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July 31, 2001 The BLM is investigating the possible shooting of a wild horse at the Spring Creek Basin Wild Horse Herd Management Area 40 miles north of Cortez. The badly decomposed carcass was discovered and reported late Saturday by a local citizen near the Disappointment Road (County Road D.00 in Dolores County) just inside the management-area boundary near the Dolores/San Miguel County line. BLM officials examined the carcass on Sunday and are investigating the death as a possible shooting. Estimates are that the full-grown horse was possibly a stallion and had been dead for about a week. BLM investigators are currently following up on leads that have come up in the investigation. Shannon Tokos, BLM special agent in Grand Junction, said the investigation is still in its very early stages and, because the carcass was so decomposed, it has not been proven that the horse was indeed shot. "The reason it was listed as a possible shooting was its proximity to the road," she said. The horse was one of about 40 wild horses counted in the last census of the herd this spring. The wild-horse area consists of 16,455 acres in the Disappointment Valley and is managed by the BLM to support 35 to 65 wild horses. "We have such a small population of horses in this herd that each individual is important to assure genetic variation," said Mike Jensen, BLM Wild Horse Specialist. "To lose even one horse out of the gene pool impacts the genetic variation and long-term sustainability of the herd." To report information relating to the case, contact Tokos at 970 244-3168. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez
Journal. All rights reserved. |
