When does spin become a lie? Dr. Larussa is a likeable person. He is polite and has a friendly demeanor. He also clearly works for his boss, Director Lesperance. Dr. Larussa is quick to emphasize that he has never lied to us, however the explanation for the request for funds to build more holding corrals that Dr. Larussa gave to the Board of Agriculture, and later to advocates out in the lobby, challenges the truth. According to Dr. Larussa, the NDoA met in the midst of bad weather and realized they had a problem with their responsibility for the wild horses. They had 70 horses in corrals at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC) and the space for additional horses was exhausted. If more bad weather came in as predicted they would need room to hold more horses (presumably those that they would have to round up due to the winter "emergency") and they had no capability to do that. NNCC said the NDoA could construct additional corrals at NNCC's facility. So in April, 2008, at the Interim Finance Committee meeting, NDoA requested and was granted $15,000 to build additional corrals. Dr. Larussa stated these additional panels would only be used in case of disaster and that it was never the Department's intent to use them to hold horses that they were going to round up as he had never received any instructions to round up any horses. The weather didn't turn as bad as projected and the public assisted in the release of animals. So there was no immediate need for additional facilities, but the Department is now prepared for future years. Here's the problem with this logic and why this spin is actually a rather bold lie. To start with, the disposition of the "70 horses" was actually resolved in December of last year. TRI was taking 55 horses. The prison training program was taking some horses. The wild horse groups were taking the remainder of the horses. Problem solved. The reason that it took until February 15th to get the horses released was that NDoA futzed around with the plan until the winter weather made the state corrals too sloppy to safely sort and birth control the mares. (The wild horse groups' requirement was that all breeding age mares be provided with temporary birth control, which was administered by Dr. David Thain from the University of Nevada - Reno.) The state corrals were virtually empty when Director Lesperance made his emergency pitch for funds for more corrals. In addition, the horse groups already had trailer loads of holding corral panels that they use for training, holding adoption horses and for deployment in the event domestic animals have to be evacuated during a flood or wildfire. These corrals could be deployed to hold Virginia Range horses gathered as a result of some unprecidented disaster. The groups also warehoused hay for the winter and a modest feeding program had been authorized this past winter in Hidden Valley. So the resources needed to protect the herd already existed. What we are left trying to figure out is just how the NDoA planned to round up hundreds of horses if they became stranded by a severe snowstorm, or just how they planned to catch all these horses if they were running from a wildfire. These are just fantasy concepts as they cannot actually be undertaken. Here's how things really work out on the range. If the imaginary blizzard does appear, the various horse groups are prepared to deliver hay onto the range. The VRWPA even has an arrangement with an air service to air drop bales of hay if no other practical alternative exists. However the horses are pretty smart about moving to the lower elevations ahead of heavy snows, so the horse groups' winter hay operations are most often designed to prevent the horses from drifting into inadequately fenced subdivisions that surround the horse range. The truth be told, if we we were to suffer NDoA's hypothetical blizzard that strands lots of unwary horses, there is no practical way to get those horses out. You either let nature cull the horses that don't exhibit appropriate survival instincts or you bring feed in. In a wide area wildfire, all bets are off for horses as well as for livestock and wildlife. Officials and volunteers can coordinate to open barriers that prevent the animals' escape, then deal with sorting the animals and getting them back where they belong after the emergency passes. Also the Virginia Range isn't at all like the remote portions of Elko County where a wildfire could conceivably consume an entire horse range before enough resources arrive to control it. The Virginia Range is surrounded by well trained, well staffed, well equipped and well coordinated city, county, state and federal fire agencies. No recent fires, no matter how large, have impacted the range to the extent that horses had to be removed. And even if the worst imaginable scenario were to occur, it would still be more economical for the wild horse groups and/or NDoA to provide supplementary feeding at appropriate locations on the range than bring horses in at taxpayer expense. (Webmaster's note: I'm retired from nearly 30 years in the fire service as a fire fighter, fire officer and emergency planner. I am currently writing an updated Managing Animals in Disaster manual at the request of Eclipse Press so I know a little bit about this stuff.) The reality is that Director Lesperance intends to strip the range of horses and he lied to get funds for the infrastructure necessary to do that. The reality is that Dr. Larussa either believes this latest implausible explanation or he has been instructed to claim that he does - that this appropriation is really intended for constructing an "emergency ward" to be used in the event of a disaster. These corrals never have been or never will be needed for such a purpose as the cumulative resources of the wild horse groups are already sufficient to address such an improbable disaster. Regardless, a lie is lie and in this case, a total waste of the taxpayers' money. Dr. Larussa was later asked why the department feels that it needs to plan for a disaster that would require them to round up lots of wild horses when no such thing has ever happened in the past and is highly unlikely to happen in the future. All Dr. Larussa would say was that the state was now ready if it does (which the state really isn't. While the Department may soon have a bunch of new holding corrals, it doesn't have the ability to evacuate the horses for which the corrals are supposedly intended if such a disaster manifests itself.) Oncken's Monkey Anyone who has read The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey understands the purpose of putting Oncken's monkey on someone else's back. We had a little monkey management going on out in the parking lot after the meeting. Dr. Larussa explained that he understood that there was no point in meeting with the advocates until the advocates felt that the time was right. (Monkey on the advocates' backs. It is the advocates' fault if no progress is made.) I (Willis Lamm) explained to Dr. Larussa that it's not up to the advocates. We're still doing our field work. When the Department starts telling the truth, we'll be back at the table. (Monkey back to Larussa. It's not the advocates' fault that the Department can't be trusted and is still lying.) Dr. Larussa protested that he had never lied to the advocates. I responded that somebody is still lying and suggested Dr. Larussa read the false and misleading press statement that still appears on the NDoA's official website. When the various factions within NDoA can be perceived as moving in the same direction and when that direction has a foundation based on reality, come talk to us. In the meanwhile Lesperance & Co. have yet to acknowledge their misleading of legislators and the public and there is no material indication that their agenda has changed one iota - except for possibly being more careful about statements made to the press. Right now we're still at a point where the wild horse groups are walking the walk (e.g., holding horses, working on the range) while the Department of Agriculture is clearly only talking the talk. It's what you do, not what you say, that matters in the end. Thanks to the Board of Agriculture! In spite of our differences with Director Lesperance and Dr. Larussa, our experience with the Board of Agriculture left us with a good impression of that body. Overall they were professional, cordial, respectful and accommodating. The advocates appreciated coming before a body where the mood in the room encouraged communication rather than confrontation. Continue to Part Thirty Five - Memorial Day and NHS Return to Part Thirty Three Go back to the Beginning View the Wild Horse Release Video View the NRCS Range Study Read the History of NDoA Screwups on the Range Sign the On-Line Petition The spirit of Thomas Paine lives Return to KBR Wild Horse and Burro News Return to KBR World of Wild Horses & Burros Go to other Wild Horse Links Go To KBR Horse Net