Save a horse, get a citation

DRIGGS — Late last month, a Driggs resident was given a citation for removing a sick wild horse from public lands to be treated in a private horse sanctuary.

Cynthia Stoetzer is a local artist and is the program director for Teton Arts.

She was at her home in Emery County, Utah visiting the Justesen Flats in late April when she reported a lone and very sick looking wild horse following her own horses.

“It was hanging around where people camp,” she said. “The horse was trying to get food and water. I had some question about whether it was a domestic horse that somebody had turned out.“

Stoetzer gave the horse some water and food, and left. She says she continued to worry about her over the next two days.

After trying to contact the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) without success, Stoetzer went back to pick up the horse to drive it three hours to Best Friends Sanctuary in Kanab County, Utah.

BLM Utah Spokesperson Lisa Reid claims the field office in charge of that herd did try to contact Stoetzer throughout the time in question, also without success.

When federal authorities did catch up with Stoetzer to discover where the horse had been taken, they transferred her to a federal holding center in Axtell, Utah.

“I got the horse into Harvard and the BLM came and pulled her out,” Stoetzer said. “I think it was more about making a point that the horse was government property than what was in her best interest.”

Last week, Stoetzer was served a citation for $275, with the offense of ‘’removing a wild horse.’

Removing wild horses and burros from public lands was made illegal by the 1971 ‘Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.’

“I guarantee [that law] was written to protect the horses from ranchers,” Stoetzer said. “I don’t know if it was meant to punish do-gooders like me.“

“We have those laws in there to protect both her and the animal,” said Jason Lutterman, a national spokesperson for the BLM’s wild horse program. “It’s always a good thing to keep your distance… like in a National Park.”

The BLM regularly gathers wild horses to keep the herd populations at a manageable level.

“When a herd gets beyond the ability of the land to support them, we’ll go in and remove the excess animals and offer them up for adoption,” said Lutterman. “We have facilities across the West… [where] we give the horses vaccinations, age them, and make them available for the public. It’s $125 to adopt one, [although] you have to have specific facilities… There are a lot of good opportunities to get horses.”

The BLM has been widely criticized over the years for their management of wild horse and burro populations.

“We have a mismanagement problem,” said Wild Horse Preservation Campaign President Suzanne Roy. “The [BLM’s] whole approach is completely unsustainable. They are creating their own problem… removing the horses drives up the reproductive rates… the only way it is sustainable is if slaughter is an option.”

The BLM takes in a lot more horses than they adopt out. From 1971 to 2013, more than 216,000 horses have been removed and almost 197,000 have been adopted, according to BLM statistics.

The herd management area Stoetzer was visiting, Muddy Creek, has 137 horses, 10 percent more than the area can naturally hold, according to the BLM’s own data. It had not experienced a ‘gathering’ of excess horses since 2009 or even had an inventory since 2014.

Other areas in Utah have even more extreme excess populations. ‘North Hills’ and ‘Frisco’ in Southwestern Utah had more than four times the number of horses the land can support. ‘Choke Cherry’ had more than six times, according to the BLM data. None of these areas have had their excess populations gathered in more than four years.

The BLM’s national budget for maintaining wild horses and burros has also seen cuts, from $80.5 million to $80.1 million.

Idaho, which has a much smaller wild horse population, also has less of an excess population. According to the data, only the Four Mile and Saylor Creek herd management areas have an excess population.

This is partly because the BLM has been working alongside a private non-profit dedicated to managing wild horse herds.

Wild Love Preserve, founded by Andrea Maki, is located in Challis, Idaho. Since 2010 Maki has been working to bring the different sides of the issue together.

“I didn’t realize how locked into positions different stakeholders were,” Maki said, speaking of the early days with Wild Love Preserve. “My approach has always been that I am here to have conversations, not to have arguments… The key to the horse crisis is solving the human communication crisis. We need to be able to show solutions that work.”

Maki’s approach has proven successful so far. By taking full advantage of the BLM adoption program, Wild Love Preserve has taken in more than 100 horses. According to Maki, not one wild horse has left the state since 2012.

Now she is working with the BLM to pilot a vaccine program that keeps wild horse populations down without having to regularly round up excess horses.

“You can’t just say, ‘don’t touch.’ You have to offer an option,” said Maki. “It’s not a black and white situation.”

So far, the data looks promising. And people are taking notice.

“I’ve had people contact me countless times saying, ‘we need what you are doing in our area,’ ” Maki said.

Meanwhile the BLM reported that the horse Stoetzer saved is doing well. According to Reid, she is in good condition and will soon be put up for adoption.

Stoetzer says she is prepared to pay her fine.

“I probably won’t fight this,“ said Stoetzer. “It’s not worth the money and the time off work to fight it.”

She also added that she was very glad the horse is in good health and would even consider adopting it if she is allowed to.

This article was originally published in the Teton Valley News. It is used here with permission.