Ten members of the public were present today to observe the BLM contractor gather 17 wild horses from the Rock Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) at 9:15 a.m. without incident – 7 studs, 8 mares and 2 foals. The Tuscarora gather area encompasses the Owyhee, Rock Creek, and Little Humboldt HMAs.

Morning temperatures were cool and heat was not an issue. The contractor ended gather operations at 9:45.

Wild Horses Sorted

The observers watched the horses being sorted and loaded into trucks to be hauled to the temporary holding corrals – again without incident. The observers relocated to the temporary corrals, where they observed the wild horses being sorted and put into separate pens.

On Sunday, the BLM will apply fertility control and adjust of the sex ratios, and re-release 24 mares and 23 studs back into the Little Humboldt HMA. During the next two to three days, the BLM also anticipates removing approximately 425 excess wild horses that have moved outside the Rock Creek HMA, which are causing considerable impacts to rangeland resources on public and adjacent private lands, as well as impacts to habitat for the Lahontan cutthroat trout.

elko wild horses

The contractor shipped 46 horses to the Palomino Valley Center near Sparks, Nev. Upon arrival at the facility, the animals will be closely monitored, provided good feed, water and veterinarian care as needed.

During the next several months the animals will be wormed, vaccinated, and freeze marked, and all 12 month and older studs will be gelded. Once the wild horses have fully recovered, they will be made available for adoption to qualified applicants through the BLM’s Adopt-A-Wild Horse or Burro Program. The public may visit the BLM’s website at www.blm.gov for more information about adopting a wild horse or burro.

More On Wild Horses

As more information becomes available it will be posted at the website. For further comments and questions, the public may call 1-866-468-7826.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say illegal immigration in Elko County is a “very significant” issue.

Elko Sheriff Lotspeich says an ICE visit to 10 Elko businesses found several people living and working in the community illegally.

ICE apparently told the Sheriff the illegal immigration problem was “very significant” in Elko County.

Lehmann said there are other circumstances that could lead to taking the person into custody, such as a previous deportation by ICE. An outstanding arrest warrants, as with any other person, also constitute a hold. But, as Morton said, if those who are here illegally are pulled over for a traffic violation or contacted for some other minor offense, they are most often cited and let go, despite a records search verifying their illegal status.

View full post at Search Results – elkodaily.com

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The BLM apparently caused the deaths of at least 12 mustangs in their roundup this week, in the Owyee Complex in Nevada.

In the deadliest BLM roundup this year, the BLM rounded up 228 horses, most of them stampeded by helicopter for eight miles in searing summer heat. BLM later reported at least 12 mustangs, died so far, 7 of them suffering gruesome deaths from dehydration-related causes, including brain swelling and “water intoxication.”

The dead mustangs included colts 2 to 4 months old.

A lawsuit and a separate administrative appeal warned BLM of the dangers of proceeding with this summer roundup so close to the foaling season.

“The Department of Interior’s mismanagement of our public resources, so tragically revealed in the Gulf oil spill, extends to our nation’s treasured wild horses and burros.”

Stuart G. Gross, of Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy.

A new lawsuit has been filed in California, to stop another BLM roundup, this time, of 2,000 horses.

“The Department of Interior has a policy of removing mass numbers of wild horses from the range without supporting its conclusion that such drastic measures are ecologically necessary,” said environmental attorney Rachel Fazio. “They completely ignore current scientific information regarding the harm associated with their proposed roundup, refuse to provide the public with documentation and data to support their conclusions, and utterly disregard the damage done by livestock. This circumvents the legal requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act to fully inform the public and take a ‘hard look’ at the consequences of their actions and that is why we were forced to proceed to court.”

Wild horses comprise a small fraction of grazing animals on public lands, where they are outnumbered by livestock nearly 50 to 1. The BLM has recently increased cattle grazing allotments in areas where wild horses are being removed. Currently the BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public lands of which cattle grazing is allowed on 160 million acres; wild horses are only allowed on 26.6 million acres of this land, which must be shared with cattle. The Obama Administration has accelerated the removal of wild horses and burros from public lands in the past year. There are currently more than 36,000 wild horses warehoused in government holding facilities and only 33,000 wild horses free on the range.

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A Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to further analyze the cumulative effects of Newmont Mining Corporation’s Leeville Project in Eureka and Elko counties, Nevada, was released to the public last week.

The 30-day public review period ends August 2nd.

The Final impact statement prepared by the Bureau came in response to a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit four years ago, that found BLM analysis of some of the cumulative effects of the Leeville project insufficient. Other than that point, the Ninth Circuit upheld the BLM environmental analysis.

Read the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement online or obtain a printed copy or a CD by calling the BLM at 775-753-0200.

For questions or information about the Leeville Project or the Final SEIS, call Janice Stadelman at (775) 753-0200, or email: Janice Stadelman@blm.gov.

The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations, which they accomplish by managing outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

See Also the Elko Daily story on this cubject.

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The Elko County unemployment rate is almost 6 points better than the state unemployment rate, and Nevada now has the highest unemployment in the USA, even more than Michigan.

Elko County has the good fortune, right now, of being big on mining, helping it to increase the number of jobs available. The mining industry has been affected less than other industries, but that situation may not be sustainable, because as the economy improves (assuming it does) mining usually drops off.

See the full story at Nevada jobless rate highest in nation

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This is the Elko Junior Skit which won the audience over with its elegance upon sexyness. Note the sexy mexican on the right.. we do jumpstyle we do some skanking as well…

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Elko is a great place to get cowboy hats, especially at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

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The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Washington, DC, over the 2004 law that allowed cash distribution of a $185 million judgment fund.

The tribe and the Indian Law Resource Center in Washington say the law is unconstitutional because it takes money that belongs to the tribe.

The suit against is against Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

With an August 2 deadline for applications for a share of the money, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs representatives will be in Elko Saturday and Reno on Sunday, to give an update and answer questions about the distribution.

According to BIA, the public meeting, tagged “Western Shoshone Judgment Fund Distribution,” is slated for the Elko Indian Colony Gymnasium at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The Reno meeting will be at the Reno-Sparks Indian Community Recreation Facility the next day.

Elko Daily has more on this story:  Tribe sues over cash payout plan

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