Carson City wild horse advocates lose battle with BLM; horse trapping underway
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 02/27/2013 - 7:04pm
The Bureau of Land Management began removing several horses Wednesday from the outskirts of Carson City. The horses are a part of the Pine Nut Mountains herd management area that is adjacent to Deer Run Road. The following is from Margie Quirk, a wild horse advocate, who, along with nearly two dozen residents, were unsuccessful in their attempt to convince the BLM to consider other alternatives than to trapping and moving the 11 wild horses from the area. Here is a news release from the BLM as to why they did it and here is Tuesday's story as to how it came to happen from the advocate's perspective. Below is a report from Quirk of today's activity. — Carson Now
BLM determined to trap horses
At approximately 7:30 this morning our group received word that the BLM would be setting the traps for the Deer Run Herd. They were allowing 2 people to follow them to the trap sight and observe. They would not tolerate anyone trying to interfere, and they had two Federal Marshall's with them.Annie Jantzen and Laura Leigh agreed to head up. The following information and photos were transmitted between Annie and myself. (I was working but actually ended up spending most of the day frantically posting as much as I could on Facebook and emailing people.) Unfortunately our group received no feedback from Channel 2, 4 or 8 in Reno. We did however, receive a phone call from Pj Connolly of FoxNews Reno. He was very apologetic that they had no extra manpower at the moment. We are very appreciative of Carson Now for allowing us to tell our story.
The original plan was to set the trap at the top of Sedge to the right. This is where the last trap was set. The horses had other ideas. They actually began to descend back towards the homes and stopped at the water trough that they have used for 15 years. A neighbor came out to try and lure them closer in, but he was stopped by an officer who told him he would be arrested if he interfered.
As the horses wandered, a BLM employee enticed them towards the trap with a bucket of grain. At approximately 10:30 the horses were close enough to the pen to encourage them in. The first 3 were trapped. As you can see from the photos the older white mare and the other 2 mares stood at a distance watching and waiting.
Update at 4:26 p.m. My contact's phone has died. The latest news is that 4 of the horses have been loaded in a trailer and are being transported at his time. There is one horse left in a pen with a BLM employee monitoring him. The 23-year-old Matriarch of the herd is still on the loose, but hanging close.
Wish we had better news to share at this time. Our hopes would be to let the captured one go so the two remaining horses could stay free. This has been what the BLM has always done in the past. That older mare has never been trapped and taken away. She was left as a "tracking" mark. She was easy to spot so the BLM could keep their eyes on the herd. Slowly but surely the herd built back up. If the white mare is finally captured this will mark the end of something very special many have enjoyed for years. It is a sad sad day for us.
