Here are some photographs I took this spring when the Utah Desert was as colorful as I have ever seen it. The Onaqui herd seemed to be in great shape, with foals just starting to be born. To see the desert now, you would never believe it was this colorful. The plant that is such a brilliant orange is called Globe Mallow or desert mallow. It is native to Utah.
I have been photographing the Onaqui herd of wild horses for 7 years now. There is a lot of debate about this herd and others in Utah, Nevada, and elsewhere. The debate centers around the idea the herds are growing too big and eating up all of the feed and water. This rhetoric comes from those that use the same land to graze their sheep and cattle.
Here is a photograph I took last year. This is taken at a small watering hole that is used regularly by the Onaqui herd of approximately 100 horses. Now, ask yourself, are the horses the problem or the sheep/cattle? Pretty powerful photograph. I wish you could see it in full resolution. There are sheep EVERYWHERE! By clicking on the first image you will be looking at a panoramic of pasted images of the scene at the watering hole. The other images are five magnifications of this image, showing you exactly how many sheep were watering at this hole on this day. I am in favor of limiting the number of horses in this herd. I am not in favor of roundups. I have seen the effects of roundups on the social structure of the herd. The BLM is faced with a huge problem. I hope we can find a workable solution for the benefit of the herd and future generations.
