RENO -- The 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 the remote central Nevada valley, as a helicopter searched for horses owned by Mary and Carrie Dann.
"We're not making any secret of this," BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said of the seizure. "They are 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 the Western Shoshone 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 over 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," she said.
Simpson said 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."
Foals are particularly vulnerable to the stress of being rounded up. The agency also prefers to avoid sweltering summer heat.
"If we don't do it now, it'd probably be September before we could get back out there," Simpson said.
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.
Acting state agriculture director Don Henderson said about 700 horses have been reserved by horse groups -- far more than expected to gathered.
Where the horses end up will depend on whether the Danns claim ownership, Simpson said.
"Once they are rounded up, if the Danns declare that they own the horses and the state brand inspector agrees, then at that point they assume full responsibility for the costs," Simpson said.
"If they claim ownership, then we will impound them," she said.
If not, then the horses will be turned over to the state.
But Simpson said it was not immediately clear what the BLM would do with the horses if they are impounded and the Danns don't pay the costs to get them back.
The BLM estimates the Danns owe in excess of $3 million in fines and past grazing fees.
