Triple B, August 25 Newark Valley trap site

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

Again we were told to meet at the Ely village park at 4:00 am which meant a 2:00 am wake up call and a 3:00 am departure from Cherry Creek. Today we had a different plan. Now Arla and Maureen knew where the trap site was in Newark Valley and they were going to do some scouting in the area looking for an appropriate vantage point. I was supposed to meet them at the 30 mile loop turn-off from route 50 at 2:30 in the afternoon.

The BLM caravan, Chris Hanefeld and Vanessa in the first car, followed the three HSUS reps, me and two rangers, heads out of town on Route 50 towards Newark Valley again. We arrived at Ruby Marsh Road and as soon as the vehicles in front of me hit the first patch of very dusty dirt road, I literally had to stop – I could not see the road! I wasn’t so worried that morning as I had been on this same road the day before. As I stopped to let the dust clear, the ranger behind me passed me and took off! Another cloud of dust to wait through! I found out later he was the new guy on the team that day and didn’t know all the correct protocols – i.e., a ranger is supposed to stay at the end of the caravan and not leave an observer behind.

Chris Hanefeld and the HSUS SUV were waiting for me at the temp holding pens. They were wondering what happened to me and I explained I chose to drive carefully within the 25 mph speed limit, and had to wait for the two plumes of dust to clear before I would drive on.

We got to the trap site and started walking over to the observation area when Chris got a message that the chopper was bringing in a band of horses. We hurried to get there and set up our cameras.

Early in the day I decided to ask Chris Hanefeld about the 500 foot clearance that the chopper was required to keep from people. Chris Hanefeld said the FAA rules is the reason why the observers were to keep 500 feet from the trap site. Chris added that the fuel truck was also supposed to keep 500 feet away from the trap site and the observation area since the chopper ‘hot-fueled’ there. [Hot-fueled – the chopper is fueled while the chopper engine is still running.]

The First Band

First Band is Sighted in Newark Valley

First band was found early and appeared to be brought in without incident but I had no idea how long or far they had been driven or where they had started? I could not see what was going on in the areas hidden from view due to the terrain but once I had a shot of what I presumed to be racing horses and chopper dust, I clicked to preserve the time. Sometimes it was not obvious until the cloud of dust got closer.

When I finally got a chance to view my work, I realized that the first and second band were really the same band; they were split into two groups. The first band consisted of 9 horses and two of them were foals. The first five were pushed into the trap site while the other four initially escaped by heading back down slope (north and away from the trap site). These four can be seen standing around in the background of a few shots while the first five were being pushed in the direction of the trap site. Each group had one foal.

The first half of the first band approach the trap site.

The First Band

The second half of the first band.

The Second Band

The second band is spotted north east of the trap site.

The second band was a different story – chopper drove the band a long time and a long way – photo time stamp shows that the chopper and horses were in view way down the valley at 7:45 am and were pursued until 9:07 am. This was the largest band of horses I saw at one time so far and they managed to escape! Made me feel real good especially after all the miles they ran!

The second band approaches the trap site.

The chopper ended up pushing them in a box pattern around the trap site and observation area and if my observations are correct they would have run more than six miles or more around us (this does not include when the horses reversed direction from time to time) nor does it include the miles they must have run just to get to the trap site.

The second band regrouping in the trap site area

As the horses approached the trap site, the grey mare was leading but three dropped from view and another horse took the lead away from the trap site leading the seven up the hill to the south behind the observation area. The chopper turned them around several times but the horses were determined and kept on heading south. At one point 3 reversed direction and headed south (uphill) the seven others headed north. The north bound horses reversed direction and headed back uphill the way the other 3 had gone. Next time I could see them, there were only nine horses! One had dropped out somewhere. The group of nine continue uphill until they took a right turn and ran west, crossing the road near the ranger parked on the road uphill (south) of the trap site; when this happened I was reaching for my next camera memory card and don’t have any photos of them crossing the road.

The band is headed south. And one of the 10 makes a run for freedom.

The band is heading west

{See photo gallery below for the photos in the order they were taken.}

After crossing the road they took another turn right and headed north on the other side of the road. Even though they were less than a mile away, they could not be seen due to the terrain until they were north of the trap site.

The second band has crossed the road we drove in on; this is south of the trap site area.

The second band running east just north of the ranger parked on the road.

And again they made a right turn just north of the other ranger parked on the road and the horses continued east. The Ely district BLM had rangers parked on the road about a half mile away on either side of all the trap sites to control traffic should the chopper be driving horses into the trap site area.

Another right turn to head into the trap site but they won’t go there! The chopper continues pushing them and they go south once again, up the hill! As they head south, the chopper splits them up and after a few double-backs, a group of four horses and one foal escape into the trees while the other four horses head downhill (north) only to escape into the trees!

This band won this battle – they are in the trees and not coming out! If ever there was a band of wild horses I’d like to meet, it’s this band – the band that got away!

[There is a slideshow in the works of this band from start to escape which includes a lot more photographs than are posted here – it will be posted soon! in the meantime scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the gallery of photos at the trap site on August 25, 2011]

Immediately after this failure to catch wild horses, the chopper flies directly over the observation area – so close I could see the watch on the pilot’s wrist! At this point I turned to Chris Hanefeld and said, “500 feet?”

I watched theses horses be chased for one hour and twenty-two minutes, according to my camera. Several times I begged Chris Hanefeld to contact Ben Noyes and tell him to stop the helicopter but he refused as it ‘was not his job’ to tell the WHB specialist how to do his job.

The third band also had 10 horses, two were foals. This band was easily herded from the north east into the trap site. They were driven to the trap site through a depression in the terrain and therefore they were not viewable by my camera and half the time, neither was the chopper visible. This band stayed together throughout their stampede and unfortunately for them, they were trapped.

The third band is at the trap site.

 

Everyone’s eating dust at the trap site!

The last hors of the third band to race over the mound in the jute chutted area of the trap site. The last horse caught for the day!

Immediately after the third band was captured, they began loading the horses onto trailers. They trailered the foals separately. After trailering the foals, they started taking down the trap site.

[Short slide show of trailering is in the works…check back here real soon.]

I didn’t get to inspect the inside of the trailers they used to transport horses back to the temporary holding pens; I suspect it was the trailer they asked us to stand in on Saturday the 27th while we were observing during the Butte Valley trap site. That trailer did not have a skid-proof floor – bare metal! (more about this coming up soon.)

First Band is Sighted in Newark Valley

The first band: 5 in the foreground and four in the background on the right.

The first half of the first band is pushed into the trap site.

The second half of the first band.

The second band is spotted north east of the trap site.

The second band approaches the trap site.

The second band at the trap site.

The second band regrouping in the trap site area

The band is headed south. And one of the 10 makes a run for freedom.

The second band is heading west.

The second band has crossed the road we drove in on; this is south of the trap site area.

The Band is heading north on the west side of the road we drove in on.

The second band running east just north of the ranger parked on the road.

The second band just north of the trap site for the second time.

The second band arrives at the start of the jute chute and stops to survey the situation.

The second band heads south again past the trap site.

Three from the second band have started to escape into the trees!

The third band is spotted north of the trapsite.

The third band is at the trap site.

The third band, 8 horses and one foal, running hard at the trap site.

The third band looking for an escape from the chopper!

The third band eating dust at the trap site!

The third band harrassed by the HELL-A-CHOPPER continuously while at the trap site!

The third band forced over the top of a mound in the trap site area while the chopper hangs menacingly close!

The third band runs over the mound in the trap site while the chopper continues to harrass the horses!

The third band runs over the mound in the trap site while the chopper continues to abusive behavior!

The last horse of the third band to race over the mound in the jute chute area of the trap site. The last horse caught for the day! ©2011 afroditi katsikis

The third band arrive in the trap chute.

Newark Valley, Aug 24, 2011

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24, 2011

Getting to the trap site

Another day of getting up at 2:00 AM, but this morning everything was ready to go: Cooler with water and food, car packed with camera gear, and coffee ready to drink! I left Arla’s at 2:45 AM. Shortly after I left, Maureen and Arla followed in the 4×4 pickup Maureen had rented. I arrived at the meeting point in Ely before 4:00 AM. Only one BLM Ranger was there when I got there and the others, Chris and Vanessa and another BLM Ranger, showed up shortly after I did. Chris Hanefeld came over and introduced himself and explained that we would go to temporary holding first to determine the location of the day’s trap site. Only the contractors knew where the site would be that day, according to Chris. The previous day, they had gathered eight horses at Ruby Lake Marsh.

Shortly after 4:00 AM, we left Ely and headed southwest out of town on route 50. Maureen and Arla were following the entourage consisting of Chris Hanefeld and Vanessa (never got her last name) from the Colorado BLM PR Department, two park rangers, and myself. Maureen and Arla had plans to skirt the trap site to find a place where they could be hidden from view in order to observe what could not be seen from there, but since they didn’t know where the day’s site was to be, they followed as close behind as they could without being noticed.
We turned right at the Ruby Lake Marsh Road, which was after the 30 mile loop road. Shortly after turning right onto Ruby Lake Marsh Road, the road became dirt, and I slowed down to accommodate the 25 mph speed limit while Chris continued on a breakneck speed. Occasionally, I would see his SUV’s rear lights and kept going; one of the Rangers was always behind me so I didn’t worry too much about where I was going. I made it to temporary holding and saw a trailer of domestic horses head down the road; the chopper was still on the ground and it was not yet light.

I kept in touch with Maureen and Arla via cell phone whenever there was a cell signal in order to relay which turn-offs were passed and give them the name of the turn-off we did take. I tracked the miles from the turn off onto Ruby Lake Road and gave them landmarks they could identify, as when the road conditions changed or crossed cattle guards. After that, Verizon cell phone service blacked out, so Maureen and Arla didn’t know about the left turn after them temporary holding compound. SunJ had three 5th wheels parked there as well as horse trailers, and the helicopter. They had also set up a round pen for the domestic horses used in the round-up.

Upon taking the left turn which was across the valley from temporary holding, the dirt road became very dusty. Not wanting to drive in the dust in the dark, I slowed down considerably hoping that Maureen and Arla would see the car lights from a distance. The road got worse! A very dusty, dirt road so bad that in the dark with headlights on there was no way to see the road. It was a worry as to how the others could see the road and follow the winding path it took. Several times I stopped to let the dust clear, as I felt they were all going too fast on a winding, dusty, rocky road –- certainly faster than I dared go in unknown territory. Huge dust clouds were created by the vehicles ahead. The road eventually became less curvy but still dusty, and I found myself on a straight road headed down the shoulder of this mountain into the valley floor.

THE TRAP SITE – NEWARK VALLEY

It was not yet dawn when we got to the trap site in Newark Valley. Light peeked over the ridge to the right of us as we faced the trap site; we were facing north into the valley on land that was gently sloping upward away from the site. The dirt road continued past the trap site and made a right turn almost a mile below it; this is where one of the BLM Rangers parked his well-equipped truck. The other Ranger parked south of the trap site about a half mile or more just below the trees on the gentle slope we had just come down. I was told to park along the road across from the trap site and behind Chris Hanefeld. We headed to the observation area just south of the trap site, and had a pretty good view of the area. The view of the trap site wasn’t great, but it was the best of the three trap sites I’d been to during this trip.

Chris Hanefeld pointed out we needed to be 500 feet from the trap site and to hunker down if asked. It was possible from time to time to go back to our vehicles with a chaperone if we asked first and the chopper was not nearby. We were allowed to wander the terrain behind us to find an appropriate area to find a bush to water if we asked first.

Since I was the only observer throughout the morning’s roundup, Vanessa (BLM Colorado…I don’t think she ever gave her last name but maybe she did to the other observers), Chris Hanefeld, PR, BLM, Ely district and I were in conversation most of the time. I asked questions I knew the answers to and some that I didn’t. It was surprising that I knew the answers when he didn’t – after all, he’s in charge of answering media questions isn’t he? You’d think after ten years with BLM in the Ely district office that he would know more than he does about the wild horses in his district. Vanessa, on the other hand, is a recent employee of BLM public relations in Colorado. She is just learning the ropes and apparently just learning the lies promulgated by the existing BLM staff.

There were four bands caught this day. Each band had a foal. I’ve selected photos for each family band that was rounded up. None of these horses will be returned to the range; this is the last time you will see most of these horses, except for three that I know that are being adopted as sale authority horses by other photographers / videographers who were at the Triple B round up. (just learned that one of the sale authority horses, a black 20 year old mare, died as a result of eating the very rich alfalfa they are fed in short term holding…)

This was my third day in Nevada and it hadn’t rained in a while and was very dry everywhere. The only way to spot the horses being chased down the Newark Valley was to spot chopper dust. When the chopper drove the horses to the immediate area around the trap site, the horses would be shrouded with dust flying everywhere. In turn, as it settled on their wet bodies, the dust became cracked dust cakes on the horses’ backs.

I saw the chopper in the mountains to the east and below the trap site at 6:21 AM. In fact, all the horses chased that day were chased down from the mountains on the east side of the valley.

Everyday I saw some horses escape. When this happened I wanted to cheer them onward, but this could have gotten me thrown out of the observation area for frightening the horses. I did not ask Chris if he thought the horses would hear me scream over the din the chopper was making…

I was so far away from the trap site that there was little I could see without my camera. I brought binoculars for convenience, but my camera lens was better. Even then, it’s still hard to tell what you have seen until you can view the image on a monitor and examine the details!

[Next: temporary holding]

Survival Guide for a BLM Roundup

Survival Guide for a BLM Roundup

         [a collaborative work by the members of Hippies for Horses facebook group]

Having followed the Antelope Valley roundup in Nevada this year as close as we possibly could from our computer screens, and since there are poeple in the group who are considering observing one, we prepared this article to assist those people make their plans to attend a BLM roundup (aka: BLM gather) for the first time.

Every night we would review videos and photographs posted in blogs, BLM reports, and comments made by on-site observers at the roundups. Some nights, emails and phone calls were made to the photographers in the field to clarify the previous day’s activities.

Everyday that photos and videos were posted, we emailed each other to discuss what we saw, made notes of what was not in the clips publicly posted and made attempts to contact the observers at the roundup to clarify what we were seeing in the photos and on video. Of course only a small amount of what was actually filmed/photographed was publicly posted.

For those who hope to go to a BLM roundup as observers (if the roundups resume in 2011), please be prepared and educated. What follows is a checklist of what to take with you and what you should know before you go.

 

Photo/Video/Electronics

Both still and video cameras must be *GPS enabled, with good zoom lenses

Tri-pod for Video

Tripod or mono-pod for camera with a long telephoto lens

Binoculars

Take extra camera batteries and memory sticks.

Small portable digital audio device for making notes quickly (consider wearing one around your neck)

Consider separate GPS unit to track route into trap site from easily designated spot off main roadway

[ *GPS – if you don’t have a digital camera with GPS some cameras have auxilliary devices to add to your camera and if you can’t afford that, go to the Roundup anyway.}

Communication

Sat Phone – can be rented by the week or month – don’t rely on your cell phone to have service at all the trap sites – unpopulated remote areas do not have many, if any, cell towers.

Sustenance and survival

water, snacks – no amenities available

toilet paper and a small shovel to dig a hole (no port-a-potti)

consider wearing depends

hand sanitizer, sun screen

lightweight folding chair or stool – something to sit on

Small luggage cart with big rubber wheels to carry everything needed for a sun-up to sun-down day – most likely your car will not be at the trap site so wear hiking boots for the walk from the parking lot to the trap site.

Even in summer, nights in the mountains and desserts can get very cold – bring a coat

BLM guidelines ask all observers to  wear muted colors (earth tones and neutral shades) Bright colors are not allowed.

Phone numbers

BLM: Wild Horse Roundup hotline

BLM staff responsible for the roundup

BLM’s WH&B Specialist

BLM PUBLIC AWARENESS OFFICER

BLM District public affairs specialist

Local sheriff and or state police

Media contact information–establish media contacts prior to roundup and persuade them to attend or at least make connection prior–so they will help support get your footage on the air during and after the roundup

 

MAPS:

HMA

Local map with directions to the closest sheriff’s office

Topographical map of the HMA and the local area

Pre-roundup reading material:

HMA information and recent reports &/or press releases

Animal abuse laws of the state the gather occurs in (bring a copy with you)

BLM OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR WH&B GATHERS

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/wfodocs/15mile.Par.35776.File.dat/2008appb.pdf

WH&B MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK ­

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/wfodocs/15mile.Par.35776.File.dat/2008appb.pdf

What to Know:

How to judge a horse’s general body condition

(www.thehorse.com%2Fpdf%2Fnutrition%2Fbcs-poster.pdf&h=c2ebd)

– signs of age, pregnant & wet mares

Horse care

http://www.thehorse.com/Free-Reports/Fact-Sheets.aspx#anatomy-physiology

 

 

Photographic observations to include:

Views of:

Parking lot

Walk into trap site

The road the horse trailers will be using

Trap site – is it easy for the horses to move into the chute

All roundup staff – employees, contractors, bystanders, observers

– closeups of the faces of the BLM employees and contractors

– closeups of the pilots–perhaps during refueling

*Consider working in teams with some photographing horses, some photographing staff

Empty pens and pens with the horses (do the corrals have any trash in them?)

Chase scenes to include some pan outs for a sense of distance horses have been chased

Close ups

– horse heads

– mare-foal pairs

– injuries

– problems in the chute with the horses

– any faulty equipment

– problems trailering

Loading of each horse onto trailers

Trailers

– zoom in on DOT # and license plate information

– condition and type of trailer

– no-skid ramp and trailer floor

Any Semis tractor trailer rigs

-zoom in on DOT # and identifying information on truck, and license plate information

Trailering – are the horses secured in the trailer?

Location of BLM personnel during the capture – along the chute, etc?

Helicopter – especially the reg # on it

Observe the horse trailer pull away and travel from the trap site to the parking lot – was the truck driver careful and cautious?

How many horses in each band rounded up? Try and get a head shot of each wild horse or burro.

Try to get closeups shots:

– If any horse has any obvious injuries, blood, wounds, swellings.

– If they are weaving and not running straight, stumbling, sweating steaming bodies during winter.

Horse Observations

Take special note of foals and any horse having trouble keeping up with the chased herd

How many pregnant mares are there?

How many wet mares & foals are there?

What is the general body condition of the horses?

Are any limping, breathing hard, sweaty?

Roundup Observations

Is the helicopter keeping it’s distance from the horse?

How long has the helicopter been out looking for horses when it comes back with a family band?

What does the entry chute look like?

Will the approach to the chute cause any problems for running a horse in?

Is there anything attached to the corrals that is flying in the wind that may scare the horses?

Are they using the shade cloth on the sides of the corrals?

How are the horses corralled? with thier famiies or by gender with foals separated?

Upon rounding up the horses and burros, are they applying PZP?

What does the range look like – is it damaged in anyway? Is there plenty of forage?

Post Roundup

After the horses are loaded hike around the area with binoculars looking for injured or dead horses and foals or aborted babies.

Keep a daily diary of events: who you talked to, what you saw or didn’t see, or expected to see. Be sure to note any weather conditions and any changes that may have occurred everyday you attend the roundup.

Things to note:

* Did they release any horses. If so were they PZP’d and released?

* Document every mare PZP’d in order to track her

* What temporary holding facility were they taken to?

* Did the BLM and/or contractors follow their own guidelines?

* Document all BLM staff in charge of roundup–photograph their close ups and names

* Document all staff hired by BLM as contractors in charge of roundup–photograph them with their close ups and names. Include all wranglers with plastic flags and all staff, and volunteers around horses as much as possible.

* Note the times and keep detailed notes.  What time did the helicopter take off?  How long was it gone before returning with horses?

With all your dealings with the BLM, being polite and non confrontational can be helpful.  Even though the roundup staff may not have read all the documents suggested in this article, not all of them are evil; honey catches more flies than dung , so be sure to be polite and professional.

If you see something wrong specifically, ask kindly if it can be changed…for example the orientation of the trap, debris flying around in the corral or on the fencing, or when a horse needs help.

Since clearly the BLM holds all the cards on the roundups and controls the fates of the wild equines in America, so we must continue along the same lines as Wild Horse Annie, aka, Velma Johnson, methods and continue to increase public involvement and dialogue with the BLM for solutions to problems and for better and humane care of all the horses and burros.

I hope this article was helpful in getting ready to attend a roundup.  If you manage to go to a round up for a the first time this year, please let us know if the checklist was helpful and we’d sure see your photos and videos.

If we left something out, please add your comments…