Category: Range

On the range

Roberts Mountain Roundup Starts Next Week

The incident will begin on or about October 22.  Three HMAs are affected.

The capture goal is 1,106 and the removal goal is 1,068.

Helicopters will push the horses into the traps and operations will be open to public observation.

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.

The current population is thought to be 1,161.

The AML, the number of horses allowed by plan, is 110 – 184.

The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and the beneficiaries thereof, not named in the news release.  Click on image to open in new tab.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management:

  • Pest control
  • Resource enforcement
  • Rancher protection

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Axtell, UT.

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

RELATED: Decision Published for Roberts Mountain Complex.

Roberts Mountain Complex with Allotments 10-16-23

Richfield Base Property Available for $25 Million

The ranch includes 7,942 deeded acres east of Richfield, UT, with grazing preference on approximately 80,000 state and federal acres, according to the agent’s listing.

The operator runs approximately 350 cow/calf pairs year around.

In addition to forage on public lands, the owners feed hay produced from valley operations as well as purchased hay.

The agent’s map links the deeded acreage, shown in red, to six BLM allotments, shown in yellow, and one FS allotment, shown in green.

The National Data Viewer shows the BLM allotments.  The FS allotment is south of North Cove Mountain and west of Bear Valley in the Fishlake NF.

The allotments do not intersect any wild horse or burro areas.

Richfield Base Property with Allotments 10-16-23

The Operator Information Report at RAS ties Annabella Land & Cattle to Authorization #4305032.  The Allotment Information Report ties the authorization to Bear Valley, Gypsum, North Cove Mountain and Salls Meadow.

A keyword search of the Allotment Master Report yielded four instances of “Annabella,” consistent with the Allotment Information Report.

The permittees on the two remaining allotments may be DBAs or lessees but this was not explained in the listing.

Information about the Forest Service allotment can be found in the 2023 AOI.

An outlay of $25 million obtains access to a miniscule 558 AUMs per year on BLM land and roughly 483 AUMs per year on FS land.  Not a great deal in your host’s opinion.

The price tag would break the budget of the new adoption partnerships program, but nobody said public-lands ranching was for the little guy.

Calico Roundup, Day 15

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 15:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

No horses were caught on Days 14 and 15.

The trap and temporary holding pens were moved to another undisclosed location on Day 15.

The contractor dispatched a mare on Day 14 due to low body condition score and loss of teeth.

The death rate is 3.3%.

The capture total includes 168 stallions, 235 mares and 45 foals.

Youngsters represented 10.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of five percent per year.

Of the adults, 41.7% were male and 58.3% were female, suggesting the herd has an abnormal sex ratio.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 15 ended with no unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.  As of today, all returned animals have been stallions.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,636 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 3,030 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area 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.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 13.

Calico Roundup, Day 13

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 13:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 12 and 13 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on both days.

The contractor euthanized a stallion on Day 13 due to low BCS and lameness.

The death rate is 3.1%.

The capture total includes 168 stallions, 235 mares and 45 foals.

Youngsters represented 10.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of five percent per year.

Of the adults, 41.7% were male and 58.3% were female, suggesting the herd has an abnormal sex ratio.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 13 ended with 65 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.  As of today, all returned animals have been stallions.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 4,056 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 3,380 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area 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.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 11.

BLM Offers $7.5 Million for WHB Adoption Partnerships

The opportunity is open to local and state governments, tribes, other federal agencies and nonprofit organizations through January 15, according to today’s news release.

Proposals will support off-range activities related to placement of wild horses and burros into private care, such as training, outreach and compliance inspections.

An additional funding opportunity related to research may be announced in November and another in December for on-range projects such as application of fertility control.

The agency did not indicate if the solicitation was related to the falling out with MHF.

One possibility would be to seek funding to acquire a base property, update the livestock type and season of use for the allotments attached thereto, and place adopted horses or burros on public lands, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana and as Madeliene Pickens tried to do for horses in Nevada.

Calico Roundup, Day 11

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 11:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

There was no gather activity on Day 10.

The location of the trap site on Day 11 was not given.

The average body condition score on Day 11 was 3.

The contractor euthanized a mare on Day 10 due to an infection.

The death rate is 3.4%.

The capture total includes 149 stallions, 193 mares and 35 foals.

Youngsters represented 9.3% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of four percent per year.

Of the adults, 43.6% were male and 56.4% were female.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 11 ended with 55 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.  As of today, all returned animals have been stallions.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,204 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 2,670 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area 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.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 9.

Moriah Roundup Announced

The incident will begin on or about October 16 according to today’s news release.

The capture and removal goals are identical, 400 each.

The current population is thought to be 550.

A helicopter will push the horses into the trap and operations will be open to public observation.

The HA covers 53,312 total acres east of Ely, NV, just inside the Utah state line.

The AML is zero.

Moriah intersects three grazing allotments according to the National Data Viewer, Muncy Creek, Devil’s Gate and Smith Creek.

The Allotment Master Report puts Muncy Creek in the Maintain category, the other two were unclassified.

The allotments offer a combined 20,054 AUMs per year on 293,664 public acres, for a weighted average 68.3 AUMs per year per thousand public acres, equivalent to 5.7 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Not bad for an area that’s unfit for wild horses.

The target rate across all HMAs is one wild horse per thousand acres.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Sutherland, UT.

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

RELATED: What Happened to the Moriah HMA?

Calico Roundup, Day 9

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 9:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 8 and 9 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 4 to 5 on both days.

The contractor euthanized a mare on Day 8 because of a snake bite, followed by two stallions and a mare on Day 9 due to blindness.

The death rate is 3.6%.

The capture total includes 135 stallions, 172 mares and 30 foals.

Youngsters represented 8.9% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of four percent per year.

Of the adults, 44.0% were male and 56.0% were female.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 9 ended with 119 unaccounted-for animals.  Given that 86% of captured mares have been shipped, but only 2% of the stallions, this group is probably dominated by males and will be used to tilt the post-gather sex ratio in favor thereof.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,672 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 3,060 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area 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.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 7.

Calico Roundup, Day 7

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 7:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 6 and 7 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Day 6 and 4 to 5 on Day 7.

The contractor executed a mare on Day 6 because of an ulcerated cancer of the withers, followed by a stallion on Day 7 due to a previous leg fracture.

The death rate is 2.8%.

The capture total includes 112 stallions, 152 mares and 24 foals.

Youngsters represented 8.3% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of three percent per year.

Of the adults, 42.4% were male and 57.6% were female.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 7 ended with 104 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,084 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 2,570 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area 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.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 5.

Picacho Roundup, Day 38

The incident started on August 24.  Results have been sporadic, typical for bait trap removal.

The sidebar at the gather page shows 101 burros captured and 101 shipped through September 30.

The daily reports yield 100 captured and 119 shipped.

No deaths were reported.

The capture total includes 71 jacks, 22 jennies and 7 foals.

Youngsters represented 7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 76% were male and 24% were female.

The location of the trap site was not given.

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

RELATED: Picacho Roundup in Progress.

Pichaco Burro Removal 08-22-23

Alamo Roundup, Day 71

The incident started on July 19.  Results have been sporadic, typical for bait trap removal.

The sidebar at the gather page shows 85 burros captured and 85 shipped through September 27.

The daily reports yield 87 captured and 83 shipped, with four missing in action.

No deaths were reported.

The capture total includes 75 jacks, 10 jennies and two foals.

Youngsters represented 2.3% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 88.2% were male and 11.8% were female.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

The comment period for the new pest control plan closes on October 11.

RELATED: Alamo Roundup in Progress.

Alamo HMA Map with Allotments 06-06-23

New State Law Threatens Reche Canyon Burros?

SB 371, signed on September 1 by California Governor Gavin Newsom, allows an officer or employee of a local animal control agency, or a nonprofit organization that contracts with a county to provide services to undomesticated burros, to

  • Remove an undomesticated burro that strays onto private land
  • Remove an undomesticated burro that strays onto a public roadway
  • Provide medical care to undomesticated burros, including euthanasia
  • Relocate an undomesticated burro to an appropriate facility or private adopter

The bill gives the local animal control agency the sole discretion to declare the burros unfit for return to the range and to deem them fit for re-release to an appropriate facility or private adopter.

An undomesticated burro is a burro that has not been tamed or domesticated for a period of three years after its capture and is not protected by the federal government under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

New Cattle Guard to Contain Little Book Cliffs Horses?

The new guard will tie into an existing fence to deter wild horses from moving from the WHR onto other grazing allotments, according to the project description.

The CX, signed on September 22, says the 16-foot guard will be installed on the V2/10 dirt road open to all modes of transportation.

The road has no movement restriction, allowing wild horses to leave the WHR.

The National Data Viewer puts it in the Red Rock Allotment, between the WHR and Redrock Point.  Click on map to open in new tab.

By the time the horses reach the device, they will be far off the reservation.

The CX was copied to the project folder on October 6.  There were no opportunities for public comment.

RELATED: The Sad Story of Sweetheart and Boone.

Little Book Cliffs Cattle Guard 10-07-23

Calico Roundup, Day 5

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 5:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 4 and 5 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on both days.

Three horses were put down on Day 4 because of injuries and infections, followed by two more on Day 5.

The death rate is 2.8%.

The capture total includes 81 stallions, 115 mares and 16 foals.

Youngsters represented 7.5% of the animals gathered, suggesting that the herd is growing at a rate of two to three percent per year.

Of the adults, 41.3% were male and 58.7% were female.

Approximately 85% of the captured mares have been shipped, with only 4% of the captured stallions, consistent with a plan to skew the sex ratio in favor of males.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 5 ended with 60 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 2,172 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 1,810 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
  • True AML: Undetermined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
  • Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

You can have your wild horse and burro program as long as it doesn’t interfere with the grazing program.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 3.

Advocates Bawling about Loss of Frost?

How many of them spend their free time poisoning the Virginia Range mares with Zonastat-H or provide material support to those who do?

Where’s the justice for the hundreds of foals that should be there but aren’t?

Tracy “You need to manage the numbers to fit what’s available for the horses” Wilson, defeatist, pesticide pusher and ranching sympathizer with the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, appears at 1:34.

CAAWH, a leader in nonmotorized removal, operates the VR darting program.

RELATED: Advocates Protest as VR Stallion Killer Appears in Court.