Here is what we’ve been reading and writing about over the past two weeks....

Articles

As reported and discussed below, there is breakthrough new science on the issue of wild horses. This is a big news because the assumption that wild horses and burros are “exotic” or “invasive” species has driven their mismanagement for the last 50 years. Those assumptions are used to justify the wildlife, forest and range agencies’ war on wild horses.

According to the American Museum of Natural History expert quoted below, “The horse that lived in the Yukon 5,000 years ago is directly related to the horse species we have today, Equus caballus. Biologically, this makes the horse a native North American mammal, and it should be treated as such.”

As described above, the paralysis in resolving the wild horse problem continues.

U.S. officials who are trying to adopt out wild horses captured on public land say they are tightening protections to guard against the illegal resale of the animals for slaughter, but advocates say the government needs to do more.

The article below illustrates (1) the lack of understanding of the need for predators in our natural systems, and (2) why ethical hunting is must always be an essential part of our outdoor pursuits.

Videos

Bighorn conservation must go far beyond locking people and their activities off of bighorn range. It is essential that wildlife, people and livelihoods be given equal weight in decisions such as those described in the video above.

The primary harm people do to bighorn is caused by human hunting, physical disruption of their movement, the agro-chemicals increasingly used for crops and so-called range ‘management’, and the gross mismanagement of forests by the public agencies.

Our experience with sheep in far-West Texas for 20-years showed us that human presence without these is not harmful, and some human impacts such as periodic livestock grazing in remote locations, and the water additions that support livestock are very, very good for sheep.

This 18-minute video explains how we used P.A. Yeomans’ Keyline concepts to improve water function at Circle Ranch in the Chihuahuan high-desert grasslands of far-West Texas.

The Keyline explanation is followed by a discussion of water harvesting and the role of drones.

The recognition of the useful role of large grazers in desert ecology grows daily.