Opinion by Barbara Sophia
Hiking through the Little Book Cliffs outside of Grand Junction, one is sometimes rewarded with viewing magnificent wild horses. They are strong, sure-footed, healthy and well-camouflaged by the rocks and landscape they call home.
It’s early morning, barely raining as a light fog hangs over the valley. Beads of dew coat the sage, shimmering as the sun crests over the bluffs. I follow a stream looking for hoofprints. In the distance a whinny is faintly audible. Pausing, I wait to hear it resound and head in that direction. Tucked into the rocks, I patiently wait. A small herd appears, hardly noticeable through all of the brush. They call to each other and stop to graze.
While hiking miles for days, I saw fewer than a dozen horses on 31,110 acres. Here they must endure the drones of motor vehicles making noise and tearing up the landscape. It is hard to imagine that 140 from a herd of approximately 200 are to be inhumanely rounded up by helicopters. Diminishing the herd by this much — as well as darting the mares with infertility drugs and castrating the stallions — is a recipe for elimination.
On May 20, 2023, Governor Polis signed SB23-275, a bill meant to protect wild horses during a ceremony held, ironically, at the Little Book Cliffs. He is quoted as saying, “We can ensure that our wild horse herds have a humane and sustainable future in Western Colorado. We also want to highlight that this will set a national example.”
We have wild horses in holding facilities with their fates unknown; many may end up in the slaughterhouse pipeline. This year, numerous roundups are slated across the West. As of now, 20,939 wild horses are to be removed (periodically the numbers change). It would have been incredible to have Colorado stand behind its word to be a national example. Some herds are being zeroed out or becoming genetically compromised, and it’s all funded by our federal tax dollars — $154.8 million proposed for this year.
Research by the Wild Horse Fire Brigade of California supports the idea that these herbivores help mitigate fire, distribute vital seeds and nourish our soil. With a warming planet, fires are burning longer, more intensely and more frequently. These animals provide an important balance within our ecosystem and should remain on the land where they were born.
Don’t let the saying become, “Once upon a time, there were wild horses.”
Public comments regarding the Little Book Cliffs roundup can be submitted to the Bureau of Land Management through June 15. Visit www.tinyurl.com/LittleBookCliffs
To find out more about Barbara Sophia’s efforts to protect wild horses, visit www.bio.site/rewildthewild
