The Save Our Wild Horses conference starts next week in Reno against a backdrop of the largest wild horse sterilization effort in the nation.

Volunteers with the Campaign Against America’s Wild horses are driving the breeding population into the single digits, with 11 foals born this year to a herd of almost 3,500.

Many of the mares are at risk of sterility.

The same is true at the Salt River in Arizona, where CAAWH facilitates another wild horse eradication program.

Both herds will reach the tipping point this year, a threshold passed by the Assateague herd over ten years ago.

With too many nonviable mares, the herd is imploding and the only way to save it is to bring in horses from other areas.

RELATED: If PZP Is Reversible, Why Hasn’t Assateague Herd Rebounded?

An undated report by the Park Service indicates the population in March was 73, including 30 stallions and 43 mares, down from 75 in March of last year and 76 in March 2022.

Ten deaths and eight births were recorded since the last report.

For years the advocates pointed to the herd as a model of wild horse management.

Now they’ve swept it under the rug because it contradicts their lies about PZP.

The herd exhibits characteristics for which the pesticide is famous:

• Sterile mares
• Abnormal sex ratio
• Tiny breeding population
• Increasing death rate
• Irreversible decline

This is what the advocates want for all wild horse herds.

RELATED: No Growth for Assateague Herd in Latest Census.

Horses have the day off.  At the Lake Pleasant HMA with Randy Donahoo.

Get out of the classroom and see how many barren mares you can find on the Virginia Range.

Should be easy.

Last week the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal, reported that only eleven foals have been born this year to a population of nearly 3,500, thanks to them.

The herd is reaching the tipping point.

Although publicly CAAWH denies that PZP is a sterilant (refer to following video), its own literature states otherwise.

Refer to the Advocatespeak Decoder for the meaning of “self-boost.”

The conference provides an opportunity for organizers and attendees to denounce the sterilization effort, which will spread to other areas once the bureaucrats and ranchers realize its finality.

Condemnation forthcoming?  Don’t bet on it.

RELATED: Backdrop for Saving Wild Horses Conference: Mass Sterilization.

Not on the east coast and not out west but horses in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways will.

An article by the Park Service puts the town of Eminence in the zone of totality and with it most of the park.

The Pulltite Campground is on the western edge.  Click on image to open in new tab.

An interactive map by NASA shows the track across the U.S.  The event occurs April 8.

Just a few miles away from the conference site, center of frame in this photo, advocates with the Campaign Against Wild Horses are poisoning the Virginia Range mares with PZP, an ovary-killing pesticide.

RELATED: Side Trips While in Reno for SOWH Conference.

The AML would be 545 and the stocking rate would be 7.9 animals per thousand public acres.

The allotment, located southeast of Harper, OR, offers 6,538 active AUMs on 68,844 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report.

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 give credence to the story with their darting programs.

If it was an HMA, the AML would be 70 and 475 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

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

A U.S District judge ruled that the BLM cannot conduct maintenance roundups under its ten-year plans after it achieves AMLs, according to a news release dated April 1.

The decision may put an end to the agency’s long-term decisions where it gathers wild horses over ten-year intervals without taking public comment or examining new data.

The incident started on February 5.  Results through March 26:

• Scope: Lake Pleasant HMA
• Target: Burros
• Type: Planned
• Method: Bait
• Goals: Gather 400, remove 400
• Captured: 183, up from 144 on Day 22
• Shipped: 180, up from 93 on Day 22
• Released: None
• Deaths: 3, no change from Day 22
• Average daily take: 3.6
• Unaccounted-for animals: 0

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

No activity was reported between February 28 and March 25.

The death rate is 1.6%.

The capture total includes 78 jacks, 80 jennies and 25 foals.

Youngsters represented 13.7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 49.4% were male and 50.6% were female.

The HA and HMA are the same size.  The area is subject to permitted grazing.

• Forage liberated to date: 1,098 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 915 gallons per day

There are no plans to treat any of the jennies with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

The roundup targets animals that are damaging private property and creating a public safety hazard, purposes for which PZP was not authorized.

The incident supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Lake Pleasant Roundup, Day 22.

The AML would be 598 and the stocking rate would be 10.1 animals per thousand public acres.

The allotment, located south of Harper, OR, offers 7,180 active AUMs on 59,439 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report.

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 reinforce the narrative with their darting programs.

If it was an HMA, the AML would be 60 and 538 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

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

At or near the Cibola-Trigo HMA with Mr.GruntyPants.

“PZP is reversible.”

The pesticide pushers cooked up the sperm-blocking theory to make it seem like it was, even though they knew it wasn’t.

RELATED: If PZP Is Reversible, Why Hasn’t Assateague Herd Rebounded?

The event runs from April 17 to 19 at the Grand Sierra Resort as explained in a March 29 news release.

If you’re tired of being propagandized about HMAPs, fertility control and the wonders of public-lands ranching, not necessarily by the presenters but by other conferees and hangers-on, here are some options for quick getaways:

Velma’s Burial Site – Mountain View Cemetery, along I-80 west of hotel.  Refer to the map in this video.

Virginia City – Go south on 580, take exit 25B and turn left onto State Route 341 about a mile ahead.  When you get to the top you’ll hit a straightaway known as Five Mile Flat, where you may see wild horses.  For a scenic detour through the residential area and a better chance to see some Virginia Range mustangs, turn left onto Cartwright then right onto Lousetown at the fire station.  Lousetown will take you back to 341 and Virginia City.  The best time to see wild horses in this area is May and June.

Tahoe Reno Industrial Center – Go north on 580 from the hotel, then east on I-80 to State Route 439, USA Parkway.  You may see wild horses in this area but few if any foals thanks to the advocates.  Highway 439 runs south to Highway 50, where you can go west to Carson City then north back to the hotel on 580.  As you go west on 50, horses on the right are probably Virginia Range and horses on the left are Pine Nut Mountains but there is some intermixing.  The Pine Nut HMA also features barren mares, courtesy of the advocates.

RELATED: Tough Choices: SOWH&W Conference Overlaps FREES.

The case centered around the absence of a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) for the Complex, which would summarize the management goals for the area and the actions required to achieve them.

The judge stated that “Engaging in the decision-making of an HMAP without actually preparing an HMAP could therefore deprive interested parties of the administrative review processes to which they are entitled,” according to a news release on EIN.

What is the overarching goal of rangeland management in areas identified for wild horses and burros?  Ranching superiority, with few exceptions.

HMAPs cannot change that.  Management priorities and resource allocations are documented in the land-use plans which are beyond the scope of the order.

RELATED: Reading the Pancake Tea Leaves.

The BLM allows 11,987 wild horses and 824 wild burros on 14,032,947 public acres in Nevada, according to the statistics released earlier this week.

The current population is thought to be 28,314 wild horses and 3,804 wild burros.

The Nevada WHR and Marietta WBR are not subject to permitted grazing so let’s deduct their acreage, AMLs and current populations from the totals.

• Nevada WHR – AML is 500 wild horses, no BLM acreage (land controlled by DoD), current population is 337 horses
• Marietta WBR – AML is 104 wild burros, 64,466 BLM acres, current population is 38 horses and 556 burros

The management plans for Nevada HMAs allow 11,487 wild horses and 720 wild burros on 13,968,481 public acres, compared to a current population of 27,939 horses and 3,248 burros.

That’s equivalent to 11,487 + (720 ÷ 2) = 11,847 horses allowed by plan on 13,968,481 public acres, compared to a current population of 27,939 + (3,248 ÷ 2) = 29,563.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is 11,847 ÷ 13,968,481 × 1.000 = 0.8 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 acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres), so Nevada comes up on the short side of the target.

The current stocking rate is 29,563 ÷ 13,968,481 × 1,000 = 2.1 wild horses per thousand public acres.

We know from previous discussion that BLM allotments in Nevada can support 4.3 wild horses per thousand public acres, for an estimated carrying capacity of 0.8 + 4.3 = 5.1 wild horses per thousand public acres, which surpasses the current stocking rate by a factor of 2.4.

You don’t have a wild horse problem, you have a resource management problem.

For every horse allowed on Nevada public lands, five have been consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

The HMAs in Nevada should be able to support an additional 60,000 wild horses.

The advocates couldn’t care less.  They want to end wild horse reproduction, not public-lands ranching.

To wit, here is the arithmetic they understand and use on a daily basis:

0.5 cc PZP solution + 0.5 cc modified Freund’s Complete Adjuvant = 1 dose of primer

0.5 cc PZP solution + 0.5 cc modified Freund’s Incomplete Adjuvant = 1 dose of booster

Give one primer and five to six boosters until the mares are sterile.

RELATED; Foal-Free Friday, Holier Than Thou Edition.

The incident will begin on or about April 1 and will not be open to public observation according to today’s news release.

Horses will be drawn into the traps with bait.

The capture and removal goals are identical at 350 each.

There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

The Complex consists of nine former HMAs in eastern Nevada.

It’s unfit for wild horses but currently supports a population of 1,022 plus an untold number of privately owned livestock.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Axtell, Delta and Sutherland Utah.

Receiving only lukewarm support from Congress in the form of FLPMA, PRIA and the Burns Amendment, the bureaucrats have embarked on a long-term plan of nullifying the WHB Act through the planning process, one HMA at a time.

So says the writer of an opinion piece in today’s edition of the Reno Gazette Journal.

But it can support privately owned livestock equivalent to 173,000 wild horses!

BLM allotments in the state offer 2,081,076 active AUMs on 40,194,360 public acres according to the Allotment Information Report at RAS.

That’s equivalent to 173,423 wild horses on 40,194,360 acres, or 4.3 wild horses per thousand public acres.

This brings more distress to the bureaucrats and ranchers, who 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).

To find the active AUMs, add the numbers in column Q of the unfiltered dataset.

You’ll have to filter the data for duplicate rows to get the total public acreage.

The author of the commentary affiliates with the Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands.

RELATED: Ranchers Fighting Proxy War Through Wildlife Groups?

The incident concluded today with 22 burros captured, 19 shipped, none released and three dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

The death rate was 13.6%.

The capture total included six jacks, fifteen jennies and one foal.

Youngsters represented 4.5% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 28.6% were male and 71.4% were female.

There were no plans to treat any of the jennies with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

The roundup supported three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: McGee Mountain Roundup Starts Next Week.

UPDATE: The BLM news release said the incident restored a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple-use relationship, codewords for maximizing rancher prosperity.

There were an estimated 73,520 wild horses and burros on BLM-managed public lands as of March 1, compared to 82,883 animals at the same time last year, according to today’s news release.

The number of animals in off-range holding was 64,382 as of January 22.

Between 2020 and 2023, the agency removed about 50,000 wild horses and burros from said lands, compared to 27,000 animals between 2016 and 2019.

Overpopulation means more horses and burros than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses and burros than the land can support.

AMLs are small relative to the available resources because most of them have been assigned to privately owned livestock—a practice the advocates should be fighting instead of perpetuating.

RELATED: FY24 to See More Horses and Burros Off the Range Than On?

On the Virginia Range with wrightwood92397.