly distributed across the allotments, twenty times more than the horses.

The HMA can only support 128 wild horses but it can support livestock equivalent to 2,530 wild horses, for a True AML of 2,658 or 4.6 animals per thousand public acres.

Your faithful public servants claim that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (25,500 animals on 25.6 million acres).

The advocates prop up the fairy tale with their darting programs.

RELATED: Scoping Begins for Silver King HMAP.

BLM Imposes Murderer’s Creek DNA

A new project containing one document was opened today in ePlanning and public comments were not requested.

The DNA asserts that a 2024 Environmental Assessment fully analyzes and discloses the effects of the Proposed Action, which isn’t in the EA and was not analyzed.

Instead, the agency concurs with the Forest Service in adopting a modified Alternative 4 that updates the AML, approves an HMAP and authorizes the removal of excess animals from the JMA.

RELATED: Forest Service Issues Murderer’s Creek Final Planning Documents.

Save Our Wild Horses Conference Moves to Colorado

The event runs from May 23 to 26 in Craig according to a news release on PRN.

A link to the agenda was not provided but some information is available at Save Our Wild Horses and Wildlife.

Last year’s conference in Reno produced a manifesto for HMAPs but now that the plans are rolling out the advocates have opted for another brand of snake oil.

Day 2 includes a tour of Wild Horse Refuge, an example–but not a shining example–of a wild horse preserve.

Day 3 includes a trip to Sand Wash Basin, perhaps to rub shoulders with the pesticide pushers and pay homage to the ranchers.

The last day features a trip to Salt Wells Creek, to be zeroed out this summer in the year’s largest roundup.

Not because of drilling and mining as the advocates would have you believe, but because of permitted grazing.

Who Benefits from Little Book Cliffs Seeding?

The project map indicates that one quarter to one third of the seed will fall in Lane Gulch, an area not in the HMA but in the Red Rock Allotment.

The Allotment Master Report puts it in the Improve category, another sign that your stewards of the public lands are not taking their responsibilities seriously.

The BLM proposed the installation of a cattle guard on the north side of Lane Gulch in 2023 with the goal of containing the equine pests.

RELATED: BLM to Augment Forage at Little Book Cliffs?

How to Win the Salt River Management Contract

As stated previously:

1. Acquire or nominate land that meets the requirements of a base property.

2. Attach it to one or more vacant allotments in the Tonto National Forest, such as St. Clair or Bartlett, and change the livestock type to horses.

3. Move the horses from the contested area to their new and much larger home.

4. Obtain a court order blocking the advocates from the area.

RELATED: State Not Happy with Salt River Sterilization Program?

If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of Wall Canyon West

The allotment, site of a spring improvement project and new livestock pen, borders the Fox Hog HMA on the north side.

The Allotment Master Report puts it in the Improve category, suggesting that your stewards of the public lands have not been taking their responsibilities seriously.

The permittees receive 2,609 active AUMs on 36,475 public acres.

If the area was designated for wild horses, how many could live there?

The forage assigned to livestock is equivalent to 217 wild horses, or 5.9 per thousand public acres.

Your faithful public servants claim that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (25,500 animals on 25.6 million acres).

The advocates reinforce the narrative with their darting programs.

If the allotment was an HMA, the AML would be 36 and 181 wild horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

BLM allotments in Nevada support livestock equivalent to 173,144 wild horses on 40,194,360 public acres, or 4.3 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring base properties associated with grazing allotments and flipping the preference to horses.

RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.

Fifteenmile DNA Out for Review, No Announcement

A new project has been opened in ePlanning with comments due by June 13.

The DNA asserts that a 2018 EA covers the Proposed Action, which would capture most of the horses in the HMA and return up to 100 in a ratio of 60% males to 40% females.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides.

Ideally, the incident would occur in the fall but it is not on the latest schedule.

UPDATE: The news release appeared after this post went live.  The HMA, considerably smaller than the HA, is subject to permitted grazing.

BLM Dispatches Pryor Stallion, Advocates Cry Foul

The order was given because he had a body condition score of 2 and a poor prognosis for recovery according to a report by KULR News.

Advocates with The Cloud Foundation argued that his condition was normal for a horse coming out of winter and that the agency should “…let nature call the shots.”

They don’t believe that!

Although the culling of unfit horses occurs most frequently during roundups, it is an ongoing process and is not limited thereto.