The Forest Service recently completed a 4-mile-long fence to prevent stray horses from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community from joining the Salt River herd. She said she would have rather seen an overpass built for the horses. To protect the horses and the public, the Forest Service strung barbed wire along the roadway.Īlthough the management group agrees fencing is one way to keep the horses out of harm’s way, Netherlands said the barbed wire fence cuts off the horses from half their habitat. The horses also wander onto Bush Highway, and several have been struck by vehicles in the past. In addition to the rescue facility, the management group runs a feeding program and administers contraceptives to curb overpopulation.Īs part of its management agreement, the rescue group also works with the Tonto National Forest because the horses wander on forest land. Two years after the bill passed, the Arizona Department of Agriculture contracted with Netherlands’ organization to help manage the horses that roam about 26,000 acres along that stretch of the lower Salt River. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, who spearheaded that effort. “We wanted to protect the horses and preserve their freedom, make them officially belonging to and protected by the state, and allow for them to remain,” said State Rep. It wouldn’t be safe to release the horses because they had to be tamed so necessary medical care could be provided, she said.Īlthough the Salt River horses are not federally protected, House Bill 2340 in 2016 officially protects them under Arizona law. “The only time we rescue them is if they’re so injured that they cannot survive.” “All of these horses would have actually died had we left them out in the wild,” Netherlands said. It’s the acronym for the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, and tucked off into the side of the road is the group’s rescue facility for injured horses. If you don’t look close enough, you might miss it – the small sign reading “SRWHMG” off State Route 87 east of Fountain Hills. The Forest Service continued the fence anyway and recently finished it. The organization asked supporters to email federal, state and county officials and raised awareness with an annual motorcycle ride in January. Officials built the fence to prevent the horses from endangering the public and ensure other livestock don’t join the herd.īut Netherlands said it went too far. “All Salt River horses are located on the side of the fences where they can access water but cannot access the roadway,” Mesa district ranger Matthew A. That fence consists of 4 miles of pipe rail along the Tonto National Forest boundary and is in addition to 10 miles of barbed wire along the scenic Bush Highway, which follows the river for several miles.
More specifically, Netherlands and her group tried to stop officials with the Tonto National Forest from installing a pipe rail fence along the lower Salt River, which separates the forest from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Netherlands, who is president of the nonprofit, has fought to protect hundreds of feral horses like these for years – working to help pass a state law making it illegal to harass the horses and raising funds to feed the herd, fight disease and provide birth control. This facility run by Salt River Wild Horse Management Group is their new forever home. “Have you ever seen that in the wild where they blow into each other’s nose? It’s just like a greeting.”Įxcept these horses no longer can live in the wild. “It’s just kind of a way of saying ‘Hi’ to horses,” she said. MESA – Gently, Simone Netherlands blew air into the horse’s nose. UPDATE: Since this report first aired in February, the fencing project was completed, according to Tonto National Forest officials.
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