Wild horse roundup halted

A roundup of wild horse on the Colville Indian Reservation was stopped just before noon Sunday due to mounting pressure from tribal members.

The roundup had been planned to take about three weeks, gathering between 700 and 1000 of the horses.

The process stopped short today, just over a week into it.

Ralph Moses, of the Range department, said they estimate 3,000 to 4,000 live across the reservation, creating "hot spots" of over-grazed habitat.

Moses said the operation took in a total of 422 wild horses to be shipped to Montana, which were separated out from branded horses as they entered the catch pen set up on Joe Moses Road, several miles east of the Colville Indian Agency, near a family cemetery.

Not everyone agrees with the methods used in the roundup — using out-of-state contractors and a helicopter that reportedly scares local stock in their pastures.

And some question whether the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is following its own laws, or insisting that the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs abide by them either.

scott@grandcoulee.com

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