RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT Craig Drake, from BLM's Tonopah office, said both short- and long-term solutions need to be found for the problem for errant burros in Beatty. RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT Craig Drake, from BLM's Tonopah office, said both short- and long-term solutions need to be found for the problem for errant burros in Beatty. Advertisement

Burros in Beatty -- cute and entertaining, or dangerous and a nuisance?

Bureau of Land Management officials heard a little of both at the Beatty Town Advisory Board meeting June 27.

According to the officials, the number of wild burros in the herd management area that includes Beatty is well below the existing limit that would trigger a culling of the herd.

The number is so low, in fact, that experts are concerned about possible genetic defects caused by in-breeding.

The burros most likely have moved into town because drought conditions and the areas burned by last year's fires mean that there is less water and forage for the animals in the surrounding desert. In town they find ample water and forage -- the latter, unfortunately, consisting of people's yards, trees, and gardens.

Brad Hunt told the board "one old mare" has figured out how to open the butterfly latches on the gates at the town park and is teaching other burros how to do it.

Several people complained of yard and garden invasions, including at least one resident who said the animals push over a fence to get in. Bob Revert said they had eaten new trees he had planted.

Joannie Jarvis said that an aggressive mare had chased her and her daughter when they were out walking in the evening.

Jarvis also gave the BLM officials photos of the burros standing in an intersection on the highway.

Craig Drake, who is in charge of the BLM Tonopah Field Office, said that the problem needs to be dealt with in the short term, but that there also needs to be long-term solutions.

Relocation of some or all of the burros entering the town is one possibility, but they could find their way back in a short time.

One possible long-term solution would involve fencing around the town, but there are restrictions against the BLM paying to fence around private land. Drake also said that it might be possible to erect "drift fences" to block routes the burros take to move into town.

Although some of the residents at the meeting liked having the burros in town, and even those who see them as a nuisance found them cute and interesting to watch, the consensus was that they need to be removed.

Revert said, "They're your burros. Take them out of our town. Let us have our gardens."

Drake said he would come back to the board when he got a response from his superiors regarding what the BLM would do about the burros. In the meantime, he asked that residents help map burro sightings and identify the routes used by the burros to move into Beatty.

The burro issue was only part of what contributed to the more than three-hour duration of the meeting.

The board heard two reports from Eileen Christiansen, from BEC Environmental, a company under contract to the county.

Christiansen's first presentation concerned wellhead protection. Beatty is one of the communities in the county that have their own wellhead protection programs. The county is working with all the communities to draft an overall wellhead protection policy for the whole county.

Wellhead protection involves establishing regulations to protect water sources from contamination from various sources. This includes establishing boundaries around wells within which certain things cannot be permitted.

Christiansen's second presentation was on her company's activities in promoting economic development. In the Beatty area, this included promoting solar, wind, and geothermal energy development and use of the Barrick Bullfrog site.

The company's efforts involved what she referred to as a "two-pronged approach": bringing in new business and industry, and preserving existing businesses.

She also cited efforts to acquire grant money, to provide water at the Bullfrog site and at the airport, and to promote water and energy conservation.

After the presentations, the board moved into what is intended as the main focus of the second meeting each month -- master planning.

The board received some help in the form of detailed maps provided by the BLM officials. BLM real estate specialist Wendy Seley promised the board she would acquire more, and the BLM people said they would return to the next planning meeting to lend assistance.

Seley and Drake said that, if the community identifies certain lands that they would like to recommend for disposal or withdraw from disposal, BLM policy is to comply whenever possible.

Some lands have restrictions on them. In particular sites sacred to Native Americans are withheld from disposal or development and are not identified publicly to avoid unwanted intrusions.

The board received information from Valley Electric Association and the Beatty Water and Sanitation District regarding the capacity of these utilities to accommodate growth.

According to VEA, availability of electricity imposes no restrictions on future growth in Beatty.

The water district has sufficient water resources at present to handle a doubling of the town's population, assuming that average usage remains constant and water levels do not drop in the wells. If development took place north of town, it would likely require the development of new wells in the Oasis Valley basin.

The district also noted that water rates will have to be raised when it begins treatment for arsenic mandated by recent changes in federal standards.

Determined to make progress on the agenda items, the board voted to establish its in-town commercial and historical districts before adjourning.

Both areas include property within one block of Highways 95 and 374. The commercial district extends from cattle guard to cattle guard on 95 and from the main intersection to Avenue E on 374. The historic district is smaller, running from McDonald to the bridge on 95, and from the main intersection to Irving on 374.

Audience members proposed several areas outside the town proper for historical preservation, including the cistern at the Cheese Holes, the Old China Road, railroad beds, petroglyph sites, and other sites that may have been identified on BLM maps.

The board had received a letter from Denise Jones, a graduate student at University of California-Davis, who has done volunteer environmental planning work in Beatty in the past, offering her professional services in helping with planning. They voted to write a reply thanking her for her interest and welcoming her to attend meetings and assist, also saying that they were not in a position to hire her as a paid consultant.