Emotions over McCullough Peaks wild horse gather boil over

POWELL - Federal officials and wild horse supporters are calling for calm after highly emotionally charged threats were made to Bureau of Land Management employees over the removal of wild horses in the agency's efforts to reach appropriate management levels within the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area.

"Please don't attack BLM employees," said Deputy State Director of Communications for BLM Wyoming Brad Purdy in an interview with the Tribune, saying he understands the passion and emotion for the herd. "When people are very emotional, when people are very passionate about something, at times, you don't get the best version of that person."

The bait trap gather currently underway by BLM biologists and employees began tragically earlier this year with the death of a filly known as Kat Ballou, fueling emotional outbursts by some of the many thousands of fans of the herd.

Then the capture of an internationally recognized filly sired by iconic western stallion, Thor, led to threats against those involved in the captures.

The Bureau has been slowly removing horses since Jan. 22 with a target of about 35 horses. Including a stallion and two mares being removed Wednesday, the agency has captured and removed about half its goal as it looks to finish the captures this month.

With a population of 175 prior to recent actions, BLM plans included gathering about 80 wild horses, temporarily sterilizing some mares and removing a total of 35 to reach the high end of their management level of 140 horses in the Peaks.

Despite understanding BLM regulations, the capture and removal of Thora, the first offspring sired by Thor, brought Powell resident and professional photographer Tony Douzenis to tears.

"I broke down and cried when I saw Thora taken," he said.

Douzenis has spent nearly five years documenting the McCullough Peaks herd. His photographs have been viewed by tens of thousands of fans of western wild horses on multiple online portals. Douzenis spends three to four days a week at the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area and first documented Thora the day she was born.

The joyful, curious foal, which was born in August last year, became internationally recognized, Douzenis said.

"She's a spittin' image of her sire and has just about the sweetest personality you can ever see in a horse. Her curiosity just went to the moon," he said. "When you saw the two of them together, I mean, you realized she's a mini Thor."

Thora became a "beacon" to wild horse advocates, Douzenis said. He has received requests for information from around the world by passionate tourists planning trips to see the herd.

When Thora was taken and then photos turned up of her being held at the Rock Springs facility, the news quickly resulted in public outcry.

"I was devastated when Thora was taken. I did not believe she needed to be taken. It affected me emotionally. I've watched these horses, especially the young, grow up." he said. "I mean, they're like my own kids. They are more than just beautiful animals. Their personalities, their souls bleed out when they're together."

Despite his love for the herd, Douzenis is united in calling for peace.

"In order to truly make a change, going after BLM officials with pure hate, emotion and disrespect is not going to help make positive changes," he said.

His photographs show the relationships within the herd as it ekes out a living in the high desert habitat.

It is speculated that disrupting the relationships between a mare and her foal led to the death of Kat Ballou. The death complicated an already strained relationship between fans of the herd and the BLM early in the gather.

Foal death

On Jan. 22, 10 horses were captured in the BLM's bait trap. Among those 10 horses was a mare with her foal, a filly. The BLM decided to release the mare, along with five other horses, while retaining the foal and three other horses to be held in a short-term holding corral overnight before shipping the four to the holding facility in Rock Springs, where they were to be processed and offered for adoption.

One of the goals in the captures is to remove the younger horses due to the relative ease of placing them through adoption.

Although the four horses in the corral appeared to be calm and quiet when the BLM left the area late that evening, according to reports, when they returned early the next morning they found the filly dead in the corral. A veterinarian determined that the horse died of head trauma, likely from running into a post in the corral.

Friends of a Legacy issued a statement following Kat's death.

"Whenever a strong bond is observed between a mare and her offspring, that pair of animals should not be separated. Either they should both be released, or they should both be retained," the organization stated.

The organization suggested selections of horses going to Rock Springs should be made based upon consultations involving at least two people who have made extensive observations involving herd dynamics of those being gathered. But, ultimately it has limited say in the matter.

"FOAL has no authority to mandate BLM management decisions," the group said in a statement about the incident.

Despite the incident, FOAL Executive Director Heather Green is calling for calm and cooperation.

"Everybody has a job to do. We have to figure out how to remember that the people behind these efforts are human beings and try to work together as best we can so we can figure out how to be productive instead of just hostile," she said.

Friends of a Legacy

FOAL was founded in 2005 by four dedicated residents committed to preserving and protecting the wild horse herd living in the McCullough Peaks.

In 2006 FOAL signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BLM for coordination and cooperation on opportunities for public education, to enhance the habitat for all creatures living within the HMA, and to assist the BLM in managing the herd. With a mission of keeping the horses "wild and free," the organization has been improving the habitat through identifying and rehabilitating reservoirs within the 120,000-acre facility between Powell and Cody, working to find overpopulation solutions through PZP sterilization and educating the public through advocacy of the wild horses.

The organization has a vested interest in working closely with the BLM, which allows it to continue habitat improvements, Green said.

"It's important that people can find common ground and figure out how to move forward and try to keep the horses' best interests in mind," she said.

The captured horses have all been moved to the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility in Sweetwater County. Once there they are treated well, Purdy said, receiving veterinarian care, food and clean water.

Both the BLM and FOAL work to place the horses through adoption.

However, tens of thousands of wild horses are currently held in federal holding facilities.

A national problem

The management of wild horses is a problem across the West.

Nationally, there are 61,870 horses in BLM off-range holding facilities, according to an official with the bureau.

The Rock Springs facility is the only federal off-range corral and preparation facility in Wyoming. It houses approximately 800 wild horses, primarily gathered from Wyoming herd management areas. The facility also serves as a rest stop location for wild horses being transported eastbound from western states.

A viewing kiosk overlooking the facility is open year-round.

According to the Congressional Research Service, in 2022 (the most recent statistics available), the appropriation for BLM management of wild horses and burros was $137.1 million, 18% higher than the previous year 2021.

Recent increases were intended to support "an aggressive, non-lethal population control strategy" as set out in a May 2020 BLM report.

This strategy includes increased removals, attempts to place the horses from the holding facilities and fertility control. The 2022 funding was more than six times the amount spent in 2000 ($20.4 million).

Fertility program

The McCullough Peaks herd has been part of an active Porcine Zona Pellucida, or PZP, fertility-control vaccine program given to female horses on the range through an injection via remote darting. For some wild horses, the program, which requires getting within 60 yards of the horse, is extremely hard, stressful to the horses and expensive.

But the McCullough Peaks herd is used to human interaction, according to officials with the BLM.

The herd is still well over the level healthy for the habitat, Purdy said.

"We've been very successful in the McCullough Peaks with fertility control darting. Obviously, no program is 100% perfect, so we are over our AML," he said.

The herd has been over management levels for years. The bureau has also been introducing a new anti-fertility drug, GonaCon, which when administered can last for about four years. Their proposal stipulates that GonaCon will only be used on mares over the age of 13 which have already contributed offspring to the gene pool.

But the use of the new drug is controversial, and there are concerns with the new drug by both FOAL and individual advocates.

Despite the continued use of PZP since 2011, the McCullough Peaks wild horse population increases at an average of 2% annually, necessitating bait trap gathers, according to BLM officials.

The main purpose of the gather is to return the population to the high end of its appropriate management level while maintaining genetic diversity; selectively remove a portion of horses for placement into the adoption program; and capture, treat and release horses for application of fertility treatment.

The plan allows older horses to remain in the McCullough Peaks HMA.

This bait trap gather also gives the BLM the opportunity to reset the sex ratio of the herd to a more favorable ratio, according to agency biologists. Currently, the sex ratio of the herd is 40:60 (stallions-mares). BLM biologists claim this is because PZP treated mares generally have a longer lifespan than stallions.

"Mares that are treated with fertility control have better overall health, as they do not experience the biological stress of reproduction, foaling and lactation as frequently as untreated mares. Because of this, McCullough Peaks horses have an average lifespan of over 25 years, five years longer than the average lifespan of a wild horse," the agency said in a statement.

Grazing rights

Some advocates point to the fact that the HMA leases some of the prime grazing land to area cattle ranchers.

Under the BLM's resource management plan, the HMA has enough forage for 500 cows per year, and there are currently three ranchers operating within the HMA.

Douzenis contends there are enough resources in the habitat for 200-250 horses if the BLM would halt the leases. And at that population level, there would be enough genetic diversity to keep the historic herd healthy, according to biologists familiar with the herd.

Douzenis made several proposals during the public comment period prior to the captures.

"I suggested they should remove public grazing leases on all horse management areas, not just in the McCullough Peaks, but on all of them," he said. "This land is designated by the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 to protect horses and to give them sanctuary. I think it should be treated as such."

The BLM administers nearly 18,000 permits and leases held by ranchers who graze their livestock, mostly cattle and sheep, at least part of the year on more than 21,000 allotments across the West. Permits and leases generally cover a 10-year period and are renewable if the BLM determines that the terms and conditions of the expiring permit or lease are being met.

The best option

Green said the gather could have been worse and prefers the method of a bait trap gather as opposed to the more disruptive option of a helicopter roundup, she said in a recent letter to the editor.

Green said when FOAL is notified which horses have been removed, they will help publicize adoptions by creating profiles of each horse and sharing that information online.

But other advocacy groups and individuals are asking the BLM to violate the Wild Horse and Burro Act, Purdy said.

"I understand that they don't like us out there gathering horses. I understand that members of the public and activist groups get attached to certain horses, and they get very emotional when we have to remove those horses. But, you know, the Wild Horse and Burro Act is very, very clear," he said. "As a federal government employee, there's no wiggle room there for me just to willingly violate the law."

The BLM has been providing the public with daily operations details, captures and removals. It has been publishing the information on its website, as well as on social media sites.

All horses removed from the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area are taken to the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility, where they are eating and drinking well, checked by a veterinarian and monitored closely, and eventually made ready for adoption, the agency said in a Facebook post Wednesday.

Purdy said horses removed from the HMA could be up for adoption as soon as two months from the time they were captured, and a link is always provided for their online corral.

Prices to adopt most horses in holding is $125 each, though auction prices can go much higher for celebrity mustangs. Thora will undoubtedly bring in a high price, according to some who watch the process.

"Make no mistake, the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program is licking its chops at the bidding war that's sure to break out over baby Thora during the online auction," commented Scott Beckstead of Sutherin, Oregon, to the BLM. "Pro-BLM plants will drive up her price as a way of exacting even more hardship on the nonprofits working for her safe and responsible placement."

Others have called the removal of foals abuse and are demanding separating mothers and foals should be banned.

Wild in Wyoming

The appropriate management level for wild horses in Wyoming is approximately 6,000, according to the BLM.

But there are about 2,250 horses in off-range holding facilities in the state. These include the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility, the Wheatland Off-Range Corral, the Wyoming Honor Farm, the Mantle Adoption & Training Facility, the Deerwood Ranch and the Wind River Ranch.

The estimated average lifetime cost to provide off-range care for one wild horse is $22,500.

Because of the nature of the bait trap method, wild horses are reluctant to approach trap sites when there is too much activity; therefore, only essential gather operation personnel are allowed at the trap sites, and on spur roads leading to the trap sites during operations.

Additionally, the recreational use of drones, which could disrupt horse movement, will not be allowed near the trap sites.

The gather is expected to be finished by the end of March.

Adoption information

If you are looking for a mustang from a specific Wyoming HMA, call the BLM. Untrained wild horses are available for adoption at the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility by appointment or at scheduled adoptions throughout the year by calling 307-352-0292. To donate to FOAL: friendsofalegacy.org For more information: wildhorsesonline.blm.gov.