Agriculture department withdraws Virginia Range horse management proposal request
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 05/10/2018 - 10:02am
The Nevada Department of Agriculture said it has withdrawn request for proposals for the transfer of ownership of more than 2,900 horses on the Virginia Range after not having received any proposals by the April 16 deadline.
The order came from NDA Director Jim Barbee on May 2, 2018, according to a news release.
The intent of the RFP was to select an owner that would work to maintain the horse population on the range and facilitate necessary horse adoptions. The state's Department of Agriculture announced the RFP plans in January for any group to come forward with an interest in taking ownership of the horses.
No proposals were received by the deadline, therefore no contract effecting a transfer could be completed. Pursuant to Nevada Administrative Code 333.170(3)(b)(2), the request for proposals was withdrawn.
“We are still under an existing directive from the Board of Agriculture to manage the horses for public safety only,” Barbee said. “The next step is to go back to the Board for further direction, and we will continue to manage the Virginia Range feral/estray horses for public safety.”
The Virginia Range horses are not considered protected by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and thus are considered available for sale or slaughter. The horses are considered "feral" or “estray” livestock and fall under the state's jurisdiction, which allow sale or slaughter.
The Virginia Range horse population includes horses roaming in the area from Highway 50, U.S. Highways 395 to 95A, and Interstate 80.
Wild horse advocates have called for the state to put up fencing to around Highway 50 where horses have been crossing. In February the Nevada Department of Transportation announced it will do a major fencing project along US 50 in Dayton in hopes of preventing vehicle and wildlife collisions.
Plans are for late fall 2018 or early spring 2019 will include approximately 10 additional miles of wildlife fencing from Stagecoach to the new USA Parkway extension in Silver Springs, NDOT told News 4.
Recent horse-vehicle crashes have triggered discussion on the importance of keeping Virginia Range horses off highways to prevent accidents.
In January of this year, a Lyon County sheriff's deputy suffered non-life threatening injuries after his patrol vehicle hit horses east of Dayton near the intersection of Highway 50 and Enterprise Road. In October 2017, a Carson City man died on Highway 50 east of Silver Springs after hitting a horse.
- Carson City
- 2017
- 2018
- 395
- Accidents
- Advocates
- agriculture
- April
- Bureau of Land Management
- carson
- City
- county
- deadline
- died
- Fall
- February
- highway
- highway 50 east
- Horses
- lyon county
- May
- May 2
- NDOT
- Nevada
- Nevada Department of Transportation
- new
- News
- news
- October
- Order
- public
- Public safety
- Safety
- sale
- silver
- silver springs
- Spring
- state
- The Nevada Department of Transportation
- U
- USA
- vehicle
- Wild Horse
- Dayton
- fencing
- livestock
- wildlife
