The BLM website has been down since Tuesday afternoon. We know everyone is waiting for official daily counts, so are we. 

Our teams are in field and our editor is working lightening fast. We will have in-depth coverage of active roundups and more later today.

While we wait, let’s chat. (from founder Laura Leigh, in field)

North Lander, Conant Creek, Wyoming

We can tell you the North Lander roundup in Wyoming has officially ended. It was suspected that BLM target number would leave far fewer horses on range than stated (or is legally authorized under NEPA, “the paperwork”). The roundup stoped 139 wild horses shy of target after BLM flew a census flight. We do have an action item you can take to urge BLM to make the flight data public and to work with advocates on any release to ensure a sustained population in the area, click HERE.

The same “took too many horses and burros” operations are happening all over the West for the last 5 years. The difference is at North Lander the public paid attention and made the calls and got involved. Before target was reached a census was done and the roundup stopped shy of target

. Herds like Surprise, Calico, Clan Alpine, Antelope, on and on, have not been so lucky (if you can even call a massive roundup simply stopped a bit shy “lucky?) No census was before to determine numbers and we won’t see any actual census data from most herds. Many  herds never recover after being driven to numbers to low to sustain diversity and fertility control on all older mates that will die before it wears off.

If you called to get a census of North Lander in Wyoming, can you call to get one before target is hit at Blue Wing in Nevada?

At Blue Wing, not only do we have the highest death ratio of the 2024 season, we also have numbers on 2.2 million acres being slammed down below the allowed numbers on the range. Just like at North Lander, the main permittee (at Blue Wing it is the C-Punch ranch) is also the sub-contracted temporary holding corral. However at Blue Wing there is zero access to those corrals and North Lander allowed a fast walk around.

At Blue Wing the Wild Horse and Burro Specialist is Garret Swisher: gswisher@blm.gov

Can you write an email and ask for a census to be done before target is hit for fear too many are being taken, just like you did for North Lander?

Blue Wing continues to hold the highest death rate for the 2024 season. There have been 2 broken necks, broken legs, a broken shoulder. So far, 5 horses and burros have died simply during transport as the area experiences 2 extended heat waves. (Note: ZERO dust control is being done at trap at Blue Wing. BLMs CAWP team, welfare team, has apparently not been to Blue Wing. If they have, their visit was basically considered as much of an annoyance as public visitors are and was ignored as much as possible.)

At Blue Wing we have no idea how many foals are left on range, how loading is being done… basically we cannot tell you much because BLM has allowed essentially zero truly meaningful observation since it began on July 8.

This roundup will most likely end this week. BLM wiped burros out of the area except a few stragglers we can find and will hit the target for wild horses in about 3 days (about 300 left to catch).

The public has a basic right of access to observe roundups. That has been well established through our work (6 years in federal court to gain daily observation). The only restrictions BLM can place are those “narrowly tailored” and reasonable to ensure safety. 

At Blue Wing not only can the public not see a thing (and is a mile to over 2 miles away, but they are treated like a bother. NOTE TO BLM: If you do not let the public see, they will NEED to ask you more questions. The questions are even more of a necessity to get answered fully if there is no meaningful observation. 

In 4 days of operations at Swasey, not only have we had access to reasonably observe, observers have demonstrated, once again, their eyes are useful to BLM (we know every day observers hold value for the public).

Yesterday there was a really bad call by the person in charge at trap (the “COR”). A couple of other decisions during this operation made me really uncomfortable… but this one made me downright angry.

If a baby gets lost… STOP everything else and find it. (LOST FOALS DO NOT ROUTINELY JOIN IN THE NEXT RUN.)

In the video: The pilot pushes a band too fast for a foal to keep up. At the boot of the hill, before the wings, the foal could no longer even see the wake of dust left by its family and ran as fast as it could out of sight.

Instead of everything stopping, there were 3 additional runs approved by the COR.

That baby was missing for nearly two hours (we thought it was less time onsite, but time coding on images confirms nearly 2 hours). Searchers were heading in the wrong direction and apparently even needed to be told what color the foal was. The BLM public affairs person sitting at the observation location was able to interface with trap and, at least, point out direction, color and the location the foal ran from. I had it on video, direction and speed, as well. The public affairs person kept us informed during the entire search and we were not left in the dark.

In this district in Utah the public affairs person is using a camera, just like observers, and documenting the roundup for BLM. In most districts today this is not the case (at Blue Wing BLM public affairs does not track horses and has zero contact with trap, relays zero information, all day long). Observation location can also serve as a spotting location for problems. Communication is critical, yet it is lacking at most traps today.

Observers are not a problem. We may have very different opinions on wild horses and burros than you might. We may not agree a roundup should happen at all. But we love the wild ones deeply. We (observers) are not a problem… we  can help discover problems and help fix them. 

This brings this chat to “foaling season.”

BLM has never defined foaling season using data. “Foaling season” means babies, pregnant mares and breeding season. All of this adds up to the most physiological and psychologically charged time of year; it’s fragile, like dynamite.

BLM uses fertility control agents that shift foaling season times, often dramatically. Climate change is shifting natural foaling season in many species, wild horses included. Climate change is causing July heat bubbles all over the West now. July roundups should not be happening anymore, ever.

BLM is prohibited from flying a helicopter during peak foaling season.

This ongoing and egregious issue can be addressed in 2 places: By defining foaling season in Herd Management Are Plan (HMAP) monitoring objectives AND by “Rulemaking” for an enforceable welfare policy.

We are in the courts on both of these issues. We won a big victory toward rectifying the deficits in actual management planning for our herds (HMAP) and have 2 additional cases in the system now. We are also in the courts to address the lack of an enforceable welfare policy. There are employees that try and those that simply do not care. Enforceability on welfare issues is long overdue.

You can help.

Please make a call. If you made the call already? Please, do it again. Our wild ones desperately need an enforceable welfare policy that is crafted with transparency, public participation and complies with current welfare standards for equines.

The phone number for Congress is: (202) 224-3121. You should put it in your speed dial. Call the number tell the operator who your representative is (or where you live if you do not know) and you will be connected to an aide in the office. Ask to register your concerns and request. Ask that an amendment to the funding bill for the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program be crafted to simply create a line item for funding for “Rulemaking to create an enforceable welfare policy.”

Our teams are in field and our editor is working lightening fast. We will have in-depth coverage of active roundups and more later today.

Thank you for keeping us on the frontline in the fight to protect and preserve our precious, amazing, unique, wild ones.