Source: Elko Daily Free Press
Truth or more BLM BS?
BLM attacking what was left of Nevada’s Antelope herd ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Drought has prompted the Bureau of Land Management to undertake targeted action on the rangeland such as supplying wild horses with food and water, cutting back cattle grazing and enacting fire restrictions.
Hot, dry conditions persist in the West with at least 15 states experiencing drought. In Nevada, about 60 percent of the state has been in severe or extreme drought since January.
“Since last fall and winter, we have been working with grazers across the West in anticipation of tough conditions related to drought,” said Neil Kornze, BLM principal deputy director. “In southwestern Montana, for example, the BLM worked with permitted ranchers to graze no more than 70 percent of their allotted forage on BLM-managed lands.
“As drought conditions continue, wild horses, livestock, and wildlife that rely on rangeland forage and water will face extremely challenging conditions that may leave them in very poor condition. We are taking action to address these situations as quickly and as effectively as we can, but our options are increasingly limited by conditions on the land,” he added.
All Nevada BLM districts have been hauling water to wild horses. The BLM is trucking 5,000 gallons of water per day, five days a week to four locations throughout the Winnemucca District at a cost of $1,000 per day.
In the next few days, a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service veterinarian will join BLM specialists in assessing horses in Lincoln County, after BLM employees noted horses weren’t drinking water from trucked-in troughs and were not eating supplemental hay. This raised concerns about the health of the animals.
Over the past week in Nevada average temperatures have been 10 degrees above normal, hovering around 100 degrees. That state has recently had only 0.1 to 0.5 inches of rain, resulting in sparse, poor-quality forage.
In addition, scare water sources have put pressure on all users, including wild horses, livestock and wildlife causing long-lasting damage to plant, stream channels, spring areas and water quality.
Click (HERE) to comment at the Free Press
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Categories: Horse Health, Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
I completely understand that Nevada is in the throes of another drought year; nearly every Western state is to a greater or slightly lesser degree. However, this article presents the information about the BLM hauling water into drought-stricken areas or supplemental feed for wild equines, wildlife and livestock like it’s not a part of THEIR JOB.
Snivelin’ about $1,000 a day to haul water is ridiculous; that’s what budgetary allocations are for, aren’t they? Not every penny distributed to Western BLM field offices is just for administrative salaries. Every once in a while, these guys should do what’s right for the animals on their ranges.
Rounding up water-starved wild equines (because that’s going t be the next step; it always is) in these conditions will kill these animals, already weakened by the lack of water and forage.
$1,000 a day for water-hauling is a pittance compared to what will be expended to remove these animals, and house them on the taxpayer dime in a federal feed lot. There have got to be instances where it kinder to allow Nature to take her course. If they won’t drink the water or eat the feed, why? Desperate animals will not simply allow themselves to starve or die of thirst without a fight.
I don’t want to see these animals die off, but how is taking them out of there – at 10 times the cost – a more humane or cost-effective solution? If they are as compromised as the article states, a round up will surely kill them.
Then they’ll be no one’s problem any more, will they?
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This doesn’t feel right ..is this a pretext to remove horses. If they are not eating the supplemental hay, well they (blm) do supply bad moldy hay, don’t they. This concern about the health of the animals is likely a smokescreen for a near future removal.
Don’t trust this at all.
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I agree, yvon; it’s hard to conceive they’d buy the best hay or good water, when the path of least resistance has been the standard.
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It’s true, it is just an excuse to have another helicopter roundup.
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I agree with you both.
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P.S. Grazing in SW MT only cut 30% and BLM allowing 70% ! It should be the other way around !
More BS !
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If you read a BLM contract, the contractors are required to provide high-quality, weed-free hay, but even the best hay deteriorates if it isn’t stored properly. It’s interesting to watch recently removed wild horses deal with hay. They’ll eventually eat it even if it’s stemmy, but they’re VERY picky about mold. They pull out a bunch and pick through it – eat the best and leave the rest. I’d like to see how they’re feeding them. If they don’t put the hay out in fairly small piles (NOT just dump field bales!), the horses who do want to eat get very competitive. The dominant eat, and those lower on the pecking order get pushed out. As far as the water goes, I’d like to know where they’re filling up. If it’s from a municipal water supply it’s chlorinated, which would be a major problem.
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keep it up your always on top.thanks for sharing.glad water is getting there.you do make a diffrence keep up the great work and thankyou from me.n all the horses!and burros too’-)
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Reblogged this on akacheshire and commented:
very cool!
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Having literally just driven through Nevada the past two days I can tell you it is dry. But there was a shower between Wells and Elko yesterday afternoon. It was moving east so while I didn’t see where it had started I’m guessing it started in CA. It also rained (and lightning)at I86/I15 in Chubbock ID yesterday morning. The rain in NV seemed pretty hard. I just don’t know how much of it would soak if it rained a long time really hard.
One interesting thing to note is in the same location there is a mountain range running on the east side of 80. It kinda borders Triple B–except I think Triple B is further south than the mountain range. There were several areas dotted either with snow or glaciers. They weren’t huge spots–kinda like a mud puddle here and there. Only it was white and high in relation to elevation.
I don’t know storm patterns but it rained just north of San Francisco this afternoon moving east. It was a spritzle. Nothing huge but anything is better than nothing.
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And the chain reaction has begun. Didn’t we warn the cattlemen that they were next? To bad guys, YOU WERE WARNED!
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It will be an excuse to round them all up!
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