Where Oh Where are the Wild Horses?
I’ve become quite fond of the Modoc National Forest and the surrounding area in northeast California.
Besides being home to the Devil’s Garden wild horses, the Modoc offers a unique landscape of vast lava plateaus occasionally interrupted by juniper and pine groves, flowing creeks, and dramatic rock formations. Alturas, the nearby county seat, has a good selection of restaurants — Mexican, Thai, and Italian, to name a few. And minutes away is the Modoc Wildlife Refuge. A staging area and wetland breeding ground for migratory birds of the Pacific Flyway, it never fails to disappoint as it attracts over 200 species of birds at different times of the year.
In the past, I’ve visited for work reasons as a staff member with the American Wild Horse Campaign — for example, to take part in meetings about the management of the wild horses and more often to document the roundups and removals of these horses from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory, their 258,000-acres habitat on the Modoc.
A few weeks ago, however, my husband and I came as tourists, mostly to see the wild horses on the Modoc. After a great breakfast at the Wagon Wheel Café, we headed out, multiple maps in hands, including one from the Forest Service listing wild horse viewing sites either on or adjacent to the Territory.
For over nine hours we drove and hiked, then drove and hiked some more. Of the seven sites on the map, we explored four: Big Sage Reservoir, Logan Slough, Quaking Aspen, and Boles Tank. Despite our efforts and enthusiasm, we found no horses — just lots and lots of cows, with many lounging in springs, the shallow edges of the Big Sage Reservoir, and various riparian areas, enjoying the abundance of water and grass despite the drought.
To be fair, it was hot, very hot — at times, over 100 degrees. Therefore, it wasn’t all that surprising that horses were not readily visible. We suspected most were tucked under trees, seeking some relief from the heat. Nonetheless, we were disappointed not only because the Forest Service maintains that the wild horses are overpopulated — a spring survey estimated 1,926 — but also because there were so many cows!
Lately, others, including researchers, environment groups, and long-time followers of the Devil’s Garden horses, have had the same experience — even though the Forest Service states that its proud to “manage the Devil’s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory” as “it offers one more reason for Americans to connect with their national forest” on the map of viewing sites.
Ironically, the Forest Service has targeted most of those sites in the 2018, 2019, and 2020 roundups that removed almost 2,000 horses. So, here are a few questions to ponder — how can the Forest Service promote the Territory and its horses as a “reason for the Americans to connect with their national forest” when it’s systematically eradicating the horses whom 80% of the public wants to see protected and managed on their public lands? And if the Territory is so overpopulated with wild horses, why are they so difficult to find?
Now, at this point, I need to clarify — we actually did see horses, just not on Territory grazing with their family bands and enjoying their freedom. Returning to Alturas, we drove past the Forest Service’s Double Devil corrals on the edge of the Modoc to check out if any horses were still there. In June, a MNF press release reported that about 32 horses from the 2020 roundup have yet to be placed. Because the Forest Service says that it places about 30 horses a month, I assumed no horses would be left. But I was mistaken. There were horses — by our quick count, 40 or more including several mare/foal pairs and possibly pregnant mares.
It’s difficult to reconcile the discrepancy in numbers but also disconcerting to realize that the stream of horses ending up warehoused at the Double Devil will continue. In the Forest Service’s endless quest to reach the ridiculously low Appropriate Management Level of 206–402 horses, it plans to round up another 800–1,000 horses this fall and thousands more in upcoming years, costing millions of taxpayer dollars. At the same time, the Forest Service allows up to 2,500 cow/calf pairs and 1,000 sheep — all privately owned — to graze in the Territory for pennies a day from early spring to the fall when the forage is most plentiful.
Further, seeing so many of cows and their calves camped out especially in the riparian areas was, well, frustrating. Over the past several years, Laura Snell, a UC/Davis cooperative extension agent and dedicated horse slaughter proponent, conducted “research” by setting up cameras at two dozen sites in the Territory to determine the impact of wild horses on its ecology. Her results — “Strong evidence that deteriorating range conditions in the area are due to horses rather than cattle or other species.”
I suspect I’m not alone in wondering where exactly Ms. Snell placed her cameras. Not only were all the riparian areas and water resources that my husband and I visited heavily populated by cattle, but their distinctive cloven-shaped hoof prints and piles of manure were also abundant in other places, especially in comparison to horse hoof prints and manure piles. So, it’s seems reasonable to challenge Ms. Snell’s “strong evidence.” Then again, given that she designed her study to support local ranchers’ campaign to scapegoat the horses and have them removed, her results aren’t unexpected.
Of all the National Forests I’ve visited, the Modoc is still my favorite. But I’m biased. Besides its distinct history and beauty, it offers an amazing gift — the opportunity to experience California’s largest wild horse herd living free on its federally-protected habitat. Or at least it did. Sadly, with the Forest Service’s misguided plan for more roundups and removals, seeing Devil’s Garden horses in crowded holding pens instead of on the Territory will soon be the norm. And that’s wrong, for the horses and the American public who love them.
