Reminder About Sanctuaries

If they don’t include public lands and don’t displace livestock therefrom, they’re not worthy of your support.

Nonprofits operating solely on deeded acreage do the will of the public-lands ranchers.

The model employed by American Prairie gives hope to wild horses.

They buy base properties tied to grazing allotments and flip the preference to bison.

The problem in the wild horse world is that those who claim to be voices for the horses are actually servants of the ranchers.

If the Public Lands Council isn’t howling about your project, you’re not doing it right.

WaPo Op-Ed Calls for Horse Slaughter?

The editors placed it behind a paywall so the identity of the writer is not known.

Western Horse Watchers will not subscribe to any news source, whether it’s written by liberals or conservatives.

Foal-Free Friday, the Great Disconnect Edition

The advocates tell us that wild horses face competition from livestock, unfair resource allocations and shrinking habitats but their solution—mass sterilization—aligns with and can only aggravate the problem.

The ranchers couldn’t have asked for more feckless opponents.

Why are you still giving them money?

Eighth Annual Devil’s Garden Roundup Ends Early

The incident concluded on September 30.

The documented capture total, based on the daily reports, is 268, including 120 stallions, 121 mares and 27 foals.

The capture goal was 350.

Youngsters accounted for 10.1% of the sample.

Of the adults, 49.8% were male and 50.2% were female.

The average daily take was 7.7.

The death rate, based on the stated capture total of 276, was 2.5%.

Body condition scores were not given.

The number of animals shipped is not known.

The operation liberated 3,216 AUMs per year.

The WHT is subject to permitted grazing.

BLM Issues Antelope-Triple B Final Planning Documents

The Decision Record authorizes Alternative A, the Proposed Action, discussed in section 2.4 of the Final EA.

Details of the new HMAP can be found in Appendix XIII.

No changes to AMLs or authorized AUMs
Forcible removal
Application of fertility control pesticides
Skewing of sex ratios in favor of males
Monitoring of genetic diversity
Massive interference in natural order

Recall the rallying cry in the Nevada Current op-ed: “America’s wild horses have faced competition from livestock, unfair resource allocation, and shrinking habitat for generations.”

How does the new plan fix any of that?

It doesn’t. The only change the advocates want is more government spending on services they provide.

Defund the Advocates Day Set for December 2

In some circles it’s known as Giving Tuesday but think of it as an opportunity to give the advocates the boot.

BLM Approves Nuisance Roundup at Pinehurst School

The Decision Record authorizes the Proposed Action, discussed in Section B of the Categorical Exclusion, clearing the way for bait-trap removal of six wild horses that have strayed from the Pokegema HMA onto school property.

A map of the project area was not provided but the incident would probably take place near Highway 66 on the west side of the HMA based on the school address.

The news release did not indicate if Oregon was a fence-out state and if the barrier around the school meets the requirements of a legal fence.

Funding for the operation would come from ______________________.

BLM Publishes McGregor Auction Results

Bidders paid $1,051,726 for 14,116 AUMs, or $74.50 per AUM according to today’s news release, suggesting that the American people are not receiving a fair price for grazing on term permits, which is currently set at $1.35 per AUM.

BLM to Remove Wild Horses and Burros from Centennial HMA

The incident will begin on October 4.

The removal goal is 270 but the actual number of horses and burros is flexible.

A helicopter will push the animals into the traps.

Operations will not be open to public observation.

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

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

The HMA overlaps the northern half of the naval air weapons station at China Lake.

The news release did not indicate if the animals were confined to the area by fencing or if the advocates had offered to sterilize the mares and jennies with PZP.

BLM land adjacent to the facility is subject to permitted grazing.

Funding for the roundup will come from __________________________.

Mustang Monday

At the Green Mountain HMA with Wyoming PBS.

High-Frequency Radar System to Affect Coyote Lake Wild Horses?

The proposal would withdraw approximately 5,000 public acres from settlement, sale, location and entry under the general land laws, subject to existing rights, and reserve the area for military purposes.

The BLM news release does not include a map or link to a NEPA project but a notice in the Federal Register gives the townships, ranges and sections which can be found in the PLSS layer of the ArcGIS Viewer.

Most of the project area is in the Coyote Lake HMA, or, if you prefer, the Coyote Lake Allotment, with a small portion in 15-Mile Community.

The Air Force would place two transmitters in Christmas Valley according to an article by Oregon Public Broadcasting. The facility on BLM land, about 150 miles to the southeast, would contain two receivers.

The project area covers 16 sections, for a total of 10,240 acres, so the withdrawn lands would be somewhere inside the blue box in the following map.

Comments will be accepted through December 29.

No FY26 Budget, No FY26 Roundup Schedule

The House passed a continuing resolution that would fund the government through November 21 but it failed in the Senate.

Republicans need at least eight Democrat votes in that chamber to get it across the finish line according to a report by The Hill.

Any amendments would send it back to the House, which is not in session.

Another option is a partial government shutdown.

As of today, a FY26 schedule has not been posted to the BLM gather page.

The advocates will not receive any new funding for their PZP sterilization programs until FY26 appropriations bills have been signed into law and maybe then, given the desire to cut federal spending, not at all.

The new fiscal year begins on October 1.

BLM Pulling Wild Horses and Burros from Cañon City Prison

The off-range corrals will close at the end of November according to a report by The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

The decision was financially driven.

Animals currently at the facility will be transferred to corrals in Wyoming and Utah.

UPDATE: The CDOC news release says that approximately 100 horses taken from Colorado HMAs will be placed into private care within the state.

Eighth Annual Devil’s Garden Roundup, Day 30

The incident started on August 27.

The documented capture total through September 25 is 209, including 92 stallions, 98 mares and 19 foals.

Youngsters accounted for 9.1% of the sample.

Of the adults, 48.4% were male and 51.6% were female.

The average daily take is 7.0.

A horse died on Day 30 for unspecified reasons, bringing the total deceased to 7.

The death rate is 3.3%.

The Forest Service does not include deceased animals in the daily breakdowns.

Body condition scores were not given.

The number of animals shipped is not known.

The operation has liberated 2,508 AUMs per year.

The WHT is subject to permitted grazing.

Foal-Free Friday, Finding Common Ground Edition

The legacy contractors use helicopters to take wild horses off the range.

Other suppliers use baited traps.

The advocates prefer ovary-killing pesticides.

Although their methods differ, they are united by a shared goal.

Propaganda, Not Education, Coming to Virginia City

Now they’re billing it as education and awareness.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses will serve cookies and hot cider on October 23 as they try to convince you that mass sterilization is a humane alternative to motorized removal.

How stupid do you have to be to believe anything from these phonies?

Leadership Shakeup at Wild Horse Transition Team

John Mack has left the group over disagreements with founder Jacquelyn Hughes as to how many horses should be removed from the Salt River herd according to a report by Phoenix New Times.

That shifts management responsibilities to Hughes for five years if AZDA was to select her proposal, which is not her style.

As a wild horse removal contractor, she wants to get in, get the job done and move on to the next opportunity.

By contrast, the Salt River advocates have stayed the course, which is necessary to sterilize the mares.

BLM Mulls Stone Cabin Emergency Roundup?

The agency published a signed decision on August 7 for temporary water hauls in the Stone Cabin and Willow Creek allotments, which contain the HMA.

A DNA worksheet was also copied to the project folder.

The decision document says on page three that water is the most effective tool for distributing cattle on arid lands and that the animals are unlikely to venture more than two miles from a water source, linking permitted grazing to riparian deterioration.

In response to a comment from the Nevada Department of Animal Agriculture, the BLM indicated that it may consider removal of wild horses if conditions persist. Refer to item 1 in Exhibit 3.

The Drought Monitor puts the project area in category D2, severe drought.

Persons who participated in the planning process have until September 30 to dispute the plan.

Eighth Annual Devil’s Garden Roundup, Day 25

The incident started on August 27.

The documented capture total through September 20 is 177, including 74 stallions, 86 mares and 17 foals.

Youngsters represented 9.6% of the sample.

Of the adults, 46.3% were male and 53.8% were female.

The average daily take is 7.1.

A horse was dispatched on Day 18 for unspecified reasons, followed by another on Day 21, bringing the total deceased to 6.

The death rate is 3.4%.

Body condition scores were not given.

The number of animals shipped is not known.

The operation has liberated 2,124 AUMs per year.

The WHT is subject to permitted grazing.

Mustang Monday

At the southwest corner of the Virginia Range with Jeff Martinez. Check out the darting injury at 2:09. The advocates are trying to convince the bureaucrats and ranchers that they can be as ruthless as the helicopter pilots and wranglers.