KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasI-Team: Final Round-Up of Nevada's Wild Horses

I-Team: Final Round-Up of Nevada's Wild Horses

Tough times lie ahead for Nevada's wild horses. There are already more horses in government pens than exist on the open range.

(Scroll to the end of the story for upcoming wild horse and burro adoption events)

Now, millions of dollars are being trimmed from the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse budget. This makes it even less likely that the government will put much effort into finding homes for the horses.

Wild horse advocates suspect that the drastic horse roundups Nevada has seen in recent months are related to the news that the BLM budget is being cut, as if someone was trying to grab as many horses as they could while the money was still there.

Since the BLM has shown little interest in putting resources into horse adoptions, a smaller budget could mean even more horses will spend their lives in government pens, including hundreds of horses rounded up near Cold Creek earlier this year.

"It's like they came and took the spirit right off the land," said one Cold Creek resident.

Another told the I-Team, "It's one of the saddest things I've ever seen. My kids ask, where are the horses going, mommy? Are they going to bring the horses back?"

The rural community of Cold Creek simply isn't the same. The wild horses that used to appear nightly to frolic in front yards, graze in the open desert, or to drink water in the evenings, are all but gone. Residents still spot a lone stallion here and there, but it's not the same.

The BLM said most of the horses had to be rounded up, either for their own protection or to protect the range, or because there isn't enough water, take your pick. Few people in Cold Creek are buying any of the excuses.

The BLM claim that horses had to be rounded up to protect native grasses is simply galling to Cold Creek residents. Without horses eating foliage, they say, the danger of wildfires greatly increases for their homes. That's what happened south of Red Rock in areas specifically fenced off from wild horses, excessive grass led to one of the areas worst-ever range fires, charring thousands of acres.

Wild horse advocate Jerry Reynoldson said, "It has little to do with current range conditions and a whole lot to do with 'we just want to get them out of here'."

Frequent BLM critic Jerry Reynoldson thinks the bureau doesn't only use junk science, but no science to justify its roundups. The agency has an aggressive gather schedule in place for Nevada for the rest of the year, even though in Southern Nevada there is an average of one wild horse per 1,000 acres.

Previous gathers have been tough on the horses. A Northern Nevada roundup during birthing season resulted in dead and abandoned foals and stillbirths. Reynoldson notes the new BLM budget cuts the wild horse program by $4.5 million. That's bad news for the horses, he says.

By law, the Bureau of Land Management is supposed to manage horses, not only gathering and warehousing them, but also putting resources into finding homes. The meager adoption efforts in Nevada will probably be cut further, he guesses, causing an even bigger backlog in already overcrowded storage pens.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-195)

Reynoldson continued, "At some point, somebody will say, we've just got to put these horses down. It's the only answer."

Reynoldson is trying to solve the problem one horse at a time. He reached an agreement with BLM officials in California to facilitate adoptions by Nevadans who want a wild horse. Reynoldson helps adopters with the paperwork, with selecting the horse from the Ridgcrest facility, even with transportation if they need it. He says BLM Nevada isn't happy about being sidestepped.

Two adopted horses could be like a thumb in the eye to the BLM since their new home is Cold Creek. Two Cold Creek residents, upset about the removal of wild horses, sought Reynoldson's help in adopting year-old fillies who are now living the good life out there, whether the government likes it or not.

"These horses will never have to worry about the gather helicopter circling over their heads because they're home for good. And that's a really neat thing," Reynoldson continued.

The I-Team wanted to know what the BLM in Nevada spends on gathering horses, versus what it spends on finding adopted homes and asked for basic budget information back in February. The I-Team asked again in March, and April, and again in May.

BLM still can't find the figures. The I-Team plans to stay on them.

A local wild horse group is having an adoption event soon, with the BLM's help. The adopt-a-horse and adopt-a-burro event takes in Spring Creek, Nevada and begins Friday, June 1st with an adoption preview from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and runs through Sunday, June 3rd.

There will be another wild horse and burro adoption event on Friday, June 22nd through Saturday, June 23rd at Horseman's Park in Las Vegas.

Jerry Reynoldson is offering to help anyone and everyone find homes for horses. For more information on adopting a wild horse or burro, call 1-702-398-7799. (But you need to dial the complete number)

Email your comments to Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp.