It’s dated September 27 but was not there when Western Horse Watchers checked the page on September 28.
An article by KX News indicates that the horses to be removed will be mares and their foals and yearlings.
Category: Range
On the range
Motorized Equipment Hearing Set for October 10
The Forest Service will host the meeting ahead of the Devil’s Garden and Montogomery Pass roundups according to a September 30 report by Sierra Daily News.
Western Horse Watchers is not aware of any hearings for nonmotorized removal, the domain of the advocates.
RELATED: Seventh Annual Devil’s Garden Roundup Announced.
Mustang Monday
At the Salt River with Mommabird Arizona.
If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of East and West Y U Bench et al
The allotments overlap an area known as Y U Bench near Cody, WY, where livestock fencing was modified to facilitate pronghorn migration.
They offer 3,793 active AUMs on 35,181 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report.
The forage assigned to horses is zero.
How many wild horses could live there?
Using the principle of forage interchangeability, the True AML would be 317, the number of horses the land could support if it was managed principally for them as specified in the original statute.
The stocking rate would be nine wild horses per thousand public acres.
Why is this important?
The bureaucrats and ranchers claim that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).
The advocates, defeated a long time ago and now in their camp, reinforce the narrative with their darting programs.
If the allotments were an HMA, the AML would be 35 and 282 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.
BLM allotments in Wyoming carry livestock equivalent to 158,425 wild horses on 17,312,214 public acres, or 9.2 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, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana.
RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.
Park Service to Remove Bison and Horses from TRNP?
The incident will begin on October 5, according to a report by KFYR News, with 400 bison captured and 200 removed.
On October 18, 200 wild horses will be captured and 15 removed.
A helicopter will push the animals into the traps and operations will not be open to public observation.
Western Horse Watchers was unable to find an announcement at the TRNP news page.
A link to the NEPA analysis covering the action was not given.
The location of gather stats and daily reports is not known.
Fences Not the Only Problem at Y U Bench?
Volunteers with the Absaroka Fence Initiative and nearby community modified over two miles of barbed wire fence on Y U Bench southeast of Cody, WY to facilitate the migration of the Carter Mountain pronghorn herd, according to a BLM news release.
The changes maintain functionality for livestock grazing.
The offending allotment was not identified.
The National Data Viewer shows numerous allotments in and around Y U Bench, all in the Cody Field Office.
Western Horse Watchers searched the Allotment Master Report for parcels containing “Bench” and selected five.
- South YU Bench
- Lower YU Bench
- YU Bench East
- YU Bench West
- Bench
The report puts all of them in the Improve category, another indication that our stewards of the public lands are not taking their responsibilities seriously.
The event was covered by the Cody Enterprise in a September 12 article, but nobody explained why the permittees aren’t accountable for wildlife-friendly fences.
Perhaps the fences are just a symptom and the real problem is animal agriculture, along with its enablers, cheerleaders and collaborators.
Wild horses and burros might have a few things to say about that.
Y U Bench lies between the McCullough Peaks and Fifteenmile HMAs, not shown in the following map. Click on image to open in new tab.
RELATED; Winners of 2024 Stewardship Awards Announced.
On National Public Lands Day
The one-horse pony made it official in this proclamation.
It’s a reminder that wild horses have been cheated by the bureaucrats in favor of the ranchers with the cooperation of the advocates.
Twin Peaks Gather Page Created
You can follow the action, set to begin on September 30, here.
RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup Announced.
Best Use of Twin Peaks AUMs?
The HMA sits on top of nine grazing allotments, discussed in Section 3.2.2 of the Final EA for pest control and resource enforcement therein.
The map in Appendix H shows the arrangement (page 103 in the pdf).
The National Data Viewer indicates that some of the allotments extend beyond the HMA boundary, taking with them a small percentage of the active AUMs, but that will be ignored in this report.
The management plan allows 758 wild horses in the HMA plus 116 wild burros.
These animals require 758 × 12 + 116 × 6 = 9,792 AUMs per year.
The Allotment Master Report provides management status, acreage and active AUMs.
The allotments offer 26,803 active AUMs per year on 656,475 public acres.
Approximately 99% of that acreage is in the Improve category.
The AUMs would support 2,234 wild horses, on top of the 758 allowed by plan.
The pre-gather population of 1,800 is well within this range.
Current management practices give the resource to the ranchers, who pay $1.35 per AUM, while consigning 2,234 wild horses to off-range holding at a cost of $5 per head per day.
The cash flow in this scenario, Alternative A, is:
1.35 × 26,803 – 2,234 × 5 × 365 = -$4,040,865.95 per year
The Proposed Action, Alternative B, would shift the resource back to the horses by confining the ranchers to their base properties, for a cash flow of zero.
No income from grazing, no expenditure for off-range holding, with net savings to taxpayers of $4 million per year.
RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup Announced.
If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of East Walker, Lucky Boy and Nine Mile
The permits on these allotments, located west of Hawthorne, NV, are up for renewal.
They offer a combined 5,102 active AUMs on 71,998 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report.
The forage assigned to horses is zero.
How many wild horses could live there?
Using the principle of forage interchangeability, the True AML would be 5,102 ÷ 12 = 425, the number of horses the land could support if it was managed principally for them as specified in the original statute.
The stocking rate would be 425 ÷ 71,998 × 1,000 = 5.9 wild horses per thousand public acres.
Why is this important?
The bureaucrats and ranchers tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).
The advocates, defeated a long time ago and now one of their allies, give their assent through their darting programs.
If the allotments were an HMA, the AML would be 72 and 353 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.
BLM allotments in Nevada carry 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, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana.
RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.
Scoping Begins for Wyoming Honor Farm Contract Renewal
One document has been copied to the project folder.
A forthcoming environmental assessment will evaluate the wild horse gentling and adoption partnership between BLM Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Corrections as well as other alternatives, according to today’s news release.
Comments will be accepted through October 23.
Mustang Monday
In eastern Kentucky with sxs rides.
Relationship Between Active AUMs and Permitted Use
The Allotment Master Report provides both.
In this example from the Blue Wing Allotment in Nevada, C-Punch Ranch receives 14,058 active AUMs but the permitted use is 25,864.
Which one represents the forage allocation for livestock?
Sometimes the BLM moves AUMs into the suspended column because of fires, drought, solar arrays, mines, etc.
Those AUMs can shift back to active use when conditions improve or after the useful life of the project.
The relationship between these variables is:
Active AUMs = Permitted Use – Suspended AUMs
or
Permitted Use = Active AUMs + Suspended AUMs
Western Horse Watchers uses active AUMs when comparing forage allocations for wild horses and livestock.
Can Horses and Cattle Coexist?
Anything to dispute in this audio segment from KLCC Radio in Eugene, OR?
Bullfrog Scoping Begins
A management evaluation has been copied to the project folder for public review.
Comments will be accepted through October 18.
RELATED: New Pest Control Plan for Bullfrog HMA?
UPDATE: The BLM announced the project one week into the comment period. The evaluation indicates on page 9 that there is no livestock grazing inside the HMA.
Winners of 2024 Stewardship Awards Announced
The Rangeland Stewardship Award in the permittee category went to Fitzgerald Ranch of Plush, OR according to a BLM news release dated September 17.
The Operator Information Report at RAS tied the ranch to authorizations 3600601 and 3601273.
The Allotment Information Report linked the authorizations to these allotments:
- 3600601 – NORTHEAST WARNER
- 3601273 – SHALE ROCK, FITZGERALD FFR, COYOTE-COLVIN, ABERT SEEDING, SOUTH RABBIT HILLS
The Allotment Master Report provides management status, public acres and active AUMs.
Approximately 92% of the public acres are in the Improve category, suggesting that our stewards of the public lands are not taking their responsibilities seriously.
The allotments support livestock equivalent to 1,427 wild horses on 298,288 public acres, or 4.8 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The bureaucrats and ranchers tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand public acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).
The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Public Lands Council.
End of Line for Kisatchie Horses?
The Army base is now Fort Johnson, not Fort Polk, according to a story by The Advocate of Baton Rouge, LA.
The number of horses remaining in the forest is unknown.
An advocacy group filed suit claiming the Army’s plan to eliminate the horses violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act but the courts ruled in favor of the military, who views the herd as trespass livestock.
Although the group rescued around 100 animals, they have separated the males from the females, suggesting there are no plans to preserve the resource.
RELATED: Louisiana’s Fort Polk Horses a Unique Genetic Resource?
Foal-Free Friday, Gaslighting Your Supporters Edition
The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses oversees an innovative fertility control program on the Virginia Range according to an August 31 news flash distributed by Lucky Three Ranch.
It’s designed preserve the wild horse herd.
The advocates shoot the females with pesticide-laced darts.
After five years of treatment they become sterile.
The program is now in its sixth year.
The mares enjoy a well-deserved break from the demands of nursing and pregnancy, allowing them to maintain strong health and a steady weight.
The fillies, also targeted, thrive without the strain of early pregnancy, giving them the time they need to grow strong and healthy.
As the older horses die.
Does it make sense now?
Thank God for the wild horse advocates.
RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Abandoning Principal Use Edition.
Hold Your Horses: Little Book Cliffs Roundup Not Complete
Yesterday’s news release says it’s over although some horses are still being sorted to determine which ones will receive fertility treatments, moved to different areas of the HMA or taken to a holding facility.
The gather page indicates 59 unaccounted-for animals.
A report by The Colorado Sun indicates that a mare, 24 years old and underweight—but with foal—was dispatched on Day 8 after she broke her leg.
The foal went to a local ranch.
The roundup is not over until the disposition of every captured animal is known.
RELATED: Little Book Cliffs Roundup, Day 7.
Another BLM Outage
The system is down again. None of the wild horse and burro pages, including ePlanning and the National Data Viewer, are responding.
