BLM Publishes Gibellini Final Planning Documents

The DR and Final EIS were copied to the project folder on October 23.

BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in the October 26 news release that responsible development of critical minerals is central to the clean energy transition, adding that the BLM is leading the way with efficient and collaborative permitting processes as it builds a sustainable supply chain to power a clean energy future.

When did they put that up for a vote?

They didn’t. They’re cramming it down our throats while sabotaging traditional energy sources that are clean, dependable and affordable.

Iron-Fisted Government 11-08-23

They don’t believe in consent of the governed. Rather, they believe in big, bloated, overreaching, iron-fisted, authoritarian government.

A twist in the story, since the Draft EA was put out for review, is that Nevada Vanadium purchased Fish Creek Ranch, the source of water for the mine, for $4.2 million.

Livestock and hay were sold.

Fish Creek Ranch was a base property with grazing preference on the Fish Creek Ranch Allotment.

The permittee was Bench Creek Ranch.

A Rangeland Management Specialist with the Battle Mountain District indicated last week that that they had not been notified of the sale and that the permit was on hold until they could get further information.

The Allotment Master Report puts Fish Creek Ranch in the Improve category, with 4,815 active AUMs on 289,292 public acres.

The allotment overlaps the Fish Creek HMA.

Scoping Begins for Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Removal

The BLM and Forest Service seek public input on proposed gathers outside the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory in Mono County, CA.

The horses have migrated west to Mono Lake and are a safety concern for motorists traveling on Highways 6 and 120.

They may also be consuming forage intended for livestock, but this was not stated in today’s news release.

The scoping letter has been copied to the project folder in ePlanning.

The WHT has an AML of 138 to 230. It’s not listed on the WHT home page.

An aerial survey in 2020 counted 654 horses, with most of them outside the WHT.

The BLM is the lead agency preparing the environmental assessment and the Inyo National Forest would be the lead agency for an initial gather.

The Forest Service announcement directs traffic to ePlanning.

Comments will be accepted through December 7.

Roberts Mountain Roundup Marked Complete

The incident concluded yesterday, with 858 horses captured, 847 shipped, one released and ten dead.

There were no unaccounted-for animals.

The capture and removal goals were 1,106 and 1,068, respectively.

The death rate was 1.0%. Horses lost in the Day 9 truck rollover were not included in the total.

The capture total included 338 stallions, 397 mares and 123 foals.

Youngsters represented 14.3% of the animals gathered, suggesting the herd was growing at a rate of 9% per year.

Of the adults, 46.0% were male and 54.0% were female.

The number of horses removed cannot be determined at this time.

Up to 19 mares were to be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned to the range with up to 19 stallions.

The number of horses shipped on Day 11 was changed from 50 to 52.

A stallion was released, perhaps by accident, on Day 14. No details were given.

The operation supported three tenets of rangeland management:

Pest control
Resource enforcement
Rancher protection.

Three HMAs were affected.

The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments. Click on image to open in new tab.

Roberts Mountain Roundup, Day 15

The incident began on October 22. Results through November 5:

Scope: Roberts Mountain, Whistler Mountain, Fish Creek HMAs
Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly*
Better way: Sterilize mares with pesticide-laced darts*
Captured: 858, up from 817 on Day 13
Average daily take: 57.2
Capture goal: 1,106
Removal goal: 1,068
Returned: None
Deaths: 9, up from 6 on Day 13
Shipped: 774, up from 668 on Day 13

The location of the trap site was not given.

Gather operations concluded on Day 15 but shipping will continue for another day or two.

A filly was put down on Day 15 because of club feet. Two mares were also dispatched because of blindness.

The death rate is 1.0%. Horses lost in the Day 9 truck rollover are not included in the total.

The capture total includes 338 stallions, 397 mares and 123 foals.

Youngsters represented 14.3% of the animals gathered, suggesting the herd is growing at a rate of 9% per year.

Of the adults, 46.0% were male and 54.0% were female.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 5 on Days 14 and 15.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 15 ended with 75 unaccounted-for animals.

Data quality has been good.

Up to 19 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned to the range with up to 19 stallions.

Other statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 10,296 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 8,580 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Undetermined
True AML: Undetermined
Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not more horses than the land can support. If this was not true, you’d see body condition scores of 3 or less.

The roundup was authorized because the horses have been trying to reclaim some of their food from the ranchers, not because they’re starving.

CAAWH Releases Year 4 Darting Summary for Virginia Range

The Year 4 Report has been available for months at its darting resources page, but it contained some incriminating information that has been scrubbed from the summary.

So the statement in today’s announcement about releasing the Year 4 results should say re-releasing (and sanitizing) them for its gullible/uninformed/misinformed audience.

The aim of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses is to convince you that removal by pesticide is better than removal by helicopter.

Better Way 10-25-23

They don’t want you asking why removal occurs or if it’s even necessary.

Let’s set the record straight:

PZP is a pesticide, not a vaccine. It’s not reversible. Damage begins with the first injection and progresses to sterility after five consecutive years.
The darting program is now in its fifth year, the point of no return. Many of the mares are now at risk of sterility.
This is intentional, a design feature, not a drawback. They are not having second thoughts.
Additional benefits include abnormal sex ratios, increased death rates and loss of genetic diversity.
The goal is to establish a fully contracepted herd that dies off, as the Park Service envisions for the horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Sterilizing mares with pesticide-laced darts does not qualify as conservation or protection.
Permitted grazing occurs on BLM land in the south. Getting rid of the horses helps the ranchers.
CAAWH advocates for hunters, ranchers and bureaucrats who manage the public lands for their benefit, not wild horses.

The darting program update for October has not been posted as of this morning but is expected this week.

Pesticide Pushers 07-17-23

Mustang Monday

At the southwest corner of the Virginia Range with Jeff Martinez.

The absence of youngsters is not an accident.

Roberts Mountain Roundup, Day 13

The incident began on October 22. Results through November 3:

Scope: Roberts Mountain, Whistler Mountain, Fish Creek HMAs
Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly*
Better way: Sterilize mares with pesticide-laced darts*
Captured: 817, up from 761 on Day 11
Average daily take: 62.8
Capture goal: 1,106
Removal goal: 1,068
Returned: None
Deaths: 6, up from 4 on Day 11
Shipped: 668, up from 551 on Day 11

The location of the trap site was not given.

A mare was put down for blindness in one eye on Day 12, a non-life-threatening condition, followed by another on Day 13.

The death rate is 0.7%. Horses lost in the Day 9 truck rollover are not included in the total.

The capture total includes 319 stallions, 379 mares and 119 foals.

Youngsters represented 14.6% of the animals gathered, suggesting the herd is growing at a rate of 10% per year.

Of the adults, 45.7% were male and 54.3% were female.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 6 on Days 12 and 13.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 13 ended with 143 unaccounted-for animals.

Up to 19 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned to the range with up to 19 stallions.

Other statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 9,804 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 8,170 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Undetermined
True AML: Undetermined
Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not more horses than the land can support. If this was not true, you’d see body condition scores of 3 or less.

The roundup was authorized because the horses have been trying to reclaim some of their food from the ranchers, not because they’re starving.

BLM Posts Video of Wild Horse and Burro Grant Webinar

The event was planned for September 28.

Clan Alpine Roundup Announced

The incident will begin on or about November 7 according to the BLM news release.

A helicopter will push the horses into the trap and operations will be open to public observation, probably from a distance.

The capture and removal goals are 1,594 and 1,381, respectively.

Up to 81 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned the range with up to 121 stallions.

The target zone is approximately 60 miles east of Fallon, NV in Churchill County.

The 979 horses allowed by plan require 11,748 AUMs per year.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is 3.3 wild horses per thousand acres, three times higher than the target rate across all HMAs of one wild horse per thousand acres.

The current population is thought to be 1,661 plus this year’s foals.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals at Palomino Valley.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.

The HMA and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

It is the same size as the HA and the management plan assigns more forage to horses than livestock. Click on map to open in new tab.

Reno to Install New Barrier for Virginia Range Mustangs

A $500,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act will pay for the project, according to a report by KTVN News.

Councilwoman Naomi Duerr said the money will help them fully fence the range, which probably means the portion inside city limits.

Foal-Free Friday, Channeling Alternative C Edition

The Park Service has proposed the removal of wild horses from Theodore Roosevelt National Park under two scenarios, Alternatives B and C.

In option B, horses would be forcibly removed to quickly reduce the herd size to zero.

Alternative C corresponds to a fully contracepted herd that dies off after some of the horses are removed.

The Park Service designated option C as the Proposed Action (preferred option).

The plan faces stiff opposition, especially from the advocates.

At the Salt River, Virginia Range and McCullough Peaks, you have fully contracepted herds, or nearly so, that are dying off, but the advocates offer no opposition.

They think it’s great!

So who’s fooling whom?

What they really want is a contract with the Park Service to carry out Alternative C.

The pesticide of choice would likely be Zonastat-H.

Pesticide Patrol 08-16-23

Roberts Mountain Roundup, Day 11

The incident began on October 22. Results through November 1:

Scope: Roberts Mountain, Whistler Mountain, Fish Creek HMAs
Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly*
Better way: Sterilize mares with pesticide-laced darts*
Captured: 761, up from 589 on Day 9
Average daily take: 69.2
Capture goal: 1,106
Removal goal: 1,068
Returned: None
Deaths: 4, no change from Day 9
Shipped: 551, up from 501 on Day 9

The location of the trap site was not given.

The death rate is 0.5%. Horses lost in the Day 9 truck rollover were not included in the death count.

The capture total includes 295 stallions, 351 mares and 115 foals.

Youngsters represented 15.1% of the animals gathered, suggesting the herd is growing at a rate of 10% per year.

Of the adults, 45.7% were male and 54.3% were female.

Body condition scores ranged from 4 to 5 on Days 10 and 11.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 11 ended with 206 unaccounted-for animals.

Up to 19 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned to the range with up to 19 stallions.

Other statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 9,132 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 7,610 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Undetermined
True AML: Undetermined
Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

Assateague Pony Census, October 2023

The herd on the Maryland side of the island consisted of 15 bands and 81 horses according to the October 27 inventory.

Last update was in July.

Seven foals were born this year, seven years after the darting program was shut off.

The pesticide of choice was Zonastat-H, a favorite of the advocates.

Not included in the report:

Ratio of females to males
Size of breeding population
Number of sterilized mares

The BLM WHB Handbook indicates the breeding population should exceed 50 animals to maintain an acceptable level of genetic diversity.

The Assateague Island Alliance updates the lists.

Picacho Roundup Over

The incident concluded on September 30, with 101 burros captured, 101 shipped, none released and no deaths, according to figures in the sidebar.

The daily reports yield 100 captured and 119 shipped.

The capture total included 73 jacks, 21 jennies and 7 foals.

Youngsters represented 7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 78% were male and 22% were female.

Two areas on the California side of the Colorado River were targeted.

CAAWH Admits Virginia Range Mares Are Sterile?

A Virginia Range mare named Saddle Shoe is 11 years old and likely won’t have any more foals, according to a story dated October 31 by the Lassen County Times.

Why?

Because mares can’t conceive after age 10? No.

Because stallions won’t breed older mares? No.

Because advocates with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses ruined her with Zonastat-H? Probably.

The writer points to the mare as a beneficiary of the darting program, now in its fifth year, not a victim.

And with five consecutive years of use, there are likely many more such mares.

The darting program proves there’s no need for mass roundups, crowded holding corrals and permanent sterilization—because the advocates are sterilizing them inconspicuously, much to the delight of the bureaucrats and ranchers.

Results of Darting Program 11-01-23

The article was likely drafted by CAAWH staff to draw attention to themselves and their wrongheaded ideas.

Roberts Mountain Roundup, Day 9

The incident began on October 22. Results through October 30:

Scope: Roberts Mountain, Whistler Mountain, Fish Creek HMAs
Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Helicopter
Category: Cruel and costly*
Better way: Sterilize mares with pesticide-laced darts*
Captured: 589, up from 511 on Day 7
Average daily take: 65.4
Capture goal: 1,106
Removal goal: 1,068
Returned: None
Deaths: 4, no change from Day 7
Shipped: 501, up from 347 on Day 7

The location of the trap site was not given.

The death rate is 0.7%.

The capture total includes 229 stallions, 270 mares and 90 foals.

Youngsters represented 15.3% of the animals gathered, suggesting the herd is growing at a rate of 10% per year.

Of the adults, 45.9% were male and 54.1% were female.

Body condition scores ranged from 4 to 5 on Days 8 and 9.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Day 9 ended with 84 unaccounted-for animals.

Up to 19 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned to the range with up to 19 stallions.

Other statistics:

Forage liberated to date: 7,068 AUMs per year
Water liberated to date: 5,890 gallons per day
Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Undetermined
True AML: Undetermined
Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

UPDATE: A note was added to the Day 9 report after this post went live: A truck carrying 36 captured horses overturned outside of Delta, UT. Three were killed, four were humanely euthanized and many suffered minor cuts and bruises. The remaining horses were taken to a holding facility in Delta where they continue to be evaluated and monitored by the on-site veterinarian. The driver was not injured. The cause of the accident is under investigation.