Ask the RGJ: Are cows starving in Nevada desert?

Are cows being allowed to starve in the Gold Butte area of Nevada?

•Short answer: Yes. The cows are caught in limbo between state and federal authorities while reproducing in a hot, desert area without enough forage.

Full question

An online petition headlined “Hundreds of Cattle Starving in Nevada - They Need Your Help!” has gathered about 5,600 signatures, as of this writing.

Upon learning of the petition, I wanted to know if it was true.

Full reply

The petition makers describe the background this way: “Since the early 1990s, cattle have been left to fend for themselves in the desert after Cliven Bundy, a private rancher, lost his privilege to graze on federal public lands that belong to all Americans. This once-small herd of around 150 animals has grown to hundreds or more over the course of 20+ years and now badly exceeds the ability of the land to feed and nourish them. They range over an immense area about half the size of the state of Rhode Island. While the area is large, it only receives about 4 inches of precipitation a year and vegetation is very sparse.”

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Nevada Department of Agriculture has legal responsibility for “feral” animals on public land, so I asked if there was any truth to the claim that Bundy-linked cows were starving in southern Nevada.

Flint Wright, the department’s animal industry administrator for the Nevada, replied by email:

“We have not received any substantiated reports of Cliven Bundy’s cattle starving on the Golden Butte allotment — though this may be true to some extent, as Cliven’s management practices leave a lot to be desired.

“Yes the cattle are in trespass and some are unbranded, and therefore feral and estray. Also yes, per [Nevada Revised Statute] 569, that makes them state property. However, because they are trespassed on BLM ground with a court order in effect, it would require BLM or the court to authorize the [Nevada Department of Agriculture] to perform any sort of gather of the cattle.”

He said the current population of cows there is unknown but are estimated at 1,000 or more.

Up until 1992, Bundy was allowed to graze 500 head of cattle year-round. “When the desert tortoise was listed as an endangered species in 1992, his allotted [animals he could graze] were reduced from 500 to 150, though his herd never was,” Wright said.

Since the state of Nevada says its hands are tied and would require a court or the Bureau of Land Management to authorize it to round up the cows, I next contacted the BLM to learn whether the cows indeed are starving.

Rudy Evenson of BLM Nevada responded with this statement: “The Bureau of Land Management too is concerned about the welfare and condition of the cattle and has discussed this situation with other interested parties such as the Humane Society of the United States. Unfortunately, all previous attempts to remove Mr. Bundy’s trespass cattle from the public lands have been met with threats of violence and most recently with an armed assault on law enforcement officers.”

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This, of course, refers to the infamous 2014 standoff where the BLM attempted to round up the animals because Bundy hadn’t paid his grazing fees, sparking an armed confrontation where the feds backed away over fears of a deadly confrontation.

Apparently such fears still exist, putting the cows in bureaucratic limbo.

I asked: “Does the BLM have any plans to have the cattle in the Gold Butte area gathered or to otherwise mitigate any starvation threats?”

I was told that the Washington office would have to respond to this question. Multiple follow-ups asking for a reply were not answered.

Since the BLM mentioned discussing the situation with the Humane Society of the United States, I contacted that animal welfare organization, which sent me to the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit conservation group that defends rare species and their habitats.

Rob Mrowka, a senior scientist with the center, said by phone that Bundy had given up his grazing rights in 1993 and simply let his cows loose to reproduce, leading to the situation where hundreds are starving now.

Told about the Nevada Department of Agriculture saying it cannot do anything because of the BLM, he said, “We believe they have joint responsibility and possibly even legal obligations.”

He said that one reason he got involved was because Gold Butte is a critical habitat for the desert tortoise.

Normally areas of the range are rotated for grazing, with periods of rest to let it grow back, but Mrowka said the cattle “are there 24/7, 365 days. When the desert tortoises come out of their tunnels to forage in the spring, it’s been nibbled down.”

He wants the BLM to work with animal welfare organizations to rescue the abandoned animals and either move them to rescue organizations or humanely euthanize those who can’t be saved.

The petition is expected to run through April.