SOURCE: Carsonnow.org
BLM, community square off over Fish Springs wild horse issue
Local residents gathered at the Bureau of Land Management field office in Carson City Wednesday, amid concerns over pending action that may include removal of wild horses.
The area known as Fish Springs, three miles southeast of Gardnerville, is home to scattered bands of wild horses that have become part of the landscape to property owners over the past 20 years. The situation came to a head recently, when residents provided supplemental watering tanks for the horses.
The BLM says there is adequate natural water sources available to the wild horses, but some locals say otherwise.
“Horses on this range have to travel 3-10 miles for water, which is a challenge during average conditions,” says Annie Jantzen, organizer of the Deer Run Wild Horse Preservation Group. “Anyone who has lived in here for any length of time knows that rivers are reduced to a trickle in the blistering summer temperatures. All these people want to do is give the horses a little help during the hottest time of the summer.”
The BLM argues that the residents are enticing horses to their water tanks, causing them to wander from their ”herd area” boundaries, about 8 to 10 miles outside the Herd Management Area to the Fish Springs area and are impacting private property.
Jantzen addressed the issue, displaying a map for the crowd showing that the BLM has removed more than half of the area initially assigned for wild horses to live on.
Fish Springs resident Lillian Brown is one of the residents who has a supplemental water tank on her property. She said she added the tank in response to the abrupt removal of a stock tank that the horses have utilized for nearly 10 years. Brown said she is willing to remove the tank when she is satisfied that the horses are being supplied with adequate water.
While the issue is being deliberated, BLM Field Manager Leon Thomas agreed to supply interim water tanks about a mile away from the residential area. It will be up to the residents to keep them full of water beyond the initial fill by the BLM.
The goal of the watering station is to pull the horses back toward the range and away from homes. A packed house of attendees offered several ideas on resolving the BLM’s concerns, that are being considered by Thomas.
Public safety is also being cited as a concern, although only one party voiced objection to the close proximity of the wild horses. She related an incident of feeling fearful of a horse that came within about 20 feet of her, saying it happened more than a year ago.
Thomas says he is going to review the suggestions made by the community and will schedule a follow up meeting in a few weeks.
“I’d like to think the many viable solutions of the community will be put into action, instead of having another treasured herd of wild horses stripped from their homes,” Jantzen said. “This situation just smells too much like Deer Run all over again. We hope the BLM will act on the determination of the recent NAS (National Academy of Science) report and work it out with the community this time.”
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
See the facebook page for Deer Run Wild Horse Preservation:
FISH SPRINGS this would be comical if it weren’t so serious for the horses…….. See photo of the 3 tanks placed for supplemental water for horses. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, the small green tank went from 3/4 full to empty. We raged about the situation on FB & by Sat. afternoon, a BLM Fire crew staffer was spotted by a homeowner refilling the green tank. The resident asked the worker why he didn’t fill the other two much larger tanks that had been sitting there bone dry, especially since the green tank was proving inadequate for the demand of thirsty horses. The worker replied that John Axtel (BLM) didn’t instruct him to fill three tanks; he just said to fill the green tank. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? True story.
By: Deer Run Wild Horse Preservation
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Yeah, BLM will try any tactic what ever it may be to rid the horses of their land, they have made up their minds no one will be able to change it…… I sent a video to five states to both senators on their Facebook pages, showing a truck harassing horses in a holding area, also sent it to John Boehner lord knows why I did, but did..
Also put it on the BLM facebook page we all NEED TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY NOW, the horses have suffered enough….. LETS FIGHT HARD, god I wish I lived where all the horses were, they’d never be able to shut me up, I’m Irish you know, hahaha, this is not funny of course but we can beat them we can……..
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So am I, Debbie and I love your spunk!! (-: I totally agree with your comment..they have made up their minds, but so have we and we MUST fight hard …the horses have suffered enough! We must all do everything we can to assist in bringing this nightmare to an end.
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I have lived in Fish Springs, are you kidding me, some unknown person is afraid of a horse being within 20′ of her, then MOVE out of the rural desert, for crying out loud, don’t let these bastards at BLM lie to you, they are trying to kill off those horses, please take this seriously, Each Horse needs 50 gallons of water a day,, you cannot rely on those obscure watering holes to provide that, BLM and “others” ,will interfere on purpose, is it not clear to everyone yet what their intentions are for the Horses?
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It’s kinda scary, isn’t it, that a single incident of ‘fearful’ could influence the weight of Leon Thomas’ entire opinion…
Usually when a wild horse approaches a human, it’s either curiosity or to ask for assistance. True Story.
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We need to be prepared to help. Nevada wild horse folks are busy and they need help and support from all over.
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Fish springs community should ignore the BLM, sabotage their round up plans, fight fire with fire! Hide the horses, do not show BLM on their land, file law sits for trespassing against the BLM. Show them who is boss! Retaliate!!! This is war!!!
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I agree with Terri, just get the horses out of there, or sab the BLM’s plans, make no mistake, they will kill those horses.they don’t listen to the majority time and time again, and placate us just enough that we think we are being heard, then they turn around and do what they planned all along.. Fight for them by any means neccessary..
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still reeling from the usda article and now i read this? blm, you are over the f——ing top.
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