On May 1, the Bureau of Land Management and the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) proposed construction of the Virginia Range Fence Line. This would involve constructing up to 23 miles of four-wire fencing along the western range and would sever a substantial number of wild horses from their traditional water sources, as well as forage.
The NDA previously stated that this project would be subject to an environmental impact study; now the agencies say these National Environmental Policy Act requirements could merely be bypassed by a categorical exclusion, treating these wild horses as being of no great import.
This decision constitutes an egregious, unjustified betrayal of the historic Virginia Range wild horses, or mustangs. Also, this decision betrays the majority of people who know about these beautiful and harmonious animals.
The Virginia Range and surrounding areas are the very cradle of the wild horse movement in America. Here, in the 1950s, Storey County voted to protect its wild horses not only for their inherent beauty, but also for their role in preventing destructive wildfires.
As an ecologist, I know they are ecosystem restorers. The horse and burro are positively contributing returned natives in North America whose droppings build deep and humus-rich, moisture-retaining soils and also broadly disperse the seeds of many native plants. Horses are also superior carbon sequesters who combat life-threatening global heating. These mustangs enhance ecosystems, making them more resilient—and it is precisely this resilience that critically needed by life on Earth due to major, accelerating changes.
Thousands of locals and visitors enjoy observing these wild horses, including many passing by on Highway 395/580. These horses have been here for centuries and should continue to be allowed to live naturally. Since a boy, I have observed and been inspired by these hardy and unique mustangs, containing both Spanish and short-breed heritage, dating from the early pioneering days.
If these horses are shut off from their major forage, water, shelter and other survival resources, their future would be seriously jeopardized. Furthermore, the ecosystems they inhabit around Washoe Lake would be negatively impacted, including soils and meadow health and biodiversity richness. And there would be a greater risk of catastrophic wildfires.
My input to the Nevada Legislature Interim Committees Meetings Committee on Public Lands on May 15 includes the construction of a broad and naturalized overpass over Eastlake Boulevard along the lake’s eastern side. This would be used by many wildlife species, including deer and pronghorn. Also, my plan includes a judiciously designed, intermittent fencing pattern that would not block critical wildlife access to Washoe Lake while keeping the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife reserve, at the lake’s northern end and at Little Washoe Lake, fenced. I also propose lowered speed limits, speed bumps and increased speed enforcement, among other points.
Most importantly, there would occur an increased recognition of the wild horses’ positive value, coupled with public education about them and their benign place in our world. In place of scheming against these noble animals and the enhanced ecosystem they help create, we would be learning to live in true and respectful harmony therewith. It would be a fitting celebration of Nevada and of America at its 250th anniversary.
Craig C. Downer is a wildlife ecologist and the president of the Andean Tapir Fund/Wild Horse and Burro Fund. He lives in Minden.