Wild horses create hazard for drivers in Nevada’s Virginia Range

Thousands of wild horses near Lake Tahoe are becoming increasingly hazardous to drivers in Nevada — but residents in the state have no legal means to control the population on their own, according to a report.

The Virginia Range — a 40-mile span of the easternmost part of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains from Carson City to Reno — is overrun with more than 3,500 horses, veterinarian and Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea told SF Gate.

The population is new to the area, arriving only in the 1980s and 1990s after being turned loose by ranchers or escaping, he said.

However under Nevada law, the problematic horde of horses are property of the state — making it illegal to trap, feed or interfere with them in any way, the outlet reported.

“It is important that residents and tourists do not feed or provide water to the horses,” Goicoechea said. “Not only is it illegal, but it encourages them to come further into urban areas and away from the range where they would naturally roam until they find more forage.”

The Virginia Range is well above its carrying capacity of about 500 to 600 horses, which in addition to putting strain on the local ecosystem poses a danger to drivers as the human population booms in the Reno region.

There were 46 horse-related vehicle crashes in 2020, 27 in 2021, 24 in 2022, and 42 as of late November 2023, a Nevada Department of Agriculture representative told the outlet, noting that those statistics only reflect reported incidents in the Virginia Range.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is in charge of maintaining another nearly 45,000 wild horses in Nevada. The agency estimates there were at least 400 collisions between cars and horses between 2006 and 2018.

The mustangs also pose a danger to people who approach them or try to boot them off their land.

“The NDA has documented incidents of children being kicked by horses,” Goicoechea said. “These animals can be unpredictable and could charge or kick those in close proximity, particularly if they feel threatened.” 

Goicoechea said the wild horse population can grow by approximately 25% each year. 

In response to the balloon population, the Nevada Agriculture Department teamed up with the American Wild Horse Campaign to administer fertility control treatments to roughly 80% of the horse population — leading to a 66% decrease in birth rate over the past four years, SF Gate reported.

Other controversial measures, such as roundups from the BLM, led to several horse deaths. In July, 11 mustangs died in a roundup after breaking bones fleeing from agency helicopters, sparking public outcry.

A new program is set to be announced soon to oversee the horse population, Goicoechea said.

Meanwhile, the Arizona BLM is planning to remove up to 1,000 wild donkeys from the Black Mountain Herd Management Area, ABC 15 reported this week.

“Wild burros essentially have no natural predators, resulting in a rapid increase in population,” Amanda Dodson, Kingman field manager, said in a press release. “If not appropriately managed, herds can double in size every five years.

They will be sent to wild horse and burro facilities in California, where they will become available for adoption or sale, officials said.