Ranchers will continue to pay pennies on the dollar to feed their animals on public lands this year, including areas identified for wild horses and burros.

The price remains at $1.35 per AUM for the new grazing season, which begins on March 1.

The fee applies to nearly 18,000 grazing permits and leases administered by the BLM and nearly 6,250 permits administered by the Forest Service according to a news release dated January 31.

For comparison, the price of hay now stands at $170 per AUM.

The new fee ensures that the American people will not receive a fair return on the use of their public lands in 2024.

RELATED: New Grazing Fee Untouched by Inflation.

The incident began on December 28.  Results through February 8:

• Scope: Sonoma Range HA, East Range HA, Humboldt HA, Tobin Range HMA, North Stillwater HMA, Augusta Mountains HMA
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP, let the herd die off*
• Captured: 2,698, up from 2,560 on Day 41
• Average daily take: 62.7
• Capture goal: 2,875
• Removal goal: 2,875
• Released: 3, no change from Day 41
• Deaths: 26, no change from Day 41
• Shipped: 2,589, up from 2,505 on Day 41

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

The death rate is 1.0%.  Four horses died accidentally, 22 were killed intentionally.

The capture total includes 1,084 stallions, 1,251 mares and 363 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 1,082/1,245/365.

Youngsters represented 13.5% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of eight percent per year.

Of the adults, 46.4% were male and 53.6% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Days 42 and 43.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

Day 43 ended with 80 unaccounted-for animals.

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

With 2,589 horses shipped, and a pre-gather population in Winnemucca of 958, give or take, the off-range corrals should be at 89% of capacity.

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 32,340 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 26,950 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 555
• Pre-gather population: 3,375
• Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
• True AML: Not determined
• Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

• Sonoma Range HA
• East Range HA
• Tobin Range HMA
• Augusta Mountains HMA
• North Stillwater HMA

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 41.

The incident started on February 5 as scheduled, with ten burros captured, none shipped, none released and no deaths.

It’s not open to public observation.

The capture and removal goals are identical at 400 each.

The pre-gather population was not specified.

The reason for removal is private property damage and public safety.

The HMA covers 103,000 acres north of Phoenix and is subject to permitted grazing.

The incident began on December 28.  Results through February 6:

• Scope: Sonoma Range HA, East Range HA, Humboldt HA, Tobin Range HMA, North Stillwater HMA, Augusta Mountains HMA
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP, let the herd die off*
• Captured: 2,560, up from 2,553 on Day 39
• Average daily take: 62.4
• Capture goal: 2,875
• Removal goal: 2,875
• Released: 3, no change from Day 39
• Deaths: 26, no change from Day 39
• Shipped: 2,505, up from 2,378 on Day 39

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

Helicopters could not fly on Day 41 due to fog.

The death rate is 1.0%.  Four horses died accidentally, 22 were killed intentionally.

The capture total includes 1,029 stallions, 1,186 mares and 345 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 1,027/1,180/347.

Youngsters represented 13.5% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of eight percent per year.

Of the adults, 46.5% were male and 53.5% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Day 40.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

Day 41 ended with 26 unaccounted-for animals.

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

With 2,505 horses shipped, and a pre-gather population in Winnemucca of 958, give or take, the off-range corrals should be at 86% of capacity.

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 30,684 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 25,570 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 555
• Pre-gather population: 3,375
• Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
• True AML: Not determined
• Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

• Sonoma Range HA
• East Range HA
• Tobin Range HMA
• Augusta Mountains HMA
• North Stillwater HMA

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 39.

Conditions inside the pens are not posing any danger to the horses and burros, according to today’s news release, but a partial ceiling collapse in the office lobby and unsafe conditions for moving animals to loading areas has necessitated the closure.

The damage was likely caused by the so-called bomb cyclone that tore through California starting on February 4.

The adoption facility covers about 80 acres east of Susanville on Highway 395 and has a capacity of 1,000 animals according to the November 2023 facility report.

At the Pryor Mountain WHR with Lori’s Travels.

The incident began on December 28.  Results through February 4:

• Scope: Sonoma Range HA, East Range HA, Humboldt HA, Tobin Range HMA, North Stillwater HMA, Augusta Mountains HMA
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Sterilize the mares with PZP, let the herd die off*
• Captured: 2,553, up from 2,323 on Day 37
• Average daily take: 65.5
• Capture goal: 2,875
• Removal goal: 2,875
• Released: 3, no change from Day 37
• Deaths: 26, up from 24 on Day 37
• Shipped: 2,378, up from 2,290 on Day 37

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

A mare was put down on Day 38 for a facial fracture, possibly due to collision with a post or pipe panel.  A stallion was dispatched on Day 39 due to a missing eye.

The death rate is 1.0%.  Four horses died accidentally, 22 were killed intentionally.

The capture total includes 1,024 stallions, 1,184 mares and 345 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 1,022/1,178/347.

Youngsters represented 13.5% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of eight percent per year.

Of the adults, 46.4% were male and 53.6% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Days 38 and 39.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

Day 39 ended with 146 unaccounted-for animals.

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

With 2,378 horses shipped, and a pre-gather population in Winnemucca of 958, give or take, the off-range corrals should be at 83% of capacity.

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 30,600 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 25,500 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 555
• Pre-gather population: 3,375
• Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
• True AML: Not determined
• Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

• Sonoma Range HA
• East Range HA
• Tobin Range HMA
• Augusta Mountains HMA
• North Stillwater HMA

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 37.

The December 8 schedule, which greatly increased the scope of the removals, has been supplanted by the February 1 schedule.

The grand totals increased from 20,942 gathered and 19,870 removed to 21,603 gathered and 20,260 removed.

Warm Springs Canyon was replaced by McGee Mountain.

Antelope Hills and Lost Creek were dropped.

Calico was added as an “as built.”

Twin Peaks moved from August to September.

The first part of the schedule corresponds to nonmotorized removal, the domain of the advocates.

These actions support three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED; BLM Massively Expands FY24 Roundup Schedule.

The incident began on December 28.  Results through February 2:

• Scope: Sonoma Range HA, East Range HA, Humboldt HA, Tobin Range HMA, North Stillwater HMA, Augusta Mountains HMA
• Purpose: Pest control, resource enforcement, rancher protection
• Target: Horses
• Type: Planned
• Method: Helicopter
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Better way: Poison the mares with PZP, let the herd die off*
• Captured: 2,323, up from 2,225 on Day 35
• Average daily take: 62.8
• Capture goal: 2,875
• Removal goal: 2,875
• Released: 3, no change from Day 35
• Deaths: 24, no change from Day 35
• Shipped: 2,290, up from 2,192 on Day 35

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

The death rate is 1.0%.  Three horses died accidentally, 21 were killed intentionally.

The capture total includes 940 stallions, 1,080 mares and 303 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 938/1,074/305.

Youngsters represented 13.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of eight percent per year.

Of the adults, 46.5% were male and 53.5% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Days 36 and 37.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

Day 37 ended with 6 unaccounted-for animals.  This result should be zero based on the totals in the sidebar, suggesting there are errors in the daily reports.

The contractor is shipping them the same day they are captured, no animals held back for selective return.

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

Other statistics:

• Forage liberated to date: 27,840 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 23,200 gallons per day
• Horses allowed by plan: 555
• Pre-gather population: 3,375
• Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
• Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
• Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
• True AML: Not determined
• Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
• Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

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

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

• Sonoma Range HA
• East Range HA
• Tobin Range HMA
• Augusta Mountains HMA
• North Stillwater HMA

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 35.

The incident started on January 9.  Results through January 25:

• Target: Burros
• Method: Helicopter
• Type: Planned
• Category: Cruel and costly*
• Goals: Gather 1,000, remove 960
• Better way: Poison the jennies with PZP, let the herd die off*
• Captured: 1,150, up from 1,112 on Day 15
• Shipped: 1,102, up from 900 on Day 15
• Released: None
• Deaths: 2, no change from Day 15
• Average daily take: 67.6
• Unaccounted-for animals: 46

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

Gather activity concluded on Day 16 with 15% overreach.

• Animals taken by helicopter: 1,112
• Animals taken by roping: 38

The death rate is 0.2%.

The capture total includes 461 jacks, 524 jennies and 165 foals.

Youngsters represented 14.3% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 46.8% were male and 53.2% were female.

The name of the contractor was not given and the location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

• Forage liberated to date: 6,900 AUMs per year
• Water liberated to date: 5,750 gallons per day

The Day 17 report said 47 burros will be returned to the HMA, including those treated with the Montana Solution, but only 46 animals were held back according to the totals.

1,150 – 1,102 – 2 = 46

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

The HMA is managed primarily for livestock.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

*According to advocates

RELATED: Black Mountain Roundup, Day 15.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, a leader in nonmotorized removal, pledged $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible, according to a story dated February 1 by The Bulletin of Bend, OR.

The Forest Service did not indicate if the target was female and if it was in foal.

Would you feel better if the advocates were getting rid of them with PZP?

Why hasn’t law enforcement investigated CAAWH for unlawful use of pesticides?

RELATED: Wild Horse Shot, Killed in Big Summit WHT.