Calico Complex Wild Horse Roundup - 2010
Calico Update - February 5, 2010. On February 3,
2010 we shipped wild horses from our temporary holding facility to
the Fallon facility. It was snowing while we were loading but quit
soon after. This was an observation day. About noon when the clouds
had lifted up off the mountain tops the Wild Horse and Burro
Specialist Jerome Fox flew with our pilot. We did not set a trap nor
gather that day. After their flight and after going over all the
numbers, the BLM decided to capture again the next day. On February
3rd, we transported the wild horses that had been held overnight in
the temporary holding facility to Fallon and then set up one more
trap. The wild horses captured were sorted and then transported to
the Fallon facility. The wranglers tore down the trap and the
temporary holding facility and got everything ready to move back
home to Nephi. The total number of animals captured on this roundup
is 1,922. Percentage of animals lost during gather operations is
.003%. Only one death was gather-related. The others were the one
pre-existing condition and animals that needed to be humanely
euthanized.
Now that the roundup is over, the anti-gather organizations are
focusing on the aborted foals and the number of weak and poor
(thin and unhealthy) animals that have died at the Fallon facility. We captured a good
number of really weak and poor wild horses during this gather. These
animals were starving and had probably been eating a lot of brush.
We, of course, do not know how many, but a lot of these and others
that are starting to pick up and do good would probably have died
out on the range this winter and on into the spring. That was the
purpose of this roundup, to not let the animals starve to death out
on the range and to remove enough so the remaining animals will have
enough grass. Most of the weak, poor mares that have lost their
foals in the pens would probably have lost them out on the range
when the green grass came and they changed feed there, too. That
usually does happen in areas when the mares have a very hard winter.
If you or I had horses in our pastures that were really weak and
poor, someone would call the authorities. We would then have to feed
and take care of them or risk going to court. The BLM is trying to
take care of the wild horses that they are under the law
required to manage and protect. We all worked really hard
to capture them as humanely as possible and now they are being cared
for in the very best way possible.
I will continue to update in order to answer questions or address
rumors.
Calico Roundup
Update February 2, 2010 - On January 27, 2010 no wild horses
were captured. The Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Jerome Fox flew
with our pilot to determine the location of the wild horses in the
Granites and West Calicos. Trap sites were then selected based on
this information. We set up a trap at a site we had used before just
East of the Granite Ranch and gathered wild horses there on January
28, 29, and 30th . January 30th was an
observation day. It was raining and snowing in the morning but
cleared up later in the day so the observers were able to watch the
wild horses come in to the trap that day. One more very old thin
mare and one stud, crippled because of a club foot, were humanely
euthanized on January 29th. On the 30th a mare
was kicked in the head by a stud in the sorting alley and her eye
was ruptured. She was also humanely euthanized. This is the first
gather related death we have had here at the gather site. All the
other wild horses captured were transported to the Fallon facility.
On January 31 we moved
to the North side of the Granite Mountain and set up a trap. This
was a warm sunny day and by afternoon the frost had gone out of the
ground. Two pickups with trailers became stuck in the mud getting
back to the trap site after offloading the wild horses. Another
pickup became stuck trying to pull out these pickups. The decision
was made to not try to haul the remaining wild horses under these
conditions but to wait until the ground was more solid from the
frost early in the morning. So some of the wild horses remained in
the trap overnight. They were fed hay and moved to the temporary
holding facility at daylight the next morning. There were no serious
injuries nor any deaths. Later that day, on February 1, after the
wild horses were brought to the temporary holding facility, the
wranglers returned to the trap site and tore it down and moved it
while the ground was still frozen. These Granite wild horses are in
better shape than any we have captured so far. In fact, if anyone is
interested in adopting any of the Calico Complex wild horses these
would be good ones to choose.
Later in the day, a
trap was set up at Leadville to gather the East side of the Calicos.
This was an observation day so the observers were able to watch the
trap and wings being erected. This trap site was not a real good one
for observers and Dave had selected a place up on some rocks where
he thought everyone could see good but the observers chose to go
across the flat and up on some other rocks. That was probably the
best viewing spot but quite a long walk through the snow. We
captured wild horses again at this trap today, February 2. There
were no serious injuries or deaths.
I would like to address
a couple of rumors or myths that I have learned about while talking
to some of the observers. First, when we transport the wild horses
they are not packed into the trailers so they can lean against each
other to stand up. Horses and wild horses stand up in the trailers
just like you or I would. Second, they are given adequate room. Our
contract is specific in the amount of space required on the trailers
for each animal. We always adjust that according to the size and
condition of the animals being transported. On this gather we have
been putting 12 adult wild horses in each compartment of the
trailers even though the footage supports 13 head. If there are weak
animals or wild horses in poor condition, we load even less in a
compartment or put those wild horses in with the foals.
Next, with reference to
the habitat, everyone needs to understand that wild horses do not
move from one area to another to find food or water by migrating or
jumping over the fences like deer and elk do. They are not wildlife.
A wild horse will sometimes go through an open gate or through a
hole in a fence. But if they run short of food or water and are
living inside even a very large fenced allotment area, they will
just die there. And it is a slow painful death.
Calico Roundup Update January 26, 2010 - Since
my last update January 19th I have been away on family
business and just returned to Gerlach tonight. The temporary holding
facility has been moved closer to Gerlach . On three different days
wild horses from the Calico HMA have been captured at two different
trap sites. Today and yesterday were again weather days and no wild
horses were gathered. All the wild horses have been transported to
the Fallon facility. There have been no serious injuries or deaths
during the gather.
Visitors coming to the traps and temporary holding facility for
the rest of this roundup will notice some changes in the areas where
they will be allowed. We have been doing everything possible to
accommodate the public so they can get good photos and video and to
observe all operations. We have reviewed the activities of the last
thirty days and have become very concerned about the safety of the
visitors, and the BLM escorting them and feel we have been way too
lenient in our safety precautions. Therefore we will have a barrier
ribbon at the trap site and temporary holding facility to designate
the exact area where the public will be safe from the helicopter and
all of the activity of the vehicles our personal horses and the wild
horses. Closer access will be limited to just our wranglers, the
vets, and the COR & PIs assigned to the contract.
Cattoor Livestock Roundups, Inc has also reviewed their contract
and under Section C which is the Description Specifications/Work
Statement. Under section C.5 Trapping and Care (a.) it states “The
primary concern of the contractor is the safe and humane handling of
all animals captured. (h.) states “It is the responsibility of the
Contractor to provide security to prevent loss, injury or death of
captured animals until delivery to final destination. This is
another reason for restricting the areas where the public may be.
The safety of the wild horses must come first. We must do all we can
to limit the stress on these animals. I am sure everyone will
understand the reasons for this new policy.
January 19, 2010 - Update
on Calico Complex Roundup. We gathered wild horses from the Warm
Springs HMA on January 15th and January 16th
then had another weather day on the 17th and no wild
horses were gathered. Yesterday and today we gathered again on the
Warm Springs HMA and finished that area. We used two different traps
so the wild horses could be brought to the one they were the closest
to. We are now finished gathering the Warm Springs HMA. Since my
last update there have been no serious injuries and no deaths. We
are still seeing quite a few thin and very thin wild horses. Most of
the weanlings appear to be spring or early summer foals and good
size but some are very thin.
We could not ship any of the horses to the Fallon facility today
because the rain and snow yesterday and last night had made the road
impassible for the semi trucks. Hopefully the rain will cease and
the ground will freeze tonight. Some of the pens were enlarged with
additional panels and the wild horses were provided plenty of hay
and water. Once these wild horses are transported the to Fallon
facility this temporary holding facility will be torn down and
moved. Our next trap will be just above the Wheeler ranch and the
temporary holding facility will be moved closer to Gerlach. We will
then be capturing wild horses from the Calico HMA.
I would like to address a couple of rumors circulating about the
stallion that escaped from the temporary holding facility at the
Paiute Meadows ranch. One rumor is that he might have been captured
and the other is that he was seen limping across the ridge above the
trap site on Saturday. There was a black wild horse traveling
through the rocks on the ridge that day. This wild horse was not
limping. No one was very close to it and it could have been either a
mare or a stallion. The Paiute Meadows ranch where the stallion
escaped is clear over on the other side of the mountain in the East
Black Rock HMA and there is a fence between the Warm Springs HMA we
were in on Saturday and the East Black Rock HMA in which this
stallion was captured. Plus it is at least 20 plus miles and not a
direction he would normally travel. From where he escaped he could
possibly move into the West Black Rock HMA where we gathered last
week but that would be highly unlikely. It is also a fact that if by
some slim chance this wild horse did join up with some of the other
wild horses and come back into the trap none of us would recognize
him. There are a lot of black and black looking wild horses that
live here in this Calico Complex.
January 15, 2010. Update on Calico Roundup. We
did not gather on January 9, 10 ,11 because of fog and rain. We did
ship some horses to the Fallon facility. The wranglers set up a trap
south of the ranch to be used to capture some of the Warm Springs
wild horses. The Black Rock mountain was still foggy on January 12
so we captured some of the Warm Springs wild horses. There was some
wind and light rain and snow in the higher elevations so we shut
down operations early in the afternoon. About the same conditions on
January 13. We were again able to fly on the Warm Springs HMA and
captured horses there. There were no serious injuries or deaths. We
are seeing some very thin horses and shaggy malnutritioned
weanlings.
Yesterday, January 14, the sun was out bright and the weather
clear. This is my opinion of how the day went. We shipped horses to
the Fallon Facility first thing in the morning. Finally the fog had
lifted on the Black Rock West HMA and the helicopters headed up to
there to finish capturing the animals in that area. The wranglers
took the saddle and "pilot" horses and got the trap ready.
Good
Morning America, Madeline Pickens, and several others
representing the various interest groups were scheduled to come
watch and film. At about 8:50, those of us at the holding facility
could hear helicopters coming towards the ranch. We were aware that
Madeline and her group might be flying to the gather. They had
permission from the ranch to land on their private air strip. We
were getting ready to walk down and greet them at the airport. To
our dismay the three helicopters bringing Madeline’s group flew
right over the air strip and into the Warm Springs gather area. They
then disappeared from our view. Next we could hear them over in the
West Black Rock area where our pilots were herding the wild horses
towards the trap. They flew thru these areas for at least 25 minutes
before finally landing at the air strip. This act of complete
defiance of the explicit instructions given to them by Jerry
Reynolds and Heather Emmons and caused the remaining Warm Springs
wild horses to move clear up into the upper part of the HMA. They
will have to be driven miles further to the trap when we go to round
them up and bring them to our trap. This was very unfair to the wild
horses and caused them a lot of unnecessary extra stress. Federal
law specifically prohibits harassment of wild horses. But more
importantly, they put our pilots in danger. One pilot was herding
some wild horses and, like always, was way above them and a good
distance from them just letting them drift towards the trap. The
three large helicopters came between him and the wild horses and
scattered the horses. I assume Madeline wanted pictures of the wild
horses. Our other pilot was also herding some wild horses - they
work together and are always in communication with one another. The
pilots of Madeline’s three helicopters were not in communication
with our pilots and had no idea where they were and could have
caused a mid-air collision. Our pilots radioed Dave and he told them
to leave the area as quickly as possible and get on the ground.
We did not go to greet Madeline and her party in the three
helicopters after they landed as planned. We were very upset and
shocked by what had just happened. We waited until the rest of the
public and the people representing Good Morning America arrived by
vehicle and then Alan Shephard, the Contracting Officer’s
Representative for the contract asked to have a meeting with the BLM
personnel accompanying the public before any public could approach
the area. Following this meeting, Alan explained to the people what
had just happened and how it affected the wild horses and the gather
operations.
In the meantime, Dave & Troy and the two pilots got back in the
air to see if any of the scattered wild horses could be brought to
this trap today or if we would need to wait until another day to
give them time to regroup. While they were doing this recon of the
Black Rock Area, the public and news media were taken to the
temporary holding facility to ask their questions and to do
interviews and take video and pictures.
When the recon was finished Dave, Alan and the pilots talked
about the situation and decided to try to bring in some of the wild
horses that were not too far from the trap. Everyone was taken to
the trap site and watched the roundup for the rest of the day.
Approximately 50 wild horse were captured and taken to the temporary
holding facility where they were sorted and put in pens with hay and
water.
I am still very angry about Madeline Pickens causing all this
extra stress on the wild horses when we always try so hard to gather
wild horses in the most humane way possible. But I am even more
angry because our pilots were put in danger. These two young men
always try very hard to do what is best for the wild horses and
their job is what you would call very high risk. They did not
deserve to have this happen.
I am also adding this recent press release from Robert Abbey “Many Myths
in Wild Horse Management Debate” to my web site.
