The HMA sits on top of nine grazing allotments, discussed in Section 3.2.2 of the Final EA for pest control and resource enforcement therein.

The map in Appendix H shows the arrangement (page 103 in the pdf).

The National Data Viewer indicates that some of the allotments extend beyond the HMA boundary, taking with them a small percentage of the active AUMs, but that will be ignored in this report.

The management plan allows 758 wild horses in the HMA plus 116 wild burros.

These animals require 758 × 12 + 116 × 6 = 9,792 AUMs per year.

The Allotment Master Report provides management status, acreage and active AUMs.

The allotments offer 26,803 active AUMs per year on 656,475 public acres.

Approximately 99% of that acreage is in the Improve category.

The AUMs would support 2,234 wild horses, on top of the 758 allowed by plan.

The pre-gather population of 1,800 is well within this range.

Current management practices give the resource to the ranchers, who pay $1.35 per AUM, while consigning 2,234 wild horses to off-range holding at a cost of $5 per head per day.

The cash flow in this scenario, Alternative A, is:

1.35 × 26,803 – 2,234 × 5 × 365 = -$4,040,865.95 per year

The Proposed Action, Alternative B, would shift the resource back to the horses by confining the ranchers to their base properties, for a cash flow of zero.

No income from grazing, no expenditure for off-range holding, with net savings to taxpayers of $4 million per year.

RELATED: Twin Peaks Roundup Announced.

The permits on these allotments, located west of Hawthorne, NV, are up for renewal.

They offer a combined 5,102 active AUMs on 71,998 public acres, according to the Allotment Master Report.

The forage assigned to horses is zero.

How many wild horses could live there?

Using the principle of forage interchangeability, the True AML would be 5,102 ÷ 12 = 425, the number of horses the land could support if it was managed principally for them as specified in the original statute.

The stocking rate would be 425 ÷ 71,998 × 1,000 = 5.9 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Why is this important?

The bureaucrats and ranchers tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

The advocates, defeated a long time ago and now one of their allies, give their assent through their darting programs.

If the allotments were an HMA, the AML would be 72 and 353 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

BLM allotments in Nevada carry livestock equivalent to 173,144 wild horses on 40,194,360 public acres, or 4.3 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Wild horses can be placed on public lands not identified for their use by acquiring base properties associated with grazing allotments and flipping the preference to horses, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana.

RELATED: The Allotments Tell the Story: They’re Lying, All of Them.

One document has been copied to the project folder.

A forthcoming environmental assessment will evaluate the wild horse gentling and adoption partnership between BLM Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Corrections as well as other alternatives, according to today’s news release.

Comments will be accepted through October 23.

RELATED: What’s Happening at Wyoming Honor Farm?

In eastern Kentucky with sxs rides.

The Allotment Master Report provides both.

In this example from the Blue Wing Allotment in Nevada, C-Punch Ranch receives 14,058 active AUMs but the permitted use is 25,864.

Which one represents the forage allocation for livestock?

Sometimes the BLM moves AUMs into the suspended column because of fires, drought, solar arrays, mines, etc.

Those AUMs can shift back to active use when conditions improve or after the useful life of the project.

The relationship between these variables is:

Active AUMs = Permitted Use – Suspended AUMs

or

Permitted Use = Active AUMs + Suspended AUMs

Western Horse Watchers uses active AUMs when comparing forage allocations for wild horses and livestock.

RELATED: What Do the AUM Numbers Tell You About an HMA?

Anything to dispute in this audio segment from KLCC Radio in Eugene, OR?

A management evaluation has been copied to the project folder for public review.

Comments will be accepted through October 18.

RELATED: New Pest Control Plan for Bullfrog HMA?

UPDATE: The BLM announced the project one week into the comment period.  The evaluation indicates on page 9 that there is no livestock grazing inside the HMA.

The Rangeland Stewardship Award in the permittee category went to Fitzgerald Ranch of Plush, OR according to a BLM news release dated September 17.

The Operator Information Report at RAS tied the ranch to authorizations 3600601 and 3601273.

The Allotment Information Report linked the authorizations to these allotments:

• 3600601 – NORTHEAST WARNER
• 3601273 – SHALE ROCK, FITZGERALD FFR, COYOTE-COLVIN, ABERT SEEDING, SOUTH RABBIT HILLS

The Allotment Master Report provides management status, public acres and active AUMs.

Approximately 92% of the public acres are in the Improve category, suggesting that our stewards of the public lands are not taking their responsibilities seriously.

The allotments support livestock equivalent to 1,427 wild horses on 298,288 public acres, or 4.8 wild horses per thousand public acres.

The bureaucrats and ranchers tell us that public lands in the western U.S. can only support one wild horse per thousand public acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Public Lands Council.

RELATED: Winners of 2023 Stewardship Awards Announced.

The Army base is now Fort Johnson, not Fort Polk, according to a story by The Advocate of Baton Rouge, LA.

The number of horses remaining in the forest is unknown.

An advocacy group filed suit claiming the Army’s plan to eliminate the horses violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act but the courts ruled in favor of the military, who views the herd as trespass livestock.

Although the group rescued around 100 animals, they have separated the males from the females, suggesting there are no plans to preserve the resource.

RELATED: Louisiana’s Fort Polk Horses a Unique Genetic Resource?

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses oversees an innovative fertility control program on the Virginia Range according to an August 31 news flash distributed by Lucky Three Ranch.

It’s designed preserve the wild horse herd.

The advocates shoot the females with pesticide-laced darts.

After five years of treatment they become sterile.

The program is now in its sixth year.

The mares enjoy a well-deserved break from the demands of nursing and pregnancy, allowing them to maintain strong health and a steady weight.

The fillies, also targeted, thrive without the strain of early pregnancy, giving them the time they need to grow strong and healthy.

As the older horses die.

Does it make sense now?

Thank God for the wild horse advocates.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Abandoning Principal Use Edition.

Yesterday’s news release says it’s over although some horses are still being sorted to determine which ones will receive fertility treatments, moved to different areas of the HMA or taken to a holding facility.

The gather page indicates 59 unaccounted-for animals.

A report by The Colorado Sun indicates that a mare, 24 years old and underweight—but with foal—was dispatched on Day 8 after she broke her leg.

The foal went to a local ranch.

The roundup is not over until the disposition of every captured animal is known.

RELATED: Little Book Cliffs Roundup, Day 7.

The system is down again.  None of the wild horse and burro pages, including ePlanning and the National Data Viewer, are responding.