By Michelle Baker
The Nevada Department of Agriculture on Wednesday began rounding up and transporting dozens of Virginia Range wild horses to a holding center in Carson City. The reason: to make way for a massive new housing development. The horses were on private property undergoing the initial stages of construction.
Horse advocates said their plans to move the horses out of the area were thwarted, and the horse gather was the first of its kind by the state in about a decade. The horses are considered feral-estray because they are under state jurisdiction, not federal land management agencies.
American Wild Horse Conservation, have been successfully reducing horse numbers with a darting program have an agreement with the state to avoid horse roundups. They said they felt betrayed by the agency’s reversal of a plan to safely relocate the horses to a remote area within the range.
“We should be working together and not against each other, considering the cooperative agreement in place. We have a lot at stake.”
One south Reno resident, Billy St. Germaine, said he first heard about the roundup on social media and lost sleep over the news.
“I was in bed last night scrolling, and it popped up… I couldn’t go to sleep, it was like a punch in the gut,” he said. “It actually hurts because that’s their water source right there. I come down here with my family all the time. It’s tough.”
The clash among the groups and government agencies is not new.Just north of the property owned by Sunny Hills Ranchos LLC, a California-based development company, is the Talus Valley housing development. This development was approved in 2019, and since then, Sunny Hills has allowed that developer to the north, Lennar, to access their property in the early stages of Talus Valley construction.
During this time, Sunny Hills developers have worked with the City of Reno and horse advocacy groups to allow the horses to access their main water source at Steamboat Creek. In May, developers erected pedestrian gates along property lines to prevent vandalism that was occuring, but this also blocked the horses from accessing water.
According to the statement released by American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC), the roundups are in direct opposition of the approved plan in which Wild Horse Connection (WHC) would have safely relocated the dozens of horses from a populated, “high conflict” area to a different part of the range. The plan was previously approved by NDA, the City of Reno and the developers, Sunny Hills Ranchos.
“We’re really just disappointed because there was no communication that there was going to be a permanent removal,” Tracy Wilson, Nevada director of American Wild Horse Conservation, said on Thursday. “We feel like that the whole situation could be a lot more collaborative.”
“NDA is now removing the horses from the site to protect them from the dangers of an active construction zone, including heavy machinery, sharp objects and trenching.”
After horses were stranded without water for days in May, the outcry from community members brought city officials, advocacy groups and the developers together where they agreed to keep the gates open while the city completed a project that would relocate the horses north and provide access to water at Alexander Lake Road.
After this incident, large boulders were placed in the gate opening to prevent vehicles from entering from the neighboring property, and the gate has remained open, allowing access—albeit limited—for the horses to move through property lines for water.
In recent weeks, NDA, the city, horse advocates and the developers have been working collaboratively to relocate the horses to the new water source. An NDA spokesperson said in a statement that the collaboration between Wild Horse Connection was given access and an extension to relocate the horses from the Sunny Hills Ranchos development, but when their efforts were unsuccessful, the NDA began removing the horses to protect them from the active dangers at the construction site.
“The NDA, Wild Horse Connection and the development company have been collaborating on this issue for the last 2-3 weeks,” NDA Public Information Officer Ciara Ressel said in a statement. “Wild Horse Connection was given access to the site to relocate the horses off the property, but were unsuccessful. On Aug. 1, Wild Horse Connection requested an extension through Tuesday, Aug. 6 to relocate the horses. This was approved, but efforts were still unsuccessful. The NDA is now removing the horses from the site to protect them from the dangers of an active construction zone including heavy machinery, sharp objects and trenching.”
Wilson said that on August 4, WHC was successful in removing all horses from the property, but due to the large boulders that are in place, a gate was unable to be closed, and the horses ultimately returned to the property. On Monday morning, WHC requested the developers remove the boulders so that the gates could properly close.
“The next thing we knew [on Wednesday] morning, they had the gate locked and the NDA was here collecting horses,” Wilson said. “We should be working together and not against each other, considering the cooperative agreement in place for both, you know, the range management, fertility control—we have a lot at stake. We put a lot of money and time and effort into the management of these horses. And the lack of communication is just really disappointing.”
Community members and advocates of the wild horses have shown up to the property lines on Rio Wrangler over the last two days to show their support for the horses. St. Germaine showed up to the gates of the roundup site with his family on Thursday along with about 10 other community members.
“This is south Reno,” he said. “This is what makes the area so great. It’s gone. And those horses now are pulled away from their home. They were here first. It’s upsetting.”
According to NDA, 24 horses were gathered and moved to the Northern Nevada Correctional Institution in Carson City, where they will be advertised for adoption at a later date. After a required advertising period allowing individuals to claim ownership of a horse that may have escaped, NDA will begin the adoption process, where horses will be advertised and adopted over the next 60 days.
Advocates say they can be sold for slaughter. Advocates said they fear the horse could end up ultimately slaughtered if a so-called “kill buyer” ends up adopting the horses. NDA’s Ressel said that in the last adoption period, all of the horses were adopted and did not go to a livestock sale.
“There isn’t the market for the adoption of these horses, and everybody knows that,” Wilson said. “So after the required amount of time listing them for adoption or claim, then they go to the livestock auction, and kill buyers can and do buy them and send them across our borders, you know, to Mexico or Canada for slaughter,” she added.
As temperatures reached the mid 90’s two days in a row, another 40 or so horses were shut out from accessing the water at Steamboat Creek. WHC has been asked to keep the horses away from the fence line, and Wilson said these horses are being pushed to another water source.
On Thursday, advocates rallied in Carson City to ask that Governor Joe Lombardo intervene in the issue.
“Our ask is that the governor and the NDA choose to relocate these horses to a different part of the range, rather than permanent removal. We really feel like the horses are being punished for human activity, and that feels really unfair,” Wilson said.
NDA’s Ressel said the agency will continue to remove any remaining horses from the property moving forward.
