James Bagwell guest col: Make painful decision now on wild horses

A short few years ago I wrote articles for the commentary section of the Nevada Appeal. My wife running and ultimately getting elected to the Board of Supervisors brought my literary career to a halt. I’m still passionate about some of the subjects I chose to write about. I feel forced to write once again concerning one issue, the wild and feral horse.

As a young man growing up in Nevada and spending much of my time outdoors I developed a strong passion for the horses that roamed our back country. They were a proud animal standing tall, alert with flowing mains and tails. A large stallion could often be found standing watch over his herd of mares and his offspring.

I knew the ranchers of rural Nevada were the managers of these horses. And yes, I knew the rancher did despicable acts like rounding up horses when the herds got to large. They even introduced a new stud every few years to keep the gene pool viable. Some ranches even turned some of their riding stock out in the winter to run with the wild ones and they gathered them in the spring was made easy when the “domestic horse” led the herd home.

Earlier this month, we’re again told the wild horse program is in trouble. We, through the Bureau of Land Management, are going to pay an ever increasing bill to maintain the horse in the “wild” and in pens in several western states. The Bureau didn’t ask for this responsibility, it was forced on it with little thought of the ecology and nature of the environment.

First, let us agree the horse running wild is what the west is known for. Let’s also agree for the most part, the horse has no natural predator to keep the population in check. Of little concern to a fanatical few, our rangeland isn’t conducive to supporting large numbers of horses. Water is a vital resource and horses have a unique way of milling around in a spring and in many instances pack the ground so tightly that water can no longer rise to the surface. This is a disaster for the horse and all other wildlife dependant on that water.

The blame game is what will be played now. Wild horse advocates will blame the BLM for mismanagement and other groups will find fault with the horse advocates for creating a problem that really wasn’t a problem. There will be plenty of blame and shame for all to shoulder.

I guess I fall into the group who believed the wild horse advocates were well meaning, but a little short on planning. If we all moved out of the state and gave it to the horse, we would be in the same place in a few short years. The horse will propagate and eat itself out of house and home. The 37,000 or so wild horses in Nevada are far above carrying capacity of the land and mother nature is going to look cruel when the next drought hits.

Now we are at the end of the proverbial financial rope. We have literally painted ourselves into a corner. The truth of the matter is we can’t afford to continue on the path we’re on. Simple math says it’s irresponsible to continue to pay for horses in captivity. We long ago exceeded range carrying capacity, now we have exceeded our financial ability to pay. Since the early 1970s we have played the game of hope; hope it would never comes to this.

I don’t like the solution that’s before us. We need to sell the horses in captivity and reduce the numbers running wild. If we don’t make the painful decision now, we are going to make a more painful one in the future. The final part of the equation is to reintroduce the rancher to the mix. He can help manage the herds and support his activity by selling the excess horses.

Before you attack the messenger, think beyond the end of your nose, put your heart strings in a bow and think of the horse for once, not your personal desires. Remember, you asked the BLM through your eastern allies to manage something it was ill equipped for so its failure is really yours. You got what you wanted; you didn’t anticipate this outcome but it’s now reality.

James Bagwell is a Carson City resident.