Why wild horses are dying in wrecks on South Reno’s Veterans Parkway
The two feral horses hit and killed in separate accidents on Veterans Parkway last week were not the first to be hit and killed in south Reno.
The incident raised many questions about what happened to the rest of the herd and what can be done to prevent future accidents in the growing south Reno area.
The RGJ checked in with wild horse experts and the Nevada Department of Agriculture to get some answers.
Q. What brings so many horses to Veterans Parkway?
A. A variety of factors bring horses to south Reno.
The drought has forced horses to search for food and water. Green lawns outside south Reno homes offer easy-to-access meals for the horses. And — although it is illegal to feed the horses — some residents continue to do so, enticing the animals into residential neighborhoods.
The horses are known to migrate down Geiger Grade and Toll Road, south of the city limits. Neighborhoods in that area open onto the Virginia Range, where the horses live. Walking paths and drainages have created easy paths for the horses to funnel down from the range and end up along the parkway.
Q. How many horses have been hit in the South Reno area?
A. Since December of 2019, 10 horses have been hit — six on Veterans Parkway, two on lower Geiger Grade and two on Toll Road. Between 2012 and 2016, the Nevada Department of Transportation reported 116 horse-related crashes on all roads in the Virginia Range.
The Nevada Department of Agriculture has also documented Virginia Range horses kicking and seriously injuring children, horses dying from vehicle collisions, and three separate instances of human fatalities as a result of horse/vehicle collisions.
Q. What happened to the remaining horses in the herd that was struck Friday?
A. A total of nine horses were in the herd. Horse groups were able to corral the remaining horses from the band involved in the accidents. The horses were relocated to the Pleasant Valley area.
Q. How were the horses corralled?
A. Aware of horses in the area of the parkway, horse groups had set a trap the day before the accidents. Traps offer water and food, such as alfalfa. But no horses entered the trap until after the day of the accident, when the remaining seven horses entered it.
Q. How many horses live in the Virginia Range — and where did they come from?
A. Around 3,000. They are spread throughout Story, Lyon and Washoe counties and Carson City. These horses are largely considered feral or strays.
Q. Who manages the Virginia Range horses?
A. While most of Nevada’s wild horses are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Virginia Range horses are managed by the state. The Nevada Department of Agriculture has one agreement with the nonprofit groups American Wild Horse Campaign to implement wild horse fertility treatment and Wild Horse Connection for range management.
Q. Is the number of horses considered a problem?
A. Yes, according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the American Wild Horse Campaign. It is estimated the Virginia Range can support anywhere from 300 to 600 horses. Twenty years ago, about 1,000 horses called the range home. That number has since tripled.
Q. What kind of issues are tied to the oversized horse population?
A. In 2020, LRTC Technical Large Animal Response Team responded to 578 calls for service throughout the range. Conflicts between horses and humans have increased as both the number of horses and humans in the south Reno area increased.
Q. Can lowering the speed limit stop these accidents?
A. Sometimes, but not always.
In 2017, four horses were hit within a month on Veterans and Rio Wrangler parkways. The speed limit on Rio Wrangler Parkway was lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph and signs were put on both parkways, according to Tracy Wilson, special projects coordinator with the American Wild Horse Campaign.
“After the two horses were hit (Friday), people said we need signs, not realizing they are there,” Wilson told the RGJ. “The problem with signs is once people see them a couple of times, they stop noticing them.”
While lowering the speed limit and increasing lighting could help, but it’s not an end-all solution. Wild horses are not car-savvy. The animals will step off the curb and into traffic.
“A dark horse in a dark spot in the road is impossible to see until you are on it,” Wilson said. “People need to assume they are there.”
Q. So what is the solution?
A. Fencing and cattle guards stretching from the Geiger Grade to the traffic circle at Veterans Parkway, according to Wilson. The Nevada Department of Transportation has initiated fencing projects on old Hwy. 395, USA Parkway and Hwy. 50 that have reduced horse-related accidents.
Geiger Grade is a state route. There are no immediate plans to install livestock fencing along the grade, according to NDOT. However, additional signage is planned for the area.
State, city and county support are critical to get such a fencing project up and running in the Veterans Parkway area, Wilson said.
Q. How can you help?
A. A 24-hour hotline is open for people to report problems with Virginia Range horses. Call (775) 352-3944.
Amy Alonzo covers the outdoors, recreation and environment for Nevada and Lake Tahoe. Reach her at [email protected]. Here’s how you can support ongoing coverage and local journalism.
https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2021/09/24/neveada-south-renos-veterans-parkway-wild-horses-dying-wrecks/5830666001/