How Did Mustang Monument Rate as a Wild Horse Refuge?

The plan was to convert the Spruce Allotment to a wild horse eco-sanctuary with a capacity of 900 animals.

The base property consisted of approximately 14,000 deeded acres with grazing preference on over 500,000 public acres.

The facility included public lands, would displace livestock therefrom and had a land ratio of roughly 36 public acres for every deeded acre.

Mustang Monument Scorecard 01-05-25

The downside was that it overlapped three HMAs, resulting in the loss of up to three breeding populations, which is unacceptable.

The resort offered high-end guest accommodations, fine dining and other amenities, which are not necessary for a wild horse refuge.

Sand Wash Advocate Illustrates Unlawful Use of Pesticides

Image from the Year One Report by the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group.

Finding: Failure to wear proper PPE
Standard: Zonastat label
Parties involved: Little Snake Field Office, Sand Wash Advocate Team

Sand Wash Advocate 01-04-25

A diploma from the Billings School of PZP Darting and Public Deception won’t protect you from criminal investigation.

Fortunately, those who would look into the matter want the horses gone as much as those pulling the trigger, so there’s not much to worry about.

Court Sides with Forest Service in Big Summit Appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s ruling granting summary judgment for the U.S. Forest Service in its decision to approve the Ochoco Herd Management Plan.

The court rejected all of the plaintiffs’ claims according to the January 3 ruling, allowing the plan to go forward.

The agency is currently renovating a facility near Prineville that will house wild horses removed from the WHT.

Although the case cited the availability of winter forage as the limiting factor in setting the AML, there was no discussion of the forage assigned to livestock in the Reservoir Allotment, which overlaps most of the WHT.

BLM to Launch Wild Horse Annie Donations Website?

The program would allow individuals to donate up to $249 per year to support the protection and management of wild horses and burros on public lands according to the Off-Range Report for the January 7 WHBAB meeting.

The report does not acknowledge that the land can support many more animals than the government admits and that the wild horse and burro program has become a grazing program ancillary.

Thriving Ecological Balance-3

BLM to Hire Full-Time Fertility Control Coordinator?

The position was advertised in the fall and human resource actions are in progress according to the On-Range Report for the January 7 WHBAB meeting.

The opening was not announced at the BLM news site but may have been distributed on socialist media or sent directly to the advocacy groups.

Mass Sterilization and Motorized Removal 08-10-24

WHBAB Meeting Materials Now Available

Reports for the January 7 meeting have been copied to the Advisory Board home page.

UPDATE: The event will be livestreamed starting at 8 AM local time.

Murderer’s Creek Roundup, Day 35

The incident started on November 29. Results through January 2:

Scope: Murderer’s Creek HMA, WHT
Target: Wild horses
AML: 140
Pre-gather population: 650
True AML: TBD
Type: Emergency
Method: Bait
Capture goal: 350 – 400
Removal goal: 350 – 400
Captured: 193, up from 190 on Day 31
Shipped: 186, up from 168 on Day 31
Released: None
Deaths: 4, no change from Day 31
Average daily take: 5.5
Unaccounted-for animals: 3
Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

No reports were given for Days 33 and 34.

The death rate is 2.1%.

The capture total includes 66 stallions, 84 mares and 43 foals.

Youngsters represented 22.3% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 17% per year. The Rule of 72 says the herd size will double in 4.2 years.

Of the adults, 44.0% were male and 56.0% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio in the population at large.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The name of the contractor was not provided.

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

No decisions have made regarding the long-term disposition of horses, which means they could be treated or altered in off range holding, including the stallions.

The status of livestock grazing in the burned area is not known.

Foal-Free Friday, R.I.P. Edition

The 118th Congress has termed out and with it two bills that threatened wild horses.

HR 3656 – The Wild Horse and Burro Sterilization Act
HR 726 – The Veterans for Pesticides Act

Tell your elected representatives you want wild horses managed the way Velma and the 92nd Congress intended, not the way the advocates and their political allies envision.

Socialist Media Update for December 2024

Traffic from Facebook and Twitter accounted for 8.6% of the total during the month, consistent with the new normal established a year and a half ago.

Western Horse Watchers is not on socialist media and never will be.

Traffic from Socialist Media Dec-24 01-02-25

Moffat County Base Property Available for $14.4 Million

Sevens Ranch offers 17,666 deeded acres intermixed with 49,557 acres of BLM and State lands for a total of 67,223, according to the listing.

The map indicates it has preference on the Disappointment and Cedar Springs Draw allotments.

The Allotment Master Report puts both in the Improve category but shows no active AUMs on either, contrary to the agent’s description.

The allotment dataset posted last April shows 1,610 active AUMs on 22,304 public acres for Disappointment and 2,758 active AUMs on 20,161 public acres for Cedar Springs Draw, equivalent to 364 wild horses on 42,465 public acres, or 8.6 wild horses per thousand public acres. (Our faithful public servants tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand public acres.)

Buyers should ask the Little Snake Field Office about the AUM discrepancy.

The ranch might be a candidate for Colorado’s new wild horse preserve.

Sevens Ranch Scorecard 01-01-25

The land ratio is 2.8 public acres for every deeded acre, so it’s close.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring private property associated with grazing allotments and flipping the preference to horses as Wild Horse Refuge did at Rio Ro Mo Ranch.

New Year, Same Lies

The advocates never stop.

New Year Same Lies 01-01-25

PZP is a restricted-use pesticide that tricks the immune system into attacking the ovaries, resulting in sterility after five years of treatment.

Fish Creek Gather Page Created

The action begins on or about January 6.

Go to this page for the daily reports.

RELATED: Fish Creek Roundup Announced.

Murderer’s Creek Roundup, Day 31

The incident started on November 29. Results through December 29:

Scope: Murderer’s Creek HMA, WHT
Target: Wild horses
AML: 140
Pre-gather population: 650
True AML: TBD
Type: Emergency
Method: Bait
Capture goal: 350 – 400
Removal goal: 350 – 400
Captured: 190, up from 183 on Day 25
Shipped: 168, no change from Day 25
Released: None
Deaths: 4, no change from Day 25
Average daily take: 6.1
Unaccounted-for animals: 18
Snippet from statute: It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death
Snippet from manual: To protect wild horses and burros from unauthorized capture, branding, harassment or death

No reports were given for Days 26 through 30.

The death rate is 2.1%.

The capture total includes 66 stallions, 82 mares and 42 foals.

Youngsters represented 22.1% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of 17% per year. The Rule of 72 says the herd size will double in 4.2 years.

Of the adults, 44.6% were male and 55.4% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site was not disclosed.

The name of the contractor was not provided.

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

No decisions have made regarding the long-term disposition of horses, which means they could be treated or altered in off range holding, including the stallions.

The status of livestock grazing in the burned area is not known.

Walden Base Property Available for $13.5 Million

Double R Ranch covers 3,676 deeded acres with grazing privileges on 9,570 acres of BLM land and 640 acres of state land according to the listing.

The deeded acreage includes 2,350 acres of irrigated hay meadows and 908 acres of irrigated and sub-irrigated pastures.

The map suggests it has preference on the Playa, Verner East, Peterson Ridge West, Tointon and Fish Hatchery allotments.

RAS ties them to authorization #0500505, which also includes Headquarters, Verner West and Beaver Creek.

The Allotment Master Report indicates they offer a combined 852 active AUMs on 9,401 public acres, equivalent to 71 wild horses or 7.6 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Hay production may allow the numbers to go higher.

The ranch might be a candidate for Colorado’s wild horse preserve.

Criteria for Colorado’s New Wild Horse Preserve

Base properties would be the ideal candidates.

Must include public lands
Must displace livestock therefrom
Each deeded acre should control at least three public acres
Doesn’t overlap areas identified for wild horses

The need for a state preserve was identified by the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group earlier this year. Refer to their Year One Report for more information.