The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada has received backlash from rural Nevada residents after a multi-day horse roundup took place in Palomino Valley in early January. The tribe is now one of six parties facing a lawsuit from a Nevada resident who claims several privately-owned horses were taken as well.
The feral horse roundup was part of a fire impact mitigation plan developed by the tribe and the Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response program following the July 2018 Perry Canyon Fire, according to Tribal Vice Chairman Alan Mandell. The fire burned more than 18,000 acres of tribal land in late July.
“One of the treatments included in the plan is to stabilize and rehabilitate the fire-damaged lands by removing feral horses,” the Paiute Tribe said in a released statement.
“This mitigation measure is intended to reduce impacts related to grazing, noxious weed encroachment, herbicide treatment, seeding, and other measures being taken in the plan to stabilize and rehabilitate tribal lands.”
However, the move has upset horse owners nearby, who claim some of their horses were swept away in the wild horse roundup.
Colleen Westlake, a resident of Sparks, NV, is one of those locals. She claims her mare Lady was caught up in the tribe’s roundup, in addition to two other horses owned by a friend. Westlake told WLJ she adopted the mare from the Paiute Tribe through the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) on July 11, 2018, before the Perry Canyon Fire started on July 28.
Although Westlake resides in Sparks, she kept her horse on a friend’s property of 72 acres, 15 miles away from the Paiute Reservation land.
Westlake told WLJ she received a call from her friend on Jan. 4 saying the horses on her private property were rounded up by motorcycles and a helicopter and driven away over the hills. Lady, along with two other horses owned by Westlake’s friend, was swept up with the herd of wild horses. The friend’s private property was not fenced in, but there was a corral on the land that the horses occasionally ventured outside of to graze.
Westlake said her friend was nearby chopping ice when the motorcyclists approached the horses, and the riders continued to round up the privately-owned horses, even after Westlake’s friend attempted to stop them.
“Each day of the roundup, horses are inspected by a state brand inspector to ensure tribal ownership,” the Paiute Tribe said in a released statement in response to claims that privately-owned horses were caught up in the roundup.
“The tribe follows all guidelines set forth in the management plan to ensure the safety and humane treatment of all horses that are gathered.”
The NDA does not require a brand for livestock, unless the livestock is running on open rangeland. Westlake’s mare is not branded, but Westlake said she holds a permit for Lady’s adoption from the Paiute Tribe. Westlake said it is not uncommon for landowners in the area to keep their land unfenced and to not brand their horses.
Westlake contacted the NDA for information regarding the location of her horse and said she was told to contact the Paiute Tribe. Upon doing so, she was directed back to the NDA by the tribe.
Westlake told WLJ she was approached by the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign to join the organization as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against six parties involved in the roundup. The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 16 in the U.S. District Court in Nevada.
The defendants mentioned in the lawsuit document include: the NDA; Cattoor Livestock Roundup, Inc. of Utah; a Nevada woman who allegedly purchased the horses from the tribe; and two NDA employees.
The NDA and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe have chosen not to comment on the lawsuit.
U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du issued a temporary restraining order in Reno on Jan. 17 forbidding the slaughter of Westlake’s mare. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28 in Reno at 1:30 p.m to address any other privately-owned horses caught up in the roundup. — Anna Miller, WLJ correspondent
