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El Dorado, Kan. —
Two hundred fifty people from across the United States gathered in El Dorado Saturday morning to head out on the first Kansas Wild Horse Tour, hosted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The tour, which included five charter buses, took visitors to the 777 Ranch near
Cassoday for the day-long trip. The ranch comprises 36,000 acres and is home to about 4,400 wild Mustangs.
In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed, and since that time more than 225,000 horses have been adopted into private care. The horses viewed Saturday were on a long-range holding site and are no longer available for adoption.
Among those attending the tour were Carol Wituk from Pilsen, Kan., and her sister, Marian Guapo from Wichita.
“It’s wonderful,” Wituk said, adding that she didn’t know the horses were there before this. “It’s just a thrill to see them. The backdrop of the Flint Hills is outstanding.”
Guapo commented on how well kept the area was.
“We were happy to be here,” she said.
Also attending were Clinton and Sue Mitchell from Valley Falls, northeast of Topeka.
“We’ve enjoyed it,” Clinton said.
Sue added that the horses were closer than she thought they would be.
Other public members attending came from California, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arizona and of course, Kansas. Two hundred of those attending were from the public, and there was a waiting list. The other 50 were associated with the BLM.
Richard Loper and his wife Gail came from Lander, Wyo., for the tour.
He is a rangeland consultant, working with ranchers and the BLM. He works to optimize meeting the needs of both parties.
“In Wyoming, the numbers are tough to keep under control with the lack of demand from the public for adoption,” he said.
This was his first trip to this long-range holding pasture.
“This was a good opportunity,” he said. “It gave me the chance to talk to people and work with people.”
During the trip, different speakers rotated on the buses in between the stops to see the horses.
One of the speakers was Marcella Astel, from Rawlins, Wyo., a botanist with the BLM.
“She pointed out how different this area was from where the horses come from, many of which are from Nevada. There also are 11.2 million acres of land in Wyoming for wild horses, most of which is public land.
“Ranchers take a lot of stewardship and responsibility,” she said.
Two hundred fifty people from across the United States gathered in El Dorado Saturday morning to head out on the first Kansas Wild Horse Tour, hosted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The tour, which included five charter buses, took visitors to the 777 Ranch near
Cassoday for the day-long trip. The ranch comprises 36,000 acres and is home to about 4,400 wild Mustangs.
In 1971, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed, and since that time more than 225,000 horses have been adopted into private care. The horses viewed Saturday were on a long-range holding site and are no longer available for adoption.
Among those attending the tour were Carol Wituk from Pilsen, Kan., and her sister, Marian Guapo from Wichita.
“It’s wonderful,” Wituk said, adding that she didn’t know the horses were there before this. “It’s just a thrill to see them. The backdrop of the Flint Hills is outstanding.”
Guapo commented on how well kept the area was.
“We were happy to be here,” she said.
Also attending were Clinton and Sue Mitchell from Valley Falls, northeast of Topeka.
“We’ve enjoyed it,” Clinton said.
Sue added that the horses were closer than she thought they would be.
Other public members attending came from California, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arizona and of course, Kansas. Two hundred of those attending were from the public, and there was a waiting list. The other 50 were associated with the BLM.
Richard Loper and his wife Gail came from Lander, Wyo., for the tour.
He is a rangeland consultant, working with ranchers and the BLM. He works to optimize meeting the needs of both parties.
“In Wyoming, the numbers are tough to keep under control with the lack of demand from the public for adoption,” he said.
This was his first trip to this long-range holding pasture.
“This was a good opportunity,” he said. “It gave me the chance to talk to people and work with people.”
During the trip, different speakers rotated on the buses in between the stops to see the horses.
One of the speakers was Marcella Astel, from Rawlins, Wyo., a botanist with the BLM.
“She pointed out how different this area was from where the horses come from, many of which are from Nevada. There also are 11.2 million acres of land in Wyoming for wild horses, most of which is public land.
“Ranchers take a lot of stewardship and responsibility,” she said.
The trip included several hours in the Flint Hills, where they made stops to see the horses and offer the public a chance to take pictures. The horses may live up to 30+ years on these pastures.
The BLM estimates approximately 38,500 wild horses and burros are roaming on BLM-managed rangelands in 10 western states. Off the range, there are 47,000 wild horses and burros that are fed and cared for at 21 short-term adoption corrals and 23 long-term pasture sites. In those private sites, the land owners are paid $1.30 a day per animal. They are required to check on the horses once a week and provide supplemental feeding in the winter, routine maintenance and counts of the animals.
Because the demand for adoption of burros exceeds or is equal to the number removed from the rangeland, there are no long-term pastures filled with wild burros.
