The River Springs mustang herd near Montgomery Pass
A month ago, a local source expressed concern about the future of a wild mustang herd near Montgomery Pass. Reports circulated that the Department of Fish and Game might destroy some of the horses. Local Fish and Game refused to return phone calls, however, now, the Forest Service has reported on a recent meeting over the wild horses and assures the animals’ fate is secure at this time.
An agency meeting took place recently to disuse the Montgomery Pass wild horse herd. According to INF Public Information Officer Nancy Upham, the meeting was well attended by “BLM, Forest Service, NRCS, CDFG, researchers and local landowners.” Upham said that after a lot of discussion it was determined that there are issues, but that there is not a significant enough problem at the current time to place it higher in priority over the large number of other resource issues on everyone’s plates.
Upham said that there is no truth to the earlier rumor that the horses would be shot. Upham said, “This is not how over-populated herds are dealt with and has never been discussed or considered in any way for the Montgomery Pass herd.”
Inyo National Forest Mammoth District Ranger Jon Regelbrugge conveyed the information that the primary impetus for the recent meeting was the recognition that the interagency group that works on coordinating the management of the wild horse herds hadn’t met for quite awhile.
Regelbrugge said that after much discussion, it was decided that the herd is in good shape and is within the targeted population level. Officials said that most of the discussion circulated around the question of geographical distribution of the herd. There are some concerns that some bands are causing some impacts due to their distribution and the time that they are spending in some areas.
The group talked about prospective solutions to this issue of distribution and individual members are going to continue to work on potential solutions. The group decided that they will meet again, but no date was set for the next meeting.
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“the meeting was well attended by “BLM, Forest Service, NRCS, CDFG, researchers and local landowners.”
all tax eaters but the poor land owners. I’m against my tax dollars being spent on this. Just leave the horses & burros alone.
That would just brake my heart to see the WILD HORSES (MUSTANGS) distroyed, or removed!
Roaming California, and Nevada deserts!
They have a right to live, as we do!
PLEASE LEAVE THEM ALONE TO RUN WILD, AND FREE!
PLEASE PROTECT THEM!
Amen Jackie, they should be left alone to roam .. but someone somewhere thinks they are a nuisance.
ummmm… mustang burgers….
I’ll take my Mustang burger the same way I like my deer; poached j/k
Ken, your mom says you are spending way too much time in your room on your computer.
LOL Ken .. no .. Burro is the better BBQ .. really it is not bad, but they eat grass .. like beef and venison. It’s just the idea of eating the cute little burros that people can’t handle.
Local Fish and Game refused to return phone calls,
Refused to return phone calls? I think I’d push that up the ladder.
We did push it up the ladder. The Sacramento PIO tried to get information, but even he had
problems. We then sent a letter to DFG Director of Communications. Haven’t heard back.
Benett
No replys from Bishop DFG is strong evidence of guilt and coverup. They hope it will go away after their “shoot the mustangs” plan went public with Benett. Bruce Kinney is in hunker down mode.
Reality .. They can’t shoot them .. you need to get the facts together, you and Rob .. before you say things like that.
There are 460,000 cattle grazing in Nevada and guestimates of only 12,000 mustangs; destroying our wildlife, our wild mustangs, our freedoms, is all about the blood crop of beef.
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Mr. Ahles it has nothing to do with cattle, besides 460,000 head of cattle on the open range, the entire open range of California and Nevada, is not even close to being a sizable amount of cattle on the range.
Don’t even try to lie to people here, in saying it is all about beef production. That is not the truth, the truth is .. Mustangs have been deemed non native animals on the range, the same with burros.
The mustangs and the burros are being rounded up solely because they are supposedly competing with native animals for food and water, they are supposedly damaging water holes, supposedly eating all of the feed.
The reason cows are allowed to graze, is they are let out under leases that the government is required to let out for the purpose of ranging the cattle on public lands.
Some in the government use their authority to further personal agendas and erode the ranchers ability to range cattle, and round up the wild horses and burros, to be held in adoption centers such as the one down in Indian Wells (Ridgecrest).
These adoption centers keep hundreds of animals at any given time, the adoptions are not as plentiful for these unfortunate animals.
And our tax dollars pay for the wrangling, keeping, feeding, veterinary, and adoption of these animals.
The adoptions do yield some recuperation of costs but it is very minimal. All because they are not a native species.
And now, the government is talking about putting down some of the animals because they can not adopt them.
Why is this going to happen?
Because someone deemed them a nuisance to the land, they are not native. A similar thing happened with the National Park service in Death Valley, someone deemed the palm trees to be non native species, and set out to eradicate them from Death Valley. They killed them and cut them out, and supposedly burned a bunch just east of Furnace creek.
State employees living at Cow Creek residential area were threatened with arrest for trimming trees in their yards around the housing area, because of some over zealous law enforcement individuals.
Personal agendas … and abuse of power and resources.
BLM is beef!
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I always look forward to seeing that (herd) when I drive through there. Sometimes if I’m not in a hurry. I stop & take pic’s or video of them…all SIX OR SEVEN of them. Hardly a threat to the environment. There is nothing out there but a bunch of old played out mines and sand & sagebrush for 30 miles in any direction. Leave ’em be.