Two Shoshones, U.S. at Odds Over Horse Roundup

RENO —  The U.S. Bureau of Land Management began rounding up hundreds of horses owned by two Western Shoshone sisters Thursday in the latest salvo in a decades-old treaty and land dispute.

Temporary corrals were set up and livestock trailers were hauled to remote central Nevada as a crew in a helicopter searched for horses owned by Mary and Carrie Dann.

BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson described the animals as “scattered all across Crescent Valley and Pine Valley.”

It’s the second time in four months that the BLM has confiscated livestock belonging to the elderly Shoshone grandmothers. In September, 227 of their cattle were impounded and sold.

The BLM contends the Danns have been grazing hundreds of cattle and horses illegally for decades, to the detriment of the range and other ranchers who have permits to graze livestock in the region.

The Danns see things differently.

They say an 1863 treaty between Western Shoshone Indians and the United States allowed early settlers access to their territory, but did not cede ownership to the federal government.

In their view, the BLM has no authority to tell them how many animals they can graze on their ancestral land -- a claim the BLM argues was determined by the courts years ago.

Simpson said the Danns were warned in September that their remaining livestock would be confiscated if not removed from the range.

Julie Fishel, a lawyer and spokeswoman for the Danns, said the sisters had brought 400 horses to corrals near their 800-acre ranch in recent weeks, and an additional 75 mares were taken to a private ranch near Elko.

About 400 horses remained on the range when the BLM roundup began, Fishel said.

“Last week BLM said they were going to give the Danns plenty of time to go after the horses themselves,” Fishel said. “They even talked about assisting them. Now there’s a complete change in posture. I have no idea why.”

Simpson said the roundup was ordered because time was running out with foaling season near. “The Danns just weren’t making very good progress in removing them,” she said. “Time was just getting critical.”

In anticipation of the roundup, the Nevada Department of Agriculture issued a plea in late December to horse groups around the country, asking them to adopt some of the animals.

The state agency has jurisdiction over “estray” horses -- those without a brand or an apparent owner. Most of the Dann horses are not branded, Fishel said.

State and BLM officials think most of the horses targeted in the roundup will be estrays -- not federally protected wild mustangs -- and must be dealt with by state authorities.

Don Henderson, the acting state agriculture director, said about 700 of the equines have been reserved by horse groups -- far more than expected to be gathered.

Where the horses end up will depend on whether the Danns claim ownership, Simpson said.