Shutdown leaves horses without water
ELKO — While Washington politicks over a government shutdown, wild horses on the range could be dying of thirst.
Carlin resident Jackie Wiscombe, who for the past two years has contracted with the Bureau of Land Management to haul water to horses, said she’s been told to stop.
“Due to the government shutdown, these animals are in dire consequences of no water available,” she said. “… They are basically dependent on water being hauled to them.”
Wiscombe had watered an area 15 miles north of Currie and another in Ruby Valley about every five days. She was going to continue hauling water to the horses through the end of November, she said.
On Wednesday, she informed the county commission, saying horses could very well be dying.
Commissioners — who commended Wiscombe for bringing the issue to light — were worried about the horses and frustrated by the apparent lack of contingency planning by those in charge.
“What I’m concerned about is who’s responsible for these kind of management decisions?” Commissioner Demar Dahl said, “where you’d make the decision to start watering these horses, and then we say, ‘OK, now because we’re shut down, quit drinking.’”
Dahl wanted to know how many horses are left without water and dying.
“It doesn’t matter whether you love horses or hate horses,” he said. “It’s just egregious to think that you’re going to put them in a position where they depend on you and then walk away.”
Washed out roads complicated the problem, Wiscombe said. One spot hadn’t been watered for about a month because the road was impassable.
“We could go investigate and find out if they are dying. If they are, the county has a water truck, we can go haul water out there,” Dahl said. The county also has a bulldozer, he added, to level washed out roads.
However, a county water-hauling project would need to be approved as an agenda item, according to County Manager Rob Stokes. If residents decided to haul water with private equipment, though, it wouldn’t be a county issue.
Dahl said he planned to fly an airplane over the two spots Thursday to see if he could tell how many horses were in need of water. Dahl and Commissioner Jeff Williams both own dozers, which they said could fix the road depending on its condition.
Rainstorms provide temporary puddles for the horses to drink, Wiscombe said, but the land won’t hold water for long.
Due to the shutdown, calls to the BLM state office and U.S. Department of Interior went unanswered.
On Friday, the BLM Elko District contacted the Free Press.
BLM: Horses have water
ELKO — Reports that wild horses were without water prompted local Bureau of Land Management to investigate this week.
Contracted water hauler Jackie Wiscombe told the county commission Wednesday that the federal government shutdown had prohibited her from watering wild horses in Ruby Valley and Deer Springs, an area about 15 miles north of Currie.
She said she was concerned the animals were dying of thirst. The road to Deer Springs had been washed out, Wiscombe added, and she was unable to drive to the guzzlers.
Alerted by the news, BLM Elko District Director Jill Silvey said an employee was sent to Deer Springs to check on water and horse conditions.
The BLM employee was able to get to Deer Springs on a road that had some washout but was passable, Silvey said. The employee also reported that the horse guzzler still had water.
The employee didn’t see any horses, but because water was available, she said, the BLM believes the horses to be in good shape.
Silvey was unsure where the communication broke down, but said hauling water to the horses is an essential service and the BLM didn’t intend for Wiscombe to stop watering the two areas.
Wiscombe said she was contacted Thursday night and told that she should have received an email and voice message when the shutdown began, telling her to continue hauling water.
Wiscombe is also unsure how the miscommunication occurred, but couldn’t recall getting an email.
In any event, Wiscombe said she’s glad to be working with the agency again.
“I like working with this BLM office,” she said, “and they really do care about these wild horses.”
Mostly, she’s happy to be watering horses again.
On Friday she hauled water to Ruby Valley where the tubs were “bone dry.”
Wiscombe said she didn’t see any horses but did find fresh horse tracks near the guzzlers.
“I filled them up,” she said. “And I’ll go fill them back up in a few days.”
Commissioner Demar Dahl said Wednesday he could help fix a road if it was impassable.
Wiscombe said she would keep in contact with the commission if the road needed repair.
The Elko District BLM office is closed. Almost all of its employees have been on furlough since Oct. 1, when the federal government shut down.