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The usual vandalism reappears
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Another Weekend Brings More Work for
Wild Horse Volunteers
Story date: December 3, 2007
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Lyon County, NV -- A weekend often means more work for wild horse volunteers and the weekend of December 1-2 was no exception. Weekends give off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and litterbugs opportunities to litter the range with garbage, cut fences and create havoc.
Horses grazing among piles of human refuse.
After picking up hundreds of pounds of garbage, volunteers noticed that some wild horses and livestock weren't where they respectively belonged. It was obvious that another fence had been cut. After checking in with Virginia Range Estray Horse Manager Mike Holmes, volunteers also learned that a band of horses had moved into the Santa Maria Ranch subdivision after someone had removed a wire gate over there.
On Monday volunteers started up on Stockton Flat and found where a barbed wire fence had been cut and flattened in a dry wash. Tire tracks from dirt bikes could be seen crossing the fallen section of fence. Fortunately by this time the wild horses and most of the cattle were back on their respective sides of the fence. The volunteers secured the fence and picked up assorted beer and liquor bottles found near where the fence cutting had taken place.
Wild horses back where they belong.
From there the volunteers proceeded to the Santa Maria Ranch subdivision where about a dozen horses were dozing on some undeveloped lots in the subdivision. From the piles of manure and nibbled lawns throughout the subdivision it was evident that they had spent an interesting weekend there.
Wild horses dozing in the subdivision.
The scary part about removing horses from the subdivision is that the subdivision's frontage along busy four lane US-50 is only partially fenced. It was a challenge to move the horses back to the opening in the fence through which they entered without them wanting to rush towards the highway. After some effort the horses were moved back from whence they came, found their way out through the opening in the fence, and moved back into the hills where they belonged.
Examining the damaged fence line.
The amazing part about this adventure is that someone removed a wire gate just a few hundred feet from a cattle guard that could have easily been driven across. Yet the vandal not only opened, but removed the wire gate, presumably to trespass, resulting in damage to residents' landscaping and a hazard to motorists using US-50. Once again, dirt bike tracks crossed the vandalized opening.
We should point out that most off-highway vehicle enthusiasts appear to be responsible. However nearly every day one can observe some idiot on a dirt bike breaking the law, trespassing on private property or creating a hazard to public safety. It's just part of life on the range.
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