Turmoil at Little Book Cliffs?

Lawmakers behind the Colorado Wild Horse Project are upset that the BLM is working on a plan to do what their legislation was designed to prevent, according to a story dated June 19 by The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Predictably, the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, unable to come up with an original thought, called for greater use of PZP, a restricted-use pesticide that tricks the immune system into attacking the ovaries.

Although the agency is working on an Enviornmental Assessment for management actions in the HMA, the roundup was dropped from the schedule earlier this month.

GonaCon Crime Ring in Oregon?

Last year the Bureau of Livestock Multiplication gave High Desert Strategies, sometimes referred to as Shaney and the Riflemen, $468,033 to expand their pest control efforts in the lawful homes of wild horses.

The HMAs appear in the first part of the latest schedule for nonmotorized removal.

The pests, of course, are the cherished wild horses.

Their homes lie within grazing allotments, the birthright of the ranchers.

The riflemen run livestock on said allotments.

The pesticide of choice is GonaCon Equine.

Like most darting programs, there is no accountability to the public.

We don’t know if they’re darting mares or stallions. The product works on both.

We don’t know if they’re applying one dose or two.

We don’t know the interval between doses, which the EPA changed from a minimum of 30 days to 90 days in a 2017 labeling amendment.

We don’t know anything about genetic viability, the number of viable mares and the size of the breeding populations.

We don’t know about changes in death rates and herd demographics.

We don’t know if they’re using the proper PPE.

We don’t know their names.

We don’t know if they’re certified applicators.

The Directions for Use say “It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.”

We know the agency used the pesticide unlawfully at Red Rock, Reveille and Clan Alpine, so why shouldn’t the pattern carry over in Oregon?

GonaCon was used in other roundups over the past two years but it’s not clear from the daily reports if two doses were applied and the interval between them.

Adjectives for Pests 12-01-23

TRNP Wild Horses Discussed in McFeely Podcast

Guest Patrick Springer recalls their history as well as the recent effort by NPS to remove them from the park.

Springer appeared in the 2011 documentary “Nokota Heart.”

RELATED: TRNP a Wild Horse Melting Pot?

If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of Gourd Spring

The allotment, on the east side of the Mormon Mountains HA in Nevada, offers 3,458 active AUMs on 57,700 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 3,458 ÷ 12 = 288, 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 288 ÷ 57,700 × 1,000 = five wild horses per thousand public acres.

Why is this important?

The bureaucrats and ranchers claim 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 give their assent through their darting programs.

If the allotment was an HMA, the AML would be 58 and 230 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

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

Bordo Atravesado Roundup, Day 44

The incident started on May 1. Results through June 14:

Scope: Bordo Atravesado HMA
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Bait
AML: 60
Estimated population: 276
Goals: Gather 235, remove 225
Captured: 234, no change from Day 41
Shipped: 178, up from 97 on Day 41
Released: 31, up from zero on Day 41
Deaths: 8, no change from Day 41
Average daily take: 5.3
Unaccounted-for animals: 17

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

No details were given for the horses released.

The death rate is 3.4%.

The capture total includes 115 stallions, 91 mares and 28 foals.

Youngsters represented 12.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of seven percent per year.

Of the adults, 55.8% were male and 44.2% were female.

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The destination of shipped animals was not stated.

The HMA is subject to permitted grazing. Resources liberated to date:

Forage: 2,436 AUMs per year
Water: 2,030 gallons per day

Ten mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, and be returned to the range according to the latest schedule.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

Advocate Defends Virginia Range Sterilization Program

There was no need to remove any wild horses.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture only needed to float the idea because they knew the advocates would fold like cheap suits and do the dirty work for them.

Speaking in favor of the effort is 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, a leader in nonmotorized removal.

North Lander Roundup Pending

The FY24 regular season resumes on July 1, after a hiatus for foaling season, with a quadruple-HMA roundup in central Wyoming.

The areas of interest are Conant Creek, Dishpan Butte, Muskrat Basin and Rock Creek.

The current population is thought to be 3,035 wild horses, compared to an AML of 536.

The news release did not mention

The capture and removal goals (2,766 and 2,716 according to latest schedule)
The method of capture (helicopter)
If operations are open to public observation (probably)
If the HMAs are subject to permitted grazing (yes)

The announcement said the AML was scientifically determined, which is misleading.

Resource availability was scientifically determined, but apportionment was arbitrary.

We Want the Ranchers to Win 04-04-24

Horses identified for removal will be taken to the Wheatland off-range corrals.

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

The incident supports three tenets of rangeland management.

Piute Mountain Roundup, Day 14

The incident started on May 31. Results through June 13:

Scope: Piute Mountain HA
Target: Burros
Type: Emergency
Method: Bait
Goals: Gather 50, remove 50
Captured: 33, up from 20 on Day 8
Shipped: 33, up from 20 on Day 8
Released: None
Deaths: None
Average daily take: 2.4
Unaccounted-for animals: None

The figures above are based on the daily reports, which now include details for jacks, jennies and foals.

No activity was reported on Days 9, 10, 11 and 12.

The capture total includes 25 jacks, 8 jennies and no foals.

The HA has no AML and is subject to permitted grazing. Resources liberated to date:

Forage: 198 AUMs per year
Water: 165 gallons per day

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Piute Mountain Roundup, Day 8.

Wild Horse Fire Brigade Takes “Path Forward” to New Level

You know an idea is bad for wild horses if the advocates support it.

Likewise, you know an idea is good for the ranchers if Elko County endorses it.

The Wild Horse Fire Brigade goes far beyond the “Path Forward,” a 2019 plan for ranching superiority in the lawful homes of wild horses, sometimes referred to as achieving and maintaining AMLs.

The AMLs would go to zero. The ranchers would get everything.

What happened to the horses?

They were sent to remote wilderness areas not particularly suited to livestock grazing, to stop lightning, arsonists and campers from starting wildfires.

Problem solved.

McKinney Fire 08-08-22

Mustang Monday

At the south end of Walker Lake with kingcidtravels.

Horses might be from the Wassuk HMA, a few miles to the west.

Images of foals will be disturbing to most advocates.

Caliente Roundup, Day 61

The incident started on April 16. Results through June 15:

Scope: Caliente Complex
Target: Horses
Type: Planned
Method: Bait
Goals: Gather 350, remove 350
Captured: 307, up from 302 on Day 55
Shipped: 296, up from 271 on Day 55
Released: None
Deaths: 9, no change from Day 55
Average daily take: 5.0
Unaccounted-for animals: 2

The figures above are based on the daily reports.

The only horse captured on Day 59 was a foal. No details were given.

The death rate is 2.9%.

The capture total includes 129 stallions, 128 mares and 50 foals.

Youngsters represented 16.3% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of eleven percent per year.

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

Body condition scores were not given.

The location of the trap site is not known.

The Complex is subject to permitted grazing. Resources liberated to date:

Forage: 3,684 AUMs per year
Water: 3,070 gallons per day

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

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management.

RELATED: Caliente Roundup, Day 55.

NDV Down Again

The basemaps are working but the layers are not.

On the bright side, Pneu-Dart and Dan-Inject are open for business, which is great news for the advocates.

The viewer shows HMAs, HAs and overlapping allotments, but does not show which ones have been targeted for mass sterilization.

Pesticide Patrol 08-16-23

Putting the Grazing Program on Par with the WHB Program

The BLM allows livestock equivalent to 1,023,481 wild horses on 145,895,940 public acres, or seven wild horses per thousand public acres, as discussed previously.

To bring the grazing program in line with the wild horse and burro program, which allows one such animal per thousand acres, the bureaucrats would need to relieve the ranchers of six out of seven AUMs, or approximately 86% of the forage apportioned thereto.

This would likely result in a major disruption of the gravy train.

A level playing field would mean that cause of poor rangeland health would be much more difficult to identify.

Foal-Free Friday, Breaking with the Past Edition

Initially, the advocates peddled the Montana Solution as a way to slow population growth and reduce the need for roundups.

That didn’t win the approval of the bureaucrats and ranchers.

Today, they sell it as mass sterilization, not by their words but by their deeds, hoping to convince the decision-makers that ovary-killing pesticides are a viable alternative to motorized removal.

They’ve always known that PZP is not reversible after five years of treatment and privately point to Assateague Island as an example of what can be achieved long term but conceal this truth from their unwitting donors.

With the Salt River and Virginia Range herds on the verge of collapse, the advocates may soon be in a position to spread the poison to other areas.

Pesticide Pushers 07-17-23

Scoping Begins for Pancake HMAP

A new project has been created in ePlanning and one document is available for review.

The Complex, located south of Eureka, NV, includes the Sand Springs West HMA, Pancake HMA, Jakes Wash HA and Monte Cristo WHT.

The comment period runs from June 13 to July 15 according to the news release.

The new HMAP will support three tenets of rangeland management.

If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of Little Salt and Corcoran Wash

The allotments, on the north side of the Little Book Cliffs WHR in Colorado, offer 4,352 active AUMs on 40,713 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 4,352 ÷ 12 = 363, 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 363 ÷ 40,713 × 1,000 = 8.9 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Why is this important?

The bureaucrats and ranchers claim 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 propagate the fairy tale with their darting programs.

If the allotments were an HMA, the AML would be 40 and 323 horses would be consigned to off-range holding because of permitted grazing.

BLM allotments in the state carry livestock equivalent to 49,546 wild horses on 7,448,367 public acres, or 6.7 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Red Rock Mares Returned to HMA, Now Crime Scene

A public affairs specialist with the BLM told Western Horse Watchers yesterday that they received their second dose and were released to the range last week.

Your host replied to the email with a link to the 2017 labeling amendment that changed the interval between doses from 30 days to 90 days, seeking comment on the agency’s use of the pesticide.

As of this evening, no response has been received.

The first statement under Directions for Use: “It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.”

SHOCKER: Elko County Endorses Wild Horse Fire Brigade

The battlefield is America’s public lands, not urban neighborhoods as stated in a June 12 report by KOLO News.

The idea is to move wild horses from their lawful homes to remote wilderness areas not suited to livestock grazing, so ranchers can have all of their food.

That’s why the commissioners like it, along with the Nevada Lands Council.

A better way to alleviate the conflict is to confine the ranchers to their base properties in a year-round off season and let them pay the going rate to feed their animals.

No more gravy train, no more sucking on the government teat.

KNPR Tours Winnemucca Corrals

The BLM representative is back with another tall tale about wild horses in this 5-minute audio segment: They’re built much differently than domestic horses, evident in the photo below.

The extra chromosome really makes a difference.

Instead of explaining how the conflict on public lands can be alleviated by clearing them of privately owned livestock, a spokesperson for the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses argued in favor of nonmotorized removal, which helps the ranchers.

Better Way 10-25-23

If they had their way, there would be no more roundups and no need for off-range holding, because there would be no more horses, an intended consequence of mass sterilization with PZP, now in progress at the Salt River and Virginia Range.

They are phonies, leaders of the blind, irrelevant.

Wild Horses Built Much Differently 06-12-24