Wild West Watch

05/17/2025

ACTION OPPORTUNITY
Effecting wild horses and other wildlife, high desert ecosystems, and ranchers of SE Oregon-

Quoted from another page: “This is a military project that would effectively remove access for the Coyote Lakes/Alvord Tule horses to access water, or severely restrict it. Additionally, they are talking about drilling for water for their needs, which will likely affect the already low aquifer that ranchers and horses and wildlife need for survival.

This would SERIOUSLY impact a portion of the Barren Valley Complex HMA down by Burns Junction and the other one near Christmas Valley could potentially impact Paisley Desert HMA and Beaty Butte HMA that are in the area.

This also means this could become restricted air space and/or just another dumping ground/junk yard for the military to trash and desert after a few months.

PLEASE read up on this project! We only have until June 2nd to comment!”

The Proposed Action includes acquisition of land, construction, and operation of two Homeland Defense Over-the-Horizon Radar (HLD OTHR) systems in the

09/26/2024

09/26/2024

KEEP THE WEST WILD
WEB www.mustangwild.com
VID www.mustangjourney.com
FUND MM www.roamwildfund.com

07/12/2024

This is the way to do it rather than on pristine wilderness or agricultural lands. 

06/23/2024

From Advocates for Wild Equines- a chance to meet other wild horse enthusiasts, possibly see some mustangs, but mostly to do some good for all wildies. Contact AWE to be part of something good- improving living spaces for wild horses and other wildlife!

04/06/2024

03/20/2024

Radio-collared female tracked a thousand miles.

03/17/2024

“Your feet will bring you where your heart is” -Irish Proverb

May you find your “pot o’ gold” in whatever form you treasure and wherever you may roam! Always remember, the treasure can also be the journey.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

03/15/2024

Indian Paintbrush
Riding ol' Black on the immense Warm Springs HMA- no mustangs as far as the eye could see this time ... but what stood out was this beautiful bouquet of salmon colored Indian Paintbrush which along with the wild garlic stood out among the grays and the greens of the wild horse range.
They range in color, reds, orange reds, pinks, and whites. I've always wanted to know uses for it. Here's what I learned:

Native American used it for medicinal and cosmetic uses. They made a weak flower tea for rheumatism and a contraceptive also.The flowers are edible yet they must be eaten in small quantities. They will absorb selenium, a potentially toxic, alkaline mineral compound in the soil. Where high amounts of selenium in the soil is not present, Indain Paintbrush can be enjoyed in moderation with salads.

Various tribes used the flowering parts as a paintbrush also. The Chippewa Indians are known to use Indian Paintbrush as a medicine to treat rheumatism and as a bath rinse to make their hair glossy. Both applications are useful due to it's selenium content. Stacey Sloan, AGRO/HORT 100G Spring 2002

Wildlife Benefit
Butterfly / Moth Nectar/ wildlife cover

Nature Attracting
Butterfly
Hummingbird

See my new album ‘Wild Edibles and Other Plant Uses’:
https://www.facebook.com/share/MEqN5GQwr6ycEhXU/?

SE Oregon

More info and Sources:
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-natu…/…/indian-paintbrush

MNSU: http://aces.nmsu.edu/…/lowwaterplants/indian-paintbrush.html

http://grownative.org/plant-picker/plant/indian-paintbrush/

03/15/2024

2025 federal budget proposal requests $15m for “permanent sterilization” of wild horses.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request is seeking $15 million for mass permanent sterilization of wild horses and a team of twenty FTEs to carry out the proposal.

Mass sterilization methods are not transparent within the request, but previously proposed methods include high-risk invasive surgical procedures such as castration and removal of ovaries (ovariectomy) which have been subjects of AWHC litigation for over a decade.

The 2025 proposal was released days after Congress cut the BLM’s FY 2024 budget by $5.9 million while preserving $11 million in 2024 funding for reversible, humane fertility control implementation, suggesting Congress will closely scrutinize and challenge the highly controversial 2025 proposal when it appears before House and Senate.

The National Academy of Sciences has previously cautioned against castration of wild horses due to the adverse effects on band and social integrity and deemed ovariectomies in field settings inappropriate due to risk of hemorrhage and other severe complications.

The proposal was strongly denounced by American Wild Horse Conservation, which said:

“Permanent sterilization contradicts the BLM’s legal mandate to protect America’s wild horses in self-sustaining, free-roaming herds [and] could have far-reaching, extinction-level consequences for the entire wild horse and b***o population.”

02/26/2024

Arevon Energy secured the funds for a 374 MW solar project with 150 MW / 600 MWh of co-located energy storage.