T.J. Holmes, of Disappointment Valley, is still living with the wild horses as a volunteer and partner with the BLM. Holmes, who does documentation and darting of mares for birth control, told the Forum she helps with anything needed: water catchments, fencing and more.
This summer she said all is going well, except for drought. The horses there in the Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area are still within the AML (appropriate management level). According to a 2020 update, the darting method is maintaining a stable population. The AML is 50-80, and the herd is at 72 — below the limit.
“So no roundups on the horizon,” Holmes said.
The Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, or HMA, is just one of four in the state, and all wild horses in Colorado are the subject of a recent bill. Last spring, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 23-275 to enable the state to provide some assistance to Colorado’s wild horses, as well as form a working group, made up of members from different backgrounds. It includes advocates, like Holmes, who work directly with the BLM in each of the state's HMAs and wild horse range.
The Wild Horse Working Group was established to come up with humane, non-lethal alternatives for wild horses that are taken off range in Colorado or held in federal holding facilities. That group makes recommendations to the state legislature and governor. Holmes said it’s important to note the group isn’t recommending to the BLM. She said it’s about what the state can do — for example, fund range projects, get more darting done in HMAs that need it, help with adoption success and more — not things that the BLM already handles.
“The Wild Horse Working Group is a recommending body only,” the state Department of Agriculture said on its website. “While its recommendations are expected to be highly influential in on- and off-range wild horse management in Colorado, the working group has no authority to bind or obligate the state or any working group members.”
Those working group meetings have been ongoing. They started last fall, and now they’re in a phase, according to Holmes, for consolidation of ideas for Colorado’s wild horses — both on the range and off. That consolidation of ideas will result in final recommendations to state legislators and Gov. Polis by Nov. 1.
This summer, working group meetings happened virtually June 3 and in Telluride June 17. The next meeting is scheduled for Meeker Aug. 28-29. Another will happen in Craig in October.
The public may join by Zoom. Comments can also be submitted in advance via email at CDA_wildhorseprogram@state.co.us.
“The Colorado Wild Horse Working Group welcomes civil and constructive public comment,” the CDA website added. "The working group anticipates that public comment will enhance members’ understanding of issues and inform their decision making.”
Holmes said she’s not sure what the timeline looks like after Nov. 1. She doesn’t know if the working groups will continue to discuss the recommendations they will have submitted.
She said while some controversy exists in some HMAs across the state, things are good in Spring Creek Basin with the horses and partnerships.
“It’s excellent, but we need rain,” she said.
