The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began the helicopter roundup of 400 wild horses in the Desatoya Herd Management Area (HMA) on Thursday, August 16, 2012. The roundup ended on August 22, 2012, with four horses killed and 429 captured. This action is conducted under the guise of a "restoration plan" for the area.
Read on for a report on the BLM's pre-roundup, public relations tour of the HMA:
On May 31, 2012, the BLM gave a tour of a meadow in the Desatoya HMA, part of a 10-year-long "restoration" project aimed at sage grouse conservation. The tour aimed to show the problems on the range and describe the BLM's actions to prevent the sage grouse, a bird native to the Western states with declining populations, from being officially placed on the Endangered Species List. Destruction of habitat is the primary factor contributing to the demise of sage grouse. Ironically, despite their dwindling numbers, sage grouse continue to be hunted in Nevada and other western states. In the Desatoya area, sage grouse hunting is allowed during the first weekend in October, with no limit on the number of birds hunters can kill during the annual two-day hunting season.
Part of the BLM's "restoration" plan is the roundup and removal of wild horses from the Desatoya HMA. In fact, 84% of the HMA is included in the restoration project area.
Background
In 2010, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that, in 2015, it would decide whether or not to list sage grouse as an Endangered Species, indicating that if public lands management didn't change, the bird would be listed. In response, the BLM is taking steps to prevent the bird from being listed, stating that listing the sage grouse as an Endangered Species would wreak "havoc" on the current uses of public lands, similar to the listing of the spotted owl in the past.
If the sage grouse is listed, livestock grazing, mining, and other extractive uses would undergo strict scrutiny, and those commercial activities would likely be reduced on public lands. The BLM, acting in the interest of commercial users of public lands instead of the public, is eager to prevent the sage grouse from being listed, even though it is the best way to save the small native bird.
The "Conservation" Plan
The BLM stated that the following actions would be conducted under the 10-year-long plan:
- Remove or thin pinyon/juniper trees
- Build miles of fencing and pipelines and create troughs
- Apply the herbicide 2-4D (which environmental groups are trying to get banned) to control rabbitbrush
- Reseed using non-native plants (forage kochia)
- Conduct prescribed fires
- Continuously remove wild horses (including utilizing water/bait trapping)*
* During the tour, the BLM indicated that it has not been decided whether local ranchers would be given the contract for the ongoing removal of wild horses over the 10-year plan.
The project area encompasses more than 230,000 acres (or 360 square miles) and includes physical disturbance (i.e., building fencing, pipelines, controlled fires, non-native seeding, etc.) to more than 32,700 acres (or more than 51 square miles). The BLM organized the public tour in response to more than 4,000 public comments received on its proposed helicopter roundup and removal of 400 wild horses in the Desatoya HMA as outlined in the Environmental Assessment, Desatoya Mountains Habitat Resiliency, Health, and Restoration Project Environmental Assessment (EA). The Desatoya Range is just one of the BLM's sage grouse "restoration" sites.
The Desatoya HMA
The HMA is approximately 60 miles east of Fallon, Nevada. Cattle grazing is a primary activity on the Desatoya HMA. The Smith Creek Ranch uses the two primary livestock allotments within the HMA and is permitted to run the annual equivalent of approximately 600 cows on the HMA. The BLM set the "Allowable Management Level" (AML) for wild horses on the HMA at just 127 to 180 horses. The Desatoya HMA is yet another example of the BLM's disproportionate and unfair allocation of resources on public lands to private commercial livestock operations.
In 2014, the grazing allotment will be up for renewal, and the BLM stated that at that time, AML for the Desatoya HMA will be reviewed.
The Tour
Present at the Friday, May 31, 2012, tour of Dalton Canyon (145 acres) were personnel from the BLM State office (Nevada State Director Alan Shepherd and Deputy Director Raul Morales) and Carson City and Battle Mountain District Offices, the Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW), and the owner and ranch manager of the Smith Creek Ranch. We visited a wet meadow that the BLM said is prime sage grouse habitat and a "first priority area." Due to the remote location of the tour, only three members of the public were able to attend, including AWHC's Deniz Bolbol. The BLM emphasized the lack of public attendance at the tour. We explained that, while thousands of citizens are concerned about wild horses and burros, most people are not able to travel the distance to these remote locations, incur the costs of travel, and take time off from work for a weekday tour.
The BLM stated that the goal of the restoration project was to improve the availability and quantity of sagebrush, woodland, and wet meadow-riparian habitats. Increased pinyon/juniper tree encroachment into sagebrush habitat, historic livestock overgrazing "20 to 30 years ago," and "excess" wild horses were identified as contributing factors to the environmental problems. Cheatgrass was highlighted as a non-native grass that has taken over much rangeland, squeezed out native plants and grasses, and is difficult to remove.
Cows were not turned out in the meadow where the tour took place. The BLM stated that cows would not be released in this small meadow for three years, but after that, 400 cows would be turned out in the area for two months each year. A 1.5-mile pipeline would be built to water the cows and prevent them from entering the wet meadow area. The BLM said that the increase in native irises was indicative of decreased water tables, which is a contributing factor to the habitat problems. Restoring the area, which currently has been degraded into a dry meadow, to a wet meadow will allegedly increase sage grouse habitat and help restore the sage grouse population.
The BLM is working with partners to monitor the impacts of the "restoration" project actions. NDOW is getting funding for radio collars for sage grouse so they can monitor the birds' movement patterns. It is reported that sage grouse nest in nearby hay fields, which we passed on our drive out to the meadow.
The NDOW representative indicated that Nelson-big horn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, mountain lions, and other species are present in this area—all of which are hunted here. The Desatoya area is known as western region unit 184, according to NDOW, and approximately three mountain lions have been killed so far this year in this area. NDOW issues hunting tags for mountain lions for $20. Hunters locate mountain lions by driving around and looking for tracks in snow, then releasing their dogs to track the animals further. This year, snowfall was scarce, so hunting mountain lions was difficult. Hunters are also known to wait at water holes until mountain lions show up, then shoot the unknowing animals while they drink. NDOW examines all lions killed to sex, age, and record the condition of the killed cat, which is entered into a database.
NDOW also issues hunting tags for mule deer. There are approximately 350-400 mule deer living in western region unit 184. Approximately 26 are killed annually by hunters.
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum): Non-native
The spread of cheatgrass has followed the development of cattle farming since the domestication of cattle, mostly due to suitably disturbed ecological conditions created by overgrazing. Cattle were introduced into the Great Basin in the 1860s when valuable ores were discovered in parts of Nevada. Overgrazing was identified as a serious threat to ecosystem health in the late 1800s, but by this stage, the damage had become so widespread that it was effectively irreversible. Thus, the alteration of natural ecosystem processes essentially created a new and open niche, prime for occupation. Cheatgrass may actually have been introduced into rangelands on purpose to stabilize damaged shrublands. While cheatgrass can be a fair grazing grass early in the season before it has flowered, its value as forage decreases significantly later in the season after it has seeded. Its long, fine awns can actually injure cattle, horses, and other grazing animals. Mature cheatgrass increases the chance of the ignition of wildfires. In sagebrush stands, mature cheatgrass provides the continuity of fuel that allows the spread of fire from shrub to shrub. The potential threats to ecosystems are such that it should be an important priority in invasive species control. (source)
Below are photos of the hay field and water near the meadow: