Much of the recent Reno City Council debate over the proposed 70-house development known as The Canyons along the Veterans Parkway corridor in south Reno was focused on ways to safely accommodate wild horses that live in the adjacent Virginia Range of mountains.
Thousands of houses have been build in south Reno over the past two decades, and pressure to further develop the area between the City of Reno and the Virginia Range continues as home builders work to cover the remaining open space in the Truckee Meadows with houses and roads.
The Virginia Range is noted for its wild horse population, which is something of an emblem for the intersection of rapidly-growing urban Nevada and the state’s diminishing wildland.
For some insight into the impacts of development on wild horses in the Virginia Range, we spoke with Tracy Wilson. Wilson is a volunteer liaison with Wild Horse Connection. She is also a documenter for American Wild Horse Campaign’s fertility control program on the Virginia Range and an assistant supervisor for Least Resistance Training Concepts Large Animal Rescue Team. Wilson has consulted with local, state and federal authorities regarding wild horses and development. We spoke with her by phone.
Wild Horse Hotline – For injured or at-risk Virginia Range Wild Horses – 775-352-3944
Music credits as reported through the Public Radio Exchange:
Song: Keep Going Daddy
Artist: 9 Lazy 9
Album: Sweet Jones
Label: Ninja Tune
Year: 1992
Duration: 2:59
Song: Tumbleweed
Artist: 9 Lazy 9
Album: Sweet Jones
Label: Ninja Tune
Year: 1992
Duration: 1:26
Song: Poundstretcher
Artist: 9 Lazy 9
Album: Sweet Jones
Label: Ninja Tune
Year: 1992
Duration: 2:59
Song: Which One Are You
Artist: 9 in Common
Album: Abstract Reality
Label: Seamless Recordings
Year: 2012
Duration: 3:26
Song: Sunday Monday
Artist: 9 Lazy 9
Album: Sweet Jones
Label: Ninja Tune
Year: 1992
Duration: 4:20
