March Local Happenings
University of Nevada, Reno STEM Career Day
AWHC tabled at University of Nevada, Reno’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Career Fair, looking for new volunteers for the Virginia Range fertility control program. There was a lot of interest in the program and many good conversations were had. The team members left feeling excited about getting new people involved in the program and welcoming new members to the team.
February darter and documenter meeting
On February 1st, 25 darters & documenters attended a recurrent training class in Reno. There were many speakers who covered a wide range of topics. AWHC’s Deb Walker spoke about documenting and general protocols and the ins and outs of the Cooperative Agreement between AWHC and the Nevada Department of Agriculture under which the darting program is implemented. Greg Hendricks, AWHC’s Director of Field Operations, spoke about access to new properties for darting. Elena Sullivan of the Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association talked about protocols for record entry in the database. Tracy Wilson covered the wild horse hotline and what to do when there’s a wild horse emergency. Corenna Vance of Wild Horse Connection spoke about the scope of responsibilities in her group’s agreement with the NDA for range management and rescue on the Virginia Range.
After the meeting portion, speakers and volunteers went to the range to target practice with the XCaliber long distance rifle, and the Daninject shorter range rifle.
Thank you to everyone who attended and everyone who spoke! #teamworkmakesthedreamwork!
Fernley Pigs
After the Fernley Desert Pigs, an all-volunteer group dedicated to cleaning up open space areas, had Range trash cleanup day last month, members met with AWHC volunteers to discuss the fertility control darting program. Some members of the group expressed an interest in getting involved and attending the upcoming dart certification class so that the program can expand into Fernley. Stay tuned for more info!
mustang mardi gras
Local groups Wild Horse Preservation League, Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association and LBL Equine Rescue threw a fantastic Mardi Gras fundraising event. It was completely sold out and great fun was had by all!!
LBL Equine rescue
This month LBL Equine Rescue wants to highlight a special hard working volunteer, Janice Johnson! Janice always had a lot of animals in her life including horses and all the other usual barnyard animals and pets, plus, a monkey (named Jubee) and a fox (named Foxy)! Now she only has two cats, which leaves room in her heart for more critters. She heard about LBL Equine Rescue at a Wild Horse Preservation League meeting. Every Sunday she spends the morning helping out at LBL by cleaning water troughs, shoveling manure, and brushing horses. She gets her horse fix without having the responsibility of caring for a horse full time! Janice also sponsors Skip, a sweet old chestnut gelding with arthritis, which helps pays some of his feed bill. Janice said she always goes home happy and satisfied after spending a few hours at LBL. Thank you for all your help, Janice!
Janice and Skip
Don’t forget to join LBL every Sunday 10 am to 1 pm for Sunday Funday!
LBL Equine rescue adoptable horse highlight
Who remembers BamBam? BamBam is a BLM mustang who took 2nd place inour 2019 Trainer Challenge! By no fault of his own, he came back to the Rescue. BamBam will need an experienced rider/trainer to work with him. Rebuilding trust will be key! He looks a little rough in his winter coat, but under it all, he’s absolutely stunning! If you’re interested in meeting BamBam, please check out LBL’s website for more information. He can be your next amazing trail riding horse!
Kids MArdi Gras
In addition to their blow out Mardi Gras celebration for adults, the Wild Horse Preservation League, Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association and LBL Equine Rescue also threw a kids’ Mardi Gras! See photos below for all the fun everyone had!
