Wild Horse Advocates Explore Next Steps
Wild Horse Advocates and the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) are taking a stand against the proposed roundup of wild horses in the Pine Nuts. With federal officials absent from a recent meeting in Fish Springs, the community is mobilizing to voice their opposition.
Next week, members of the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates and the American Wild Horse Conservation plan to deliver a petition with 175,000 signatures to the Bureau of Land Management's offices in Carson City. The Advocates' Sheila Schwadel stated that the group is strategizing their next steps in response to the impending roundup, which could commence as early as this week.
Around 300 people gathered at the Fish Springs Volunteer Fire Department to protest the decision to round up the herd, estimated at slightly more than 100 horses. Acting Carson District Manager Colleen Dulin informed the Pine Nuts Wild Horse Advocates that no agency representatives would attend the meeting.
Wild Horse Advocate Deniz Bolbol addressed the crowd, noting the unprecedented absence of the Bureau at a public meeting concerning the horses. "This is the first meeting they've refused to attend," she said. "This is just the first step. We need to keep our eye on the ball and make noise."
Carlo Luri, representing Christopher Bently, a ranch owner and grazing permit holder, expressed support for the wild horses. "We own 42,000 acres and five of the grazing permits here in the Carson Valley," he said. "People think cattlemen, the grazers, are always anti-horse, but that isn't always true."
Bently has collaborated with advocates for five years to establish watering troughs that deter horses from entering neighborhoods. "We know first-hand what a cherished resource the wild horses are both to our residents and our visitors," Luri said. "We want to protect them for future generations."
He declared Bently's opposition to any roundup plans, stating, "The practice is inhumane and makes no sense from a fiscal standpoint. We stand with the majority of Nevadans and the majority of the Carson Valley to oppose wild horse roundups and advocate for the continuance of humane, successful, and cost-effective, volunteer-led, birth control programs."
The BLM rounded up 67 wild horses living outside the management area in November 2010, including a band in Fish Springs. Following this, meetings were held to discuss alternative solutions, including a pilot program to administer contraceptives to reduce foal numbers. In 2014, the program was approved by the BLM, funded by donations, and executed by volunteers.
A 2015 roundup proposal was halted by a federal lawsuit, but the BLM continued using contraceptives. Although the BLM revoked the contraceptive use in 2016, it was reinstated the following year. A 10-year plan unveiled in late 2017 included roundups and contraceptive use.