Wild Horses: A Community's Challenge in Placitas
Wild horses in Placitas, New Mexico, have become a topic of heated debate among residents and officials. As the population of these free-roaming horses grows, concerns about safety, environmental impact, and sustainable solutions have come to the forefront. This article explores the various perspectives and efforts to address the challenges posed by these majestic animals.
“Somebody has got to take responsibility. I think it’s gotten to where it’s dangerous,” Sandoval County Commissioner Orlando Lucero said. “My concern is that (the horses) might get onto the freeway and cause a major traffic accident.”
The horses have long been a divisive issue in Placitas between residents who believe the animals should be allowed to roam freely and those who say providing them with food and water is fostering an unsustainable population increase.
Don Robertson, who lives near N.M. 165, said he’s called the sheriff to complain about horses tearing up his yard. He’s also worried about the animals running along the road near the Presbyterian Church.
Ash Collins lives next to the Placitas Open Space where he’s noticed the number of free-roaming horses multiply as new foals appear. He said the grassy land where they graze is now chewed down to the dirt.
“We’re seeing serious erosion here, all of the top crust is trampled,” Collins said.
Collins said he allowed the Wild Horse Observers Association, a local group that advocates for the horses’ right to roam free, to put a water tank for the horses on his property and he fills it from his home water supply.
“We love the horses, as I think most people in the Placitas area do,” Collins said. “But we need a more permanent solution than us giving them water. In my view, it’s coming to a crisis point.”
No one owns horses
Placitas residents estimate the horse population may number up to 200. No one claims ownership and they do not fall within the category of “wild” horses – as defined by a 1971 federal law – which are managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
BLM officials in Albuquerque have said the horses belong to San Felipe Pueblo but tribal leaders deny this.
Commissioner Lucero has said he wants to meet with community members, tribal leaders, the state Livestock Board and the Bureau of Land Management to resolve the horse problem.
But several efforts to find a solution have stalled.
The Wild Horse Observers Association has tried to get permission from the state Livestock Board to inject the horses with the contraceptive PZP (porcine zona pellucida) to control the population.
WHOA president Patience O’Dowd also wrote to Gov. Susana Martinez in December asking her to intervene, arguing that “PZP is a safe, feasible, and viable solution to ‘overpopulation of horses.’”
“WHOA’s vision has never included wild horse overpopulation. WHOA’s proactive efforts to provide birth control since 2010 prior to current issues, have been bureaucratically hampered. WHOA is working with local, state, and federal agencies for approval to provide contraception and immediate foster and adoption services for excess horses,” O’Dowd said in a statement emailed to the Journal.
In an interview this week, state veterinarian Dr. Dave Fly acknowledged that New Mexico is in a serious drought, and that unclaimed horses are competing with wildlife for grazing, but said the contraceptive matter was “out of the Livestock Board’s hands” and referred questions to the state Department of Agriculture.
PZP a ‘pesticide’
Agriculture Department spokeswoman Katie Goetz said by email that the Environmental Protection Agency has classified PZP as a pesticide, which can’t be lawfully used in New Mexico until the manufacturer registers the product with the state Agriculture Department.
Goetz said the Humane Society of the United States has applied to register PZP for use in New Mexico.
“As soon as NMDA receives a finalized product label, the product can be fully state registered and available for use by licensed applicators,” Goetz’s said.
Another effort by Placitas resident Marty Clifton fizzled recently.
Clifton lobbied legislators to seek a $45,000 capital outlay appropriation to purchase a 3,400-acre tract of land on the north side of Placitas managed by the Bureau of Land Management for a recreation park and horse sanctuary. Clifton believed the state could buy the land for $10 an acre through a provision in the Federal Recreation and Public Purposes Act and eventually create a new state park.
Martinez vetoed the request. Her spokesman, Enrique Knell, said conflicting input the governor’s office received from the community indicated there was no consensus on the project. Also, creating a new state park would have cost millions; moreover, the group that made the request didn’t discuss the proposal with the state agency that would have been responsible for the park.
Stray and nuisance
Another resident, Mike Neas, has written to Lucero, other Sandoval County officials and Sheriff Doug Wood, urging them to take action. He believes the horses fall under the category of stray and nuisance animals under a county ordinance.
Neas has counted up to 39 horses near his Rancho de Placitas property. He and others say they have stripped the fragile desert landscape of vegetation and regularly trample and defecate on private property.
“Our private lands are being decimated the same as our public lands,” Neas said.
Wood countered that his office doesn’t have the personnel, training or equipment to deal with the horses and he believes the responsibility rests with the state Livestock Board.
“I understand the concerns, but it’s just not the sheriff’s responsibility to round up horses,” said Sandoval County Undersheriff Karl Wiese.
WHOA has been vocal against the idea of rounding up the horses.
In 2011, the group sued the Secretary of the Interior and the BLM to prevent the roundup of horses on public lands around Placitas. The lawsuit claimed the removal of horses would harm WHOA members who enjoy observing, photographing and writing about the horses.
A federal judge dismissed the case last year but WHOA has filed an appeal.
— This article appeared on page 27 of the Albuquerque Journal
Originally Posted By ABQ Journal