Roundup on plateau strives to control wild-horse population TOM STIENSTRA
MODOC NATIONAL FOREST — From behind a juniper, a wild stallion stepped into a clearing. The animal’s dark coat glowed in the afternoon sun, and its shoulder muscles flexed and rolled with each step. A light wind sent the smell of sage across the landscape. Nearby, a herd of six wild horses, including two colts, followed its leader. A big gray, a palomino and its russet colt then turned to the right and trotted off, seemingly invincible across the high desert range.
If only they were. An estimated 4,000 wild horses live on the Modoc Plateau. U.S. Forest Service biologists say the habitat can support 400.
Higher numbers can cause them to eat themselves out of their home on the range, and in the process damage plant
species, riparian areas and aquatic life while outcompeting native pronghorn, mule deer and other wildlife, said Ken Sandusky at Modoc National Forest headquarters in Alturas.
On Wednesday, the Forest Service plans to start rounding up 1,000 wild horses, relocating them in large corrals and offering them up for adoption, despite the protests of animal activists who fear some of the horses could end up in far-away slaughterhouses.
Horses under 10, which can still be trained as domestic animals, will be available for adoption through a process established by the Bureau of Land Management, usually for $125. Horses over 10 will be available for adoption and sale for the first 30 days with limitations, and then after that for sale for $1 without limitations.
Buyers must sign a contract and certify under a felony statute that they will provide humane care for the horses and will not sell or transfer ownership to anyone with the intent of killing the horse, such as for meat, said Sandusky, who provided a copy of the contract.
It is the first stage of a long-term plan to reduce the size of the herd on the Modoc Plateau. In two years, the Forest Service plans to remove 2,000 more. The ideal buyers, Sandusky said, are owners of large ranches where the horses can roam, just as they do in Modoc.
“The entire process is very humane,” said Sally Carter, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service with a specialty in the horse program. “I love taking my family out to find them, watch them.”
In time, it’s possible some horses will be darted with birth control serum, as has been done with herds of wild horses near Carson City, Nev., as well as in eastern Oregon. No healthy horses will be killed, Carter said.
Modoc County is in remote northeastern California, more than 350 miles from San Francisco. The entire county spans 4,200 square miles, half the size of Rhode Island, yet has only 9,000 residents. Horses have run wild here for 140 years. Over time, they either escaped ranches or were not recaptured after being set free to graze.
Herds of wild horses are located in five major areas across the Modoc Plateau, a high desert of sage and grasslands peppered with junipers. A few areas are interspersed by the more typical national forest landscape of pines, cedars and firs.
The best opportunity to spot and stalk wild horses is often in the vicinity of Logan Slough, according to locals. Logan Slough is a feeder stream that pours into the north end of Big Sage Reservoir, a shallow lake that spans 77,000 acres.
The habitat is filled with lava flows and boulders from prehistoric times that span across 500,000 acres. In spring, when pockets fill with water, the region turns into a paradise for waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway, and also has some of the most spectacular wildflower blooms across the Western U.S.
In winter, the area gets sparse rain, an average of 12.5 inches a year, and the average daily low temperature is 18, with sub-zero temperatures common. In big winters, the Modoc Plateau can be covered in more than 15 feet of snow, Sandusky said, and that forces horses into areas with less snow, further stressing them.
The winter deep freeze causes vegetation to go into hibernation for nearly six months, and it is possible for the wild horses to eat themselves out of food and into starvation. An ephemeral pond near Lost Hill is called Dead Horse Reservoir, and another, east of Mowitz Butte, Deadhorse Flat.
The wild horse roundup will help to reduce that risk, as well as benefit wildlife that share the habitat. It will also aid rare aquatic lifeforms, such as the fairy shrimp, which risk getting trampled in riparian areas, Sandusky said, where horses also need significant amounts of water.
With Modoc National Forest overseeing the roundup, crews will work with a helicopter pilot to direct herds of wild horses into large pens and ready them for transport.
“We’ll do this in small groups, usually no faster than a trot,” Carter said.
Horses under 10 will be taken to the Litchfield Corrals operated by the Bureau of Land Management. The base adoption fee for younger horses is usually $125, and mares with foals, $250. Older horses will then be available for as little as $1 and can be viewed at Double Devil Corrals in Alturas.