A group that manages Salt River wild horses expressed concerns on Saturday that a fence project along the Lower Salt River would limit the horses' access to valuable resources.
The Salt River Wild Horses Management Group held its fifth annual Ride for the Salt River Wild Horses event on Saturday for which about 1,000 motorcyclists gathered for a ride from Fountain Hills to Apache Junction.
The event is meant to show support for the wild horses and acts as a fundraiser for the organization, according to the group's president and founder, Simone Netherlands.
In the middle of the ride, organizers hosted a rally at Coon Bluff Campground off Bush Highway to bring awareness to a 14-mile fence being built along the Lower Salt River to keep horses from crossing the highway, as indicated by the U.S. Forest Service on Jan. 13 in a press release. The group briefly chanted, "Keep them wild and free" and "No river fence."
Netherlands claims the fence would cut off the horses from valuable resources, such as water, food and land to roam. The animals are protected under Arizona state law, ARS 3-1491, she said.
"We would've liked for them to put it by the road because then it would’ve served a good purpose and wouldn’t stop horses from getting to the river," said Netherlands. "Right now, it's going to make all this space uninhabitable because the horses won't be able to come to the river, which is obviously a vital source, and so there is a risk of horses dehydrating.
"These horses are protected now, and what we would like is for government agencies to treat them as protected, and when you have protected animals, you want to make it easier for them. You want to protect their habitat. You don’t do things that make it harder for them to live where they have historically lived," she continued.
Overseen by Tonto National Forest staff, construction of 4 miles of steel post and rail fence began Jan. 13 and will continue through February, the Forest Service said. Before that, 10 miles of barbed wire fence was installed between November and Jan. 10, the Forest Service said.
According to the Forest Service, Bush Highway endangers the animals and the public. Previous fences were not preventing horses from entering the highway, which resulted in deaths of 20 or more horses a year, the Forest Service said.
In addition to keeping horses from crossing the highway, the fence is meant to "prevent adjacent livestock from joining the horse herd," the Forest Service said.
The Forest Service press release included links to two maps that showed where the barbed wire and steel fences would be installed. A steel fence was observed by an Arizona Republic reporter on Saturday along the riverbank near Coon Bluff Campground.
It's unknown how much the fence project will cost. A spokesperson for the Forest Service did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment.
Netherlands said the group would have liked the Forest Service to use the funding for its fence project to construct an overpass that crosses Bush Highway at Coon Bluff Road.
Now, the group hopes the Forest Service will compromise by building the remainder of its steel fence along the road rather than along the river, which would allow horses access to Forest Service land, she said.
"These horses are so special to hundreds of thousands of people and it’s the reason why they're still here because the public really gave them a voice," said Netherlands.
"People love and cherish these horses — they're part of who we are as Americans, they're part of our history and they represent who we are as Americans because what matters most to Americans is freedom and family and that’s what wild horses stand for."
Reach the reporter at Chelsea.Curtis@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.
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Group says fence along Lower Salt River would limit wild horses' access to resources - AZCentral
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