An Update on the Pokegama Herd: Current Roundup Developments
October 20, 2022
The Pokegama Herd Management Area (HMA), located on the border of Oregon and California, is currently undergoing a significant roundup. As of October 18, three horses have been removed as part of a three-year bait and water trap capture that began on September 26. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) aims to round up about 200 horses in total, with five removed in 2020 and none in 2021. So far, two stallions and a mare have been relocated to an off-range corral in Hines, OR.
The Pokegama HMA spans the border between Klamath Falls and the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, with a portion inside the monument's boundaries. Two cattle grazing allotments cover the entire HMA in Oregon. Notably, nearly 80% of the land within the HMA is privately owned by Green Diamond Resource Company (GDRC) and its subsidiary, Green Diamond Management Company, a longstanding logging enterprise owned by the Reed family.
GDRC, unlike its predecessors, does not permit horses to roam freely, citing that the horses consume grazing forage valued at $25,000, leaving insufficient resources for livestock. According to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the BLM must remove trespass wild horses upon a landowner's request. The BLM estimates about 230 wild horses on the Pokegama, with an Appropriate Management Level (AML) set between 30 and 50. The agency plans to remove horses only from private land, but the horses cannot distinguish between private and public land, complicating the situation.
The current operation is a bait-and-trap method, which is slower and less stressful for the horses. Some horses in the Pokegama are privately owned and will not be removed, with the possibility of returning them to the HMA. The BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Handbook defines "wild" as unbranded or unclaimed horses and burros using public lands in 10 contiguous western states.
Before horses are shipped to holding facilities, a state brand inspector checks for branded domestic horses. Distinguishing unbranded domestic horses from wild ones can be challenging, and domestic horses have occasionally been misidentified. If horses are identified as domestic trespass on GDRC land, it is not the BLM's responsibility to collect them.
The BLM aims to reduce the Pokegama wild horse population to the AML of 30-50 animals, a number too small for a healthy herd. If domestic horses are not removed, the total horse population could exceed the AML, leading to more roundups.
A Better Way
Oregon is a "fence out" state, meaning landowners must fence wildlife and livestock out of private property. It is unclear if this law applies to federally protected wild horses. Checking and building fences could help keep wild horses off GDRC land. The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) seeks a win-win solution for all stakeholders, proposing partnerships with local advocates to restore water resources on the HMA. AWHC reached out to Douglas Reed, GDRC president, in 2020 to discuss leasing grazing allotments for wild horses, but has not received a response beyond an initial conversation.
Amy Hadden Marsh, writer and editor, comes to AWHC from an award-winning background in journalism. Amy spent 15 years as a public affairs show host, reporter, and news director for KDNK Community Radio in Carbondale, CO, winning several Edward R. Murrow and Colorado Broadcasters Association awards along the way. She has won awards for her print work from the Colorado Press Association. She has also been a freelance journalist since 1990, publishing in national magazines.