‘Nuisance burros’ rounded up in Blue Diamond

There's nothing terribly wild about the wild burros that frequent the town of Blue Diamond.

When a crew of people from the Bureau of Land Management went to round up some of the animals earlier this week, they didn't need lassos or helicopters or tranquilizer guns. All it took was three women, a small corral and a bag of pretzels.

The BLM is in the midst of capturing up to 30 so-called "nuisance burros" in Blue Diamond, where the animals are tearing up people's yards and wandering into traffic on nearby state Route 159.

At least 15 burros have been struck by vehicles in the area since October 2010, and all but two of them were killed outright or injured badly enough to require euthanasia.

As BLM spokeswoman Hillerie Patton put it, "This gather is strictly for safety purposes."

The operation began Monday and is expected to last about two weeks. It basically involves setting up an open corral in Blue Diamond Park, baiting it with food and then closing the gate behind any beast that wanders inside to eat.

Luckily, nuisance burros tend to be pretty easy to catch. That's because they have been spoiled by what you might call "nuisance people" who stop on the side of the highway to feed them despite signs that warn of fines and the possibility of getting bit. Some burros become so accustomed to human handouts they scarcely bother to forage for food the natural way anymore, Patton said.

The first burros caught this week were lured through the middle of Blue Diamond and into the temporary corral by a BLM staff member shaking a bag of pretzels.

"Then we gave them some carrots," said Krystal Johnson, wild horse and burro specialist for the bureau's Southern Nevada region. "We gave them a healthy alternative."

BLM officials have been meeting with Blue Diamond residents to discuss the burro issue for more than a year. Johnson said one such meeting at the town's library was interrupted by loud braying from the animals outside.

"When it's breeding or foaling season, the jacks are all testosterone, running and fighting in the streets," she said.

Community members seem divided over the roundup. Some like having the burros around and want them left alone. Others prefer to see at least some of them gathered up to keep them off the roads and out of people's gardens and the occasional garage.

"When I was out here Monday, this lady said, 'Are you here to get our donkeys? They're hiding from you. They know what you're up to,' " Patton said.

Johnson insists the bureau is not trying to remove all wild burros from the area. "Just the ones that are getting into trouble out here," she said. "There will still be burros in Red Rock. I have no doubt about that."

Patton said the roundup is being done now to try to reduce the number of animals near state Route 159 before daylight saving time ends in early November. She said collisions and near-misses tend to increase then because it gets dark around the time commuters are headed home on the highway.

This is the BLM's first burro roundup in Red Rock Canyon in about five years. In that time, the population has grown to between 70 and 100, roughly double what the bureau considers an "appropriate management level" for the area, Johnson said.

At the end of the operation, the BLM plans to put the burros it captures up for adoption.

Finding proper homes for the animals is never much of a problem, Johnson said. "Burros are total characters. They make awesome pets."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.