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Apr. 16, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Wild horse deaths studied

Soil, water samples taken from test range

By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Wild horses stand in the desert near the town of Cold Creek in this Dec. 28, 2006, file photo. The Bureau of Land Management is trying to track down the cause of 71 horse deaths on the Tonopah Test Range.
Photo by John Gurzinski

Bureau of Land Management officials in Las Vegas are reviewing a draft report on soil and water samples collected in February as part of a probe to pinpoint the source of nitrate contamination that killed 71 wild horses last year near a watering hole at the Tonopah Test Range.

Because the data is preliminary, the BLM's staff declined to release the 48-page document.

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    • Kirsten Cannon, a bureau spokeswoman, said the Desert Research Institute is required under an $80,630 contract to submit a final, releasable version of the report by July 2.

    She said Tuesday that the preliminary report didn't include data on nitrogen isotopes. The data and analysis of such isotopes, which will be part of the final report, are important to determining whether the ingredient that caused the horse deaths was man-made or naturally occurring.

    Former workers at the Tonopah Test Range, 210 miles northwest of Las Vegas, have said that tanker trucks filled with urea de-icing solutions, high in nitrogen content, routinely were flushed near a usually dry lake bed where the horses occasionally drank water.

    They have said that large quantities of de-icing compounds routinely were used for years by contractors and the Air Force during cold weather for aircraft and airfield operations at the remote test range.

    In August, the BLM concluded that nitrate toxicity was the most probable cause of death of the horses. Their carcasses were found in July along a dry lake bed in the vicinity of a watering hole.

    High levels of nitrates that were 66 times in excess of safe drinking standards for humans and 30 times more than the acceptable levels for livestock were found in some water samples taken from a pond in the area.

    BLM records confirm that a de-icing compound caused a similar die-off of 61 horses at the Tonopah Test Range in 1988.

    Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.

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    Nylene Schoellhorn wrote on April 19, 2008 07:57 PM: 66 times in excess of safe drinking standards for humans?
    I thought the purpose of the Air Force was to keep America safe. If they are so uncaring and careless, what else is going on that we don't know about?

    So is this happening at airports all over the country? It must be. How long till all this poison reaches our groundwater?

    The air-the water-the land-the animals- the people. It is only a matter of time. This is a small planet.
    There is no 'remote' anymore.

    Thank you Wild Horses-for telling us what is going on. Thank you Pacific Salmon. Thank you Artic Glaciers.
    Is anyone listening?
    Not the Air Force, it seems.
    Not the BLM.
    Anyone?


    Jerry Hale wrote on April 19, 2008 07:41 PM: Don't let the government bluff you, if a report, even preliminary is done with tax dollars, it is a matter of public information. Seek that document under the FOI (Freedom of Information) act.
    This is the same administration that is trying to kill off every wild horse in the American West.


    TerryW wrote on April 19, 2008 04:54 PM: "Tanker trucks filled with urea de-icing solutions, high in nitrogen content, routinely were flushed near a usually dry lake bed where the horses occasionally drank water. BLM records confirm that a de-icing compound caused a similar die-off of 61 horses at the Tonopah Test Range in 1988."

    So it was just a matter of time before it happened again since nothing was done to prevent a repeat.

    I guarantee you, if these had been bighorn sheep, precautions would've been taken LONG AGO to prevent this from happening again. But since they're just wild horses.... no biggie, right? The answer should be a big fat WRONG. "die-off"? Poisoning is the correct description.

    Nice way to manage a wild horse range. How about putting some big water tanks out there and keeping them filled? Surely the equipment for that is already out there. They'd do it in a heartbeat for bighorns.

    The cost is outrageous. How much and how long does it take to test what's in my well water? Certainly not $80,000 and a year.


    Preserve The Herds wrote on April 19, 2008 01:16 PM: $80k for a test that takes a year on what was in the water? Thank God we aren't talking about people or everyone would be dead by now! Why did it have to be "privately" contracted out? Doesn't NV have a water quality control Board? What do THEY get paid for then?

    I must also assume that while they fudge and hem and ha about WHAT exactly the problem is, the water is still fenced so the horses can't drink from it? Didn't they have to do an emergency round up last year of wild horses because they had no water? What are they planning on doing about THAT when summer comes? Wouldn't that $80k have been better spent on getting them some water and let the state facilities handle state water issues? Or is there just not enought profit, bueauracracy and secrecy to that idea?

    No wonder the BLM and the state have no money to take care of wild horses with this kind of "budget management"!


    tim wrote on April 16, 2008 05:38 PM: why do we pay these clowns to pay for studies? is that not what they are hired for in the first place? the ridiculles waste of money so the people paid to do their jobs dont have to.it never ends!